UPSC IAS Smart Work for Preparation. How to Get Your Priorities Right?

UPSC IAS Smart Work for Preparation. How to Get Your Priorities Right?

The effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference. This article is written with a special focus on doing smart work for IAS preparation. The importance of this discussion is at a time when there are a wide variety of resources available around every aspirant to make him/her get confused. UPSC IAS Smart Work for Preparation. How to Get Your Priorities Right?

Hard work vs UPSC IAS Smart Work

In school, we would have come across both hard workers and smart workers.

Hard workers would study the entire year, make notes on almost everything, and prepare hard for examinations. However, when final results come, some ‘dark horses’ emerge to top the list, often overtaking the hard workers, surprising everybody.

Yes, they are the smart workers.

The smart worker completes the most important tasks first. They prioritise their actions. If the effort is not worth the return, they may even don’t do it.

In contrast, hard workers try hard and attempt to learn almost everything. In the process, they tend to devote more time on unimportant topics and materials, resulting in the loss of valuable time.

Smart workers would pay more attention to their final goal and clear the examinations in flying colours spending less time, energy and money!

Know what to study and what not

There is no shortage of books, materials, or coaching in the market, but there is no proper guidance regarding what to study and what not. The root concept of smart work for clearing IAS exam lies in the same – knowing what to study and what not.

If you are a beginner (or veteran) who is confused about the right strategies, we strongly recommend you to download our ebook (PDF) – “UPSC Civil Services Exam – The Beginner’s Guide to Success”. You can download it for FREE!

You may also check the article Strategy and Books for Early Birds To Knowledgekart Blog for IAS Exam if ‘civils’ is a long-term plan.

If you are thinking that you need to read N number of books (the big ones you know, with near size of a pillow where N is a variable which starts only from the smallest possible 3 digit number), attend IAS classroom coaching at ABC institute, BCD institute, and XYZ institute for specialized classes for each subject, browse 15-20 websites and prepare notes from 5-10 newspapers and magazines each day to Knowledgekart IAS, you are probably wrong.

The exaggerated actions highlighted above are Utopian cases, which are neither practical nor necessary to clear Civil Services Exam. Even if an imaginary person does all that is stated above, there is still a chance that he/she, not clear Prelims/Mains. UPSC IAS Smart Work for IAS Preparation

What matters in the UPSC Exams is the Quality of Learning and not the Quantity!

What matters in UPSC IAS preparation is not the quantity (volume) of materials one had gone through, but the quality of learning and revision done.

Equally important as knowledge (or conceptual understanding) is another factor – Skill. To clear an exam like UPSC CSE, you need to develop your exam skills. Aspirants should also develop personalized strategies knowing their strengths and weaknesses, as general strategies might not work in individual cases. UPSC IAS Smart Work

Techniques to boost your UPSC Marks within a short time!

‘Collector’ or ‘Book Collector’?

Book Collector

As books in physical form are an indispensable prerequisite for IAS preparation, candidates should not worry spending a few bucks on the necessary books for UPSC exams. In fact, from the very beginning aspirants should keep aside a sum of around Rs. 5000-10,000 entirely for basic books, magazines and newspapers. UPSC IAS Smart Work

But what are the essential books for IAS preparation? Don’t worry. We are coming to that.

Book-Buying Habit of Aspirants – Two Extreme Cases

Two versions of candidates can be observed if we keenly analyze the book-buying habit of aspirants.

The first group are extremely reluctant to spend on books, though they are happy to spend thousands on coaching classes (without any use), drinks, the latest gadgets or parties. Instead of the original books, the depend on pirated PDFs, photocopies, and the coaching class notes.

The second version of aspirants considers being a book collector as the prerequisite for becoming an actual collector. Rooms of these guys can at any time beat any central library in terms of quantity of materials 🙂

Choose the middle path!

We at ClearIAS.com suggest a middle path. Though books are lifelong assets and the money spend on books can be seen as an investment, you should also consider the time factor. You have only limited time and UPSC does not expect you to read all the textbooks and magazines available in the market.

So candidates are advised to adopt a basic minimum program in the case of books and study materials that should be bought. Depending upon on time available, you may expand your book base from this basic minimum.

We have listed out 30-40 books recommended by toppers (considering the requirements of Prelims, Mains, and Interview). Once you begin, you may not buy all of them together. Start with 1-2 books for each subject. However, get NCERT textbooks for all subjects from class 6-12.

Even the minimum book list (listed below) might look exhaustive for some of the aspirants, but unfortunately, we can’t help that. The one year long UPSC exam cycle expects you to go through at least these basics. After all, you are doing smart work for IAS, and not any school exams! 🙂

Smart Work for IAS Preparation

UPSC

Indian Polity short Quiz

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UPSC IAS

UPSC IAS Polity Quiz

UPSC IAS Quiz for Polity

1 / 11

The first schedule of the Indian Constitution pertains to

  1. Names of States
  2. Names of Union territories
  3. Citizenship
  4. Forms of Oaths and Affirmation

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

2 / 11

Which of the following statements is correct with regard to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution?

  1. The Preamble is a source of power to the legislature
  2. Preamble is a part of the Constitution
  3. Preamble cannot be amended
  4. It is non-justiciable, or it is not enforceable in courts of law.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

3 / 11

A democratic polity is based on the doctrine of popular sovereignty. With regard to this principle, consider the following

  1. Plebiscite
  2. Referendum
  3. Recall
  4. Initiative

Which of the above is/are used in direct democracy?

4 / 11

‘Objective Resolution’ presented by Jawaharlal Nehru in December, 1946 is an historic event in the making of the Constitution. What did this resolution contain?

5 / 11

Which of the following is/are the principal feature(s) of Government of India Act, 1919?

  1. Introduced dyarchy at the Centre
  2. Separated for the first time, provincial budget from the Central budget.
  3. Introduced separate representation for the Muslim community and sowed the seeds of separatism.
  4. Introduced provincial autonomy

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

6 / 11

In Indian context, the concept of ‘due process of law’ was introduced in which of the following cases/law?

7 / 11

According to the Constitution of India, Article 3 authorises the Parliament to reorganise the States. With this authority, the Parliament can

  1. alter the name of any state
  2. diminish the area of any state
  3. alter the boundaries of any state
  4. increase the area of any state

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

8 / 11

Consider the following statements:

Assertion (A) : Article 1 describes India, as a ‘Union of States’ rather than ‘Federation of States’

Reason (R) : Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement among the States

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

9 / 11

In India, the Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes which of the following ways to acquire citizenship?

  1. By naturalisation
  2. By descent
  3. By incorporation of territory
  4. By registration

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

10 / 11

At the time of British rule in India, the direct elections were for the first time incorporated under which Law/Act?

11 / 11

The federation as prescribed by Government of India Act, 1935 never came into being because

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