What To Remember When Writing UPSC Essays? The UPSC essays constitute an integral part of the UPSC exam, which the candidates need to take seriously. Even though IAS students do not prefer working on the IAS essays, still, there is no escape. To write good essays, several mentors will suggest you read. The more you read, the better you write. In the UPSC Mains, the essay paper is one among the nine other papers that UPSC aspirants have to write. Since the paper is given a lot of weightage, it contains 250 marks. Although there is no fixed syllabus to be followed for the UPSC essays, generally, the topics of the essays are based on current affairs. Therefore, you have to be thorough about current affairs to write good essays. All IAS aspirants are suggested to sharpen their general knowledge and critical thinking capacities to write better. These are the essential things that are stressed on the essay test series conducted by the various IAS coaching classes. Generally, an essay is a piece of well-structured and organized amalgamation of your thoughts, written systematically. However, many IAS candidates complain of not getting enough marks on the essay paper. There are several reasons they lack the marks they are supposed to get. However, in this article, we have combined a few points that all IAS aspirants need to keep in mind while writing good essays. 1. Selecting the right topic Many candidates get confused about choosing the topic. Generally, the IAS aspirants are given four essential topics from which they have to choose any one topic. Likewise, two sets of essay topics are provided. Overall, the candidates have to write two essays. Therefore, joining essay test series will prove beneficial as they will discuss strategies that you can follow to choose a suitable topic. 2. Jotting down points As soon as you select the topic, it is your time to prepare a rough draft containing all the points you want to highlight in your essay. For example, if you are choosing an argumentative topic, you have to prepare points on both the pros and cons as well as provide some suggestions to help get rid of the problem. 3. Proper sequencing of ideas When writing an essay, you have to place the points one after another. This means the essays should follow a proper sequence. First, the essay should begin with a short and crisp introduction, followed by a body and conclusion. In the introduction, you have to mention the reasons behind choosing such a topic. Then, in the body, discuss the pros and cons of the problem and the measures that can be taken to cope up with the problem. Finally, the conclusion should contain a gist of whatever you wrote in the essay. 4. Adding figures and facts
Many IAS candidates have a habit of filling in facts and figures into their essays. This can be a great way to fetch more marks. The drill here is to ensure you provide the correct facts and figures. Writing incorrect facts and numbers and not just eliminating your marks, but also giving the examiner a wrong impression about you. In case you are not aware of facts, avoid them altogether. 5. Conciseness Just because you are asked to write an essay does not mean you have to keep on stretching it for ten pages. The IAS examiners look for crisp essays that have put up all the points briefly. Therefore, make sure your essay does not exceed 1000 to 1200 words. Conclusion Now that you have an idea about writing IAS essays, it will be easier for you to figure out the essay topic and jot down the points at ease. If you are still struggling, you can join any reliable IAS coaching center and sit for their essay test series.