The Civil Services Examination is considered to be one of the toughest examinations in the country to crack.
Candidates aspiring to crack the UPSC Civil Services Examination and become an IAS officer must have an efficient preparation strategy. Planning or strategising only won’t help you realise your dreams of acing the IAS exam. Strategy backed by efficient preparation can help you reach there. One of the most important preparation strategies to score high in the Prelims Exam is to solve the UPSC Prelims Question paper of previous years.
Let’s understand the benefits of solving the previous years’ UPSC Prelims Question Papers.
Top 5 Benefits of Solving UPSC Prelims Question Paper
- Helps understand the UPSC syllabus and exam pattern better
Almost all IAS applicants are likely to be aware of the extensive syllabus prescribed by the UPSC for the Civil Services Exam. Also, the majority of aspirants cannot deny that the UPSC Exam structure is difficult to grasp. An IAS aspirant is unlikely to grasp the concept only by solving the previous year’s question paper once.
Therefore, it is advisable to solve UPSC Prelims question papers several times. Practising at least the previous 5 or 7 years’ papers will give you a good understanding of the UPSC Exam pattern.
- Helps analyse the type of questions asked in the exam
When you make it a habit to solve previous years’ UPSC question papers, you will have an understanding of every type of question that UPSC asks.
Many IAS applicants begin preparing for the Exam in a rush, without giving much thought to the type of questions that may be asked in the Examination. Understanding what kind of questions, on the other hand, should be the primary focus in order to prepare for the Civil Service Exam in a rational manner.
- Helps understand the trend analysis
Candidates who solve previous years’ papers on a regular basis will be able to notice the trends and changes in question trends over the years in the Civil Service Exam conducted by the UPSC. Analysing and understanding the trend of questions can help you get an idea about the approach you need to take for similar types of questions. This helps you boost your preparation strategy for the upcoming UPSC IAS exam.
- Helps in self-assessment
Only studying and practising are not going to help you crack the UPSC exam. You need to keep track of your performance for the upcoming UPSC Prelims Exam. And solving the previous years’ question papers on a daily basis will help you keep track of your progress and help you know what to focus on and what your strengths and weaknesses are.
This will help you reconsider your preparation strategy in a directed manner.
- Boosts your confidence
Solving the previous years’ question papers helps you assess your progress and gives you an understanding of your performance. If you score well on the practice test, you will get the confidence to score high in the real UPSC exam. Therefore, candidates should not underestimate the importance of solving the previous years’ UPSC Prelims question papers.
Every aspirant wants to become an IAS officer, but the fact is there are lakhs of candidates taking the exam. So, candidates must remember that there is no substitute for 100% effort, and doing whatever it takes to qualify for the UPSC Exam can only help them achieve their dream.
Tips on Solving UPSC Prelims Question Paper
- Complete the syllabus before solving the previous years’ UPSC Prelims question papers
Make sure you first prepare the entire syllabus. After that, you can attempt to solve the question paper within the time limit set by the UPSC for the Civil Services Exam.
Ensure that you follow all the time, accuracy, and speed requirements. Being aware of all of these constraints will enable you to do significantly better in the Civil Services Exam.
- Solve one paper at a time
Many times, aspirants get overwhelmed seeing the vast amount of question papers from previous years. Therefore, once the revision is done and candidates are confident enough to solve the previous years’ papers, they must start with one paper at a time.
- Practice regularly
Don’t leave the habit of solving and practising question papers on a regular basis. This keeps you in the Exam preparation zone and raises your confidence level one notch up.
- Keep your notes ready while solving previous years’ papers
While preparing for the Exam, keep a notepad nearby and write down quick notes on important information, formulas, quotes, etc. Whenever necessary, update the information in your notebook.
Continue to go through the facts in your notebook on a regular basis. When you practise answering prior years’ papers, you will be able to recollect the complete information.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned exercise will help you answer the Civil Services Exam question paper with higher confidence and expertise.
- Assess your performance on a regular basis
Solving the previous years’ question papers only might not help you score well in the Examination. Assessing your performance on a regular basis from your test score can help you understand where you lag and where you need to improve.
Candidates must not presume that the UPSC repeats question papers and, therefore, only practise the ones which they feel are repeated. Candidates should try to solve all types of questions to score well in the final UPSC Examination. Practising the previous years’ papers will definitely better equip you to face the UPSC Civil Services Exam.