UPSC Prelims 2018 Strategy and Approach

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UPSC Prelims 2018 Strategy

The UPSC 2018 Prelims exam is going to be conducted on June 3, 2018. We, at ETEN IAS, have come up with a dedicated UPSC Prelims 2018 strategy to help you ace the exam and realize your dream of having a successful career in Civil Services.

With less than 6 months to go for the UPSC 2018 exam, it is important that you have a UPSC Prelims 2018 strategy.

UPSC Prelims 2018 Strategy: Analyzing the trend in previous UPSC exams

Let us start by taking a look at the table below.

SUBJECT 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Science 19 9 17 19 8 8 9
Geography 11 17 20 19 16 6 8
Environment 15 16 13 15 11 18 12
History 11 18 8 10 17 15 15
Current Affairs 13 3 8 13 22 27 24
Polity 12 20 16 12 13 7 21
Economy 19 17 18 12 13 19 11
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

 

By analyzing the number of questions per subject over the last 7 years, we’ve come up with the following conclusions:

  1. 60 % of the total paper comes from History, Geography, and Current Affairs.
  2. History: The number of questions from History has been consistent throughout the year.
  3. Geography: There used to be more questions from Geography earlier, but in the past few years, the number has reduced.
  4. Polity: There was a huge surprise for aspirants as the number of questions increased from 7 in 2016 to 21 in 2017.
  5. Science: The number of questions has been consistent in the last three years but, given the unpredictability of changes in UPSC exam pattern, it’s safe to have a balance approach toward each subject
  6. Current affairs: With one-fourth of questions in the paper, Current Affairs is one of the most important subjects in UPSC Prelims exam. It has been the most important section in the last three years.

 

Considering this, ETEN IAS has started an initiative of daily CURRENT NEWS analysis of various newspapers, pib and some other important sources which will be published on our website on daily basis.

Analyzing the last three-year pattern of current affairs, it is clear that UPSC is choosing a high number of questions from this section so it is pertinent to cover the current affairs section adequately. Also, the Mains examination is highly tilted towards current affairs, so you can’t ignore this section.

 

TOPIC UPSC  2017 PAPER I  ( NO OF QUESTIONS)
CURRENT AFFAIRS 24
ECONOMY 11
ENVIRONMENT 12
GEOGRAPHY 8
POLITY 21
ART & CULTURE 3
ANCIENT HISTORY 4
MEDIEVAL HISTORY 1
MODERN HISTORY 7
SCIENCE & TECH 9
TOTAL 100

UPSC Prelims 2018 Strategy and Approach

Keeping the analysis in mind, we’ve developed a UPSC Prelims 2018 strategy. Here’s what you need to focus on while preparing for the exam:

  1. Inculcate a balanced approach and give equal importance to each subject because you never know which particular subject could become the highlight of the year.
  2. Cover all the aforementioned topics properly.
  3. Focus on current affairs and dedicate some time every day to get updated.
  4. Do not opt for rote-learning in Economics, Polity or Environment, as the questions therein require conceptual clarity.

Previously, we posted 10 tips to simplify your UPSC preparation. Subscribe to the Civils category and stay tuned for more updates.

If you have any queries, write to us in the comments below and we’ll respond to you shortly.

All the best!

 

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