Aspirants who want to clear UPSC exams at one go have to work smart rather than working hard. Therefore, along with the coaching classes, and reading study materials, and important books, it also extremely important to solve the previous year’s question paper.

Solving UPSC civil services exam is the main part of the preparation. It should be the last part of your preparation. It will be more useful if you start solving the previous year’s question paper for at least two months. Besides, solving it will make you realize where you are making mistakes, and solving it for at least two months will allow you to rectify your mistakes. The more you will solve the papers, the more you will gain confidence, and this will help you to pass the UPSC civil service exam with flying colors.

It is ideal if you solve ten years question paper of the UPSC exam. But never forget to avoid them if the question pattern has changed within the years. Try to join the coaching classes which provide you latest question papers and the latest study material. You can join some of the reliable online websites, both private, government, and NGO, for IAS exam preparation, which provides all the necessary materials and suggestions like clearias.com, byjus.com, cleariasexam.com, insightsonindia.com, iasbaba.com, mrunal.org, civilsdaily.com, gktoday.in, unacademy.com, ncert.nic.in, nios.ac.in, egyankosh.ac.in, yojana.gov.in, upsc.gov.in, and more.

Stages of IAS Exam

IAS exam is the toughest exam of the UPSC civil services exam. Moreover, there are three sections of the exam:

• Preliminary, which is the objective type exam
• Mains, the descriptive type exam
• Personal interview, the personality test

IAS Prelim Exam

It is done for screening purposes. Therefore, the marks you will get here will decide whether you have qualified for the Mains or not. In addition, there are two Prelims Papers with objective-type questions. Each carries 200 marks each, a total of 400 marks. Both of them have negative markings. However, the questions not attempted will not carry any negative markings.

1. General Studies (GS): UPSC General Studies (GS) paper consists of 100 questions, 2 marks each.
2. Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT): CSAT paper consists of 80 questions, 2.5 marks each. It is an aptitude test. You have to solve ‘Reasoning and Analytical’ questions, ‘Reading Comprehension’ and ‘Decision Making’ questions.

Syllabus of prelims 

For GS

• 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, Biodiversity, and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
• General Science

For CSAT 

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills, including communication skills
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision-making and problem-solving.
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy

IAS Mains Exam

It is the second stage of clearing the IAS exam. Thus, candidates who are qualified in the prelims can only appear for the Mains exam. Further, it is dependent on the candidate’s academic knowledge and her/his potential to understand the question and solve the problem. The Mains exam consists of 9 papers, two of which are the qualifying papers of 300 marks each.

The two qualifying papers are:

Any Indian Language Paper (1) and English Language Paper (2)

Syllabus for Mains exam

1. Paper – I is an Essay (can be written in the medium of the candidate’s choice) 250
2. Paper-II General Studies – I (Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society) 250
3. Paper – III General Studies – II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice International Relations) 250
4. Paper – IV General Studies – III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management) 250
5. Paper – V General Studies – IV (Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude) 250
6. Paper – VI Optional Subject – Paper I 250
7. Paper – VII Optional Subject – Paper II

Personal interview to clear UPSC exams

The candidates who have qualified in the UPSC Mains Exam will be allowed to go for the Personality Interview. The interview is carried by the Board of competent and unbiased observers. It is done to check the personality of the candidate. Whether she/he is suitable for becoming an IAS officer. Besides, the Interview test carries 275 marks, and the total marks for the written examination are 1750. This sums up to a Grand Total of 2025 Marks, based on which the final merit list will be prepared.

Benefits of solving previous year’s question paper to clear UPSC exams

• It helps to understand the Exam Pattern.
• So that the candidates know about the Latest topics
• Practicing the question paper will help them in the exam.
• It will help them to learn how to use the strategies.
• They will get the chance to revise.
• And will enable to get an idea of their ability.

So, as you can see, it is extremely necessary to solve the question papers to reach your dreams. I hope this helps you. To read more like this, visit our website.