How I cracked Civil Service Exam?

Every civil servant selected through Union Public Service Commission feels extremely proud as it’s a profession where one receives the appointment order from “The President of India” by virtue of being a “permanent executive”. As a civil servant for more than a decade, it had been in my mind for putting down a set of instructions which will be an aid for an aspirant preparing for civil service exams conducted by Union Public Service Commission in India.

People who have succeeded the exams have not prepared meticulously “What was needed for exam” but they knew “What was actually not needed for the exams”. Any success is more to do with knowing “what not to do” as this factor consumes maximum energy while achieving any goal. Every aspirant due to their individual background develop their own understanding about how to write an exam without actually knowing it what is really required? I call every act which is not needed as demons. So let us know what is needed and what is not needed.

Cracking the exam has always been an envious task because huge number of students aspires for few seats available in civil services. In this scenario of tight rope walk, the secret to succeed is to look into some innocuous looking fundamentals which many aspirants take it for granted which becomes the deciding fator. After grazing through all aspects I feel the following are the basic guidelines which if one adheres to while preparing the exams and these are:

1.       Scheme of Exam: In the present scheme of examination  one has to pass

a.       Preliminary Exam: It is an objective type exam with MCQ’s (multiple choice questions). The syllabus is almost skin to 10^th class CBSE standard . The Examination shall comprise two compulsory papers of 200 marks each.

a. Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions). 

b.The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English. However, questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level will be tested through passages from English Language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.

c. Details of the syllabi are indicated in Part A of Section III.

d.Each paper will be of two hours duration. Blind candidates will however; be allowed an extra time of twenty minutes at each paper.

b.      Main Examination:The written examination will consist of the following papers:

a.       Qualifying Papers:

                                                              I.            Paper‐ A (One of the Indian Language to be selected by the candidate from the Languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution). 300 Marks

                                        II.        Paper‐ B English 300 Marks

b.         Papers to be counted for merit

                                                              I.            Paper-I

a.       Section 1 Essay 250 Marks

                                                            II.            Paper-II

a.       General Studies–I 250Marks (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World  and Society)

                                                          III.            Paper-III

a.       General Studies –II 250 Marks (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and  International relations)

                                                          IV.            Paper-IV

a.       General Studies –III 250 Marks (Technology, Economic Development,  Bio-diversity, Environment, Security  and Disaster Management)

                                                            V.            Paper-V

a.       General Studies –IV 250 Marks  (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)

                                                          VI.            Paper-VI

a.       Optional Subject – Paper 1 250 Marks

                                                        VII.            Paper-VII

a.       Optional Subject – Paper 2 250 Marks

                                                      VIII.            Sub Total (Written test) 1750 Marks

c.       Personality Test through an Interview - 275 Marks.

a. Grand Total 2025 Marks

2.      Selection of an optional: While selecting an optional, one has to have pipeline thinking. It is naive to feel that some optional gives more marks than other optional. I repeat it is naive and foolish belief that some optional gives more marks than other optional. Small looking syllabus is not easy to score nor is long looking syllabus difficult to score. Many aspirants without ever knowing the truth get trapped under fallacy that “these days certain subject has become scoring”. While choosing an optional one has to be aware of following things:

a.      Availability of Civil Service Material for an optional.

b.      Availability of a teacher with Civil Service orientation to monitor and give constant feedback.

Choosing an optional must be individual’s choice than parental or peer pressure. It is very important to select an optional which a person is very comfortable with. It must be done after carefully reading all the optional available as a choice. I personally recommend every aspirant to take at least a week time to decide firmly which subject one is going to relentlessly work with. When an aspirant fails to not score good marks in optional and then revisits for choosing a different optional, then a person would lose considerable amount of valuable time and confidence which will put them out from race.

3.      Gathering of material: Before starting to prepare for the exams it is necessary to arrange all the materials needed for preparation. The position of each aspirant must be such that at any given point of time one should not feel to acquire material by going outside once the preparation has started.

4.       Preparation of Desk: The preparation of desk may look innocuous but it is the most important task for the preparation of exam. It exactly gives the same position to a civil service aspirant just like what gives a soldier to be fully prepared for a war.  The desk is the sole companion of every civil service aspirant who starts the journey and achieves the salvation thereafter. Therefore, it has the aura which is akin to any place of worship.

a.                An independent room without a roommate or a home with a separate room.

b.               Study table with chair: A comfortable study table with sufficient number of bins is needed with a comfortable chair.

c.                A table clock: Maintaining a schedule and sticking on to a schedule brings in discipline.

d.               Pen stand, Pens (blue, black, green and red), pen-pencil, pencils, eraser and sharpener, sketch pens, marker/highlighter, paper cutter, ruler etc.

e.               Ream of A4 size paper, Gum, Stapler, staples, Writing board, Long note books

f.                 Tea/coffee dispenser, Namkeens, Bread/Biscuit box, a chocolate box. Tea set. : Proper refreshment activates the mind and keeps one more focussed and relaxed. Proper diet is fine but heavy diet will make one drowsy.

g.               Earthen pot filled with water: Drinking water at regular intervals rejuvenates the body and mind

h.               Rack: Placing all the material will enable an aspirant to organise themselves by knowing the location of every material.

i.                 Writing board and Pin/White board: Writing board can be used regularly for writing the notes and article. The writing board enables a person to sit for long hours as every person can write and read without bending forward. Pin/White board will help in tagging important points so that one can memorise the bullet point whenever they stand in relaxed mode. It will also help in pasting the schedule/syllabus set as the target.

5.      Knowing your syllabus: Knowing the syllabus and having it always around will always keep an aspirant focus in alignment. After a copy of syllabus is procured the same has to be pasted on hard bound card board. This will enable the syllabus to be always handy for the purpose of cross checking with each day’s preparation. Highlight the area of the syllabus with a highlighter marker pen, which would indicate that you have finished your own notes with respect to the topic.

6.      Preparation for General Studies:

a.               A standard general studies guide: I preferred Spectrum published material over others as the printing is in broad font. Eyes are the first faculty which gets tired and acquires boredom as every aspirant has to work for very long hours. Since we need to work with the material for very long then it becomes necessary to pick up the material which is more compatible to eyes. The huge size of the general studies book sub-consciously acts on mind, so after procuring the material, the first things to do is just tearing the books as per its subject and get it bounded.

b.               Pocket Radio:  To hear daily news and spotlight between 9-00 PM to 9-30 PM.

c.                The Hindu: A Standard News Paper

d.               Civil Service Chronicle: A standard magazine.

e.               India Year Book: Published by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

f.                 Manorama Year Book or any other Year Book

g.               Bare Act

h.               Question banks

i.                 Walls with nice posters instilling confidence – I had written on my wall the following three things:

                                                                                I.            I am a Civil Servant from 1999 Batch

                                                                              II.            Loose everything except confidence

                                                                            III.            It is a DO or DIE situation and I know I can’t DIE. I must DO.

7.       Preparation for Optional: Generally several books written by lead authors have been prescribed for each subject. But my experience shows that any standard material is sufficient as the content does not change whether you read one book or ten books. “It is better to read one book ten times than ten books one time.” I have relied on the material prepared by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). The material is very reliable as it has been compiled by the best team from the respective discipline in India and the world.

8.       Preparation of Essay: Writing an essay is an art. It is a test of your creativity, balance, and the hidden wisdom. It subtly brings out your true personality and the hidden vibration of your real self. Preparation of a skeletal thought framework prior to writing an essay will enable one to attempt all the angles which need to be addressed in the topic. This attempt would give a direction and focus while writing an essay to the aspirant.  Any essay at the end must always align to the topic of the essay and never go against it.

9.       Preparation for language: All the efforts of Civil service exams turns futile if one cannot pass the language one has chosen. In the Mains Examination the papers get evaluated only when one clears the language with passing marks. So it is very necessary to pass the language paper though it doesn’t carry any marks for ranking purpose.

10.  Writing skills: Civil Service exams is only about three things; writing, writing and writing. The less said than done as the above line shows that this exam is only about writing and nothing else. Preparation of a skeletal thought framework prior to a detailed answer will enable one to attempt all the angles which need to be addressed in the topic. This attempt would give the right direction and focus in any answer. Writing with brevity and positioning oneself within the zone of time required for each subject while exam is the greatest test for any aspirant for writing an exam. Writing is the only aspect for passing this wonderful exam.

11.  Physical Exercise, Yoga or worship: Daily half an hour of walking coupled with fifteen minutes just spent in silence is sufficient for gaining physical and mental strength to stand up to any stress which may result during the exams.

FAQ’s (frequently asked questions)

Q.1      Is there a need to daily study for more than 15 hours a day. Is it true?

Ans:     Preparation for civil service exam is not merely reading but retaining what has been studied. Therefore, it is generally not possible to study continuously for more than two to three hours a day. What is included in study is long hours of writing notes which may span over six to eight hours sometimes.

If one plans their studies two years before writing the entrance exam, then around four to six hours daily preparation is more than sufficient by comfortably achieving daily milestones.

Q.2      How to prepare for exams?

Ans:     Own hand written notes are very necessary for these exams. Preparing own notes develops a photographic memory for an aspirant. In examination, I have observed that sometime just by closing the eyes one can recall the answer, which shows the power of writing and having own notes.

Many aspirants have a notion that reading is necessary and writing is taken for granted. Knowledge gathering is only one part of the exam but expressing it with a time frame is the biggest challenge. So writing is the most difficult part. Only writing, writing and writing are the key to succeed in these exams. Writing answers from the old question papers is time tested and still one of the best methods for succeeding in civil service exams.

Q.3      Whether the coaching for the exam from any leading institute is necessary?

Ans:     Many aspirants have cracked the exams without ever taking the coaching. Joining an institute while preparing for Civil Service Exam will help an aspirant. They will get professional help in gathering the study material, guidance and the peer enthusiasm. The brand name of institute is not a pre-requisite because many a times it has been found that some aspirants takes coaching in multiple institutes. So many institutes take credit for the same candidate after and aspirant has qualified the exam. Any decent institute with a strong team is fine for making a humble beginning because no facts in any subject will change whether one joins a leading institute or otherwise.

            I have seen that many aspirants take multiple institutes for different subject on hearsay that someone is great in one subject. These aspirants often become victims as they seldom realise that much of their precious time is wasted while travelling between the different institutes. On the other hand the aspirants unnecessarily get exposed to different groups having different orientation to exam taught by their respective institute. All these attributes may add to unwanted confusion for an already confused aspirant. It is often desirable to get coached under one roof and have one pattern of thinking to crack the exam. 

Q.4      Is it necessary to mug up the definitions and important points?

Ans:     In any examination the main limitation is time. If one is not having the facts on the fingertips then one has to go on recollecting the facts at its own pace. If anyone remembers the point in a chronology or definition at the tip of their tongue then more than ninety percent of battle is won. At the level of knowledge almost every aspirant is on equal plane. What distinguishes form the other is their delivery of knowledge within the stipulated time.

             I had made flash cards which carried chapter-wise definitions and MNEMONICS for all the bullet points pertaining to each chapter. This method enabled me to keep the entire facts at the tip of my tongue. If an aspirant gets the right beginning then there is great amount of confidence while writing the analysis part of the answer.

Q.5      What are the demons for the exams?

Ans:     The demons of exams are:

a.       Bad hand writing is a demon. Even in my writing, few words look to be alike. I sincerely worked with stencil and workbook to correct the defect as I used to write slant downwards. Since the mains exam has to be written in a plain white sheet, it is very necessary to practice straight handwriting by giving proper margins at the top, bottom and on the left side.

b.      Television watching is never needed as only pocket radio will do. Television is needed only for entertainment and not for news from the perspective of civil service exams. Television and Internet has capacity to pull you from one link to the other which would not only waste time but acquire unnecessary junk which is a big demon for the exam. In radio everyday 9-00 PM to 9-15 PM English and Hindi News are telecasted. Followed by SPOTLIGHT on two topics of NATIONAL and INTERNATIONAL importance. If one follows what has happened over one year the entire current affairs more or less gets covered.  Every topic can be later segregated on the basis of SOCIAL/ CULTURAL/ ECONOMIC/ POLITICAL/ SPORTS/SCIENCE category.

c.       Never underestimate your own achievement and overestimate others achievement and vice versa.

d.      In every coaching class there are brilliant guys/girls who never qualify and ordinary looking people top the charts. Why it is so? Because during the coaching all the so-called brilliant looking people actually cheat on scores in every test.

e.      Read one book ten times than ten books one time. Be ruthless in cutting on duplicity of information sources as this is a big demon which will cause information overload.

f.        The syllabus for the exam looks quite huge. My personal example is that I picked up history topic in the morning then get impatient and confused as I do not know about Geography. While reading Geography the flash brings the vastness of Polity... and this goes on by switching between subjects in a day. At the end of the day, I was as wise as I was in the morning.  So start your schedule from zero and reach the score of hundred, step by step without becoming impatient. This means keep each day miles stones and achieve topic by topic as ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY. With realistic planning one can easily know the date on which the entire syllabus will be covered.

g.       Never believe an aspirant who says that the exams can be cracked only by reading. A civil service exam needs only writing, writing and writing.

h.      Always be generous with the knowledge you have. Firmly believe in the act of sharing as the rewards attached to it are phenomenal. Many aspirants feel if they share then the other person will become competitor. A civil service exam is all about knowing the number of points in any given subject. If you share you will add more to your knowledge as the other will share too. By this method over a period of time one will become the repository of maximum knowledge.

i.         Fix daily and weekly realistic milestones. Then induce a system of reward and penalty for self while achieving a milestone or failing to achieve it.

j.        Do not cut articles from news paper and magazines for reading it on a later date. Instead write important gist in the relevant note book.

k.       Do not read or study when you are in exam centre. If one has not studied the entire year then it will not make any difference if one studies just before the exam and vice versa. I always went for a movie, one day prior to exam.

l.         Do not entertain discussion after an exam gets over. No discussion can undo the mistake which is already made. It is also not necessary that the other person in the discussion need to be right. Discussions after the exam would unnecessarily affect the impact on the next exam and may bring down morale and motivation which necessary on continuous basis.

Q.6      what does this exam need?

Ans:   The exam is not searching for brilliant aspirants but is searching for hardworking, humble and sincere aspirants. It will be a surprise to note that more than fifty percent of aspirants who get selected are from rural areas who have studied in vernacular medium in government schools, belonging to the most backward states of India. A person from rural background is more simple, honest and humble than the urban aspirant.

Hari Rao

1999 Batch of IRS

hariraoirs@hotmail.com