The exams are conducted in three stages. For IAS exams, Stage One is called the prelims and it is the screening phase for candidates.
Stage Two is known as the mains and this too is a written examination.
The final stage for all UPSC exams is the personal interview round. UPSC releases the cut-off after the exams are conducted and based on the cut-off marks candidates are selected to fill in the available vacancies.
So, which test series is best for UPSC? This is a question that frequently comes to the student’s mind. To choose the best test series for UPSC 2022, you should first plan an effective strategy for preparation.
Effective Strategy for UPSC Preparation
Every person has their own learning curve, and it is important to identify yours. The tips given below will help you in designing an effective strategy for preparation.
However, you need to fix your schedule according to your suitability and convenience. It will be less difficult to withstand the period of uncertainty of the preparation phase if you focus on learning and not just securing marks.
Some of the useful methods that you can incorporate in your strategy are as follows:
Prepare a Timetable
Save yourself the horror of last-minute preparation by deciding the timeframe for each subject’s way before the exam. Identify your areas of strength and weaknesses, and decide upon the time allocation accordingly.
Gain Knowledge on your Surroundings
The exams conducted by UPSC demand that you have a thorough knowledge of your country’s history and current developments.
Knowledge about the society, language, and culture of the country is also a crucial requirement to crack the exam.
Enhance your Communication Skills
Your confidence as reflected in your body language during the personal interview round will have a prominent role to play in the final selection.
The interview is an important part of the UPSC exam. Your precise and firm expression of thoughts will help in establishing effective communication with the interviewers, thereby fetching you some additional scores on this round.
Practice Question Papers
It is a common practice among students to refer to the previous year question papers to facilitate their preparation. And this practice is indeed a beneficial one for competitive exams such as the UPSC.
Multiple Revisions
Schedule your time in such a way that you have ample opportunities to go through the content’s multiple times before the exam. The more you revise; the higher will be your confidence on the topics.
In addition to these strategies, you may also need coaching classes for expert advice. And there are several of those in our country. All you need to do is pick one based on your convenience and success rate.
Also Read : What is a Mock Interview in UPSC? Why is it Important to Undergo a UPSC Mock Interview?
UPSC Pathshala
UPSC Pathshala is a platform that allows you to boost your preparation with expert advice. You can learn from the comfort of your home by accessing their online video lectures and practice papers.
As these are prepared by the best faculties of the country, you can expect an effective solution to your queries. The availability of personal mentors will ease your journey towards achieving the goal.
Practising with Test Series
An important component of the UPSC exam is the constant practice of the contents. Practising the UPSC test series is one of the most effective ways to practice your speed of writing answers.
You can glean sample questions from plenty of resources. There are standard textbooks that can serve your purpose.
Most of the books contain questions of the last five years. And that is the most commonly referred time period for knowing the pattern of questions in any exam.
Online Test Series for UPSC
In addition to the printed mode of sample questions, you can also avail online resources. A simple search over the internet will fetch you a number of options to choose from.
The resources cater to both mains and prelims. So, you can have a comprehensive source for preparation without juggling between websites.
The number of tests in each series can be anywhere between 20 and 100. The questions are based on the course syllabus, as well as the usual question pattern.
While you can prepare topics of history and geography with a thorough knowledge, questions of current affairs need to be practised more diligently. And this is where the test series can be beneficial for you.
The online mode will enable you to access and practice the questions without the hassle of carrying books. Features such as access period, number of questions available, and additional student support will vary across the coaching institutes.
Choosing the Best Test Series
It is not too difficult to crack UPSC exams if you have the right guidance. Students are flooded with coaching options that can be accessed both online and offline. However, picking the right one is crucial to getting the desired result.
There are certain factors that you must keep in mind when selecting the UPSC 2022 test series, one of which is the credibility of the faculties. Candidates who have appeared for the exam might have experience with the question pattern.
But that does not necessarily represent their expertise in answering the questions. You should, therefore, prefer authors who have years of experience as teaching staff, or authors who have successfully cleared the exam.
Many of the UPSC toppers have shared their notes and references to help aspirants succeed in the exam. You can search for those materials to enrich your exam preparation with the benefits of experience.
The course syllabus for prelims requires practice on questions of general ability and aptitude. So, the Prelims test series must contain ample questions directed to these topics.
Similarly, a good mains test series will provide candidates with exposure to diverse questions on the topics.
UPSC Preparation Tips
The UPSC revised calendar 2022 was just issued by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The UPSC 2022 will be held on June 5, 2022, according to the amended calendar. This gives the applicants around five months to prepare. In this essay, we will discuss the technique you should take in order to pass the UPSC IAS test in 2022.
Tip 1
Finish your optional paper. Revise it if you’ve already finished it. Write your responses, then assess them and rewrite them. Note that you will take your optional in June or July following this month. As a result, you must be well prepared to cope with your optional exam.
Tip 2
Finish your 2 GS papers (GS Paper 1 and GS Paper 4). We have purposefully combined these two papers because it is possible that you will take more than 15 days to finish your GS Paper 1. In this situation, you’ll need a cushion to absorb the stress of Paper 1, which GS Paper 4 will give in this instance.
Tip 3
Complete your remaining two GS papers, GS Papers 2 and 3. We have grouped these two GS articles together since they are both dynamic in nature. In both of these papers, you must have a strong command of current events in addition to a fundamental comprehension of static issues.
Tip 4
You should be dedicated to solving practice tests, analysing blunders, and revising numerous times to ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes again.
Tip 5
Concentrate less on the practice tests and more on revising your notes. Your first objective should be to not leave any notes. It may sound stupid, but candidates work hard in the last days of preparation to even review their overall notes. Make sure you have a firm grasp on your notes so that you can speak confidently about the topics you’ve studied. Write essays every 15 days for five months, and you’ll have ten good essays. This will enhance your confidence and assist you in excelling in UPSC CSE 2022.
Conclusion
Considering the difficulty level of the UPSC exam, you should prefer a test series that has questions that have moderate to high levels of difficulty. Another important factor to look for is definitely the total number of questions that the series will provide you with.
Thus, succeeding in the UPSC exam demands correct guidance and direction. While hard work is indispensable, an effective strategy is required to find fruitful results.
By practising with the UPSC test series you can ensure that your goal does not seem to be a distant dream. With a personal mentor to prepare you for UPSC, sounds like a blessing in disguise.
UPSC Pathshala’s personal mentors are exceptionally learned and help to improve in weak areas. They have trained over 15000 candidates who have got selected.
Also Read : Interview Marks in UPSC: Significance of the UPSC Interviews, the Highest & the Lowest Marks
