UPSC Prelims Preparation Plan

UPSC Civil Service Examination consist of three phases. First, the Preliminary Examination. Second, the Main Examination and Third, the Personality Test. Prelims acts as a qualifying exam to appear in the Mains. So, a setback in Prelims hits quite hard. It also strips one of the opportunity to align their preparation to the actual demand of Mains, in case they are not on the right Path.

I have appeared in the Prelims 2022 without any preparation. The result was an eye-opener. I scored a mere 34.34 marks in Paper 1 and 67.52 in Paper 2, not qualifying in either paper. But when I prepared for Prelims 2023, with a strategy, I was able to secure 98.99 marks in Paper 1 and 84.18 in Paper 2. Similarly, in Prelims 2024, I scored 108.6 marks in Paper 1 and 114.18 in Paper 2. So I can say with confidence that the preparation of Prelims has a method to it. In this article, I will be sharing my method of qualifying for Prelims.

Understanding Prelims Syllabus and Exam Pattern

There are two Papers, General Studies and CSAT. The syllabus given by UPSC, along with my resources, is as follows:-

Paper 1: General Studies

It has 100 questions broadly covering the following topics, carrying a maximum of 200 marks to be solved in 2 hours.

Current events of National & International importance: Newspaper (The Indian Express and The Hindu) and PT365.

2. History of India & Indian National Movement: Spectrum, VisionIAS Classroom Synopsis.

3. Indian & World Geography — Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India & the World: NCERTs Class 11th and 12th (4 books), VisionIAS Classroom Synopsis.

4. Indian Polity & Governance — Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.: Indian Polity by M Laxmikant, VisionIAS Classroom Synopsis

5. Economic & Social Development — Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.: NCERT class 9th to 12th, VisionIAS Classroom Synopsis.

6. General issues on Environmental ecology, biodiversity & climate change — that do not require subject specialisation.: ShankarIAS Environment, PMF IAS lists of NP, WLS, Ramsar Sites, VisionIAS Classroom Synopsis.

7. General Science: VisionIAS Classroom Synopsis

PYQ: Disha UPSC Topicwise question book by Murnal Sir.

Paper 2: CSAT

It has 80 questions from the following topics, carrying a maximum of 200 marks to be solved in 2 hours.

Comprehension.

Interpersonal skills, including communication skills.

Logical reasoning & analytical ability.

Decision making & problem solving.

General mental ability.

Basic numeracy (numbers & their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. — Class X level)

CSAT is a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

I have only referred to the CSAT formula book by Amit Garg. My strategy was to analyse PYQ and identify frequently repeated themes, like calendar problem, unit digit problem, probability, permutations and combinations, etc. I made sure I did more than enough practice to solve them within time.

Secondly, I had developed a strategy to attempt the CSAT paper. I used to finish the comprehension and logical reasoning section within the first 45 minutes. That is because reading comprehension requires the peak of your attention at the beginning of the paper. Also, it gives you positive reinforcement by solving some questions correctly in the beginning. If you attempt the Maths section first, and somehow fail to solve some initial questions, that could increase your anxiety during the exam, taking a toll on the entire paper.

There are some YouTube videos I referred to for solving comprehension. They are about tricks that could be used. But I would strongly and unequivocally say that never attempt comprehension without reading. It could be disastrous and may cost you an attempt. Take these tricks as an aid to eliminate wrong options and fast-track solving comprehension passages.

In the maths section, practice as many questions as possible. With practice it would become easier to solve the questions within time limit and identifying which questions to attempt. Here it is very important to remain emotionally detached. Incase, if you are not able to solve any question within 2 minutes, move on. The idea should be to attempt all the maths questions at least ones. For that we need to solve them in multiple rounds with cherry picking which questions to solve first.

Prelims Strategy : Reading, Revision, Recall and Practice

Ones the sources to follow for Prelims are finalised, they must be revised multiple times. But, what actually I mean by revision? Revision means not just repeatedly reading same resources. I think we have a hindsight bias, so the knowledge gaps, which could have been present during the first reading, continue to exist despite multiple revisions. Therefore, any form of revision must be active. i.e., we should try to formulate questions in our mind and answer them. Such revision ensures that we remember the static part of syllabus.

For prelims, I have prepared wholeheartedly for around 5 months during my second attempt. My objective was that, I must be in comfortable position to clear prelims. I have divided 150 days into two parts. During first 75 days, I read and revised all the static sources, along with sectional test and UPSC PYQ’s at the end of finishing a topic. It was done to ensure comprehensive coverage of the syllabus and understanding what are my strengths and weaknesses. For example, I used to correctly answer questions from Polity, Economy and Environment. But from sections like History, Art and Culture and Geography, I used to mark lot of negative answers. Such understanding helped me in targeted focus in next round of revision, so that I can improve on my weak subjects, without letting go of my stronghold on others.

During this time my day was primarily divided into two parts. In first half of the day, I used to do revision, and during second half of the day I used to solve the questions and analyse my mistakes. It was a broad structure, but flexible enough to adjust to demands of the subject. For example, with subjects having big syllabus like Economy, Environment and Polity I used to focus more on revision

The next 75 days, I had divided into two parts. First 45 days and last 30 days before the actual exam. During first 45 days, my objective was to do two complete round of revision of all the static part. 1st round of revision in 30 days, and next round of revision in 15 days. At this point of time, I had fully pivoted to solving Full Length Tests to develop paper solving approach and force myself out of comfort of solving questions of only topics that I have revised recently. Also, I started to read PT 365 for complementing my Current Affairs along with newspapers.

To rationally and objectively gauge my prepration, I had given Full Length Mock Tests of more than 5–6 coaching institutions, including all the prominent ones available in the market. I wanted to be in a position that I could gauge the difficulty of paper, and attempt questions accordingly. Also, I wanted to have that sense of comfort that Whatever may come in actual Prelims, I have had seen lot of different type of question papers.

Here it is important to highlight that my marks in Prelims mock test improved gradually. In some initial tests, I used to score on average 40–50 marks. But towards the end, it was on average 85–90. It also varies on tests to test, in one test you could score less than 60 while on the next day, it can shoot 100+. So while solving mock tests, we should have a sense of emotional detachment with the marks. The focus should be on refining our approach to solve paper, and identifying weaknesses to address them.

The last one month of preparation, I had divided into two parts again, first 3 weeks and the last week before actual exam. The objective was to do two rounds of revision again. In the last month I attempted only few tests of coaching institutions. Rather I focused on solving UPSC PYQ full length tests, in actual exam timing. Although I have had solved PYQ’s multiple times at this point of time. But doing PYQ’s again had two objectives. One, is to get accustomed to the language of UPSC. And second, is to get confidence in my preparation.

There are some other aspect of prelims preparation which I shall highlight.

First, is to remember the important facts by heart. These facts are :

Environment : list of National Parks, Ramsar Sites, important Wildlife Sanctuaries, endemic and endangered species.

Economics : reports released by different institutions, major exports and imports of India, GI tags, strategic sites like nuclear power plants, strategic oil reserves, etc.

Polity : Important Sections and Articles of the Constitution

Governance : Government Policies and associated Ministries implementing them.

Modern Indian History : Socio-religious reform movements, tribal movements, major publications, congress sessions, major events in Indian National Movement, etc.

Art and Culture : important facts related to Buddhism, Jainism, Indus Valley Civilisation, Major Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic sites, Mauryan empire, Ashoka’s edicts, Gupta Period, Paintings, Dance, Music, Puppetry, Theatre, UNESCO sites, etc.

Geography : important locations on the map like major Mountain ranges, glaciers, deserts, rivers, lakes, important local winds, map of India, etc.

Second, using tricks and techniques to eliminate wrong options to increase the probability of success in guesswork. Here, I have made notes out of this YouTube playlist.Third, strategy to attempting Prelims GS Paper 1. Here I used to scan the whole paper in first two minutes, just glaring through the paper to let it sink in. I figured out that quickly marking 3–4 very very easy questions during first 2–3 minutes is a confidence booster, and helps in starting Prelims paper with strength. Then I used to solve the paper in at least 2–3 rounds depending on the difficulty of paper. First round usually took approximately 60–75 minutes. Here either I used to correctly mark the answer in paper itself, or eliminate the wrong answers, where I didn’t knew the exact answer. I used to fill the OMR after the first round. It was followed by second round of solving paper, where I used to decide answers for the questions where I had eliminated at-least 1 option. I would generally mark more then 85 questions. But it depends on the difficulty of paper. Sometimes making reckless guesswork in very factual paper could backfire and you may get heavily penalised for it. So how much questions to attempt shall be decided during the paper. That being said, we should aspire to solve maximum number of questions, as I believe, there is some pattern of guesswork in actual UPSC exam that pays handsomely to people who are risk takers than those whose are risk averse.

D-Day Approach

On the night before prelims, have good sleep. Don’t change your routine. When you have done a lot of practice, it only feels like a next mock test. on the same morning before going to exam, quickly solve last 2 years PYQ’s. It will accustom your mind to solve questions right away as soon as you get the paper. During the break between Paper 1 and Paper 2, revise the formulas of Maths and solve some PYQ’s. The idea again is to have a sense of familiarity about the exam before entering the exam hall. Also, have a very light lunch so that you don’t feel drowsy in afternoon.

Key Takeaways

Do multiple rounds of revision of fixed sources, rather than going after multiple sources without revising them.

Practice Full Length Tests in actual examination environment to refine your test taking approach.

Focus on remembering important facts corresponding to all subjects.

Do not ignore CSAT. It requires a well thought out strategy to approach the paper and adequate practice of questions from maths section.

Have consistency and routine in preparation. It helps in competing the mammoth syllabus on time and give you a sense of agency over your preparation.