Check Out the Top 10 Tips To Prepare for IAS Exam
Thinking that studying long hours in a day is the key to success in IAS exams is illogical thinking. By just being a bookworm, if you think clearing IAS is easy, you’re wrong! Of course, studies are the essence without which you can’t go ahead but there a lot of other things you should consider if you are preparing for IAS exams this year. In such a case, you can count on some IAS preparation tips mentioned below.
IAS is not just about clearing the exam and score good marks (Indeed! That’s important but that’s not the only important factor), overall personality development (Communication, General Knowledge, Current Affairs, Sports, etc) is needed to clear exams as well as an interview with flying colors. Don’t miss reading these 10 effective IAS preparation tips that can prove very useful to you.
IAS &UPSC Preparation Tips That proves to be Magical
No matter, you are appearing for the 1st time or if it is your subsequent attempt, the following IAS preparation tips always help. You can also consult your seniors, mentors, &teachers for further guidance and suggestions.
Tip # 1: Check Preliminary Eligibility Criterion & It’s Feasibility For You
Don’t dive into the water without knowing its depth. Before you decide to appear for the IAS examination, you must know the eligibility criteria. Also, check out its feasibility for you. For this, you should find out the answers to the following questions.
- What is the age limit?
- How many attempts you can give?
- What is the minimum academic qualification required?
- How many minimum years are required to clear this examination?
- How much financial burden do you need to bear?
- Is there any coaching or professional institute that you need to attend?
- What are the stages to pass in this examination?
Tip # 2: Prepare Yourself Mentally & Physically
For achieving a breakthrough in exams like UPSC, you have to be prepared mentally and physically. You need to plan things taking into account your abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.
- Check out the complete syllabus.
- Find out how you can devote time to the preparation of IAS exams.
- Set an ultimate goal and break down it into small targets like daily, weekly, and monthly.
- Collect enough and relevant study material.
- If possible, take coaching from experienced faculties and reputed institutes.
- Take a proper diet.
- Prepare a daily study plan and follow it strictly without fail.
- Do some exercise for physical strength.
Tip # 3: Follow Your Plans
Follow your plans religiously, otherwise all your planning goes in vain and the end result would be ‘Zero’. Making plans is not just enough; following them is all the more important.
Tip # 4: Practice, Practice, Practice!
You must have heard that practice makes a man perfect. The same applies to IAS preparation as well. Try solving mock test papers, previous year papers, watch toppers talk videos on YouTube, and practice more and more. It sharpens your writing and comprehension skills. Make a timely self-assessment to check if you are moving in the right direction.
Tip # 5: Read Newspapers, Magazines, & Stay Up-to-date
General studies paper seems one of the challenging subjects in the IAS exam. You have to stay up-to-date with all the latest happenings in India and around the world. There are many reputed magazines and newspapers published for this purpose. You can refer to them. Don’t rely on one source. Read multiple newspapers and magazines to improve your current affairs knowledge.
Tip # 6: Time Management
It is often said that “Students time is money”, so, time management is crucial. To utilize 24 hours in the best manner, you have to set your priorities and place them on the top of the chart. Sort out your daily activities and eliminate those which consumes the unnecessary time of yours. Give importance to difficult subjects and assign less time for easy subjects which you can do even at the eleventh hour.
Tip # 7: Make Short Notes For Revision
Making short notes might seem a burden or useless initially but nothing could be more helpful than these short notes at the time of last-minute revision. You can’t open the book of 600 pages for doing revision in one day before the exam. In such a situation, short notes seem nothing less than a blessing. The best time to prepare short notes is at the time of studying the detailed syllabus. You can note down significant points in bullet format which is easy to remember.
Tip # 8: Engage in Discussion With Your Friends
This one can prove one of the most effective IAS preparation tips because sometimes we forget what we read but we can’t forget what we discussed with our friends. We would suggest you discuss the latest happenings in the world. By doing this, you would not only know the current affairs (if possible you missed in the newspaper and magazines) but also memorize it for long. You will also get to know a different perspective of it.
Tip # 9: Follow Toppers
Yes, toppers have done something different that you might be missing in your preparation. You can learn from their success. If possible, talk to them personally. Else, you can read their interviews on the internet, newspapers, and books to correct your mistakes. You can refer to books that they read and follow their schedule according to your routine.
Tip # 10: Never Give Up
Last but the most important IAS preparation tip is to never give up on your goals and always keep yourself motivated. Once you have decided to be an IAS, don’t fear failures. Learn from mistakes and be committed to doing hard work with 100% honesty.
Wrap Up
Clearing the IAS exam is not an easy job but nothing is impossible. For sure, following these IAS preparation tips, will help you in scoring good marks in the written papers of the UPSC CSE examination. If you have any questions/queries regarding the IAS examination or pattern, feel free to ask in the comment section.
