" Planned Studies,
Hard Work and INNER motivation
are the Keys to Success "
Mr. Sorabh Babu Maheshwari
AIR 1 Civil Services Examination, 1999-2000.
Age -23. He has done B.E. (Mech.)
* Secret of success
There are myriad of factors responsible; to sum up God’s grace, family’s support and encouragement, planned studies, hard work, inner motivation can be cited as the main factors.
* Time requires for serious preparation
Atleast one year of serious dedicated preparation.
*Interview Board
Questions posed before a candidate are very well framed and answers to them should be made taking into consideration all possible views and a balanced approach is expected from a candidate.
* Advice to the future aspirants
The path towards this coveted service passes through many ups and downs. To carry oneself along these pulls and pushes requires strong inner motivation and decision to aspire for Civil Services should come from within.
* Civil Services as career
The unique blend of service opportunities which Civil Services offers. Diversity of job, being a party in policy implementation, bigger responsi bilities, social esteem and to do good to common masses were some factors which made me to go in for Civil Services.
* My Optionals
Mathematics for Prelims; Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering for Mains. Having studied Mechanical Engg. in my graduation for 4 years, I found it a natural choice and I felt quite comfortable with Mathematics.
* Preparation of Compulsory papers
I made a list of topics to be read, then gave them a priority based on their importance and started from the top giving due time to each of them. This approach was mandatorv for me as I am already in job and did not have ample time.
* Selective, intensive study and wide, extensive study
Wide extensive study should be followed by selective intensive study.
Few Words.....
The path to the coveted Civil Services is full of ups and downs and is a highly uneven track to traverse. Before taking a decision about Civil Services as your career, it is expedient to check up oneself and remain determined after wards.
The first and foremost thing to decide while aspiring for Civil Services is the judicious choice subjects for the Prelims and the Mains. This is the most important and first step of your journey and should be accomplished most carefully as coming things hinge on it and a wrong decision may prove to be disastrous.
Careful analysis of syllabus, previous years’ papers, your calibre, requirement of subject (Visionary, Numerical, Theoretical), comfort level with the subject and past trends should be done. Advice from seniors and fellow candidates should also be sought. To avoid dithering in choice at later stage, initial deep thinking and consultations are a must. Having decided the subject, it is advisable to stick to your choice even if the perception of others about it is not favourable.
Preparation for General Studies can be done hand in hand while preparing for Optional papers. Good mix of study hours for General Studies and Optionals makes study enjoyable and it becomes easy to sustain for long hours without losing interest and enthusiasm. Before Prelims result, one Optional can be exhaustively prepared so as to have an edge during study for the Mains and also to ease out burden during these busy days.
General Studies, though does not have any limits, yet syllabus as outlined by UPSC gives quite good understanding of the question paper. General tendency about General Studies paper is to devote much more time on unproductive readings which, in reality yields little returns.
Concentrate on what is more probable, followed by probable, then less probable if time permits. Even if you do not cover less probable ones, you are not at much o floss. So, be secure and study systematically. Being a regular reader of newspapers n magazines gives good command and writing skill, hence, this should be made a habit.
Trend now-a-days has shifted more towards current issues, hence a thorough awareness of recent happenings is mandatory. one you achieve the threshold in General Studies, more efforts should be put on Optionals (Especially in Prelims) as it is more scoring and is the hub of success.
For Mains, syllabus is quite beautifully elaborated and we know beforehand the study topics. Ready reference material as published in some magazines is of great help. I believe that the preamble of UPSC Question Paper are the instructions on the front page of the paper.
Give some time in reading the instructions and follow them. By doing this, you are averting a possible source of error which could creep in if you do not read them.
Follow the world-limit as prescribed at the end of the question to the extent possible. Try to confine your answer within that limit, never exceed it. The art to express many contrasting views in a confined word space comes through practice, so practise some previous years’ question papers. Be your own while writing, never try to imitate anybody. Your expression needs try to be limited yet comprehensive while writing General Studies paper.
In Essay paper, your imagination can reach zenith but with a purpose, never divert from the main topic. To ensure, work out the sub-titles, rearrange them if necessary and once you are satisfied with the rough work, elaborate are satisfied with the rough work, elaborate on this outline after wards.
There is no standard word-limit yet. What one can effectively write in 3-hour duration is good enough length. My essay consisted of approx 2500 words. Conclusion should be drawn only at the end, take a balanced approach and write whatever good comes to your mind at the end, take a balanced approach and write what ever good comes to your mind at the moment. Devote initial 40-46 minutes on preparing rough outline. Next 2 hours for writing inflow and last 15-20 minuets for review and corrections.
Approach to Optional paper is not universal and is individual specific, adopt such strategy which you are comfortable with and which fits into your constraints. Since, I am working with maruti Udyog, I did not have plenty of time as against my fellow candidates. I had to evolve and finetune my strategy to cover up such a huge Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics syllabi apart from General Studies & essay.
"How to write an answer" is equally vital for Mechanical Engineering/Mathematics paper as it is for General Studies & Essay. Students sometimes ignore basics and it costs much. Before proceeding, state all the assumptions involve and try to give minutes plausible details, adopt step0by-step approach, see that no vital step is left in between, as these steps are the links and missing or weak links can never ensure good strength of the answer, so be careful about it. All this sequential and systematic answering comes through a lot of practice and analysis of standard answers. Simulate the actual examination hours at home to judge your performance and to plug any loopholes.
For the Personality Test one should better form a group of 3-4 people as the preparation for Interview cannot be done in isolation. All would agree that personality is a life-time asset and expecting miraculous alterations in personality in a span of a few days or weeks is not possible. Yet, efforts can be made to overcome major deficiency and polish p views and opinions.
Remember, no one is omniscient and non-awareness of something should be admitted with politeness. Only those people learn who have urge to change are willing to accept new ideologies. If at any point of time, you could show that your approach is flexible an amenable the world is yours. It is better to say ‘No’ than to bluff around. Those interviewing are highly experienced persons and know much better than us, therefore one should be expressed only if asked so, never start giving history of an issue, unless asked to do so. Of the question put is not clear t you, politely ask for more information. It is not the factual knowledge but your views which are on test. Always observe interview etiquette and be honest, polite, convincing an modest. Arrogance, rigidity, flicking round the issue should be avoided.
A lot depends upon the Almighty, so pray often. Be self confident but not complacent, honest, motivated, have patience and be optimistic. Work hard as there is no short-cut to success and hard work never goes unrewarded. I would like to quote Swami Vivekanand (often my eldest brother reminds me of it): Arise awake and rest not till the goal is achieved. There are many ups and downs during the course. It is the ‘downs’ which need to be tackled more vigorously and skillfully, it is when a person’s qualities are on test and they emerge as winners who have these qualities. To cite my example, I was often told that it is just impossible to think for IAS while working. I was advised sometimes even to quit the job. Yet, I managed to come out with flying colours despite all these hiccups’ kudos to good planning, my faith in Almighty, parents’ blessing, hard work and God’s grace. I have read somewhere that winners are those who manage their hardships effectively and do learn from our mistakes makes us successful. Never feel depressed, self confidence and inner strength are the two basic requirements for anybody to appear in this examination. Believe in yourself. You are your own best judge and you know which areas are weak and nee reinforcement. General perception around the Civil Services aspirants regarding Mechanical Engineering is highly discourage yet I took it and got success. So never get carried away by others
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