How to approach an Essay in CSE examination

Essay writing is one of the most neglected area in UPSC preparation. Let me tell you,  this is one subject where you can easily make a drastic difference in your score with little efforts.  And yes leaving a few people , we all need to make efforts if we want to score 130 plus, else we end up scoring between 100-130. But with systemic efforts we can reach to 130-150 bracket. I am saying this as I made the jump from category 1 to 2 and that helped me to get a good rank in CSE exam.

In this small 10 minutes video I am sharing my approach towards essay writing:-

Doordarshan Interview: UPSC Experience

A breif discussion on UPSC preparation and personal experience of the journey

Civil services Preparation strategy

This video discusses what was my preparation strategy from starting to end in course of CSE examination.

Mains tips: Essay, Ethics and Answer writing

Here in this video I have talked about essay and ethics in brief with some emphasis on Answer writing. 

Most Important FAQ's related to CSE Preparation

As beginners we are really confused about UPSC Civil services examination. Most of us are able to find some strategy or tips on preparation. But some very important and crucial questions go unanswered. Some of these questions include :-

Why Civil Services?
What UPSC looks for in a candidate?
How to go about CS preparation?
How much time is required for preparation?
Do I need coaching?
How to prepare without coaching?
How to prepare along with job?
How to choose an optional subject?
How to keep yourself motivated?
How to cope with my fears, insecurities?

I have tried to answer them in detail here 

How to prepare for CSE - Strategy, Booklist, timetable etc

Attitude, Aptitude and Articulation and Knowledge are four most important pillars. If you focus on all 4 of them simultaneously in your preparation, you will definitely reap results.We need not be be best in all of them but average at all these spheres. So be it prelims, mains or interview, we will be able to sail through all easily.

When people start their preparation they face issues related to book list, time management , planning, strategy , coverage of syllabus and many more. I am addressing the following questions in this video. 

How do I start my preparation for CSE?
What should be the booklist for both prelims and mains examination?
Should we prepare for mains and prelims separately?
Covering the same resources, why results differ?
Booklist exclusive to mains examination
How do I cover the entire syllabus?
What should be your revision strategy?
Some other tips

Current Affairs and reading Newspapers

In mains most of questions in GS paper 2 & 3 are current based, even ethics questions or case studies at times relate to current. In prelims lot of direct current affairs related questions are there and from static part current related topics become more important. So current affairs is very important today.

I have made this 9 minutes video to discuss few Current affairs related questions like:

How to begin reading the newspapers?
Which newspaper should I read?
What exactly should be read in the papers?
How to read The Hindu?
How to read The Indian Express?
How to make notes out of a newspaper?
What else has to be referred to apart from the newspapers?

You will find the answers here