Every year, approximately 8-10 lakh aspirants apply for UPSC Civil Services Prelims Examination. Out of this, nearly 11,000 aspirants qualify prelims to appear for the mains. Preliminary examinations are qualifying by quality, which means their ultimate rank is inferred largely by their achievement in the mains examination. Therefore, aspirants are instructed to mold their UPSC preparation around their IAS Mains exam. In this article, we will talk about how to prepare for UPSC/IAS Mains.

Approximately 2800 aspirants make it through the tough interview phase, including clearing the IAS Mains exam, and a sheer handful of about 1000 aspirants find themselves in the last merit list. Thus, it is critical to crack mains to qualify for the IAS Exam. To accomplish this massive goal, there are specific tips and tricks on how to prepare for UPSC/IAS Mains, one can follow to ensure they have the upper hand over most other aspirants. 

15 super tricks on how to prepare for UPSC/IAS Mains 

1. Have Standard Quotes Ready

Memorize quotes by significant personalities in the arena of science, art, culture, education, history, etc. This will not only largely help you in the Essay and Ethics Paper of the IAS Mains exam, but it will also enhance the general studies papers extensively. It makes a promising impression on the examiner as well.

2. Statistics And Definite Data Give Your Answer Gravity

Reasonable arguments are further enhanced by using data points and statistics from various reports published either by the government, international groups, or private organizations of good reputation. They strengthen your answers and tell the examiner that the statements presented are grounded in facts. 

3. Editorials Are The Entry Point To Well Argued Answers

Reading newspapers is crucial and is a part of the UPSC Syllabus. Regardless, even if you find yourself taking less time in reading all 25-30 pages of it and rather choose to read news overviews, it is advised that you do not skip reading editorials. By reading editorials, you understand how to write well-argued explanations founded on facts, data, and statistics. It also improves your grasp of a language and, overall, helps you enhance your writing skills.

4. Real-Life Instances, Trump Ones Read From Text Book

There are plenty of case studies in books that can be utilized for your ethics or essay papers in UPSC Civil Services. However, nothing trumps using instances from your personal life, illustrating your perspective. Examiners tend to deal with such examples as a part of your personality and award marks accordingly.

5. Short Crisp Answers with The Right Infographics Fetch You Marks

No matter how much information you have, you have to illustrate it within 150-250 words. This is achievable by using outlines, diagrams, and other infographics such as tables and graphs, to illustrate data and statistics. You can always submit the rest of your argument within the limit set by UPSC. This kind of demonstration also fetches you better results.

6. Writing Is Even More Essential 

Reading and revising are all good, but you must exercise answer writing as much as you can. Only when you write sufficient will you be able to form patterns for different types of questions asked, which will enable you to start jotting down in the IAS Mains exam instantly, without a second opinion. It will also give you sufficient information to keep improving.

7. Practice Essay Writing Separately

Essays are structured contrarily from your general studies and optional answers. The question paper has several requirements altogether. To understand that, it is crucial to practice writing at least 12-15 topics before your IAS Mains exam.

8. Time Yourself

And ultimately, constantly time your answers. Ideally, a ten mark answer should be anything between 150-180 words and be attained within 7-8 minutes. A 15 mark answer should be 200-250 words and be attained within 10-12 minutes. Until and unless you keep this speed, you will not be able to finish the whole paper in your UPSC IAS Exam. Accordingly, when practicing, time your explanations, and keep trying until you attain the set motive.

9. Additional Resources Don't Necessarily Translate Into More Marks

It might look like that studying from more resources will help you amass more information and provide you an advantage over the competition, but more often, that is not true. Most resources have the same data illustrated differently. Sticking to standard resources enables you to spend limited time taking in the limited amount of information, rewriting more, and taking off your time to pursue other viewpoints of the examination.

10. Bulky Books Don't Necessarily Give You The Best Information

Constantly look at the cost/benefit calculation before selecting to study from a resource. For example, going through the full Whole Year Book might be a better idea concerning how the country prospered; still, is it essential? When it comes to UPSC, there are a million good overviews available online for many such reports, which are more than enough for your needs.

11. It's a Competitive Exam And Not Your Chance at Grabbing Your Doctorate

Do not go into in-depth exploration mode about any topic in the syllabus. UPSC wants you to have a fundamental understanding of everything under the sun, and then some more, as per the UPSC syllabus. They do not expect specialists. The posts you are competing for are for generalists, and the UPSC IAS exam questions are set the exact way.

12. Do Not Go Down The Internet Rabbit Hole

The internet has so much data that once you start glancing, you'll get lost. Rather, if you want a better knowledge of a topic, or can't find enough information in books, simply Google "<topicname>+UPSC" and select the first one or two results. That would be more than adequate for the UPSC IAS Exam.

13. It's Not an Art Exam

Infographics are a tremendous way to make your answer stand out. But utilizing too much of it takes away from the significance of the content. Do not exaggerate it.

14. Just Because It Worked For Toppers Doesn't Mean It Will Work For You

Do not blindly follow a topper's technique. If it is not helping you, do not compel it. Instead, identify your technique by amending strategies used by other toppers. That is how they accomplished it too.

15. Do Not Ignore Regional Language Paper

The Regional Language Paper for the IAS Mains exam may be qualifying, but it is mandatory. Many aspirants do not give it the significance it deserves, and they end up not qualifying despite having great answers in the different papers. Do not avoid it.

By observing these easy tricks on how to prepare for UPSC/IAS Mains, anyone well-prepared should be able to accomplish their IAS dreams.

Also Read: How to become an IAS Officer in India