How To Prepare for IAS Prelims in 2 Months?

UPSC Civil services examination is one of the most prestigious examinations among all the other competitive exams. And why not? It’s a proud profession where you get the chance to serve your country.

Every year the number of aspirants appearing for IAS exams cross lakhs but the vacancies are limited. Therefore, the level of competition is very high. Besides competition, the vast syllabus and unpredictable exam pattern make it even more challenging.

IAS prelims preparation in 2 months sounds impossible but they said nothing is impossible. The word impossible itself says that “I M Possible”. For sure, after reading this, you will confidently believe that IAS prelims preparation in 2 months is possible. Continue reading to unlock the secret of IAS prelims preparation in 2 months.

Strategy to Follow For IAS Prelims Preparation in 2 Months

Unlike earlier, candidates now have wider exposure to knowledge. They have varied sources to gain information and study through different mediums. With easy access to the internet, text-to-speech apps enable them to study on-the-go. They can watch videos on channels like YouTube to expand their knowledge.

Think positively, 2 months is 60 days, 1440 hours, and 86400 minutes in your hands. And this is enough time to change your destiny. Before discussing the study plan, you can’t miss these 4 essential things, if you really want to do IAS prelims preparation in 2 months.

1. Check Out The Exam Pattern

First and foremost, what you need to do is to check and analyze the exam pattern. There are 2 papers at the preliminary stage. One is General Studies, and another is CSAT. CSAT stands for Civil Service Aptitude Test. Both the papers are of intellectual nature and require the presence of mind more than memorizing facts and figures. For solving the papers, candidates are given 2 hours for each paper. GS paper 1 contains 100 questions with negative marking. Questions will be objective in nature. GS II or CSAT contains 80 multiple choice questions with negative marking.

2. Check Out The Exam Syllabus

The syllabus is very crucial if you are planning IAS prelims preparation in 2 months. You need to check in advance how many subjects are there and in each subject, how many topics and sub topics are there. Doing this, you will find it easy to set your daily study target. You can also sort out chapters into their level of difficulty like easy, difficult, and very difficult and plan accordingly. Say for easy chapters, you assign only an hour while for difficult you assign 2 hours and for very difficult, probably you need to spend a whole day.

3. Get Ready With Your Study Material

IAS preparation is something that you can’t do by reading a book or two. You need different types of books and study material to cover up each and every aspect of your syllabus. Do internet-based Research, ask your seniors or consult fellows to get the best reference book and study material for each subject. Also, read newspapers, magazines, and watch TV for being up-to-date on current affairs.

4. Complete All The Documentation Formalities

Get ready with all the certificates and documentation before you decided to appear in the IAS prelims. In the lack of any document or paper, all your efforts will go into waste. Make a file of all the essential and required certificates or documents like age proof, caste certificates, academic certificates, ID proofs, and everything else.

Tips For IAS Prelims Preparation in 2 Months

Though IAS Prelims Preparation in 2 Months sounds a bit difficult there is no rocket science in this. Anyone with good and excellent planning can do that. Of course, you need to be honest and dedicated to achieving your goal. Plus, following some of the tips given here will help you a lot.

1. Prepare a Mindset

This is the first thing you need to do. Prepare a mindset that YOU CAN DO IT.. The power of positivity can change the world. Keep distance with people who discourage you from saying things like, “It’s not possible”. Keep reminding yourself that you can do it and you have to do it. You can watch motivational videos on YouTube or talk to your mentors.

2. Prepare a Time Table

A good start wins half the match. Nothing could be better than starting with preparing a timetable. It is a must because wandering on the random road, you can’t reach anywhere. You should make a daily time table wherein you mention each and every activity from dusk to dawn. You should plan in advance what you are going to do from waking up in the morning till you go to bed. This keeps things sorted and you will be able to utilize your time fully.

3. Time Management

If you really want to crack IAS prelims in 2 months’ preparation, you should manage your time exceptionally well. How to manage time is a big question? The answer is simple! First of all, you make a list of all the work you have to do like time for studies, lunch, dinner, breakfast, exercise, and sleeping hours). Now, assign appropriate time to each activity.

Now, when it comes to studies, identify which subject requires more time and focus and which can be done in relatively less time. If possible, eliminate time for other activities like watching TV, using social media, and such other work.

4. Take Weekly Test

Only studying is not enough unless you test it. Regularly assessing yourself is necessary to check what you are learning is getting retained also. Otherwise, you have to start all over again. For practicing, you can take the mock tests and sample papers. Past examination papers also help a lot in analyzing your skills. This also builds up confidence in you that you can do IAS Prelims Preparation in 2 Months.

5. Set Your Target

Make a daily or weekly target of solving questions and be firm to achieve those targets. Any leniency or ignorance could result in failure. Try to weekly cover 100-200 questions and enrich your knowledge. Make the best use of those precious two months and ensure your success.

6 Prepare Notes With Stories

Have your own booklet of notes prepared in the way in which you can keep things in mind. Create stories with every important note and make it interesting so that it stays in your mind for a long time. This is a quick and easy way to learn and memorize even the difficult chapters.

7. Participate in Discussions

Rather than simply reading, discussion on any topic offers you a better option to remember things and have better clarity. After collecting information and discussing it further can be an interesting as well as a fruitful way to go for IAS Prelims Preparation in 2 Months.