The Union Public Service Commission conducts civil service exams every year in the country. It is one of the golden opportunities for lakhs of candidates to join the prestigious civil services of India. Cracking the UPSC three-stage process is not a cakewalk. In order to clear the UPSC CSE Cut Off of every selection stage, it is important to prepare a rock-solid plan and stick to it till the entire selection process is administered. Mistakes are common and are a part of human nature. You are allowed to make mistakes during the preparation, but if you fail to learn and rectify those mistakes then it may cost you dearly in the exam. In addition to this, it is advised to each and every candidate to stay positive and move ahead. In this article, we have shared the list of mistakes that the candidates should avoid during the IAS exam preparation.
Not knowing the Syllabus
UPSC IAS Syllabus is one of the important aspects of the civil services exam. Go through the syllabus and stick to it as it will reduce the wastage of your time and make you well prepared for the exam. Proper understanding of the civil services exam will help you in knowing the topics that are asked in the exam. Another benefit of knowing the syllabus is that instead of wasting the time on irrelevant topics, you will be able to utilize the time in practice and revision.
Skipping Mock Tests
The question papers of the UPSC exam are highly competitive and unpredictable in nature. To achieve a higher rank in the exam, you will have to secure higher marks and this practice is of utmost importance. One should be aware of the fact that the UPSC Prelims exam does have negative marking for wrong answers. Hence, practice is important to learn the art of saving yourself from negative marking by smart guesswork techniques. Thus, candidates should attempt mock tests regularly to discover their strengths and weaknesses and then fix the weak areas to qualify for the UPSC Exam with flying colors.
Not taking Exam Analysis Seriously
Candidates can check previous year UPSC Prelims Exam Analysis from various authentic websites and youtube channels to understand the marking scheme, topic-wise weightage of marks, number of good attempts, important topics, and overall difficulty level of the question paper. It is one of the best ways to get an insight into the actual question paper and help you in preparing the exam strategy accordingly.
Referring to Multiple books for one topic
It is a fact that the UPSC civil services exam syllabus is vast and tricky but that doesn’t imply that you have to refer to too many books for each topic to strengthen your preparation. There are a plethora of books available in online and offline stores for the preparation of the IAS exam. Referring to multiple books for a single topic will create confusion as every book explains the concepts in a different manner. Candidates should select one or two books to understand the concept of each topic.
Avoiding Current Affairs
One of the common mistakes candidates make during the preparation of the civil services exam is that they cover the current affairs a few days before the exam dates or cover them from unauthentic sources. Most of the questions asked in the UPSC exam are based on current affairs. The best source of preparation for current affairs will be reading the newspaper daily and referring to current affairs weekly and monthly PDFs from reliable websites. Also, do not forget to attempt current affairs quizzes and revise current affairs notes regularly.