IAS, IPS, IFS and all civil service exams conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) usually start with the Prelims round, qualifying which students are allowed to take the main test.
Hence, the Prelims round of civil service exams can considered as a gateway where students aim to perform their best , in order to make their way to advance stages of the exam.
The syllabus of Prelims round remains common for all civil service exams.
Here is a sneak peek into the syllabus of prelims round of civil service exams.
Syllabus for Civil Service Preliminary Exams for Paper-I
- Current events of national and international importance.
- History of India and Indian National Movement.
- Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
- Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
- Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
- General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change
- General Science
Syllabus for Civil Service Preliminary Exams for Paper-II
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision-making and problemsolving
- General mental ability
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. – Class X level)
The above syllabus for Civil Service Prelims exam might look short in kind, but covering the entire of it is often challenging for students. Also considering the question standard of civil service exams, its important for students to prepare the above syllabus with complete commitment and dedication.
As an aid in preparing for prelims round of civil service exam, here is suggesting 5 tips that can help you make your way:
a) Note the question pattern and topics
The question pattern of Prelims exam is objective type questions (multiple choice question). This is tough as students are limited to answer within given 4 options. Its hence-fore recommended that students solve enough previous years paper to guess the probability of how the MCQ pattern works. Also, continuous solving of civil service papers will allow one to understand the important chapters and topics that they should prepare in vivid details.
b) Trending news and happenings
The Prelims round leaves option for General knowledge based questions. These are usually based on events, news and personalities that are trending in news. So its good if students can allot a time in their schedule for newspapers, radio and television before civil service exam preparation. It will help them to remain updated and score in prelims round.
c) Accuracy is a mandate
Its important for students to knit in speed and accuracy in their answering pattern for civil service exams, especially in the prelims round. This is because the first round that is prelims of civil service exam includes negative marking. Each wrong answer leads to a deduction of 1/3rd marks from total score. Students should therefore make sure that they only answer questions in the prelims round that they are rest assured to be correct and confident about.
d) Speed in Prelims exam
The trick to be fast in the prelims round of civil service exam, is to answer all the assured questions (whose answers you know) at the first go. Later, students can get back to the tough questions, brainstorm and try to answer them. This trick helps students to secure better score in civil service prelims exam.
e) Take up mock tests
Mock tests rehearses and prepares one for any exam better. In case of civil service exams, taking up the mock tests will benefit students to learn time management and also assess their standard of exam preparation. Its therefore suggested to civil service exam applicants to take up mock tests keeping ample time in hand and altering study strategies based on the result. However its important to select right tutorial to take up the civil service mock tests.
If you are looking for coaching center, institute, trainer or expert for your UPSC preparation, click here.
