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15 Steps To Clear UPSC Exam
15 Steps To Clear UPSC Exam
15 Steps To Clear UPSC Exam
● Special thanks to Divey Sethi (IRS, AIR 295) and Bhupesh Satija
● This guide was made to teach in a guided way so that you can clear
your UPSC exam with the least amount of time, effort, and money
preparation
Best thing you can do for yourself for your UPSC preparation is give time to
read this guide and then check at different steps to see if you are in the right
direction.
just preparing for UPSC, analyze accordingly how you would devote
time for studies and chart a plan. Today, with technology like the
deadlines, and you would work better and complete the syllabus
faster.
● Focus on Micro Planning: Planning is equally important as studying.
Plan how to study. Focus on micro-planning i.e. make daily plans, set
weekly targets, and make a broad vision for the entire month.
● Stay Motivated: Lastly, ask yourself why you want to be an IAS officer
because this will become the most important step by the time you reach
Step 14.
Akshat Jain (AIR 2, 2018) gave 2 prelims. While preparing for the first prelims
he had studied well but ended up just short of one mark from qualifying
prelims because of not having a strategy, and had to wait another year. He
was unable to crack how to attempt the paper but he was having knowledge.
two years and people took 5 years to clear the exam. But no matter what start
at least one year before you intend to take the Prelim exam
Even Anudeep Durishetty got AIR 1 after attempting UPSC exam for 5 years
● Syllabus will help you to choose relevant study materials, prioritize the
subjects, etc.
acquaint yourself with the exam syllabus, exam pattern, exam timeline,
Notification.
● Understanding dates, timelines, and the pattern is critical for you to plan
● Click here for the complete UPSC Syllabus for Prelims & Mains Exam
and get to know the detailed syllabus, pattern, and every other
information required for both UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains exam.
Step 2: Understand Previous Year Questions
(PYQs)
● Once you’re through the syllabus, pick up the previous year's papers
alone, this will help you understand what UPSC is asking and what is
the demand.
● PYQs are important. You should look for that source that gives
● Lastly, you can refer to them again as they are a good source of
Almost all the top rankers whom we spoke to spent over 2 weeks to just
analyse the syllabus and previous year question papers. But this helped them
● Cover your basic NCERTs first that will make a base. Reading
NCERTs will cover your base like history geography polity many
● You have to be thorough with your NCERTs and should not just read
them but should cover them in a good manner. The first thing you
● So, NCERTs are undoubtedly the best books to begin your IAS
subject
● History: Class 6 to class 12 NCERTs. You can find all of them here.
● Science and Tech: Class 6 to class 10 NCERTs are more than enough
for Science and Tech do not go for Class 11 and 12. You can find all of
them here.
● Must Read Old & New NCERTs: You can go through must-read old
and new NCERTs by referring to the course here and can get all the
most recommended old NCERT books like World history NCERT books
for ancient, medieval history & NCERT Fine Artbooks at one place.
● Do speed reading of NCERTs you can not rely only on them. Need to
explore other books too. Try relating NCERT books with other books
like M. Laxmikanth and other sources. Listen to the same things from
different sources.
Time Saving Tip: Read Summaries of NCERT (ideally after first reading). You
and content and idea on how the syllabus has been covered.
allows.
subject, then saw Past Years Papers of that subject, then took 2nd reading of
● So, at this time, you should also start reading the newspaper. You can
questions.
We also cover a summary of Weekly & Monthly which are very important for
revision and memorising from a UPSC perspective. You can find weekly
● Lastly, do make sure you attempt tests on the basis of current affairs
that'll make sure you are covering & learning relevant topics (you can
Since your ultimate aim when you are taking the IAS exam is to work for the
Indian government. Naturally, there are many government sources you can
Summary on EduRev.
source.
Other than government sources:
and Economic & Political Weekly magazines can save a lot of time
and effort.
You can go through the EduRev's Current Affairs Course which covers
Important Current affairs & Analysis of Hindu on a Daily basis. All the
exam-relevant news items are covered in a concise manner, you can find the
same here.
textbooks. Once you have read all the NCERTs, it’s time to expand your
But again, remember you must check PYQs first and then check these books.
In our analysis, we found the below common books that are recommended by
almost all the top rankers. To save your time, we have linked them to the
● Polity: Laxmikanth
● Geography: GC Leong, Atlas
● Read The Hindu daily and Explained page of Indian Express, and also
Since there are so many books to read, here is a fast method to save time:
Read Summaries of all these books quickly first or if you have read them
already, you can use the summaries for revision. We have linked each book to
its summary in the course Famous Books for UPSC Exam (Summary & Tests)
● Build basics and then add more in them with these book summaries
● Read the books at least twice and then make your handwritten notes
from every topic so we research how many questions come from each topic
and teach you in-depth accordingly. It is important to have the right approach
What Matters:
● For each subject, we have structured the learning material based on
Pattern analysis
Videos
● Related NCERTs, NCERT summaries & NCERT Tests for each topic
● Topic-wise tests for each and every topic have been covered so you
go through at least 5000 questions before your sit for the actual exam.
Refer to the subject wise sections below and get a complete idea of how
History:
● How to prepare for History here
Polity:
● How to prepare for Polity here
Geography:
● How to prepare for Geography here
here
months before and second reading atleast 5 months before the Prelims.
Always Prepare same set of notes for prelims and mains but when you are
preparing for prelims focus on that portion which is relevant for prelims.
● Keep everything you read like notes of a particular subject, you read
about that subject online, you get some other material of that.
● Keep everything in one folder of that subject. So that your time doesn’t
get wasted and during revision, you are able to get everything you have
EduRev notes are by default arranged in Courses (like folders) so you don't
● Revision and note-making are important and one should revise from
notes only. Don’t look for the book again and again
Other than being one of the greatest set of content, another advantage is that
you can access all through One App anywhere even when you are out of your
This is the wrong approach. Instead, practicing more and more tests as early
as possible will make you better. The syllabus never gets "completed", so you
1. Even when you are going through NCERTs, you need to give tests to
learn/retain them better. You can access tests for all NCERTs here.
2. When you are studying a subject topic-wise, giving tests at the same
point is equally important, else you cannot be sure if you have really
3. Also a very important factor and guiding light in your preparation is the
exam.
through the All India ranking you get in EduRev tests which is an
ranking (AIR) which is extremely helpful to understand where you stand in the
competition.
● Spot Patterns like the type of mistakes you are doing, whether you are
EduRev is the only source where you will get tests for each and every topic
(topic-wise), NCERTs, subject wise tests and even full mock tests/series. Find
Step 9: Revise
Since the UPSC syllabus is vast and diverse, covering multifarious subjects, it
is natural to forget things that you had studied earlier. To avoid this, timely
revision is a must.
● Ideally, finish your first reading at least 8 months before the Prelims
exam.
● Then try to quickly finish your second reading/revision 5 months before
the Prelims.
● During your 2nd reading, develop the habit of note-making. Make your
Concise the things so that you do not have to refer to many things later
● Not just Revision but re-revision is very very important. So plan to revise
periodically.
In our analysis with Toppers, they all concur that GS can be handled with
Also, here is a course that can help you revise for Prelims completely in 30
attempting mock test series and even practice yourself with as many tests as
possible.
It will give you an exam feel. Once you get acclimatised, it will reduce
exam-time stress.
● Try to join test series like the one at EduRev which you can give at any
time you want and not an external schedule so that you are able to
practice/attempt whenever you want. You can find the Mock Test Series
here.
Identify your own strategy for mock tests. Do you value accuracy or speed?
good marks by attempting just 75 questions. See and know what works for
you.
● Solving mock tests within the time limit is a must. Learn to finish in time
absolutely sure questions in the first attempt, then those in which you
have doubt, need to keep track of accuracy test series help in achieving
accuracy.
● Ideally, choose prelims test series from two sources, you can use one
like EduRev which gives you the freedom to attempt whenever you want
Shubham Aggarwal, AIR 25, 2019 joined test series and gave polity-based
test series only so that he can judge himself and his understandings.
Tests on CSAT
● CSAT is mostly ignored mostly but very critical. We have all seen many
stories where students got rejected because they were not able to
in time. If you are scoring greater than 80 marks then no need to prepare for
CSAT. But if you are scoring less than 80 marks practice CSAT questions
● Try to reach the end of the paper never get stuck on a question as easy
● For CSAT practice, there is a complete course for practice with tests.
Plus you can also use the Mock Test Series Course to practice for
● CSAT: Focus and work on your strengths some students have strong
English some have strong maths, since it is just a qualifying paper, you
need to just work smartly, no need to take extra coaching for the same
● But do not focus on CSAT in just the last month. Try to complete CSAT
analysis and see if you can patterns in the mistakes that you make.
● Work out ways to eliminate silly errors
● Brush up on the concepts of your weak areas that you may have missed
● It will not only help you in anxiety management during the actual exam
but will also prepare you extremely well for the exam!
Any new static knowledge gained add in your notes. And even for current
affairs maintain a separate diary and note down new things learn there.
(after checking the answer key and verifying your qualifying score)
● Even for Mains preparation, you should solve the previous year's
● Prelims is having two portions static and current affairs. Have a good
trusted. If you cover the syllabus of mains of static portion then you will
Expert Opinion: "EduRev's coverage for the static part is the most
comprehensive and well thought out curriculum available anywhere out there.
Following EduRev's content for static can give you an unfair advantage."
● History
● Geography
● Polity
● Economics
● International Relations
Use the same set of notes for prelims and mains but when you are preparing
for Mains focus on that portion which is matching the syllabus of Mains.
● Environment
● Disaster Management
writing.
● When you have made a base after reading NCERTs and started off with
weekends.
Sunday.
manner.
● Another thing to be kept in mind is the time and space constraints in the
writing practice.
Topper Tip: "Start an Essay with some story or anecdote or some data or
Committee reports, Niti Aayog, 3-year agendas, even all the other
government documents.
● Answer writing practice helps very much in the exam as in exam you
can identify the keywords and can write answers based on the
Hence, you should choose an optional subject wisely and after a thorough
think-through of the pros and cons of the subjects, you have in mind. Some of
Before Prelims, only if time permits, you may revise your optional subject.
officer, that is a very important question and if you have found a true honest
answer that will help you a lot with the interview. This method will keep you
● The first step for the interview starts with filling the Detailed
Application Form (DAF) for UPSC, make sure you fill it attentively.
these aspects.
expressiveness matter.
And if you have reached the interview stage and want to connect with the right
mentors, feel free to reach out to us at EduRev and we'll connect you with
exams
● Without self-belief, you can not perform well in this exam even if you
study a lot.
● Believe in yourself and be consistent.
● The journey is very difficult but if you have strong determination you
will clear the exam. But prepare yourself for failures, there will be
many. You just need to get up from each of them and walk towards
your goal.
UPSC journey is to stay positive. There are times when it can get
Preparation
Q.1. Is Coaching necessary? Or Can I prepare for UPSC at home with
Self Study?
Ans: Srushthi Deshmukh, AIR 5, UPSC 2018 says, "It is not necessary to
take any coaching or go to Delhi for coaching. Good coaching can give you
direction but you need to walk on the way yourself. So it’s important to get a
good direction from somewhere but it does not mean that you need to travel a
It will tell you what to study and what not to study but if you are confident you
can do without coaching too it’s up to you. This document/guide and even
other content/courses on EduRev on How to Prepare, does that job very well
as well.
Ans: Yes, 1 year is sufficient for IAS preparation if you prepare diligently. It is
hard but people have done that in the past. In general, most toppers (under
do is go through the syllabus and chart out a study plan for IAS. Starting early
has many advantages. You will have age on your side since the IAS age limit
will be far away. Also, being young and still a student, you would be in touch
with academics, giving you an extra edge. Also, being in college, you can
make use of your college library for preparation. And, make sure you take part
in college fests and events as this experience will help you develop a
well-rounded personality, and also make up for your lack of work experience in
Ans: If you are starting your preparation after 12th, you have the advantage of
choosing a subject for graduation that will suit your IAS preparation. You can
subjects that will help you cover the UPSC syllabus in a better way. This way,
you can easily combine your graduation studies and IAS preparation. Also,
you have enough time to hone your soft skills like communication skills and
also develop a good hobby – both of which would aid you in the interview
stage.
Ans: Many candidates have cleared the IAS exam preparing for it while they
were engineering students. Even though it can get hectic, it is not impossible.
With a full-fledged plan and the correct guidance, it is possible to crack the
Ans: Check UPSC Notifications page regularly. UPSC updates all the relevant
UPSC news and information you need to know. You need to fill in the forms as
& Monthly
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