How to prepare for Civil Services Exam

One important thing that candidates should keep in mind is that since the time between the Main Exam and the declaration of result of the Preliminary Exam is very less, it is advisable to begin preparations of the Main Exam along with the Preliminary Exam.

The General Studies paper covers the following areas:

General Science; Current events of national and international importance; History of India; World Geography; Indian Polity and Economy; Indian National Movement; General Mental Ability.

For this section, it is important to be updated in all fields. For History, Economy, Polity, etc, it is advisable to read Class 11 and 12 books published by the NCERT. Some books on the freedom struggle are published by the National Book Trust. For general knowledge and objective-type questions, refer to General Knowledge Refresher by O.P. Khanna. For General Mental Ability and current affairs, it is advisable to read The Competition Master regularly.

One question that is often asked by students is about the subjects that they should take up. Since some subjects are scoring, students wish to opt for them. But one thing that must be kept in mind is one's aptitude. If one has studied a subject since school and one is comfortable in it, chances of doing well in it are greater rather than taking up an unrelated subject which one may never have studied. Generally speaking, do not choose an entirely new subject in which you will have to work very hard. If the optional is prepared well for the preliminary and the same subject is also planned to be opted as one of the optionals, it is very useful and saves a lot of labour.

Once you have decided to appear in the Civil Services Exam, preparations should start early. A look at past papers helps get an idea about the kind of questions that are asked. Over the years, The Competition Master has published solved papers which can be referred to. It may be advisable to join a coaching institute so that one keeps in touch with other students and discuss issues with them. It is important, however, to select a good institute. However, one can be successful by self-study also.

Before initiating the preparations, a few things must be noted by the candidates. The choice of optional subject for Paper-II has to be done very carefully. The candidates must plan ahead of time with eyes on the main examination and choose the optional which he/she intends taking up in the Mains. The preparations done for the preliminaries would assist the candidates in getting good grasp of the subject and the effort put in would not go waste after the prelims. Secondly, optional subject carries more number of maximum marks as compared to the General Studies Paper. Hence, its importance cannot be undermined. A candidate doing well in the optional paper is expected to fare well in the examination. Moreover, the optional subject for Paper-II should usually be the subject in which the candidate has either attained proficiency/higher academic qualification or in which the candidate feels at home. Another consideration is the performance of candidates in the said subject in the recent past. There are several20subjects like History, Psychology, Sociology, Public Administration etc in which even the candidates not having special or additional educational qualifications have been doing reasonably well, while the subjects like Mathematics, Physics, and Engineering are considered to offer tougher questions and the candidates with exceptionally good preparation only may expect to do well. But this observation may not be taken as the universal truth. Moreover, the aptitude and proficiency of a particular candidate in a given subject also plays an important role in arriving at a decision.

Availability and access to good and prescribed books is yet another consideration and often the candidates are also guided by this factor, particularly in smaller towns. Books for preliminary examination are available in plenty in common subjects but in case of specialised optionals like Mathematics, Engineering, Agriculture etc, one has to look carefully for good books which cover all parts of the syllabus.

Preparations for Paper-II also need specific planning. It would be wrong to confine the studies only to the multiple choice objective type questions. Unless a detailed study of the subject is carried out, it would be difficult to answer the questions on the subject properly. The aim, must, therefore, be to clearly understand the basics of the subject by covering each and every aspect of the syllabus. This provides a candidate with adequate self-confidence and knowledge to answer the questions correctly. It is better to consult various books on different aspects, as it is very rare that one single book covers the entire syllabus with total efficiency. After going through all parts of the syllabus in detail and getting hold of the basic concepts, it is desirable to have sufficient practice in solving multiple choice objective type questions. A good book on objective type multiple choice questions or a good question bank on the subject concerned may assist the candidates a great deal. Such practice, on the one hand, would perfect the art of answering the questions correctly and rapidly, and on the other would enable the candidates in understanding the questions asked in various forms. It is normally observed that at times even simple questions are asked in such a complex manner that it becomes difficult to understand the question correctly.

It is not difficult to find out a candidate who had, during the past couple of years, appeared in the prelims with the same subject. It is always better to discuss the subject, its intricacies, pattern of questions and the books to be studied. In addition, it is also not difficult to identify the candidate offering the same optional subject for Paper-II within the same town/city. It is always fruitful to have detailed discussions on various parts of the syllabus, books to be consulted for the basics, multiple choice question books or question banks and other related issues. Finally, the practice of correctly marking the answer sheet by using minimum possible time will go a long way in helping you succeed

While the Optional (Paper-I) subject is very important, the candidates also need to do well in Paper-I. This paper has a maximum of 150 marks but in a competition like this where even a single mark matters a lot, these marks play a decisive role. Most candidates do well in Paper II since the subject chosen is of their interest and knowledge. As such the importance of Paper I is immense. Paper-I determines the top honours and a candidate doing well in this paper as well, can hope to find his/her name in the list of candidates qualifying for the main examination. As there is no choice of subject for Paper-I and all the candidates are required to solve the same questions, this paper assumes enormous importance as anyone spoiling this paper cannot have any chance of qualifying the examination.

General Studies paper consists of questions on Indian Polity and Economy, History of India including Indian National Movement, Indian and World Geography, Current Affairs of National and International Importance, General and day-to-day Science, Mental Ability and Basics of Statistics etc. Questions on planning, budgeting, developmental programmes, latest issues of political and constitutional importance, panchayati raj, electoral reforms, natural resources, culture, growth of nationalism, Committees, Commission etc can be expected almost every year. Emphasis normally are placed on the general aspects of the subject which every educated person aspiring to join the Civil Services as an officer, is expected to know.

The fact that this paper needs special and thorough preparations need not be over-emphasised. The aspiring candidates are expected to have keen interest in the General Studies and are supposed to have a good amount of interest in current affairs. All the preparation starting from a scratch cannot be completed in the short period of 4 to 5 months and the candidates must begin preparations early. Regular and detailed reading of a good national newspaper, a standard competition magazine and a basic book on general knowledge is the essential pre-requisite. Those readers who still have two to three years of time left for becoming eligible to go in for Civil Services Examination must begin preparations now. The candidates who do not have enough background in20the General Studies may have to put in harder effort to catch up with the others.

"General Knowledge Refresher" by O.P. Khanna and "The Competition Master" make a unique combination for this purpose. In addition, a good and basic book on Indian Constitution, latest plan document and budget/economic survey, basic books like NCERT books on Indian History and National Movement, World and Indian Geography and General Science are certain other books which can fruitfully supplement the efforts. A good backgrounder on major national and international events assists the fresh starters to understand the background of any social, economic or political event, enabling them to understand the details and developments in a better way. In addition, the candidates who have recently taken the examination may also be consulted.

The candidates must bear one thing in mind. Exhaustive study of each and every aspect of the General Studies is essential. It would be wrong to presume that any single book would suffice. Every book has its strong and weak parts. It is, therefore, left to the candidate to consult as many books as possible, so that every aspect is studied in the required detail. Another important point is efficient time planning. The time available with the candidates for preparations is limited and it has to be intelligently utilised. The candidates must not waste the time unnecessarily by going into lengthy details of one particular aspect, leaving other important aspects untouched. Moreover, it is better to draw up a formal time table so that no aspects of both the papers is left unprepared.

To conclude, proper selection of optional subject, availability and selection of proper books and magazines, meticulous time management, proper planning, hard work and will to succeed are some of the attributes which play vital role in making a candidate successful. One thing good about this examination is that the preparations made do not go waste and are properly utilised for the main examination. Hard work invariably is rewarded with the sweet taste of success.