Civil Service Examination is going on 4 October 2020, held every year by Union Public Service Commission. Now That the exam is closing in, aspirants utilize their time revising the notes and getting themselves prepared. Better India spoke to one of the IAS officers named, Jitin Yadav who is now placed in Coochbehar in West Bengal. He serves as the Sub Magistrate over there. He shares a few important tips that every aspirant should follow to get the best out of the few days left before the exam.
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1) Do Not Take Up Any New Topic
As we have interacted with many officers about last-minute tips, they all have this as the first point. Aspirants should not take up new topics rather should polish on the old chapters that they have practiced. Jitin says that this last-minute time should not be wasted on any new topics as they receive less time for practice and hampers the old topics that one has prepared so well. So forget about the topics left and focus on the ones that you have studied.
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2) Do Not Attempt Mock Papers Before The Exam
One more mistake that many aspirants make is to solve mock tests and many other papers. According to Jitin, this is considered the worst mistake made by the aspirants as the papers lower the morale of the aspirants, and they cannot revise the topics properly. They become demotivated and thus becomes the main reason behind not cracking the exam. Jitin suggests everyone leave all the mock tests fifteen days before the exam.
The aspirants should start doing smart studies and know the risk and reward questions from every topic. This would help them do a focused study. For this, one must analyze the previous year’s papers thoroughly.
3) revise everything that you have studied up till now
Jitin shared his strategy for the last fifteen days. He says that he would revise everything that he had studied. He would do go through every topic atleast once. There is a high possibility of few topics taking time to recall. Thus these fifteen days is a perfect period to grasp the topics and be confident enough to solve the questions from them. This is considered to be the most important tip, and all aspirants must follow it. Solve many MCQ’s possible to freshen up the topics that are taking time to recall. One should not get demotivated in this period, as this is a very crucial time.
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4. Do Not Give Up Now
The most difficult exam in the country can make any aspirant lose all hopes and get demotivated very easily. People tend to give up at this moment. He believes that the mental frame has to do a lot at this moment. One should always remember the hard work that has been put into this and try to push oneself until he achieves his goal. One should also not forget that everyone is going through the same mental breakdown, so giving up is not the option. Aspirants are filled with low self-esteem as they believe that they won’t score a good score. They should remember that full marks is not demanded in the exam, and they need to achieve almost 50 percent of the total marks to get qualified.
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5. Focus Only On Self
One thing that every aspirant of any exam starts doing is to compare himself with others. This sometimes makes you overconfident or break your confidence depending upon the person you are comparing yourself with. Aspirants fail to understand that everyone is different and has different abilities. One might take 10 hours to cover a topic, and the other person might take only half the time. This should get into the head and hamper the studies. There is no competition during the preparation time, and a great pace should be followed depending upon one’s capabilities. Build upon the strengths as there won’t be any noticeable change in the last few days. So maintain a healthy mindset and focus only on the exam.
6. What changes must be made to the routine before the exam?
Usually, all the aspirants are nocturnal like Jitin himself. So he would make slight changes in the routine to habituate himself according to the exam timing. Usually, aspirants feel sleepy during the exam. This is a great reason behind not giving upto the mark examination even though the preparation is done well. Aspirants should a good night’s sleep and make themselves adopt the 6 am waking time. This is essential for the exam day as the practice of getting a night of good sleep will keep the aspirant focused and mentally stable. This helps a lot on the exam day. This timing cycle is just a recommendation from Jitin, and everyone should set their timing.
7) What is the right time to Stop Reading The Newspaper?
Jitin answers this question saying that he would stop reading the newspaper fifteen days before the exam. He believes that every few items could be asked from anything that took place in the fifteen days. Thus, he would not spend his time preparing any new news, and it is not worth the mark that it would fetch him. Jitin adds that he would revise his old topics at this time and get himself ready for the exam. A week before the exam is a very important time as one can fill his brain with much-unwanted stuff or news which would not fetch any additional marks in the exam. The risk and reward method must also be applied to this thing.
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Many more quick tips could have been added, but these are the main ones. Aspirants should follow the directions that are given by an IAS officer himself to maximize their chances of excelling in the exam. Thus we wish all the aspirants good luck and hope to give their best and achieve their dream.
