Guidance for Mains

Current Affairs Quiz - new

Now we are very close to the Main examination of Civil Services 2010. Its time to take stock of our preparation and equip ourselves to face the examination. Contrary to the prelims, Main exam is something for which we have to produce our own answers. Whereas in prelims it’s not the case, answers are already in the question paper our job is only to choose the correct one. Moreover we have to write for 6 hours on the examination day which is a herculean task to crush our brain to extract all the details from our brain and articulate the ideas in a perfect way to present the answer. I wish to discuss some of the basic problems faced by my students in the last few days of the Main examination.

Most of the candidates study day and night for the Main examination. Due to high amount of stress and exam fear the probability of these students being sick on the examination days is very high. This has a direct impact on the students output. Surely there is difference between the thoughts from a healthy refreshed candidate and a sick dull student, although the fact is both have equally prepared for the examination. For healthy candidate ideas, thoughts and analytical ability oozes out of their brain without any issues. Recollecting memorized facts and Correlating various data happens naturally to the healthy brain. Whereas confusion, fear, lack of memory and depression will be associated with a person who feels sick and his brain will be least productive. Hence I request candidates to have some physical workout till the examination atleast for 30 mts to 1 hr with either a pleasant walk or run your way to sweat and get fresh.

In the movie ‘Rocky’ the coach Burgess Meredith gives the following advise to Stallone during a practice session “If you want to deliver five punches in the real fight, you have to practice 5000 punches in your practice session”. This dialogue is told in a inspiring way leading Stallone to practice well and win the championship. Similarly this is applicable for Main examination candidates as well. You study all the books available in the market, you browse all the relevant topics in Internet, you hear hundreds of lectures from your teachers, you discuss all the critical areas of examination with your friends, you may have all the facts and numbers in the tip of your fingers – ultimately the marks in the main examination will be awarded to you only if all the above information collected by you falls on the paper from your finger through your pen. Be aware that in this era of twitter and face book it would have been a long time for most of the people loosing the practice of writing. In schools and colleges we have memorized the answers and all we have to do is just write the answer for the question asked. But here your brain have to think pulling all the relevant data for a particular topic, Simultaneously those ideas should be articulated in a logical fashion and your hand should synchronize with your brain by writing the content in the answer sheet. This will be little strange when you do it first, second and third time. Once you practice for a couple of times you will be amazed to see the results. I have tested this method and proved it empirically with my students. After few practice mock test you can find that you brain automatically pulls all the relevant data, articulates it, identifies the problem area, gives innovated solution all this happens at the same time your hand writes it on the paper. You become a professional exam writer doing the things with comfort ease saving much time when others are struggling to think fact by fact and find difficult in putting it in paper. Hence I request students to practice with sufficient mock test to equip themselves to write with an extraordinary speed.

The time is very limited in the examination hall with 180 minutes to score a maximum of 300 marks by writing approximately 3000 words. Make sure you have sufficient stationary with you and mind that you don’t waste time in too much of planning on how to write. Just make a simple blue print once you see the question paper. After which, start writing and you will automatically get the required details on the flow of writing the answers. Equate (Marks = Words = Time). Maintain this proportion at all the minutes through out the 180 minutes in the examination hall. For example if your write a 2 mark question, it should be equated like this [2 Marks = 20 Words = 1.5 Minutes (Approx)]. This kind of calculation will keep you alert on whether you are wasting too much time for a low mark questions. If you save some time it will boost your energy to perform well. Also remember this calculation will have to be altered in General Studies Paper 2 since there is a part to work out on Statistics. Make sure to manage time appropriately to get the winning edge advantage in the examination.

Understanding the question is another important task as most of students interpret the question incorrectly leading them to give an answer which is not at all relevant to the question or the expectation of the examiner. For this I request the students to understand the meaning of the following keywords to understand the expectation of the examiner. The keywords are Assess, Analyze, Brief, Calculate, Compare, Comprehend, Define, Discuss, Derive, Determine, Enumerate, Evaluate, Examine, Explain, Prove, and Synthesize. Once you understand the question give precise clear answer. Use bullet points, use diagrammatic representation whenever possible, Be logical. Don’t have long introduction and conclusion. Just pitch in to the core topic with two or three lines of introduction. Conclude the answers logically. In two marks questions hit the examiner with the facts. Make sure to pack the 20 words with maximum facts in 2 marks.

Hope the above discussed topics would help you people in your main examination. I could not discuss more topics relevant to the main examination due to word limit prescribed for this news letter. Never the less the above information is of primary importance which many students do not consider due to negligence leading UPSC to neglect those people.

I wish all those who are reading this news letter a very best of luck and pray the almighty to give you God speed and energy to complete your main examination and come up with flying colours for the Interview.

K.Purushothaman
Director - Educasium Civil Services Coaching Centre, Chennai

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