How to Prepare for Civil Services

Civil Service is a branch of governmental service where people are employed only on the basis of their professional merit, proved by a competitive examination. Civil Service Examination is held annually in India by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruiting people to the Civil Services of the Government of India.

 

Preparation Tips for Civil Services Exam

Tip #1
There is no one particular defined way of studying. But one can always make their studies effective by following a schedule which suits their brain type rather than following stereotypical ways.

Tip #2
Such type of examinations where the clearing expectancy is very low stress is likely to come. Despite of such facts, candidates should keep their mind calm and stress-free so that they are able to give their 100% to the preparation.

Tip #3
The Civil Service Examination is a two phase exam for which a lot of theoretical subjects have to be studied. So making notes proves to a good idea. One can makes notes side by side with studying or after the topic is finished. The former method helps to revise the important points later from the condensed notes easily and the latter helps in memorizing what is studied, by writing it down..

Tip #4
The two phases of the examination consists of the two papers in the prelims and nine papers in the mains followed by a personality test (interview). Candidates must choose their subjects carefully only after taking an overview of the syllabus which they can study with full concentration.

Tip #5
General knowledge and awareness is a must for the Civil Services examination so the students planning to appear for it should strictly follow one national newspaper and magazine to keep them updated with the happening in and around the world.

Tip #6
Since there is a lot to study and remember and it is proved that the memory is most active at the beginning and end of studying sessions than in the middle, one should take short breaks in order to memorize more..

Tip #7
It is advisable to try and finish the course a month before the exams so that there is sufficient time to revise. Since the course is vast revision is very important but it should be free from any panic.

Tip #8
Once the syllabus is completed the sample papers should be practiced that too a lot. Practicing sample papers gives you an idea of your accuracy level along with your speed.

Tip #9
Not to forget, time management is one technique which needs to be mastered by the CSE aspirant. The candidate should manage time in a way that all questions are attempted with maximum accuracy rate which can only be done by practicing a lot of mock papers.

Tip #10
Though one has to study really hard, one must not forget the importance of a good attentive impressive personality which helps the candidate in the interview.

How to Prepare for IAS Exams

IAS which translates to The Indian Administrative Service is a career that cannot be compared to other jobs or services. The post of an IAS officer is an honor in itself, and hence it is coveted by many. So, these are a few tips that might help a person in clearing IAS examinations:

Exam Preparation Tips for IAS

Do it smartly

Most of us believe that in order to become an IAS officer, it's important to work hard. We believe that we need to study 10 hours or more, every day. But for desired results, all that a person needs to do is to walk the smart way which could mean reading selectively but reading well, reading many books selectively, mixing books and notes, making short notes, learning time management, taking mock tests and etc.

Start early

After deciding to appear in the exam, preparations for the same should start early. In order to get an idea about the type of questions being asked, solved papers of past years should be referred to. It is also necessary to be updated in all fields, for instance History, Economy, Polity, etc and getting the best books for the same.

Routine work

A person needs to develop some kind of routine, which would help him to focus for long hours and cover the entire syllabus within the time available. A routine chart also helps in developing a concentrated approach for Mains as well as in preparing for most scoring parts of IAS Prelims syllabus early.

One at a time

With many subjects to get prepared for, students often commit the mistake of trying to prepare all at once. What they actually need to do is stop this multi-tasking and pick one subject at a time. Multi-tasking might lead to confusion, loss of concentration and lower output. It is also important to not to refer to more books than are absolutely required.

Unit test

Remember the school days when the teacher used to have unit tests in every 15 days in order to prepare us for the final exams? We need to evaluate ourselves in the same way, by taking our own mock tests after completing a particular section in a topic; in order to prepare ourselves for the final battle.

Score it up

As mentioned above, smart work is much needed than hard wok to ace the exams. In IAS Prelims, some sections are easier to score off than others and students should always aim to cover these sections first. For example, Maps is one of the topics that can fetch good marks with less effort.

Short notes

Making short notes has always been a smart way to study and has always helped in revising quickly. These notes can be in the form of flash cards or micro notes on subjects like current affairs, GK, as well as other GS and optional topics.

Read, Read & Read

The more a student reads for his IAS, the more it will be beneficial for him. Reading a lot is the key to score. The students should make it a habit of reading newspapers, the latest economic survey, all NCERT text books and good supplementary books for IAS available.

The right guidance

In order to save valuable time and attempts, students should seek quality guidance from the best coaching institute available. These institutes provide coaching in all subjects of the IAS exam. To know which books to read, coaching to join and what strategy to adopt for IAS preparation, IAS toppers, fellow aspirants and those who have reached the interview stage should be approached to.

Get, set, go

Lastly, the student should always believe in himself, be confident enough and try to pray and meditate in order to seek blessings from the almighty. He should have fun while preparing for IAS and hope for results to be fruitful.