[Essay Tip for Newcomers] What to write & What not to write in Mains IAS exam?

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Think for Thirty Minutes

What *NOT* to write in an Essay?

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Provokative Essays

4.

Dont get Personal (Cong.vs BJP)

5.

Quoting the Famous Quotes

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7.

Padding with Fodder Material

Suggested Reading

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Reading Books as a Hobby

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Related articles

This is what I learned from my seniors and toppers.

There are plenty of articles on internet on how to prepare the essay (=read editorials daily etc.) Im
writing one about how to actually write it inside the exam hall.
In the Essay paper, they give you 4-5 essays and youve to write only one.
Time limit -3 hours,

Max-marks=200. (Now 250)

In a 2 marker question, UPSC specifically mentions that answer it in 20 words. So with that logic,
youre expected to write an essay containing around 2000 words for the 200 marks (18-20 pgs).

Tip#1: Think for 30-45 minutes

before you start the Essay writing
Take this example.
They asked an essay on Gandhi, I start writing it. I write something like
Gandhi was born in Porbandar & then He went to Englandafrica..come backfreedom
struggle..Gandhi-Irwin..2nd round table.partitionetc.
After 1 hour of writing, I realize that I forgot mention about Champarans Indigo Struggle when
Gandhi got actively involved in Indian Freedom struggle for the first time! Now I cant add it.
Because there is no space in initial pages. However I can still try to add it in the conclusion like
in 1947 Gandhi won the fight he started with Champaran

But when Examiner doesnt find the mention of Champaran in the initial pages, then he gets an
impression you forgot it = less marks. Hence everything has to be written in its place.
Thats why you must..

Think for 30-45 minutes before you start the Essay writing

Youve 3 hours to write the essay. Dont immediately start

1st try to recall everything that you can remember / want to say about the
essay.
Take a pencil and write them all (in very brief) on the end of the answer
sheet
See if there is any chance of adding some diagram or table in it?

Do you remember any?

1. any famous quotes?
2. Current events
3. People
4. Historical events
5. Laws / Administrative polices related to it

*Related to that topic, What are the

1. Positive
2. Negative sides
3. obstacles
4. Reforms you suggest?

Once youre done adding everything that you can think about, regarding the essay- then give those
topics, order of preference. 1.2.3.4.
The order is very important, just like in wedding parties you start with Soupdal-roti andIce
cream in the end.
The order should be :-

1. Introduction
2. Background / History related
3. Main concept / theory / what the subject is about
4. Current scenario related to it.
5. Good sides
6. Negative sides / obstacles
7. Suggested reforms
8. Conclusion

Everything has to be written in its place.

Gandhis Champaran must come in the beginning not in the end.

Now SOME DONTs

Tip#2:What not to write in an essay

1. Autocracy is better than democracy. (know that its the democracy thats allowing you to criticize
it) so you should never justify certain solution to Indias problems.
2. Excessive criticism of Govt. / administration (I mean the frontline and The Hindus stand)
3. Seeing negative sides without suggesting reforms in it.

Tip#3: Provocative Essays

Sometimes the essay topics are given in such a way, that you want to agree all the way. e.g.
1. Panchayati raj is wastage of tax payers money. (yes it seems so, just like NREGA but when
youre writing an Essay you need to maintain some balance)
2. Poor people are their own enemies.
In such cases just because he gave you statement doesnt mean youve to sing in his tune
throughout the paper.DO NOT forget to show the other side of the mirror.

Its easier to criticize non- working things than to fix it. (Remember
this all time during essay.)
Dont give filmy solutions to real life problems. (Munna Bhai MBBS / Slum Dog Millionaire.)

Tip#4: Do not get personal

Dont go naming individual politicians their achievement / scandals (Kalmadi, Raja,Amar

Singh etc.), (except in the foreign policy related essay, where youve to analyse from entire
Nehrus Panchsheel era to Vajpayees Lahore Bus visit and current affairs.) our Foreign
policy has changed with every prime minister so their names need to be mentioned.
Never write essay talking like Congress did this and BJP did that. Its the trait of a
common man, not of a future officer.

Give a balanced answer without getting into hero-worship or mud slinging

If criticizing Government in the essay alone was going to make you IAS officer, then every
journalist of Aaj Tak would be an IAS officer.

An officers trait is to remain anonymous, faceless and

meaning your essay should look like it has been written by a graduate.

neutral-

Same applies for

1. Religion / culture/ language-literature (in philosophical essays)
2. States (in polity / federalism / Development)
Im not saying you should transform into a sterile person writing the essay without having any
personal view/ opinion or righteous anger but, you mustnt become too much passionate about
certain things.
Im saying all this because you can never be sure about what will be the political / ideological /

religious / regional alignment of the examiner.

This suggestion also applies while dealing with Public Administration (optional subject).

Tip#5: Quotes
1. Dont make mistakes in writing who said what. e.g. you quote Abraham Lincons sentence and
write George Washington said it. Nothing will make you look more stupid in the eyes of the
examiner than that.
2. Quote exactly as it was said. Mao said Power flows from the barrel of a gun so you should not
write it as
barrel of the gun contains power
or
muzzle of the gun flows the power
You must quote

the quote verbatim. If youre not sure then dont quote it.

Tip#6: Padding & Deviating from the subject

Even in the worst case, youre supposed to write 1200-1500 words for a 200 marks essay.
Padding means, you dont know the exact answer so you just beat around the bushes and write the
garbage stuff to fill up the pages, while this tactic does work in the school and college exams but
dont try it in the essay paper.
Dont write too many proverbs / quotes/ (invented) case studies/examples per page. It makes the
examiner think that youve no input of your own so youre just filling up the pages.

Do not pick up the subject where your idea or thought content

is very low.

Ex. you picked up Do we need nuclear power So you start with how thermal powerstations create pollution, there is huge demand and low supply of electricity, nuke power is
cheap, and then the dangers such as Japanese Tsunami etc.
After 4 pages, your thoughts and ideas are exhausted-youve nothing more to say and
assuming that you write 100 words per page, you realise that only 400 words wont get you
any marks ! Now you cant scratch those pages and write a new essay on new topic, youve
wasted enough time on this one.

So you decide to continue with this nuke-power essay and start rewriting the same stuff you
already stated in different ways and then youll deviate from the main topic- like nuke
power is unsafe as we saw in Japan, so we need to switch to renewable energy source like
Sun, Wind and Water -> then 4 pages on advantages of renewable energy as if this is an
essay on the benefits of Non-renewable energy and not on nuke power, you write about
the pro-cons of hydro-electricity like dams and displacement of people.

Then you realise OMG, displacement of people also applies while making nuke-power
plants like in Maharashtra! so you come back to the topic -half page written but still
youve not filled up enough pages so you start talking about to land-acquisition policy and
start writing the pro-cons.. Another half page on it. Then you think oh i must talk
something about the Indo-US nuke deal so you go on talking about how we havent
signed the CTBT and yet N.S.G gave us clearance and China-Pakistan couldnt stop it so we

are a global power now and we deserve a permanent seat in UNSC! This kind of padding
goes on until time is up.

Youve messed up the whole thing; you totally deviated from the subject. Your essay doesnt
have any flow of thoughts or proper rhythm. The seasoned examiners immediately sniff out
this padding and they dont give much mark for it, your expected score for this kind of
garbage writing is less than 50/200, means even with decent score in all other papers, your
chances of getting interview call is close to zero.

Youve jeopardised your chances of selection in IAS, youve dug your own grave. Thats why

2.

Take great care in picking up the subject

First 30-40 minutes for thorough thinking.

3.

Stick to the subject

1.

Same applies while dealing with the big 60 marker question in GS and optional papers. (Not 30
minutes of thinking but at least 5-7 minutes!)

Suggested Reading
Essay is not something that can be learned reading one book or reading for 1 month.
Its a continuous and long process takes some diverse reading before youve enough content to
write something decent and something big enough to fill 20 pages to fetch 100+ marks.
1. Editorials of English newspapers ( but dont get swayed about by either leftist
or capitalist stuff preached by both sides)
2. Magazines like Frontline, Yojana, Kurukshetra. (it gives you the fodder material: statistical
data to quote like how many % illiterate and so on but again dont use too much statistical
data for padding and most importantly dont invent your own case studies and
stat.data)
3. Watch English news channel discussions / debates.
4. See the old question papers and try to make an outline of each and every Essay asked
so far.

Reading Books as a Hobby

To increase your idea and fodder-material for brain storming, you can read some books outside
studies, related to Indian culture, democracy and Development, just for time-pass for example

Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani

India 2020: A Vision For The New Millennium by Dr. Kalam

India After Gandhi: The History Of The Worlds Largest Democracy by Ramchandra Guha

The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru

Me and my ruined essay

In 2009s mains attempt, I got only 20/200 marks in the Essay. It was about are we a soft state?. I
wrote it only from the foreign policy and law-n-order point of view, without seeing the cultural
-historical contexts. It was a

monotonous essay without any spark. Moral of

the story: do

try to see different angles of the subject and give a thorough

thought before you start writing.
Some veterans are in opinion that you should pick up the essay on technical subject, example spacetechnology, advances in medical science, how IT has changed lives and so on. Because only a few
people attempt them, and due to technical nature, your ideas are unlikely to be in conflict with the
examiner so youll get more marks.
But then again you need enough content to write 1500+ words else the padding route=digging
your own grave. And there are enough toppers who wrote the non-technical essay and still got in
the top-merit list so as usual for every generalisation made about UPSC, youll find a counter
example!

Predicting Essays for 2011 Mains paper

As usual coaching classes try to anticipate which essays will be asked, and UPSC makes
sure they are not asked. So be prepared for
everything- dont just rely on selected hot-topics like Lokpal and Civil society.

In old times, it was quite predictable, see the papers from 1997 to 2006: almost every year
there is an essay on polity-judiciary, one on women

empowerment, one on Science-tech, one on democracy and governance. But nowadays

UPSC is rapidly breaking the trends.

Lets look @ the 2010 paper. People predicted: there will be some essay on games, due to
CWG or Asiad or even on corruption and good Governance given CWG and 2G scams. But
there was nothing.

Im putting the comparative list of essays asked in last two years (2009 and 2010). Make
your own judgement and prediction and prepare accordingly.

Vulnerable groups of society (India vs. Bharat Debate)

Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country? (2010)
(can be classified as current affairs due to Mines regulation bill)
Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death? (2009)

From traditional Indian philanthropy to the Gates-Buffet model-a natural progression or a

paradigm shift?-2010

The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the haves of our society2009

International relations

Preparedness of our society for Indias global leadership role. 2010

Are we a soft state? 2009

Good Fences make good neighbors. 2009

One more bad news: in 1997 to 2006 era, UPSC gave 6 subjects and you had to write one essay, in
2009: five options and in 2010 : only 4 options.