For the people who are going to write the mains exam this year , you need to pull up your socks and gear up for what's coming next!!! Even though there has been a huge gap between preliminary examination and Mains examination this year (given that the mains exam is starting from December 1st 2013); there is a factor of uncertainty entangled with the process of preparation, thanks to the whole new pattern of Civil Services Main Exam.

The Main exam will consist of the following papers :- Essay, Modern Indian Language, English,  General Studies-I, General Studies-II, General Studies-III, General Studies-IV, Optional Subject Paper –I, Optional Subject Paper –II. The importance laid on General Studies paper is evident with a total of 1000 marks being allotted to it. But this does not mean optional paper can be ignored.

Optional paper may be reduced from 2 to 1, but it also lays greater importance on the 250 marks now. Say a person who scores in the range of 180-200, has a better scope of clearing the exam than someone who scores in the range of 100-150. While deciding for Optional paper always try and avoid herd behavior, it will lead you to nowhere; instead choose a subject that interests you and you can easily relate to. It will be helpful in the long run, no matter that it is not the subject you studied in your graduation days. You have to be comfortable enough to deal with various tricky questions that come down on your way.

The Civil Services Main examination is aimed to test the academic talent of the aspirant, also the ability to present his/ her knowledge in a clear and coherent manner. The main Examination is intended to measure the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory they possess.

So first let’s talk about the paper of English that is qualifying in nature. For the students who come from English medium, this paper will be a piece of cake but it is the students from Hindi medium who might face a problem; so they need to work on their English in as many ways as they can. But most importantly they have to practice comprehension solving. Try translating hindi paragraphs to English if not vice versa.

For the essay paper, most students would not bother preparing separately; well the choice is very much yours but you need to be creative and always make sure that you express your viewpoints in a dignified manner and always try and suggest remedies to the problems at hand. That would show your long sightedness and something to be valued in the service you aspire to join.

For Paper I(Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society) Paper II( Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations) and paper III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management) practicing how to write an answer within a specified time limit is very important. And the more you practice the more advantage you are in. All you need to have is a basic level knowledge of the relevant issues at hand and the capacity to analyze it. After having prepared for the preliminary exam we are sure that you are no stranger to topics like Indian heritage and culture, modern Indian history, freedom struggle, governance, constitution, union and states and likes. Of course various new topics of world history, world geography, security and disaster management are new but it is paper IV that is completely fresh, that deals with ethics, integrity and aptitude. Even though they sound somewhat general in nature, the candidates' answers must be crisp and to the point to hit the bulls eye. Sample question paper published by UPSC of ethics is likely to ease the confusion of ‘what to really expect?’ Case studies might serve as a major highlight of this paper. But the commission has made it very clear that the sample paper is meant to throw some light on what to expect and in no way is meant to be exhaustive.

Just remember that Discipline' and 'Regularity' should be your two holy mantras. As told earlier also, the new pattern calls for a whole new approach, as in more emphasis has to be put on General Studies. So do that ,and avoid the ‘what if’ factor.

Also, given an extensive syllabus and comparatively limited time period, candidate should revise the standard books and go through the notes you already have compiled. Gathering endless new information has tendency of harming the candidate's preparation than doing any good. Hence it is better to master in few important topics than to have little knowledge about almost everything. You can visit our website www.upscportal.com and get access to competent study materials that would help you great deal in your preparation. We are India’s first website to offer online coaching , so go ahead and prepare the smart way. You can also access our materials offline, all you have to do is place an order.

But you should always try and keep your ‘material collection’ time lesser than your actual study time, because more often it happens that a person just keeps on collecting materials for days at stretch and thereby compromises on the more significant ‘study time’. This hampers on his preparation obviously.

Nevertheless, if you continue with your Diligence, Dedication and we are sure the results will be fruit full and at the end of the day, everything would be worth for.

ALL THE VERY BEST!!!!!