Exams have become an integral part of our education system, but now exams are not only limited to the education system. There are various other fields in which exams are important like recruitment. Recruitment for jobs is a tough task, which is why recruitment agencies design appropriate tests to assess the ability of the candidates. These tests tell the recruitment agencies if the candidates are suitable for the job or not. The Indian government also has recruitment tests to select aspiring job candidates for various government jobs.
The commission that manages and organizes these tests is UPSC. UPSC stands for Union Public Service Commission. It is a recruitment agency, which manages the examinations for the recruitment of various government jobs like IAS. IAS is a civil service exam, and it is a well-known examination in India. Many people take online IAS preparation to clear the exam.
Most people believe that civil service examinations are the toughest, but this is not true. It is very tough, but it is not impossible to crack. It takes more than a year to complete the examination process but that doesn’t mean that the test is toughest. With proper dedication and hard work, one can certainly crack the exam.
Another myth is that civil examinations need you to know everything about every subject. This is not true either. UPSC has a complete syllabus for a candidate to follow to score good marks. Many teachers suggest that the topics can be selected in an order of importance to the nation.
Apart from these two myths, many people believe that IAS aspirants have to study for 20 hours a day to crack the exam, which is not true. The toppers who have cracked the exam, and the teachers advise the students to study 8 hours a day, and that’s enough.
Though the studying pattern and time vary from person to person but studying for 8 hours with complete concentration can be enough to crack the exam. Along with studying, one needs to be careful about the requirements to sit in the exam. Here are some requirements:
- Age: the age requirement depends on the category of the candidate. The candidates cannot take the exam after the age of 32 years; however, for the candidates from the OBC category, the age limit is 35 years. Candidates from scheduled tribes can take the exam until the age of 37 years, and the physically disabled candidates can take this test until 42 years.
- Education: the candidate must be graduate to sit in the exam in any discipline.
- Nationality: the nationality requirements for the IAS and IPS exams are that the candidate must be a citizen of India, however, for other civil service examinations, the candidate can be a subject of Nepal and others.
- Attempts allowed: the number of attempts allowed also varies with the category of the candidate. A general candidate is allowed to have six attempts, an OBC candidate can take up to nine attempts, while, and an SC candidate can take as many attempts until they meet the age criteria.
Once you have known the eligibility requirements and found yourself eligible for the test, it is important to start the preparation as soon as possible.
Toppers and teachers give various tips, which can be followed by the students to excel in the exam. Here are some of those tips:
- Prepare your mind and body: before starting the preparation, it is important to prepare your mind so that you can study with complete dedication and concentration. Now, you can start to prepare yourself for the examination pattern and syllabus.
- Prepare a timetable: now that you have known the pattern and syllabus, it is time to make a timetable according to these things. You can look at the number of things you need to study and then the time you have. After this, design a timetable, which should have equal study hours and breaks to relax.
- Newspaper reading: many toppers have stated that they used to read newspapers to get the latest information about the current affairs. This information can be very helpful because you can get a question about the latest news on the exam.
- Choose an option: this optional subject should be chosen carefully because it accounts for five hundred marks in the total. You can decide the optional subject by looking at your interest in the subject, finding the coaching options for the subject, and finally seeing if you will be able to find enough study material for the particular subject.
- Study NCERT: NCERT books are found to be helpful in the IAS exam, which is why one should study NCERT books from classes 6 to 12 to gain information that will be necessary for the exam.
- Make notes: making notes is a good habit, and if you can make short notes that can help you recapture what you have read, then it is perfect for IAS preparation. Make separate notes with heading and subheading, including information in bullets can help you a lot.
- Solving previous years’ papers: previous years’ papers can not only make you aware of the pattern but can also help you to understand how the questions are asked and what are some common questions. One can also look for topics, which are most common to answers.
- Mock tests: once you feel confidents about your practice, you can start to give mock tests which can help you to know your preparation. These tests can help you to understand your weak points and the topics you are strong at.
- Revision: revision is the key to success in any exam. Whenever you feel like you have completed all the topics, it is time to start revision so that the knowledge you have gained can become permanent in your brain.
Preparing for IAS can be hard, but IAS preparation online is relatively easier because one can study anywhere and anytime. Online study is very beneficial for people who don’t want to waste time traveling from one place to another to get coaching.
Another reason is that you can get in touch with teachers from faraway places. So, without any second thoughts, start your online coaching to score good marks in your IAS exams.
