How To Prepare For Newspaper Editorials? It is known that the UPSC exam is challenging, and there is enormous competition every year. Lakhs and lakhs of candidates appear for the exam from the nooks and corners of India. Many succeed, and many don't. However, for better preparation, many join coaching centers. Due to the pandemic and eventual lockdown, the IAS coaching centers have started online UPSC coaching for preparing the students. An essential aspect of the UPSC exam is writing answers analytically. To critically look into a topic and judge it likewise, you need to read the newspaper editorials thoroughly. The more you read the editorials, the more critically you will deal with an answer or essay topic. Below are some points that you need to keep in mind while reading the newspaper editorials as suggested by various online IAS coaching. 1. Check out if there are any supreme court or high court judgments highlighted Several cases reach the supreme and the high court. Often, many editors talk about these issues critically in the editorial sections of the newspapers. In the editorials, you will find that the topic has been dealt with critically. This means the editor, while writing on a particular topic, provides unbiased opinions. Similarly, while writing essays and answers in the UPSC exam, the solutions of the UPSC exam should by no means show any biases of the candidate towards any political party or organization. 2. Government policies When you are sitting for one of India's most challenging administrative exams to secure a high post, it should be imperative for you to know the government policies and schemes. When you read editorials, you will often notice that the editor of the newspaper tries to connect an issue with one or the other government scheme or policy. Therefore, when you write your UPSC exam, you need to combine the exam topics with the governmental policies. Try not to force things and connect issues. Make sure that the answer or essay should appear to be a candidate's spontaneous thought process. 3. Read letters to the editor To capture the opinions of the public, there is a section in the newspaper called the 'letters to the editor.' Here, different people from different areas write letters to the editors who are published. Here, the different opinions that people come up with may be contradictory. However, after reading these letters to the editor, you must pick the correct information from this section. As an IAS aspirant, you need to know what the citizens of your nation are thinking about different changes taking place in their surroundings. 4. Global news is important Besides the daily happenings in your country, it is essential to have a clear idea about some significant events abroad. Take a detailed look at the happenings of the allied and non-allied nations, our neighboring countries, elections in the countries with deep ties to India, and the
like. Staying updated with global politics will help you better understand the changes that the government is undertaking in its policies in your nation. 5. Look for regular public opinion welfare Besides the significant issues, the editorial section of a newspaper also features general problems like pavements, roads, drainage, water, waste management, crimes, etc. Although these things do not have any connection with the governmental schemes and policies, the government often takes some actions about them. Therefore, being an IAS aspirant, the more you know about the government's policies, schemes, and plans, the better it will be for you to write an answer. Conclusion Now that you know how to read the editorials of a newspaper, writing essays and answers critically will not be a problem. To write answers critically, first, you need to look into things with a critical apprehension.