Prelims 2023

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UPSC Exam Pattern 2023 consisted of three stages- Prelims, Mains, and Interviews. The same is expected for UPSC Exam Pattern 2022. UPSC Exam, also known as IAS Exam, is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to recruit suitable candidates for IAS, IPS, IFS, and other allied services. UPSC Civil Services Exam is conducted to assess the overall capabilities of candidates.

This article details the UPSC Exam Pattern for prelims, mains, and interviews. It is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the UPSC Exam Pattern. It will allow you to effectively manage your time thereby making your UPSC preparation more efficient. It is also important to have a deep understanding of the IAS exam pattern to align your preparation with all the exam needs.

Broadly, UPSC conducts the Civil Service Examination in three phases namely:

  • Preliminary Examination
  • Main Examination
  • Personality Test (Interview)

Candidates who qualify for all the rounds are recommended for joining the civil services in India. Each round is an elimination round, so you need to qualify each one in order to appear for the next one.

The UPSC Prelims comprises two objective-type papers:

  • General Studies I
  • General Studies II or CSAT

These exams account for a total of 400 marks. Both papers are usually held on the same day in two sessions via offline mode (pen-paper).

UPSC Prelims 2023 Paper Marks Questions Duration Nature
GS Paper 1 200 100 2 hours For every wrong answer, there will be a deduction of 0.33.
GS Paper 2 (CSAT) 200 80 2 hours GS Paper 2 is qualifying in nature, which needs only 33% to score for the candidates.

How to Register Online for UPSC Exam?

It is important to carefully fill up the application form for the UPSC examination as there are several cases where the candidate’s application gets rejected because of mistakes made in the form. Before proceeding any further, you should first check the eligibility criteria. Here is a guide to help you out in the process.

  1. Open the official website of the UPSC (https://www.upsc.gov.in/). On the right-hand side of the page, you will find ‘Apply Online’; click on it. This link will direct you to another page.
  2. The second option on the page is, ‘Online Application for Various Examinations.’ Click on it.

OR

you can directly go to- https://upsconline.nic.in/mainmenu2.php

Please note – When no examination is open for application or when the last date to apply has passed, the exam will not be available here.

  1. After you are directed to the new page, you will find a list of applications. You have to find out the one for ‘Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination’. Click on ‘Part I Registrations’.
  1. Before filling the form, read the instructions on how to fill the form carefully. Keep your photograph ready with the dimensions and specifications mentioned. Before you start filling out the form, keep other scanned documents like your signature ready before proceeding further.
  1. In the Part I Registration, fill up all the personal details, educational qualifications, and address. Check if all the details provided are correct and submit it. After you are done, you need to go on to Part II Registration.
  1. Go back to the previous page of Ongoing Application Forms, click on ‘Part II Registrations.
  1. Log in with Registration ID and date of birth. Fill up the payment details; upload the photograph, signature, photo ID card document, and declaration. Check all the details and submit the form.

Note- The scanned documents should be submitted in pdf format and be within 20 KB to 300 KB. Once the form is submitted, changes cannot be made. Therefore, it is advisable to recheck the form thoroughly before submitting it.

UPSC Application Fee

The CSE application fee for 2020 was 100 rupees.

  • Females, SC, ST, and people with benchmark disabilities are exempted from payment of fees.
  • Candidates can pay the fees through online or offline mode.
  • Candidates paying online can pay it through net banking of State Bank of India or Visa/Master/RuPay/Credit/Debit card.
  • Candidates can pay the fees offline through any State Bank of India branch. They must take a print out of the system generated challan (pay-in slip) and deposit it at an SBI branch on the next working day itself.

UPSC CSE 2023 Application Process

  • Mode of Application: Online and Offline
  • Mode of Payment: Net Banking | Credit Card | Debit Card | Bank Challan | Other

The Union Public Service Commission will release the UPSC IAS application form 2023 on February 1, 2023 on its official website – upsc.gov.in. The last date to fill out the IAS 2023 application form is February 21, 2023 (6 pm). Candidates who meet the IAS eligibility criteria will be able to fill out the UPSC IAS 2023 form in online mode only. The UPSC IAS 2023 application form has two parts. The instruction to fill out the application form must be followed carefully to avoid the rejection of the IAS form 2023 at a later stage of the recruitment process.

Documents required to fill the application form

  • Valid email id and mobile number.
  • Scanned photograph and signature mentioned by the UPSC.
  • Valid photo ID card details.
  • Other documents (if applicable).
  • Personal and academic details
  • Fee payment details debit/ credit card/ internet banking/ UPI, etc.

What is the educational qualification for the Civil Service exam?

In the official notification, the candidates can get the complete eligibility criteria for appearing in the examination. The candidates need to check the UPSC Eligibility Criteria 2023 to apply for the same. If the candidates are not eligible for the exam but they still apply for the same then there will be issues later on.

The UPSC exam does not need a big certificate of educational qualification from the applicants. The candidates should have any graduation level degree from any government-recognized university or UGC-approved university. The graduation could be done in any branch. Those who are in their final year of graduation are also eligible to apply for UPSC. However, their graduation result should be declared before the final exam of UPSC.

UPSC Age Criteria

For the UPSC 2023 exam, 3 factors are important in terms of eligibility such as age, qualification and nationality. There is no minimum percentage required in graduation to appear for the UPSC 2023 exam.

The age limit for the UPSC 2023 must be calculated as of August 1, 2023.

Category Minimum Age for UPSC 2023 Maximum Age
For General Candidate 21 year 32 year
For OBC candidates 21 year 35 year
For SC/ST 21 year 37 year

UPSC Age Relaxation 2023

UPSC provides age relaxation for different categories. The candidates must check the age relaxation details for the exam.

Category Age Relaxation
SC/ST 5 years
OBC 3 years
Defense Services Personnel 3 years
Ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs 5 years
Hearing problem, deaf, low vision, ex-servicemen, blindness, muscle deformity 10 years

UPSC Application Form 2023: Withdrawal Process

  • Visit the official UPSC website – upsc.gov.in
  • Now click on the What\’s New section for the IAS application form
  • Click on the button which states, \” Withdrawal of Application: Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2023 application form.
  • Read the withdrawal instructions carefully and click on the \”yes\” button
  • Enter the IAS 2023 registration id and press the continue tab
  • Now provide the following information
  • Gender
  • Date of birth
  • Name of the candidate
  • Mother\’s name
  • Father\’s name
  • Email address
  • Mobile Number
  • Choose the withdrawal option and press the Agree button.
  • Once the Agree button has been pressed, the UPSC IAS application form 2023 will be withdrawn.

UPSC Examination Calendar 2023

The UPSC Mains exam came to an end on September 25, 2022.

  • Date of Notification for Civil Service Prelims and Indian Forest Service Prelims: February 01, 2023
  • Last date to apply for Civil Service Prelims and Indian Forest Service Prelims: is February 21, 2023
  • Date of UPSC CSE Prelims 2023 and IFS Prelims 2023: May 28, 2023
  • Date of UPSC CSE Mains 2023: September 15, 2023
  • Date of UPSC IFS Mains 2023: November 26, 2023

Prelims 2023 Syllabus

Since the syllabus is extremely vast and gets overwhelming at times, it is important to know the syllabus beforehand to stick to the syllabus while studying. Here is the syllabus of UPSC Prelims:

UPSC Prelims Syllabus of Paper-I (General Studies-I)

  • Current events of national and international importance.
  • History of India and Indian National Movement.
  • Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World. Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
  • Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
  • General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity, and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization General Science

UPSC Prelims Syllabus of Paper-II (CSAT)

  • Comprehension
  • Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
  • Logical reasoning and analytical ability
  • Decision-making and problem solving
  • General mental ability
  • Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. – Class X level)

UPSC Exam Pattern For IAS Preliminary Examination

UPSC CSE Prelims consists of two papers namely General Studies I and CSAT (General Studies Paper-II). While CSAT is qualifying in nature, the marks obtained in the General Studies paper determine your selection for UPSC Mains. It means your score in the General Studies Paper will be considered for the Prelims cutoff.

Additionally, there is a negative marking for the wrong answers. 1/3rd of the marks allotted for the question would be deducted as a penalty for marking the wrong answer. However, if you do not attempt the question, there will be no deductions. Hence, you should take only calculated risks when it comes to marking doubtful questions

Name of the Paper No of Questions Marks Allotted Time Allotted Nature of Exam
Paper I: General Studies (Objective-type) 100 200 2 hours The score will be considered for Cut-off
Paper-II: General Studies-II (CSAT) (Objective-Type) 80 200 2 hours Qualifying Nature- Candidates will have to score 33% to qualify CSAT.

UPSC Prelims – Trend Analysis

UPSC has established itself to be predictably unpredictable. So, candidates should only see the trends as a reference and not draw too much inference.

UPSC Prelims 2021 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis

Subject Number of questions
History 20
Economy 10
Polity 14
Environment & Ecology 11
Geography 10
Science & Technology 08
Current Affairs 27
Total 100

UPSC Prelims 2020 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis

Subject Number of questions
History 18
Economy 14
Polity 16
Environment & Ecology 17
Geography 10
Science & Technology 10
Current Affairs 15
Total 100

UPSC Prelims 2019 GS Paper 1 Subject-Wise Analysis

Subject Number of questions
History 17
Economy 14
Polity 15
Environment & Ecology 11
Geography 14
Science & Technology 7
Current Affairs 22
Total 100

Trend Analysis of UPSC Subjects (2011-2020)

As you can see, the current affairs portion is one of the most important subjects to be prepared in the UPSC Civil Services Prelims examination followed by history and polity. Let us look at the preparation strategy for each of the UPSC subjects briefly:

  1. History

It is clear from the subject-wise trend of prelims that history is one of the major favourites of UPSC and a lot of questions are asked from this subject. Questions from heritage, art & culture are also a part of ancient history that is asked in UPSC prelims. NCERTs and other basic books like Art & Culture by Nitin Singhania can be really helpful for the preparation of history.

  1. Geography

Questions from the physical geography of India and the world are asked in the Prelims examination. NCERTs from Class VIII to XII are a must-read for the preparation of Geography. In addition to that, you can also refer to Certificate Physical and Human Geography by GC Leong.

  1. Polity

Indian constitution is at the heart of Indian polity and is an extremely important subject for the preparation of UPSC CSE. For the UPSC CS Prelims examination, a thorough reading of Indian Polity by M. Laxmikath would suffice. You can use NCERTs and IGNOU materials to strengthen your foundation before reading the book authored by M. Laxmikanth.

  1. Economy

Economy is also one of the important segments of the UPSC syllabus. Questions from topics like national income, inflation-deflation, fiscal and monetary policies, fiscal deficit, taxes, etc are asked every year. You do not need to delve deep into economics preparation for UPSC CS Prelims. A thorough reading of NCERTs along with basic books authored by Uma Kapila or Misra Puri would suffice for the preparation of economics for UPSC CS(Prelims).

  1. Science & Technology

Questions related to recent developments in science & technology are asked from this subject. Have a good hold over current affairs specific to this portion to ace this section.

  1. Environment

Questions related to environment and biodiversity, ecology, climate change that are in the current discourse are asked. NCERT books, as well as IGNOU/NIOS notes of this particular subject, can be really helpful for the preparation of this portion of UPSC CSE Prelims.

  1. Current Affairs

Questions related to science & tech, government initiatives, defence, security issues, and international relations are asked from current affairs. Hence, you need to prepare it well.

UPSC Cut Off – IAS Prelims 2021

Challenges faced by UPSC aspirants during preparation and exam

For clearing the IAS / UPSC exam, one has to dedicate a lot of quality time and effort to grasp the mammoth syllabus. Months are spent just touching the tip of the iceberg for each subject. More often than not, people get demotivated by the factors involved in the preparation.

Multiple attempts and revisions can be a daunting task during which an aspirant might lose interest and choose a different career pathway. Losing so many crucial years of life to UPSC exam preparation poses a lot of future challenges in a candidate\’s life. The struggle does not lie only while preparing for it but also after that if the candidate fails to achieve fruitful results.

It is critical to understand the problems faced by an aspiring candidate to become a civil servant and serve in the country’s highest administrative services.

Below are the common challenges faced by most UPSC aspirants and how to solve these.

  1. How to get started

It is not easy for a person to understand the pattern and marking scheme of the various papers involved in the UPSC Prelims exam. One can be torn between various subjects and topics. The question of where and how to get started haunts most of UPSC aspirants for a long time until they find a plausible answer.

  1. The number of Papers to clear the UPSC exam pattern is divided into two phases – Prelims and Mains

These phases have different qualifying and cut-off-based exams of different subjects. All UPSC rank holders tell that preparing well for all the subjects and cracking all the exams in a limited time period is only possible with extremely high levels of dedication, hard work, and practice. One can only achieve this if one has a clear picture of what really needs to be done.

  1. Mammoth Syllabus

With recommendations from so many online and offline IAS coaching institutes, one can be overwhelmed by the syllabus. UPSC candidates can prepare well if they have all these in front of them at the click of a button.

  1. Unavailability of smaller unit mock tests

Most UPSC aspirants simply cover the syllabus relying on notes or videos, without analysing their strengths and weaknesses subject-wise. Smaller units of practice tests help in gauging the candidates knowledge.

  1. Devoting time

While having a full-time professional career or studying in college, aspirants tend to get impatient to get over the vast UPSC exam syllabus. However, this test is just the opposite and seeks patience and persistence. We recommends preparing well, revising, and practicing subject/topic-wise every day. Without regular practice, one can forget as much as seventy percent of what one has learned.

  1. Self-studying or coaching?

The candidates can be indecisive about whether to get coaching or self-study for the exam. While some of them opt for coaching, others resort to self-study. However, it is a candidates choice to find an effective way of studying in order to succeed and work towards a bright future.

Each person has a different way of learning to get an optimised learning graph. Candidates need to find out what works best for them rather than blindly following what others are doing.

  1. Setting schedule and timetable

As mentioned earlier, the UPSC syllabus seems never-ending. Curating a timetable to cover all over 230+ topics of multiple subjects can be downright difficult. UPSC rank holders have reiterated multiple times that just covering the topics isn’t enough and one must do multiple revisions to memorise and grasp the concepts. The schedule should include study or preparation time as well as ample time for practice through tests. Practicing and testing oneself regularly helps set clear goals and achieve success.

  1. Handling failures

Multiple attempts in the UPSC exam can demotivate a person. A candidate must remember, failing once or not being able to clear an exam is not the end of the world. Not only are there so many other State Civil Service exams that can be attempted using the UPSC Exam preparation, but there are also many other governments and private exams that can be attempted. One should keep reading positive books, articles, blogs and try and stay positive while doing ones best

How to prepare for UPSC Prelims 2023

  • Step One: Know the Syllabus and Exam Pattern
  • Step Two: Build Your Foundation Strong

Next, you should focus on building a strong foundation for covering the UPSC syllabus. For that start with the NCERTs. Read the NCERTs of the core subjects from Class VI to XII to build your foundation. After that, glance through the previous years’ papers in order to apprise yourself of the kind of questions asked in the exam.

After covering the NCERTs thoroughly, it’s time to step up your preparation game and read the standard books for all the subjects. Make sure you follow only one book per subject wherever possible and revise it repeatedly to cement the concepts in your mind. You can check out the booklist to be followed here.

  • Step Four: Revision

Revision and repeated revision is indeed the key to crack Prelims. Make sure you keep your weekends free for revision. During the weekends, revise all that you’ve studied in the week to retain the concepts for a long time! Hence, keep revising while studying. CSAT, although qualifying, is an important paper as it determines whether or not your GS paper will get evaluated or not. To gauge your efficiency in CSAT paper, attempt one paper, and check your score. You need 66+ marks in order to qualify for CSAT. If your score is above 120, then you can just give one CSAT mock every week in order to revise the concepts. Otherwise, you need to prepare for CSAT as well. Check out our course for CSAT here.

When it’s about 50-75 days left for the Prelims, adopt a mock-test-based learning approach. Sit for the mock test daily, and analyze your score. And revise all the concepts repeatedly for the questions that you miss in the mock test. At this time, start giving the mock tests for CSAT as well.

Preparation Strategy for UPSC Prelims

The Civil Services (CS) 2023 Prelims exam is scheduled to be held on  May 28, 2023.

The following strategy will help candidates to score well in the exam.

  1. Current Affairs are an important part of UPSC Prelims. Ideally, candidates should prepare 12 to 15 months’ worth of current affairs.
  2. Important sources for current affairs preparation for the UPSC exam 2023 are:
    1. Yojana Magazine
    2. Newspapers (The Hindu/The Indian Express)
    3. Press Information Bureau (PIB)
    4. Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)

Shield IAS preparation provides:

  1. Daily Video analysis of The Hindu News ( https://shieldias.in/latest-current-affairs-2022/)
  2. The Hindu News Headlines (https://shieldias.in/shield-monthly-magazine/)
  3. Monthly Hindu Quiz (https://shieldias.in/the-hindu-quize/)

3. Candidates should prepare for UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains simultaneously as there is a syllabus overlap. Check the complete IAS Syllabus 2023.

For CSAT or General Studies Paper-II in UPSC Prelims, go through the previous years’ question papers to gauge your level. As such, there is not much preparation needed for CSAT, however, only you can take that call.

As the questions in UPSC Prelims are all objective-type, it is essential to practice solving MCQs during the preparation. Here, we have given a list of MCQs for different subjects for UPSC Prelims 2023.

Important topics for Prelims 2023

For UPSC Prelims preparation, there are a few topics that candidates just can’t afford to miss.

  1. Indian Constitution – Borrowed Features
  2. Important terms from Ancient Indian History
  3. List of Hydroelectric Power Plants in India
  4. List of important cities and rivers in India
  5. List of important monuments in India
  6. List of Elephant Reserves in India
  7. Important terms from Medieval History of India
  8. List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India
  9. Timelines for quick revision – Medieval History of India
  10. List of Thermal Power Plants in India
  11. Geography preparation through Maps
  12. List of National Waterways in India
  13. List of diseases and causing agents
  14. List of Mahajanapadas (Ancient Indian History)
  15. List of Important Days and Dates
  16. List of National Highways in India
  17. List of important Straits
  18. List of Environment Conventions and Protocols
  19. List of Indian Army Exercises
  20. Government Schemes
  21. List of Ramsar Sites in India
  22. Focus Areas for different subjects in UPSC Prelims
  23. Indian Independence movement:
  24. Main congress sessions with the year, president and important resolutions
  25. Significant viceroys and their period with important decisions
  26. The Government of India Acts 1909, 1919, 1935 and charter acts
  27. Ancient history:
    1. Hindu philosophy, Buddhism, and Jainism
    2. Mauryan and Gupta Period
    3. Art, architecture, and scientific development during that period
    4. Medieval history:
    5. Important kings such as Sher Shah, Akbar, etc.
    6. Delhi Sultanate
  28. Polity:
    1. Here, importance should be given to current events, such as any changes in the constitution, new acts or amendments, and schemes
    2. Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP)
    3. Committee system, parliament, and parliamentary proceedings
    4. Judiciary
    5. Constitutional bodies
  29. Science & Tech:
    1. For basic science concepts, refer to NCERT books selectively as in-depth knowledge is not needed
    2. Focus on the current affairs part
    3. Environment and Ecology
    4. Important declarations, conventions
    5. IUCN’s Red List
    6. Biosphere Reserves, Tiger Reserves etc.
    7. International bodies
  30. Geography:
    1. Solar system
    2. Latitudes and longitudes
    3. Layers of the atmosphere
    4. Global atmospheric wind, cyclones
    5. Pressure belts
    6. Revolution, rotation and seasons
    7. Monsoons
    8. Types of rainfall
    9. Koeppen classification
    10. Jet streams, ocean currents
    11. El Nino, La Nina
    12. India’s physical geography (NCERT)
    13. Rivers, hills, soil (India)
    14. Mineral resources (India), Geological history of India
    15. Basics of agriculture (NCERT)
    16. Maps
  31. Economy:
    1. Importance should be given to current events like new bills and important committees
    2. focus on basic and fundamental concepts like:
    3. Growth and development, poverty, unemployment, inflation
    4. State of the national and global economy
    5. Major committees and bills
    6. Latest budget and economic survey

Booklist for UPSC 2023 Prelims Exam

\"\"History, Indian Heritage and Culture

  1. India after Independence by Bipin Chandra
  2. India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
  3. History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra
  4. India’s Ancient Past by RS Sharma
  5. Contemporary World History for class 12th
  6. Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe
  7. An Introduction to Indian Art Part 1: Textbook in Fine Arts for Class 11th

Geography

  1. NCERT Class 12 – Human Geography
  2. NCERT Class 11 – Physical Geography
  3. World Geography by Majid Husain
  4. World Atlas
  5. Certificate in Physical and Human Geography by G C Leong
  6. World Geography by Majid Husain

Polity

  1. Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth
  2. Introduction to the Constitution of India by DD Basu
  3. Ethics in Governance ARC Report
  4. From Government to Governance by Kuldeep Mathur
  5. Human Development Report
  6. World Development Report

Social Justice

  1. NCERT 12th class
  2. NCERT 11th class on Indian Society
  3. Human Development Report
  4. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
  5. World Development Report

Economy

  1. Introductory Macroeconomics 12th class NCERT
  2. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
  3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
  4. Economy Survey
  5. Indian Economy by Sanjiv Verma

International Relations

  1. The Hindu or Indian Newspaper
  2. India’s Foreign Policy Since Independence by VP Dutt
  3. India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri

Biodiversity and Environment

  1. India Year Book
  2. NCERT 12th Book on Biology

Security and Disaster Management

  1. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper
  2. India’s Security in a Turbulent World by Jasjit Singh, published by the National Book Trust of India

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

  1. ARC Report
  2. Lexicon
  3. Ethics in Governance
  4. Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination by Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudhary

Science and Technology

  1. NCERT Books on 8th, 9th, and 10th Biology
  2. Monthly Magazine ‘Science Reporter for Science & Technology
  3. The Hindu or Indian Express Newspaper

UPSC 2023 Admit Card

The Union Public Service Commission will release the UPSC IAS 2023 admit card on the official website. The hall ticket will be released in the online format. The commission will release the hall ticket separately for prelims and mains examination. UPSC will release the prelims admit card first and the candidates who clear the exam will be able to sit in the mains. They will receive the Mains admit card at their official website. At the exam time, the candidates need to bring the hall ticket to the exam centre along with a valid ID card. Without the UPSC IAS 2023 hall ticket and original ID proof, the candidates will not be allowed to sit at the examination.

Details mentioned on UPSC 2023 Admit Card

On the UPSC 2023 admit card, the relevant and requisite information will be mentioned on the UPSC 2023 admit card. The candidates need to check all the details printed on the UPSC IAS 2023 hall ticket. In case of any discrepancy on the hall ticket, the candidates should immediately contact the authorities to resolve it at hand. The details will be mentioned in the admit card are as follows –

  • Name of the candidate
  • Roll Number of the candidate
  • Gender
  • Category of the candidate
  • Date of birth
  • Exam date and timings
  • Exam Centre name
  • Exam centre address and other details
  • Photo of the candidate
  • Signature of the candidate
  • Exam day guidelines

How to Stay Calm in the UPSC Exam Hall?

Any examination hall is nerve-racking, especially for the ones who tend to be anxious. When it comes to the exam which is known as the ‘mother of all exams’ and labelled as one of the toughest, even the best ones can give-in to stress. Now that the UPSC Prelims 2020 is just round the corner, let’s gather some points that can help you stay calm in the examination hall and help you put in your best on the D-Day.

  • Reach the Examination Centre Before Time: Instead of just being punctual and in time, make an effort to reach before time. This helps you in getting accustomed to the environment and also in getting your documents ready.
  • Remember to Perceive the Exam Beyond Labels: There are a lot of monumental tags associated with the UPSC exam. However, you must perceive it as just another exam. This will help your brain think of it as an experience that it has already had before, and perceive the situation as one which is under control; this makes it much less stressful.
  • Avoid Getting Anxious by Seeing the Number of Candidates : A lot of people take the exam which gives it the glamour of being the toughest and most sought after. In reality, more than half of the ones present there are not even prepared; many take the exam just for the experience. If you have prepared, you have no reason to worry about others.
  • Focus on Your Paper: Avoid distracting yourself by checking how fast your peers are writing or how many extra sheets they are taking. Just be confident about yourself and give your best.
  • Remember to Take Everything You Need: It is advisable to carry the required stationery in sufficient numbers, just in case one goes missing or stops working. Pack your bag in advance and remember to get all the official documents you need. Recheck if you have gotten everything once before leaving for the examination centre.
  • Read the Questions Very Carefully : Once the exam starts, read through the questions very carefully. This will give you an idea about how to go about it and which sections to do first.
  • Plan Your Time: Divide your time between sections. Read the paper and decide which section to do first, keep the ones you think you’re unsure about for the end. Always plan your time in a way that you have some extra at the end for a revision.
  • Revise Your Paper: Before submitting your paper, carefully recheck your answers. If you have misread or left out any question, make the corrections without panicking, and then submit your paper.
  • Be Positive : Your approach to the exam matters a lot. You’ve worked hard, you’ve prepared well, now, just stay calm and be positive. It will help you take the exam in a more focused way without committing silly mistakes owing to panic or negative thinking.

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