Strategy to Crack UPSC Prelims

in One Month
The month leading to the UPSC Prelims can make anyone fall weak in the knees.
There is so much to revise, the entire UPSC Prelims Syllabus, Current Affairs,
monthly gists, economic survey, and budget, along with the India Year Book. One
should stick to their UPSC Preparation Strategy and revise the facts of information,
and concepts again and again, which can prove to be very vital during this time.
Don’t lose hope, and always remember that the ‘Best view comes after the hardest
climb’.

• As a serious aspirant, one must not lose focus during the final lap of the
UPSC 2022. A month before, never pick any new resource to read, whatever
was needed to prepare has already been done.
• Just revise and recall all the NCERT Books for UPSC, UPSC Books, notes,
facts, and information on a daily basis.
• Along with the timetable suggested below, practice 2 hours daily, the CSAT
Syllabus and Current Affairs.

Last One-month Strategy for UPSC Prelims

Follow the strategy given below the complete the entire UPSC Syllabus timely
before the UPSC 2022 Prelims.

Week 1: Cover History and Art & Culture

• Cover the entire NCERT Notes for History along with the notes from the
CCRT website and standard books.
• Divide the time slot accordingly to cover ancient, medieval, and modern
simultaneously.
• More weightage should be given to modern history as direct questions are
asked from this section over the past years.

Week 2: Cover Environment & Ecology with Geography

• Geography and Environment & Ecology are interrelated at various points
and topics. To cover both, always rely on Geography Books for UPSC along
with NCERTs.
 • Revise the NCERT notes and relate the with Current Affairs.
• Whenever revising, sit with a map and locate places in the news. It will help
in memorizing the places better and interrelating topics.
• After the NCERTs, refer to the standard books by GC Leong and Majid
Hussain and revise their notes.
• Ample time should be given to Indian geography and world geography as
many questions are asked from these two sections.

Week 3: Cover Polity

• Polity is an essential section of the UPSC Exam. A major portion of the
questions is directly or indirectly asked from this section. Students must
refer to the Polity Books for UPSC to cover this subject.
• To revise polity, consider only the NCERTs along with Indian Polity by M.
Laximanth. Revision of notes from these resources is essential, coupled with
a selective reading of cases from D.D. Basu’s Constitution of India.
• Seeing the past trends, try focussing on areas of Fundamental Rights,
DPSPs, Forms of Government, and Constitutional and Non-Constitutional
bodies.

Week 4: Cover Economy

• Direct concept-based questions are asked from Economy. An aspirant should
consolidate the Economic Survey and Union Budget in such a way that it's
handy for last-minute revision.
• Refer to the Economy Notes for UPSC for one-stop complete revision.
• It is seen that direct questions are asked from India Year Book, Economic
Survey, and Union Budget, so it should not miss.
• Chapters like Money and Banking, Fiscal and Monetary Policy, National
Income, International Trade, Public Finance, Inflation, etc. should not be left
for last-minute revision.
• Concepts like the GDP, WPI, CPI, Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, etc.
should be revised thoroughly. Along with this, Reports and Indices of
various national and international organizations should be memorized, along
with India’s ranking in the same.
• In the end, complement everything with Current Affairs.
Week 5: Cover Current Affairs
• Current Affairs is the backbone of the UPSC Exam. Indirect or indirect,
static or dynamic, anything can be asked from this section.
• To cover this section, along with the revision of subjects, dedicate an hour
daily to complete the monthly compilations of Current affairs.
• In the last week of revision, refer to the Current Affairs Videos on our
website for the complete revision part.
• Though anything under the sun is asked in Current Affairs, with patience
and a calm mind, options can be eliminated and the right answer can be
found in the trick questions.

Checklist for UPSC Prelims Preparation in 1 Month

• One month before the UPSC Prelims, revision of all NCERT books,
notes, and basic reference materials should be done. No new material
should be referred to at this time.
• Take mocks on a daily basis of the subjects you are revising, so that
you do not lose momentum. Practice the Previous Year Question
Papers. It is also important to give mocks and practice PYQs in exam-
like conditions and in a timely manner.
• Follow the daily routine, wake up early in the morning, take proper
periods of sleep and breaks, and sleep on time.
• If you score less in test series or mocks, do not lose hope. Try
correcting your mistakes instead and focus on revision.
• Go through previous years' questions papers.
• Get the print of the admit card, photocopy of ID proof, and passport
size photograph to the UPSC examination center.
• Have a balanced diet a day before the exam, and take a peaceful 8
hours of sleep.
• Be confident in what you have studied and you will definitely ace the
exam.