Hacks and Tricks for UPSC Prelims

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Hacks and Tricks for UPSC Prelims – PYQs and MCQs

Author at PW

May 05, 2025

Hacks and Tricks for UPSC Prelims: Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by UPSC every year is the gateway to the most prestigious posts in India like Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) etc. UPSC Prelims Exam is the first stage of the UPSC Civil Services Examination. It is an objective type test consisting of two papers - General Studies and CSAT.

Hacks and Tricks for UPSC Prelims

The UPSC Prelims is an examination test and clearing it is mandatory for the online examination. Extreme competition in the UPSC CSE Prelims means that even though lakhs of candidates appear for the exam, only around 10-12 lakhs of them manage to crack the exam. Therefore, it is important to ensure comprehensive UPSC Prelims preparation to clear the first hurdle to secure the white collar job.

Hacks and Tricks for UPSC Prelims – PYQs and MCQs

Clearing the UPSC Prelims will take you one step closer towards your dream of becoming an IAS officer and serving the country. Here are some important hacks and tricks that you can keep in mind while preparing for UPSC prelims.

As in the last two years, the limit is usually 100 marks. If you have attempted 60-65 questions out of which 55-57 are correct, you will score more than 100 marks. That means you delete it.
If you think the UPSC Prelims questions will challenge you, it will be difficult for everyone. Of course, this only applies if you are well prepared.
Don't answer only 60-65 questions or 90-95 questions, because if 50 are wrong, it will be impossible for you to pass the exam. In such a situation, choose a 50/50 strategy and try to answer 80-85 questions. There are 50-55 correct questions and 20-25 incorrect questions. Therefore your net score is between 107-108 and you are comfortably above the trend line of the last 2-3 years.

Strategies and Tips to Prepare for UPSC CSE Prelims

The nature and system of UPSC Prelims is such that cracking it requires a comprehensive preparation strategy. The key elements to include in a comprehensive preparation strategy to crack UPSC prelims are listed below under different headings:

Analyze the syllabus thoroughly

The first step to start your UPSC preparation is to read and analyze the syllabus of the degree program in detail UPSC Preliminary Exam.

The Two Paper Syllabus of UPSC Prelims contained in the official notification consists only of a list of subjects of a suggestive nature. To fully prepare for the subject, one must understand what is covered under a specific subject. Hence, a detailed analysis of the syllabus is required to understand the topics listed in it and their detailed distribution.

Candidates are advised to go through this detailed UPSC Prelims Syllabus Discussion for a thorough analysis of it.

Analyzing UPSC Prelims Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

After the syllabus, UPSC Prelims Previous Year Questions (PYQs) are the most important compasses to guide your UPSC Prelims preparation. A detailed analysis of UPSC Prelims PYQs will help you prepare in the following ways:

Identify the topics that carry high weightage and should be prioritized.
Identify recurring topics
Understand the types of questions asked in a particular topic
Gauge recent trends and difficulty levels
Make an effective syllabus
After going through the syllabus and PYQs, a smart syllabus should be prepared which comprehensively covers the entire syllabus.

Below are some important parts to include in your study plan:

Create weekly and monthly plans with a list of topics to cover.

Track your daily progress on topics covered.

Divide daily lessons so that more lessons are allocated to weak areas

Make sure there is a good and weighted balance between static topics and current topics.

The study plan must be realistic. Preparing a study that is too ambitious and unrealistic will fail and can be disastrous.

Adopting the Pomodoro technique, where your study sessions are divided into 25-minute intervals with short breaks, will help prevent burnout and keep your focus sharp.

Focus on Conceptual Clarity

The UPSC Prelims exam tests conceptual understanding. While preparing the topic, you should therefore focus on creating clarity of concepts. The following tips will help you achieve this goal.

Refer to a standard text on the subject such as NCERT.

Avoid memorization and instead focus on understanding the topics.

Discuss with other candidates to gain clarity.

Take precise and concise notes on each topic.

Special Current Affairs Strategy

It is stated that UPSC Prelims are based on current affairs. Thus, UPSC Prelims Preparation requires significant attention to current affairs. Following are some tips to master this part of UPSC Prelims preparation.

Keep a good journal regularly. A smart alternative to this could be to follow a monthly current affairs magazine like NEXT IAS Current Affairs.

Tag news into different categories such as government plans, places in the news, laws and policies, etc. Make short notes about the news and put them in the appropriate categories.

If the news is related to the topic of the curriculum, put notes in this news with notes related to the same topic. This will help you understand and retain better.

Don't Ignore CSAT Paper

Many aspirants ignore CSAT preparation as it is only a qualifying paper. However, as the difficulty level of the CSAT paper has increased in recent years, this neglect can become disastrous. Hence the candidate should not ignore the CSAT paper.

According to the confidence level one of the following two strategies can be chosen for the CSAT paper:

If a person knows the CSAT syllabus well, he can limit himself to practicing the previous year's CSAT papers. to be connected

If one is not so familiar with CSAT syllabus, it is recommended to join a good CSAT course like NEXT IAS CSAT course.

Revision is Key to Success

UPSC Prelims Syllabus is huge. This means that when new topics are covered, the understanding of the topics already covered is weakened. Therefore, it is important that audits also consider their curriculum. The following tips will help you do this.

Make short notes on each topic for quick review.

An important part of the lessons should be used for revision.

Prepare your study plan in such a way that the last 15-20 days are reserved only for revision.

Mock Test Paper

Sufficient number of questions should be solved from each topic to prepare perfectly for UPSC Prelims. This helps as follows:

Identify weak and strong points and adjust your study plan accordingly.

Develop examination temperament.

Improve speed and accuracy

Improve time management

Learn to attempt questions strategically to maximize your total score.

The correct way to include this element in your UPSC Prelims preparation is to join good prelims like NEXT IAS prelims series.

Hacks and Tricks for UPSC Prelims- FAQs

Q1. How can I maximize my UPSC Prelims marks?

Ans. The correct way to improve your marks in the upcoming UPSC Prelims is to understand each concept, the right combination of books and follow our tips and tricks to score well.

Q2. What is the right strategy to score well in UPSC Prelims MCQs?

Ans. Instead of trying to answer all the questions, do a thorough calculation of how much you know. If you have an idea, calculate your marks and try accordingly.

Q3.How can I do well in UPSC exam?

Ans. The probability of answering "none of the above" is 34%, compared to only 21% of none of the above. So try not to mark any of the above as an answer. If any of the statements use words like extremely, always, never or other definitive terms, there is a high chance that they are wrong.

Q4. What should I do in the last few days before the UPSC exam?

Ans. Following are four critical last minute tips that every UPSC Preliminary MCQ aspirant must follow.