Q.Why does ‘Answer Writing’ play the most crucial role in UPSC CSE Preparation Journey?

As you are going to appear for one of the most challenging and prestigious exam, you must be well prepared. UPSC conducts Civil Service Exam in three phases i.e. Preliminary Exam, Main Exam & Interview. Once you qualify Prelims, you get an opportunity to write Main Exam, which has a substantive weightage (1750 out of 2025 marks) in the final selection of a candidate. Therefore, aspirants need to score well in Main Exam in which answer writing skill plays a consequential role.

Along with having comprehensive knowledge of any topic, it is also important to produce the same effectively on a piece of paper in specified words within limited time. Your answers must be content rich, well presented, to the point, spellbinding and coherent. Therefore, ‘Answer Writing’ is an indispensable part of UPSC Preparation Journey.

Further, Answer Writing also helps in:
  • 1)Comprehensive coverage of both the syllabus i.e. Static and Current Affairs
  • 2)Revising and consolidating important facts and data
  • 3)Summarising any topic in limited words
  • 4)Developing presentation skills such as using flowcharts, schematics, tables, diagrams, maps etc.
  • 5)Time management in real exam scenario

Aspirants, do remember that there have been multiple examples of UPSC toppers who inspite of having average performance in Interview, succeeded in scoring a good rank in UPSC CSE just because of their high marks in MainExam.

Q.What does a ‘Good Answer’ mean and what are its key elements?

In simple words, a ‘Good Answer’ means an answer which satisfies the core demand of the question and gives a sense of completeness with respect to content coverage, structure and presentation within specified word limits

Key elements of a Good Answer:

The basic structure of a ’Good Answer’ must have:

INTRODUCTION

  • Should always set the tone of the question.
  • Can be of various types such as - based on definition, based on current context, based on facts & data to validate the statement given in the question etc.
  • Should be precise and short.

MAIN BODY

  • The most significant component of an answer.
  • Must address the various sub-parts mentioned in the question
  • Should be multi-dimensional, have wide coverage and points mentioned should be relevant and speific
  • Points should be adequately subtantiated with examples, data, facts etc. as far as possible
  • Out of total specified words, maximum weightgage should be alloted to the main body of an answer.

CONCLUSION

  • It must give a sense of completeness to the answer.
  • There can be various approaches to conclude an answer such as giving positive outlook, constructive suggestions, summarising the topic of the question etc.
  • Like introduction, the conclusion of an answer should also be precise and short.
Presentation Aspects:

No matter how good the content is, an answer will not fetch high marks, if it is not well presented.

To enhance presentation skills, following points should be kept in mind:
  • 1)Legible handwriting must be maintained in all the answers.
  • 2)Aspirantsnswer should be presented in point format as far as possible and, if it is written in paragraph format, they should be simple and short.
  • 3)Sometimes, to save time and words and, to make an answer more presentable; flow charts, tables, graphs, schematics etc. can also be used.
  • 4)Various parts of the question should be answered under respective sub-heads.
  • 5)Important words, phrases, data, key terms etc. should be underlined.

With sound preparation and correct approach, an aspirant can definitely write a good answer which will help him/her to qualify this challenging exam with outstanding marks.

If you still feel the need to discuss the intricacies of ‘Answer Writing’, you can write us at dashovidya.upsc@gmail.com to book a mentoring session.

Q. How does DashoVidya help in developing ‘Answer Writing Skills’ of aspirants through its various Answer Assessment Programs?

DashoVidya has a team of highly qualified and experienced mentors who have reached upto different stages of UPSC CSE. Most of them are working in the field of serving civil service students for a substantive period of time.Our aim is to enhance answer writing skills of aspirants through various programs so as to enable them to excel in Main Exam of UPSC CSE