Make your hardships your strength

A majority of UPSC aspirants attempt the examination to secure a rank good enough to get an IAS posting. The Better India caught up with Dr Aditya Prakash Bhardwaj, an Indian Revenue Service officer, who cleared the examination in his very first attempt with an All-India Rank of 250, without attending any coaching classes. And he studied for just around nine months!

Here is some advice he has for other aspirants.

1. Eliminate all hype

“The UPSC examination is one among many. Over the years, people have created so much hype about it, that one feels almost fearful while preparing for it,” says Dr Bhardwaj.

Growing up in a village, it was difficult for him to fit into an English-medium school when he made the shift. Sheer perseverance helped him study medicine and become the first doctor in his family.

“One of my early lessons was that I was my own competition. With every mock test, the intent was to be slightly better than the previous attempt,” he says.

2. Make your hardships your strength

Dr Bhardwaj

“After clearing the medical entrance examination and becoming a doctor, my family was shocked when I decided to appear for the UPSC. It was a decision that did not go down very well,” explains Dr Bhardwaj.

He recalls asking his father to grant him one chance to take the examination. “It was a very tough decision — knowing that my family was dependent on my income, I still went ahead and took a chance,” he says.

When he started preparing for the UPSC, he had nine months for the examination. “I shut everything and everyone out. My only objective was to work hard and clear the examination. I am glad that the chance I took on myself paid off so well,” he says.

3. Eliminate approaches that don’t fit into your schedule

Dr Bhardwaj did not make any notes or scatter his focus across many sources. If an aspirant has started preparing well ahead of time, making notes will help. However, given that Dr Bhardwaj did not have the luxury of time, he did not make any notes. “I only studied from the absolute basic (NCERT) textbooks. And instead of studying from ten books, I studied one book thoroughly,” he says.

4. Resources for preparation

“I relied on The Hindu for topics related to society, its changes and issues about human rights, tribal rights etc.,” he says. The editorial in The Hindu gave him a good understanding of the events in the world. It also helped in forming strong opinions.

For Polity, he relied on Lakshmikanth, the online portal Mrunal.org for Economics, NCERT books alone for Geography, and NCERT and Spectrum for History.

In addition, he pored over question papers from the last years. “I found patterns in the questions asked and prepared accordingly. Some topics like education, women rights, health etc. remained static, only the context changed.”

5. Be creative in your answers

During an interactive session.

“Be creative and original in the way you answer the questions,” he says. With examiners having to read hundreds of answers each day, some amount of originality in the answers will impress the examiners. “Write in such a way that when you re-read it, you enjoy what you have penned,” he says. Do not make your answers preachy or very heavy on statistics and numbers, he says.

“The answers,” says Dr Bhardwaj, “need not always be text-heavy. Also rely on pie charts, diagrams etc. to make the answers read better.”

6. In it to win it

“Look at the preparation for the UPSC as a marathon. The key to success in this examination is to stay focused and consistent,” says Dr Bhardwaj. An aspirant cannot decide to study for five days a week and relax on the weekends. The only thing that matters is sticking to your plan with discipline. It needs to be an on-going effort.

Dr Bhradwaj shares, “During my nine months in Delhi, I did not visit my hometown even once, whether for any festival or to meet my family. Consistency in preparation is important, and the result was beneficial to me.”

A question he is often asked is why he did not attempt the examination again to get a better rank. His answer is very philosophical: “I have come a long way from where I started. The fact that I am part of the services is an achievement in itself. My stream is inconsequential to the work I wish to do for society

IAS Topper Shares Strategy to Ace the Essay Paper In UPSC CSE Exam

@Kr.Deepak Sagar

2 hours ago

Nishant Jain, a 2015 Batch IAS officer has an inspiring story to share. With an All India Rank of 13, he also scored the maximum marks awarded in the essay paper.

An M.Phil. in Hindi Literature from the University of Delhi and a Master in Public Management from Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), he has also authored a book on UPSC preparation strategy titled All About UPSC Civil Services Exam.

Nishant explains the strategy you can adopt for attempting the essay paper. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) syllabus states, “Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion and to write concisely. Credit will be given to effective and exact expression.”

Talking about focussing on the topic you choose, Nishant says, “You must stay as connected as possible to the basic idea of the topic. Make your essay presentation in an organised manner to fetch maximum marks.”

Nishant’s Seven Rules to Essay Writing

1. Flow

“Your essay must hold the attention of the examiner and that is possible only if there is an easy flow to your work,” says Nishant. Always remember that a good essay is a sequential presentation of ideas. “Therefore, while presenting your ideas, identify the interrelated ideas, and present these sequentially in your essay,” he adds.

Upon completion of one paragraph, there should be a very organic transition into the next paragraph. “The examiner must not be left with any unanswered questions in their mind,” says Nishant. This can be achieved with regular essay writing practice.

2. Balanced and Comprehensive View

Nishant Jain

“It is advisable that you choose a middle path while writing answers, rather than take sides or present an extreme point of view,” advises Nishant. Avoid having a very narrow point of view about the subject, the broader your vision, the better the impact.

Do not look at the topic only via one prism. Explore all aspects, which include social, cultural, economic, political, philosophical, religious, scientific, historical, geographical, and environmental.

3. Present A View That Is Respectful To Others

“Always look at the topic in totality. Refrain from focusing on just one aspect and making your essay one-dimensional,” says Nishant. It is also important that you respect all views and present the essay in such a manner only.

4. Strong Introduction and Conclusion

While there is no clear-cut formula on how to frame the introduction and conclusion, you can keep in mind the following points.

“Some prefer introducing the topic with the help of quotes and statistics, while others start with an anecdote or facts. Pick what you feel works best for the topic and go with that,” explains Nishant.

In conclusion, you must leave the examiner with a balanced and tactful point of view which captures the essence of the article.

5. Writing Style and Presentation

All About UPSC- a book authored by Nishant Jain. Essay writing and more.

“Spend some time sprucing up your essay and making it look good,” he says. The Commission’s guidelines lay emphasis on a ‘legible hand-writing,’ so that is important to follow.

In Nishant’s view, a few points to remember to improve presentation include:

(i) Write in small paragraphs
(ii) Minimise grammatical errors
(iii) Use simple vocabulary
(iv) Maintain good legible handwriting
(v) Underline and highlight important points

6. Use of Quotations

In Nishant’s opinion, “Quotes should be used according to the context. It should not appear as if it is being imposed; rather it should suit the essay’s topic. Also, do not make controversial statements.”

7. Selection of the Topic

“Half the battle is won if you choose the right topic,” says Nishant. When asked what to consider while choosing an essay topic, Nishant shares:

– Select a topic you are most familiar with. Citing his own example, he shares, “I chose to write on the topic – ‘Is sting operation an invasion on privacy,’ because I had a reasonably good understanding of this topic.” Similarly, look for familiarity and level of comfort while picking your topic.

What To Do And What Not To

Nishant Jain

• Develop and maintain the habit of reading, writing, discussing and thinking.
• There is no other substitute for writing practice. If you want to make it better, practice the writing of essays every week and get them evaluated so that you can improve your writing skills.
• Participate in group discussion as it will enhance your understanding of the topic and will always leave you with new points to ponder over.
• Stay positive and believe in your preparation
• Pay attention to time-management. It is compulsory to write both essays in the paper. Therefore devote equal time to them.
• Do not exceed the word limit, as you will not get any credit for it.

Nishant went from a group ‘C’ government job to group ‘B’ and finally to group ‘A’ by cracking the UPSC civil service exam. He imparts this advice with the hope that it will help other aspirants too.