If you want to start preparing for IAS i.e. UPSC civil services examination, you can either go for self-studies or you can also take up classroom training to crack the exam. The classroom coaching program is sometimes fairly expensive and this may not be suitable for all.but, there’s an alternative.You can study for the civil services exam at home with some help from online coaching and books. There are tons of videos available for free on YouTube that can help you with the preparations.
UPSC CSE exam pattern and Eligibility
- The test has three phases — prelims, that usually happens in June, Mains — happens in Septemberand the final interview rounds that are usually conducted from from January to April.
- The prelims exam is qualifying in nature and consists of two papers i.e. General studies and CSAT. The mains exams consist of 9 different exams including the two optional subject papers and two language papers. The interview is a personality assessment test.
- You need to a graduate in any subject to be eligible for the exam.
- You can prepare for civil services at home by spending less money as compared to classroom coaching.
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Prepare Civil Services Examination At Home
- Choose the subject of your choice and start with it. Starting with the subject that interests you is very important as it will give the initial push to the preparation and keep your motivation levels high. Make sure that you make notes in your copy. You can take help of UPSC Notes PDF for your preparation.
- Read the newspaper every day and make notes. You can make the notes every day or every two days or every week. If you are planning to do it once a week, then it will be easy for you to find the related topics and then make a consolidated sheet. This can be done in hard or soft copy as per your convenience and the amount of time available at your end. Once you have got into this flow, try to cover the news in the same manner for the previous months if you couldn’t do so. When you read a topic, try to do overall research from the internet and collate the information available. Be careful to use the information only from the authenticated sources such as the government websites etc. After all, Civil Services is also a government exam. Learn about the best English newspapers for UPSC 2021 in the linked article.
- Mark a deadline for the completion of the subject, say 20-25 days. This depends upon the syllabus of the subject, and also one’s own learning or grasping ability. Whatever the case be, always be realistic. Learn how to make a timetable for UPSC from the linked article.
- Once the first subject’s reading and note-making is done, start with the second subject. However, now along with reading, understanding and making notes for the subject, you will need to revise the first subject too. It would be advisable to start solving the questions of the subject that you are revising. This will give you immense confidence and hold on the subject. You can keep half an hour to 45 minutes every day for this. Refer to the best revision techniques for UPSC in the linked article.
- After completing two subjects, it would be time to start with your optional subject too. Hence now your workload will increase. Now you will have to read a subject from GS + Optional + revision of notes of the previously read subjects + question practice + current affairs. Refer to the following links to make your preparation