The Civil Services Exam organised by the Union Public Service Commission reflects a sense of pride and responsibility to the aspirants. It is considered one of the toughest examinations in India. The enormous syllabus and diversity of knowledge make it so. However, several coaching institutes have made it easier to crack even the toughest exam.
The favourable factors of serving as a civil servant have caused a rise in candidates appearing every year for this exam. However, not all students are privileged to take assistance from a coaching institute. So, the question of whether it is possible to clear UPSC without coaching hovers around the minds of many candidates, especially from the arts stream.
How can Arts Students Prepare for the UPSC Exam without any Coaching?
As mentioned, the UPSC is considered the most challenging exam mainly due to its diverse dynamics. The exam is conducted in 3 stages and covers a significant number of Arts and Humanities subjects. Here are some of the subjects offered in the arts stream:
#. Political Science
#. Economics
#. English
#. Psychology
#. Mathematics
#. History
#. Sociology
The Arts stream also opens up several options for higher education. However, for a UPSC Aspirant, studying these subjects from school days becomes an advantage as these are also the scoring subjects for UPSC mains.
You only need to revise them during exams for better retention. Several coaching institutes use the curriculum of arts stream to clear the basics of the concepts for UPSC Aspirants.
Steps To Crack UPSC Exam Without Any Coaching
Every exam has its own set of challenges. Proper guidance could be the key to crack UPSC for the competitive civil services job. Here are some tips to crack UPSC exam preparation without coaching:
Step 1: Analyze Previous Year Question Papers
For any exam, the previous years’ questions hold a significant value as they help understand the pattern and type of questions. Going through the last 5 to 7 years’ set of papers helps you to assess your knowledge. You must have done so in the lower classes as well. It helps you direct your focus on the relevant portions of the curriculum.
For instance, the knowledge that Sociology is a scoring subject may help you make a better choice while choosing optional subjects. Also, the habit helps you analyze the portions from subjects you should skip and focus more. Before initiating UPSC exam preparation, you should know what you can expect from the paper.
Step 2: Create a Study Schedule
The preparations of UPSC generally start with proper knowledge of the exam syllabus and the bifurcation. You should have thorough information about the whats and hows of the exam. The information is easily accessible on the official website of UPSC.
The next step is to create a study schedule involving necessary syllabus coverage for exam preparation. Try making a weekly or monthly schedule. Make sure you keep your goals achievable and realistic. Also, revision is the key for UPSC exam preparation.
By following these minute details, you can retain your concepts for longer periods. To clear your basics, create an achievable and active study schedule.
Step 3: Strengthen Your Basics
To crack competitive exams such as UPSC, a well-set preparation is key. To do so, you must clear your understanding of the basics. Several YouTube channels such as those of Mrunal Patel, Sleepyclasses, provide classes to clear your concepts.
You also need to scale up your knowledge to clear UPSC. There is a vast range of History syllabus, Political Science, World Geography and many more to start with. Strategize your subjects in a stepwise manner to cover the entire syllabus.
Step 4: Stay up-to-date with Current Affairs
A common subject for almost all competitive exams, especially UPSC, is the current affairs section. That is the reason why you should form a habit of reading newspapers. The investment done in books, magazines are always a good one as it allows you to expand your knowledge.
Further, as you study these current affairs from newspapers and articles, make sure you note down the relevant and must-remember pointers. There are some excellent newspapers such as The Hindu and The Economic Times that provide authentic news.
Step 5: Practice, Practice, and Practice
The more you study, the better you understand. Proper preparation ends with a day of practice and a good night’s sleep before the exam day. After clearing your understanding of concepts, you must prepare a robust revision schedule. During this phase, you must always keep up-to-date with the latest news and solve doubts during the memorization phase. You may also enrol in a test series that could help you assess your weak areas.
To crack UPSC, you should do a good practice of answer writing. Further, while preparing a revision schedule, make a proper strategy based on the dates of Prelims and Mains exams.
Conclusion
The UPSC exam preparation opens a vast number of options for civil services, and the job satisfaction of these services attracts many candidates every year. However, it also requires a lot of effort to crack. If you are from the humanities or arts stream, it is possible to crack UPSC without coaching art students. In fact, the arts stream gives an extra edge in terms of syllabus subjects.
A proper preparation strategy, sheer determination, and practice are all that it takes to crack the UPSC exam. UPSC Pathshala has been providing personalized coaching and has trained over 15,000+ satisfied students for UPSC Exam. We help the candidates identify the weak areas through regular assessment by our experts to track progress. Keep reading our blogs for more UPSC-related content.
Every candidate appearing for the UPSC exam want to succeed in it. This article ahs all the techniques unfolded for cracking the UPSC exam. Did you find all the ways to crack it ?