How to prepare for UPSC exams
The Union Public Service Commission conducts the Civil Services Examination and many other exams (CAPF, CDS, NDA, ESE, CMS, EPFO and direct recruitment). The civil services exam is the longest: prelims, mains and interview over about a year.
Civil Services stages
- Prelims: General Studies Paper I (100 questions, 200 marks) and CSAT Paper II (80 questions, 200 marks, qualifying at 33%). One-third negative marking.
- Mains: nine descriptive papers (two qualifying language papers, essay, four General Studies papers and two optional papers).
- Personality test (interview).
How to prepare
- Start with NCERT books from class 6–12 for history, geography, polity, economy and science.
- Read one national newspaper daily and make short notes linked to the syllabus.
- Solve the last ten years of prelims papers; UPSC tests concepts more than facts.
- Write answers from the start of mains preparation; structure and time management count as much as content.
A simple 12-week plan
- Weeks 1–2: read the official syllabus and solve one previous year paper without preparation, to see where you stand.
- Weeks 3–8: one subject block a day (for example Maths and Reasoning on alternate days), plus 30 minutes of current affairs and 30 minutes of revision of the previous day.
- Weeks 9–10: one full mock test every second day. After each mock, spend as long reviewing the mistakes as you spent taking the test.
- Weeks 11–12: a full mock every day in the same time slot as the real exam, and revise only your own short notes.
Common mistakes
- Guessing blindly where there is negative marking. Attempt a question only when you can rule out at least two options.
- Collecting many books instead of finishing one. One standard book per subject plus previous papers is enough.
- Skipping the official notification. Age, qualification and the exact pattern are printed there, and they change between years.
- Leaving the photo, signature and documents for the last day. Keep them ready in the sizes the form asks for.
Next steps
- Confirm the exact pattern in the official notification of your exam: it can change from one year to the next.
- Practise with previous year papers and keep your photo, signature and documents ready in the sizes forms ask for.
- Other guides: SSC exams, Railway exams, Bank exams, Police exams, Teaching exams, State PSC exams, Defence exams, Government job exams.