Education

Prepare for the IAS Exam after Class 12!

As it is evident by the fact that the number of applicants continues to increase every year for the Civil Services Examination(CSE), millions of youngsters want to join the civil services. Earlier, post-graduate students would start preparing for the UPSC CSE. Subsequently, students with a bachelor’s degree also begin their preparation for the exam. Today, however, students’ awareness levels are considerably higher, and they are very certain about what they want to achieve. As a result, students who want to join the civil service begin studying for the CSE right after completing 12th grade.

The UPSC is India’s central recruitment organisation, in charge of central service examinations and appointments to Group A and Group B. The full form of UPSC is the Union Public Service Commission, which holds many examinations throughout the year at various levels and for various ministries. But the most renowned of them is the civil services exam, which is held in three parts each year for the positions of IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, Indian Forest Services and many more.

This article is intended to assist students in understanding the requirements of CSE, what is expected of them and how they should prepare for the IAS exam after 12th grade.

Guidelines to Prepare for IAS after Class 12

Depending on the type of programme, the length of graduation in our educational system ranges from three to five years. Most professional courses, such as engineering and medical, last four to five years, although most university degree programmes last three years. Since a bachelor’s degree is the minimum educational requirement for CSE, an applicant will have enough time to prepare for the exam if they start preparing early. Given below are some guidelines for aspirants if they wish to start preparing for the exam after completing the 12 grade.

  • Choosing the right stream

The first decision a candidate must make is which field of study they should choose to pursue. Students who graduate with humanities courses will likely have a modest advantage, particularly in optional subjects, because humanities topics are at the heart of the CSE. This should not prevent any student from enrolling in the degree of their choice, as UPSC’s optional subjects cater to students from a variety of fields.

  • Develop overall personality

UPSC seeks candidates with a well-rounded personality. To develop a well-rounded personality, one must actively participate in extracurricular activities such as sporting events, discussions, cultural activities, debates, extempore etc., during their college. In addition to a high IQ, the candidate should have a high Emotional Quotient (EQ), team spirit, leadership traits, strong communication skills, confidence etc., which can be instilled by participating in extracurricular activities.

  • Instil reading habit

The UPSC exam demands long study hours consistently for at least a year. Therefore, an aspirant must develop the habit of enjoying reading books; as for the exam, one must study many subjects together. A good reading habit would help aspirants to enjoy their UPSC Journey.

  • Follow current events

Current events are the most important aspect of the CSE syllabus. Candidates must be well-versed in current affairs. It should be a daily habit to read a newspaper or a magazine. Reading everything from the beginning to the end, on the other hand, is not a good way to read. An aspirant should be mindful of what should be read in the newspaper.

  • Develop the art of making opinions

One’s ability to have an opinion on subjects will be examined in the Essay paper and, more particularly, in the Personality Test. And this is not something that can be learnt quickly. It must be grown gradually and diligently. An aspirant must consider both the how and why of things. We all have different perspectives on the issues. Our viewpoint may differ from that of the majority, but it is critical that our viewpoint be founded on good logic and reasoning. It is also essential to be able to express oneself clearly both in writing and in person.

  • Improve writing skills

The Mains exam, the second tier of CSE, is subjective in nature, with applicants expected to compose answers for seven papers over the course of a week. On the surface, it looks easy because we have all done it throughout our academics, but it takes additional skills. The solution must be written within the word limit and the time limit of 3 hours. For each question, approximately 8 to 9 minutes are allotted to read the question, organise the ideas and write it down. As a result, it is necessary to improve one’s writing speed by practising a variety of topics in order to develop one’s writing abilities on various topics.

  • Learn to analyse events

Develop your multidimensional reasoning abilities by picking a current event in the news and attempting to critically analyse it from all angles. Every problem has a political, social, cultural, environmental, institutional, and economic aspect. When analysing a scenario, all of these elements must be taken into account. Aspirants would be able to widen their horizons as a result of this. Hence, the next time candidates read a question, their thoughts will immediately start forming multiple threads around it.

  • Enhance communication skills

Communication ability is vital throughout the personality exam since it indicates confidence. Having information but not being able to communicate or express that knowledge is futile. This skill set also takes time to develop and cannot be developed overnight.

In general, students in their first and second years of college should devote themselves to the preparation for the UPSC Prelims and Mains exam. For this, candidates must go through the syllabus for UPSC  CSE. One should start preparing for the optional subject in the third year. The third year of graduation should also be dedicated to practising answer writing, revising, taking test series and solving previous years’ papers, in order to practise and identify any gaps in the preparation.

Finally, one must recognise that each person’s motivation and approach to achieving the desired objective are unique. One must always work hard and never quit following their dreams.

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