UPSC Civil Services Prelims Exam: Complete strategy to crack UPSC prelims exam

The Civil Services Examination, conducted by the UPSC, will be conducted in the first week of June. This is possibly the most essential period for applicants to shift their focus from learning to revising and reviewing. While hard work is essential for success in the examination, students must also have a solid strategy in place to solve the UPSC exam paper. Developing and sticking to an effective exam strategy is an important part of preparation and can help candidates manage stress levels.

This year, the UPSC CSE Prelims is being held on the 5th of June. Without the proper approach to grasping the subjects, the UPSC exam syllabus can appear quite large and unconquerable. Sarmad Mehraj, teacher and VP of UPSC, Byju's in a conversation with Republic World has illustrated the most effective strategies to keep in mind to successfully pass the UPSC CSE.

Strategies to crack UPSC Civil Services Prelims Exam

• Pick the easiest questions first

To begin, read a question twice before marking the answer on the OMR sheet. Focus on what the question demands: do you have to mark the correct statements or the incorrect ones. Both the statements given in the question may be correct, but if the question is asking one to mark the incorrect ones and one hasn't read the question carefully, you'll end up marking the wrong option and thereby negative marking kicks in.

• Finish the easy questions first

Finish the easy questions first so you can spend the balance of the time on the more difficult questions without worrying about missing the easy ones. However, after you've started with the tricky question, make sure you don't waste all of your remaining time trying to crack just one or two of the difficult questions.

• Solve UPSC mock tests

Solving UPSC mock tests and question papers from past years is a helpful technique for exam candidates to gauge their exam preparedness. Exam papers from previous years can also help students in identifying question patterns. Furthermore, knowing how long it takes to attempt the answers to all of the questions reduces the strain of a time limit while enhancing their understanding of the paper layout.

• Avoid mistakes in the OMR sheet

Certain simple mistakes that candidates make while filling out the OMR answer sheet can result in their papers being rejected by OMR software during evaluation. As a result, students must be absolutely certain of their answers before marking them. Once your sure of the answer immediately mark in the OMR sheet, else leaving it till the end might result in missing out on marking or marking incorrectly.

For example, if a candidate darkens the wrong bubble on sheets and then attempts to repair it by scratching it off and filling the correct bubble, the double marking is detected by the OMR sheet assessment program, which considers the entire response as invalid.

• Categorise the Question Paper

When presented with a question paper, divide it into three categories: easy questions, questions you're not sure about, and lastly questions about which you're absolutely clueless. Attempt the first part. Next, devote some time to the second section. If you think you've completed 65-70 questions, you can skip the 3rd category entirely. At this juncture, don’t worry too much about time. It is more than enough to complete 100 questions in 120 minutes for GS and 80 questions in 120 minutes for CSAT.

• Elimination process 

Further, by using the process of elimination, aspirants can arrive at the correct answer. Since the CSAT is a qualifying exam (which means a score of 66 out of 200 is required to pass), it would be beneficial for students to focus on their strong areas, such as English comprehension, maths, or mental ability.

• Solve less, but solve accurately

For CSAT instead of aiming for maximum marks, candidates must concentrate on the qualifying marks. To put it simply, if one can solve only 40 questions with accuracy they will qualify in the exam. This is due to the fact that if a question is left blank, (i.e. the candidate does not answer), there is no penalty. Hence, leaving a question unanswered in the paper is advisable when you have absolutely no idea about the answer.

These are a few effective strategies for candidates to use to solve the UPSC CSE 2022. In the run up to the exam, solve mock tests, attempt previous years’ papers, and make sure to study in accordance with the exam schedule. Make a plan, set goals, and stick to them.