The UPSC IAS exam is intended to assess your analytical, reading/writing, reasoning abilities including mental agility. The intriguing truth that will be discussed is that candidates frequently fail the exam, even though they were top students in their school or college. It has been claimed that those with the minimum pass marks in their undergraduate studies cannot be accepted into the civil service, however this is untrue as well. Numerous candidates who were never academically smart but nonetheless managed to do well in this exam. Your intellectual prowess is NOT relevant in this situation. There is a common misperception that graduates of India’s top educational institutes can ace this test on their first try. Your academic prowess and the number of tries you make are unrelated.
- Not keeping up with current affairs- Whether you are preparing for the prelims, mains, or interview, the current affairs cover a wide range of topics. Every response you give will be related to the one before it in some way. Your prospects of succeeding are minimal if you are behind the times in current affairs. Frequently read the Hindu daily and a reputable magazine like Officers’ Pulse to stay updated on current events. Click hereto watch the video of our student Sivanandham(AIR-87), who used ONLY Officers’ Pulse to achieve this feat in his very first attempt.
- Lack of proper planning – Any long-term objective should be supported by a reliable timeline so that you can concentrate on the objective and monitor your progress. Without a plan for their journey, aspirants frequently stray and study ineffectively. This is actually unhelpful since they could learn topics that are not necessary or might not be giving each subject the appropriate amount of attention.
- Rushing through preparation- I respectfully remind you that the civil service test is not like the typical college exam, which can be passed by studying a few days before to the exam. There is no chance of passing, and writing to fill the pages won’t get you past either. Consistency and perseverance are the two crucial traits an aspirant needs to succeed. You should persistently study every day till you pass the exam.
- Not using Smart Learning- The days of getting a perfect score simply memorizing and repeating facts are long gone. I began this response by discussing the traits examined on the civil service exam, but nowhere does it state that the UPSC expects remarkable memory strength from applicants. They want for a civil servant to have an analytical mind that can take in information and come up with answers. As a result, as you acquire the knowledge, you must learn to develop replies in that environment. Do smart learning that is geared toward the exam’s requirements rather than the repetitive study you previously did. The new style of mock test seriesdesigned at Officers’ IAS Academy contains UPSC-level questions, elaborate and precise explanations, and a discussion post the exam for doubt clarifications. Additionally, we have introduced “value-added notes” related to that topic and retrospective analysis of your answers, which will quantify your confidence, guess-taking ability, and risk management. Further a detailed “Test Discussion” post the test lasting for 5-6 hours for each test analyses each question in depth providing a 360 Degree coverage of the topic helping the student revise the subject in the process
- Not covering Previous Years’ Questions: Many candidates fail to do so because they believe it will make them nervous. You may waste a lot of effort for this one reason alone. By practicing them, you may learn what the UPSC wants, how to build an answer, and other things. Attempt the Previous Year Questions to get yourself acclimatized with the nature of questions asked.
- Not Covering the Basics- In the end, an aspirant must learn and understand the fundamentals of what the syllabus requires. An applicant neglects the fundamentals in an effort to finish the extensive course more quickly. This ultimately brings about their own destruction because the UPSC wants you to comprehend the fundamentals and frequently bases its questions on your comprehension. When a candidate does not devote the necessary time to learning the fundamentals, the problem of needing many attempts to pass arises. You may learn the fundamentals of the topic by reading NCERT textbooks from Classes VI to X.
- Not learning from mistakes: If you want to pass this exam, you must put your ego aside and take test after test to perfect yourself till you pass. When you study for this exam, the power of self-acceptance will work wonders for you.
- The ludicrous presentation—This is particularly applicable for the IAS Mains exam and it occurs when students write what they know rather than what they ought to. Simply filling out the answer sheet will not guarantee success. The question must be comprehended, the thoughts must be organized appropriately, and the response must be concise and logical. Click here if you wish to do answer writing practice on questions
The main elements that prevent an aspirant from succeeding include some of the negative traits I have already discussed. All of these behaviors either developed out of fear or were ingrained in us as a result of numerous life experiences. I genuinely hope that an aspirant is able to break free from these bad habits that are keeping them from success. Our coaching method has produced many civil servants and if you wish to see the video of two such aspirants who got IAS and IPS on their very first attempt, then click here. Our detailed study program brings the best IAS coaching methods and has made our academy one of the top IAS coaching institutes in India. I wish you the best for your IAS exam.