The UPPSC conducts the PCS Exam to recruit Group A and Group B officers in the administrative services of the Uttar Pradesh State Government. The exam pattern and syllabus have undergone some changes in 2023, and therefore, candidates must be aware of the recent changes to score well in the upcoming exam.
The UPPSC Exam is also one of the sought-after exams in India and requires high-level preparation due to the enhanced level of competition involved. Candidates can check the preparation strategy in this article to score well in the UPPSC Exam.
Preparation Strategy for UPPSC Exam
Enhance your essay writing part for Paper I
Candidates usually focus more on general studies topics compared to essay topics. This results in their lower performance in the essay portion of the exam. The essay paper assesses a candidate’s writing skills and subject knowledge. Candidates believe that preparing for the general studies paper can also help in their essay part. But this is not true all the time. Candidates must prepare dedicatedly for the essay section, as this can have a huge impact on their score and overall rank in the UPPSC Exam.
Focus on optional subjects along with the Main papers
The optional topic has two papers. The optional subjects in the UPPSC PCS Mains exam carry 500 marks. Candidates should not undermine the value of these many marks as this can be very helpful in their final selection. Candidates must dedicate a specific timeline for the preparation of the optional subjects and clarify doubts as and when needed from experts.
Practice
To crack the UPPSC Exam, a proper strategy and clarity of topics are crucial as the syllabus is vast. To have a thorough understanding of different topics, candidates should focus on practising what they study. They must have a clear mind without any stress while preparing for the UPPSC Exam. A calm mind can grasp concepts better than a chaotic one. Therefore, candidates should not be overwhelmed at all during their preparation. This calmness of mind can be achieved with regular practice of concepts learnt.
Solve mock tests
Mock tests are crucial to clear any difficult test like the UPPSC Exam. The UPPSC PCS mock test replicates an actual exam atmosphere and evaluates participants’ knowledge. You can analyse the subjects and topics you have learnt as well as those that demand more thorough study by taking mock tests. To acquire the best score, analyse the practice examinations. This can help you learn from your mistakes faster, which will aid you on exam day.
Solve previous years’ papers
Solving previous years’ papers for the UPPSC Exam is beneficial in a lot of ways. Candidates get an idea and understanding of the revised exam pattern, key topics to focus on, marking scheme and the type of questions asked. This will help them to devise their approach towards solving a particular set of questions for the exam.
Revision
The topics covered by the UPPSC are advanced and tough. It is incredibly beneficial for candidates to go back over everything that they have studied more than once. Paying attention to quality rather than quantity is the ultimate strategy for passing the UPPSC Exam. If you have done the necessary research on the subject matter, you should be able to provide an answer to the question. In order to accomplish this, candidates must revise multiple times before the exam. The ability to memorise and retain information will improve as a result of this practice.
Daily practice of current affairs
Every UPPSC candidate must make it a habit to read at least one significant newspaper every day. You are required to go over all of the most relevant current affairs topics and take down notes. A significant portion of the questions on the UPPSC Preliminary Exam is based on current events. Therefore, you should make it a habit to keep up with the preparation of current affairs.
Be aware of negative marking
In the UPPSC preliminary exam, ⅓ marks will be deducted for each incorrect answer. The preliminary examination can be considered as an elimination test. You will be eliminated from the competition if you do not take steps to decrease the number of negative marks in the exam. You need to be thorough with the topics relevant as per the UPPSC syllabus and attempt a number of mock tests or test series to score well compared to other candidates in the UPPSC Exam.
Candidates must be thoroughly familiar with the important topics in the UPPSC syllabus.
The UPPSC Prelims and Mains syllabus are given below.
UPPSC Prelims Syllabus
The Prelims syllabus for Paper 1 and Paper 2 is given below.
Paper 1:
- Current Events of National & International Importance
- Indian History and National Movement
- Indian and World Geography – Socio-economic, Physical Geography
- Indian Governance and Polity – Political System, Constitution, Public Policy, Panchayati Raj, Rights Issues, etc.
- Social and Economic Development – Demographics, Sustainable Development, Poverty Inclusion, Social Sector Initiatives etc.
- Environmental Ecology, Climate Change and Biodiversity – general issues that do not require subject specialisation
- General Science
Paper 2
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal Skills (including communication skills)
- Analytical Ability & Logical Reasoning
- Problem Solving & Decision Making
- General Mental Ability
- Elementary Mathematics (Class 10 level – Algebra, Statistics, Geometry and Arithmetic)
- General English (Class 10 level)
- General Hindi (Class 10 level)
UPPSC Mains Syllabus
- General Hindi
- Essay
- General Studies I
- General Studies II
- General Studies III
- General Studies IV
- Optional Subject – Paper 1
- Optional Subject – Paper 2
To ace the UPPSC Exam, candidates must be well-versed in the UPPSC syllabus and the critical topics. Candidates who cover maximum topics have a better advantage over fellow competitors in the UPPSC Exam. Also, the negative marking aspect should always be in mind during the preparation phase.
