Why Civil Services Examination is not a hard nut to crack

 True that cracking the civil services examination is not a child's play. It requires dedication, hard work, planned studies and determination. But if once through, you will be having both the prestige and the power, as it's one of the most sought after jobs in India.

The examination is one of the most prestigious examinations which draws attention of thousands of student every year and getting through the examination is coveted and most cherished dream of many. But most of the prospective candidates, either lose the focus in between or do just keep dreaming about appearing for the exam.

They fear that cracking the same, is a herculean task and one has to slog almost 18-20 hours each day to clear it. Lots of myths are associated with the exam which disheartens students and they unnecessarily flip out and doubt their abilities.

Unlike any other exam, this examination's syllabus is vast, so candidates are supposed to enhance their knowledge and develop administrative traits. The syllabus for the preliminary exam contains subjects from almost all the fields. Therefore basic knowledge regarding all of them equally is a must.

But, there are scores of myths attached to the exam that drain IAS aspirants' energy that needs to be dispelled mandatorily. It is true that cracking civil services is quite hard, but it is definitely not impossible. It requires right guidance, dedication, time management, right study material, smart work, and knowledge of current events, along with a confident smart personality with leadership qualities.

Students are known to study for 17-18 hours a day for this exam, but still many fail to pass it. Whereas, many students who study with the right approach even for 7-8 hours pass the exam with flying colors. So we can safely conclude that approach to the exam is of paramount importance and create a difference.

One of the wide prevalent myths is that an aspirant needs to toil day and night to crack the examination. But the fact is that successful candidates keep close tabs on their study pattern and better the quality of their study. It's essential to discern what to study and what to weed out as then only you will be able to utilize your time properly. You can get a good fix on the structure of examination and type of question asked in the UPSC examination by analyzing and solving 5-10 years question paper. A good coaching institute can help you get the hang of all pertinent concepts and provide the right guidance that will not only save your precious time but will also endow you with leadership qualities, administrative traits, and precise subject knowledge.

General candidates can take 6 attempts and students can write their paper in the language they prefer. In the prelims examination, only objective type questions (2 marks each) are asked. Prelims examination test candidates general awareness and aptitude that includes logical and reasoning ability, basic numeracy, decision-making skills, English comprehension, interpersonal skills, logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision making and problem-solving, general mental ability and basic numeracy.

The preparation strategy for prelims examination embraces the in-depth study of NCERT Books (10th and 12th standard), to harp reasoning and analytical abilities, and excellent subjects knowledge. Mains examination tests in-depth knowledge of a candidate so an aspirant needs to buttress and enhances their general awareness and essay writing skills as well. Currents events are one of the major factors, so students should keep themselves abreast of the current happenings and keep making notes of the same for instant revision.

The interview does not test your knowledge but checks your administrative traits. Enrolling oneself for mock interviews, which almost all the coaching institutes provide, is the best way to prepare for interviews.

Hence, to conclude, civil services examination is not a nightmare, it only requires the right guidance,ability to pick up relevant study material, proper strategy, and good knowledge of the syllabus and current affairs.

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