ESSAY GUIDANCE PROGRAMME FOR CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION

Dear Aspirants,

The essay paper (200 marks) in the civil services main examination is crucial in determining the final selection and ranking. It is decisive because it is a compulsory paper and its mark is incorporated in computing the final score. It is crucial because there is no specialization in an essay and so no aspirant can claim expertise, unlike optional subjects. Candidates will be required to write an essay on a specific topic. The choice of subjects will be given. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression. Before 1979, there was an independent exam for essays in the UPSC. The essay paper was reintroduced in the scheme of examination in 1993after the recommendation of Kothari Committee, it has played a crucial role in determining the rank of the student. It had the greatest disparity in marks, some very sincere candidates get only 50 marks whereas others get around 140 plus. The obvious reason is the essay should not appear to have been written on the basis of facts, rather the facts were written according to the essay.

Before you start writing an essay, you need to decide three things. What are you writing about? Who do you imagine will be reading your essay? What do you want to tell them? You can write a successful essay by starting off with a plan. The key to doing a successful essay is to break the writing down into short, simple steps. In IAS examination there is no fixed word limit in Essay area but I will suggest you to not write lengthy essays. It is generally said that 1500-2000 words should make a good essay. Always go for rough work before writing the main essay. Always give equal weight age to content and context in your essays. Always optimistic in your approach. Criticize government machinery to a limit. You should be politically wrong in your approach but always socially correct.

Before writing essay, you must keep the following things in your mind:

You should always keep a balanced view.

Your approach should start from realism and should end at optimism.

Your approach should be holistic and integrated.

Your understanding of things should manifest a depth.

Practise is essential for getting a good score.

While writing in the exam, first prepare a structure in the last page .

After selecting the topic, question intensely in various dimensions to get a logical structure. As you get the ideas, note them down in the structure. This process can go up to 45 minutes. And I think rest 2 hours and 15 minutes time is sufficient for you to write a structured essay.

Try to give a good introduction. It should guide the examiner to what you intend to convey in the essay. The conclusion should be good and satisfy the examiner. The main focus should be on giving a good analysis of the topic. Always conclude on a positive note.

You need not use flowery language. Simple logical presentation is sufficient.

Do not divert into areas which are irrelevant to the topic.

Make sure that you have sufficient understanding and material to write, before choosing the topic.

Writing Strategy:

Introduction (what you want to convey)-The introduction should arouse interest and generate curiosity in the mind of reader.

Content (Main body)-The present era is not of emotions but of intellectuals. Intellectualism and lectures influence not just the examiner but the common man as well. So put forth your ideas factually.

All Dimensions should be included-Social, Economic, Historical, Political, Administrative, Psychological

Geographical, Humanitarian Dimension, International Dimension ,Environmental Concern (focus as much as dimension possible)     -Refer Constitution as much as possible (if needed).

Quote examples from Newspaper, Magazines, TV etc. Current examples add marks.

Don’t stretch on idea nor repeat any idea. Essay is coherent story of a number of ideas.

Quotations are highly useful for essays & need to be memorized well.

Language should be powerful and simple.

Language should be creative and analytical.

Conclusion:

Always conclude on a positive note. It should express the essence of the essay. It should not contain any fresh evidence, facts or figures, which is not earlier mentioned in the essay. The end of conclusion can be “Remember the immortal words of Swami Vivekananda or Gandhiji or Nehru etc” followed by quotation on that topic and connect your essay with present times.

ROOT TOPICS:

India based

Women based

Society/Culture based

Ethics/Morality based

Education/Information Technology based

Political /Administrative essays

Philosophical/Hypothetical based

Current based

There is no standard material for the essay preparation. You will have to gather material from various sources. The preparation should be based on the topics. As a result to make your work easy and less time consuming, this year we have started a programme on essay. This essay programme is open for all but it is focused for Civil Services examinations.

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