Gateway to India’s most prestigious jobs such as IAS, IPS, etc, the UPSC Civil Services Exam consists of three stages. The UPSC provides a detailed syllabus for the Prelims as well as Mains Examinations. A detailed analysis of the syllabus tells that preparing General Studies lies at the heart of preparation for the UPSC CSE.
Given its vast syllabus, preparing for General Studies becomes a daunting task. Hence, it is pertinent to have a comprehensive and smart strategy to navigate through the syllabus with precision and confidence. This article of NEXT IAS discusses some of the key components of such a strategy.
Strategies and Tips to Prepare General Studies for UPSC
Analyse the Syllabus Thoroughly
The first step to begin your preparation for the General Studies is to read and analyze in detail the syllabus for the UPSC Prelims as well as the Mains Exams.
The syllabus for the General Studies papers of the Prelims and Mains Exams, as provided by the UPSC, consists of a list of topics that are only indicative in nature. To be able to prepare a topic comprehensively, one needs to understand what all are to be covered under a particular topic i.e. detailed break-ups of the topic. This requires an in-depth analysis of the General Studies syllabus.
Going through this detailed discussion of the UPSC CSE Syllabus is advisable for the same.
Analyze Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Once you have analyzed the syllabus, you should go through the Previous Year’s Questions (PYQs) of the UPSC Prelims as well as the Mains Exam. They act like a compass and help in your General Studies preparation in the following ways:
- Prioritize the topics by identifying the topics that have higher weightage.
- Identify the overall themes that have been recurring in a particular topic.
- Understand what types of questions are being asked from a particular topic.
- Get acquainted with the present trends of questions and their difficulty levels.
Prepare an Effective Study Plan
Now that you have an understanding of the syllabus as well as the priority areas, it’s time to chalk out a smart study plan. The following are some tips to help you prepare a realistic and good study plan:
- Break your study plan into weekly and monthly targets having a list of topics to be covered during each period. Keep track of daily progress on these plans.
- Join a good General Studies Course such as the NEXT IAS GS Pre-cum-Main Foundation Course to ensure a guided and comprehensive preparation for General Studies.
- Divide and distribute your daily study hours in such a way that more hours are allocated to your weaker areas.
- Make sure that your distribution of study hours has a fine and weighted balance between static topics and current affairs.
Here, it is important to mention that:
- Refrain from preparing an over-ambitious and non-realistic study as such a plant is liable to fail. Hence, it is advisable to develop a study plan which is realistic.
- Preparing the General Studies for UPSC CSE is a long journey. Hence, your daily study schedule should be such that you don’t get exhausted and your focus and motivation remain maintained.
- One good way of ensuring this is to adopt the “Pomodoro Technique” – breaking down your study sessions into 25-minute intervals with short breaks in between.
Focus on Conceptual Clarity
The UPSC Civil Services Examination intends to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding rather than merely the range of information and memory. It goes on to mean that preparing the General Studies requires one to integrate knowledge with analytical skills. Thus, while preparing a General Studies topic, one should focus on building clarity of concepts.
Here are some tips that can help you achieve this objective:
- Follow standard and authentic books such as NCERTs for covering a topic.
- Focus on understanding the topics rather than going for rote learning.
- Joining a good Mentorship Program such as the NEXT IAS Advanced Integrated Mentorship (AIM) program can help you clarify your doubts and gain more clarity on syllabus topics.
- Prepare concise notes for each topic so that you can revise them periodically.
Special Strategy for Current Affairs
It is a well-established fact that most of the questions of General Studies in the UPSC Civil Services Examination are motivated by current affairs. Hence, one needs to factor in special attention to prepare for current affairs.
The following tips can help you master this section of your General Studies Preparation:
- Read a good newspaper regularly. As a smart alternative to reading newspapers, you can follow a good monthly current affairs magazine such as NEXT IAS Current Affairs Magazine.
- Prepare concise notes on a news and place them under different categories such as Indian Polity, Governance, Indian Economy, etc.
- Notes on any news, that is related to a topic of the General Studies syllabus, should be placed along with notes on the related topic. This will ensure a seamless integration of your static concepts with knowledge of current developments thereon.
Revise Regularly
The syllabus for General Studies is very vast. While covering this vast syllabus, as one goes on studying new topics, one tends to lose a grasp of the topics already covered. Thus, it is of supreme importance to factor in revisions within one’s study plan.
Here are some tips and strategies to ensure periodic revisions:
- As soon as you cover a topic, prepare concise notes on that topic. This will enable you to do a quick revision of that topic.
- Devote some study hours specifically to revision as part of your daily study schedule.
- 15-20 days immediately before the exam (Prelims or Mains) should be devoted only to revision.
Practice Questions
Your preparation for a topic is not complete unless you solve a sufficient number of questions on that topic. Practicing questions helps one in the following ways:
- Judge if the topic is prepared comprehensively.
- Identify any dimension of a topic that you might have missed studying.
- Develop exam temperament by developing a habit of solving questions/writing answers.
- Improve speed and accuracy
Here, it is important to mention that the way of practicing questions for the Prelims Exam is different from that for the Mains Exam:
- Prelims Mock Tests: For the Prelims Exam, one needs to solve a sufficient number of Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs). The best way to do this is to join a good Prelims Test Series such as the NEXT IAS Prelims Test Series.
- Mains Answer Writing: For the Mains Exam, one needs to write answers to as many Mains questions as one can. Along with, getting them evaluated by the experts and incorporating their feedback into your answer writing is of supreme importance. Joining the NEXT IAS Mains Test Series Program can help you do this in a guided manner.
Bonus Tips
- While traversing through the long journey of General Studies preparation, pay adequate attention to maintaining physical and mental well-being. This will help you give your best for the preparation.
- It is very important to stay positive throughout the long journey of preparation. Believe in yourself and keep reminding yourself that the reward coming after the challenging journey is worth it.
- There is no one-size-fits-all approach for General Studies preparation. So, tailor the strategy to your individual strengths and weaknesses.
Preparing the General Studies syllabus for the UPSC CSE requires smartly tailored hard work. Tips and strategies discussed above can help one achieve this objective.
We wish you good luck in your preparation journey!
