The journey that one undertakes to clear the UPSC examination is long and irksome. It is a time-consuming process which involves a great deal of incertitude. How many people manage to get through in one attempt?
You may join an institute or coaching center for guidance, but that will cover only 30% of the preparation. The rest 70% depends on how you choose to train yourself. In the course of the preparation, you may feel crumpled. Your shoulders might stoop due to the unbearable burden because let’s be honest, the syllabus is vast. It is the tenacity which will make all the difference.
You can choose to seek help from some renowned UPSC coaching institute, but for the major part of the preparation, you will still need to count on yourself. Are you ready to gear up for the journey?
Books Are Irreplaceable
Do you rely way too much on the internet to study?
No matter how tech-savvy you are, no matter how smart methods of study you have opted for, books are irreplaceable. You need to go through the syllabus of the UPSC mains exams thoroughly and sort the books that you might need to shield you. Although most of the books are similar to the ones which you have already used for your preliminary examination, mains examination is a bit advanced and therefore, you’ll need to have a few more books. Have a look into some of the UPSC mains books which will pave the way towards your success.
Some Essential Books
There are a few books which are as important to the UPSC aspirants as the Bible is to the Christians. For instance, the best books to study about the History of modern India, the nationalist movement in India and its freedom struggle are History of Modern India and India’s Struggle For Independence. Both these books have been penned by Bipan Chandra. Apart from that, one can follow India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma to clear his concepts about the culture of India. Similarly, for Indian polity, Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations by M. Laxminath deserves an honorable mention. For Geography, get hold of Majid Hussain’s book titled Geography of India. Ramesh Singh’s book will help you to clear your concepts regarding Economics.
If you think that you won’t need to pay special attention to Environmental Studies, get rid of this idea RIGHT NOW! The environment for Civil Services Prelims and Mains by Khuller will help you to cover this section for both prelims and mains. Last but not the least, when it comes to current affairs, you need to keep your need to be aware of the recent events of public importance taking place at the national and international level. You need to gather regular updates from news channels and newspapers. Buy a Manorama Year Book in which you will find all the notable events of the year summed up. Any good IAS coaching in Delhi will educate you in details.
In the mains examination, you will be given to writing an essay on any topic. Essays for Civil Services by Pulkit Khare will help you get through.
Set Your Attitude Right
At any point in time, if you tend to develop a sense of fatigue or think of giving up, hold on. Do not lose your focus. Many of the students have a kind of laid back plan of cracking the examination in 6-9 attempts. This will do no good and has a, rather, negative impact on the candidate. Constant failure can demotivate any normal human being. Make sure that you always have a winning attitude and then, no matter what people say, things will be easy for you.
All the best!