IAS examination stands for the Indian administrative services. The name itself suggests its glory and working as an IAS is a lifetime achievement for anyone. Right from respect to reputation, everything can be achieved once you crack IAS. As we all know that to achieve good things in life costs efforts and hard work, so does IAS. Every year so many people appear for the examination but everyone does not clear it. They probably lack in their planning and also task execution.
All you require to crack this UPSC exam is to want it from your heart. Only then you will be able to put your 100% at this task and it will not let you sleep until and unless you crack IAS.
And the most important point is, you should be very clear about why you want to become an IAS officer. If the answer is clear to you, the rest of the task gets easier. And you will not complain about the difficulties you come across. So, start your preparation when there is ample time to get your work evaluated and to improve it. Try to solve around 100 questions daily when there are 50-40 days left for the exam. In the last 10 days revise those papers again.
If you are an IAS aspirant and you want to crack IAS in your first attempt, this is possible too. This is known to all that IAS examination is one of the toughest examinations of all time, but if you can plan masterly and do smart study, no one can stop you from achieving your favourite dream.
We all know that nothing is impossible in this world; nor is cracking the IAS examination in the first attempt. So, keeping this fact in mind, you have to plan smartly regarding your studies.
Before heading towards the planning of study let’s have a look into the syllabus so that you can have a clear idea about how much effort you have to put in your studies to crack IAS:
The whole procedure of IAS examination is divided into three steps as followed:
- Preliminary examination
- Main examination
- Interview
Firstly, all the IAS aspirants appear for the preliminary examination. The prelims qualified ones proceed to the main examination. And the mains qualified candidates are called for an interview.
The syllabus of the above-mentioned examination is described below:
| Examination | syllabus |
| Preliminary examination
|
This examination consists of paper I and paper II, each of them carrying 200 marks. The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
|
| · Main examination
|
Paper A: language test of 300 marks(any Indian modern language by choice)
Paper B: English test of 300 marks
Paper I: essay writing in any language of the candidate’s choice carrying 250 marks
Paper-II: general studies regarding Indian and world history, geography, culture and heritage, social issues( 250 marks)
Paper III: Indian constitution, polity and governance and international relations, social justice(250 marks)
Paper IV: Economics, environment and disaster management, science & technology, internal security (250 marks)
Paper V: ethics, integrity and aptitude (250 marks)
Paper VI: optional subject (250 marks)
Paper VII: optional subject (250 marks)
|
| · Interview
|
It is mainly a personality test. Questions are asked to test mental alertness, leadership quality, moral uprightness, awareness etc. (275 marks) |
Now, getting into the discussion of how to crack IAS exam in the first attempt:
How to Crack IAS Exam in the first attempt?
A planned and disciplined schedule:
Plan a daily routine that includes ample time for studies, 7-8 hours of sleep, 1-2 hours of refreshment as well. 10-12 hours of studies along with some refreshments can enhance your productivity as well as sharpen up your preparation for the exam. Do not forget to stay healthy and have sound sleep; otherwise, you won’t be able to make your dream true.
Make it a habit of reading and writing:
Start a habit of reading newspapers, magazines and different types of books. It will not only upgrade your sense of literature but also help you in getting updated with the current affairs and new facts. Since essay writing is very important for IAS aspirants, make it a habit of writing essays on different topics in a time constrained manner. Reading different books can help you in developing new ideas for essay writing.
Follow educational apps and websites:
The technology has evolved so much that all the study materials you need for IAS examination are just a click away. Do visit the websites that can guide you with your studies. You can download the educational apps too providing online useful videos. Try different techniques from different sources and identify the most convenient one for you.
Buy the best books:
No matter how much online education has flourished over time, still books are the best guide you can ever have in your life. So, do buy the best books recommended by the experts and study them well. Some of the recommended books for IAS examination preparation include:
- Previous Years CSAT and General Studies IAS Prelims Topic-wise Solved Papers
- Indian and World Geography, a book by Majid Husain/Savindra Singh
- Lakshmikant(Polity and governance), Bipin Chandra(Modern India), all NCERTs from class 6-12.
Stay strong, stay positive:
Do not lose your nerve and keep working hard. Let no negative words hit your mind. If you ever face difficulty in your path, learn from it and keep fighting. Learn to look at the positive side in every aspect of life. Do not talk to the people who can inject negativity in you. Rather nurture your positive thinking and always tell yourself that either you win or you learn, you never lose. This mantra of life will keep you fighting until and unless your dream is achieved.
Take advantage of the first time experience:
The people who have appeared for the examination for three or four times, they keep a mindset that they will prepare it in a particular way. But since you are a novice, you try to cover every aspect of the syllabus, and this is needless to say that you benefit from that. Besides, if the questions break their stereotypes and are on unexpected lines, you do not care since you have never faced them before and you can be able to answer accordingly.
