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essay writing upsc topper

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10 Great Essay Writing Tips

essay writing upsc topper

Knowing how to write a college essay is a useful skill for anyone who plans to go to college. Most colleges and universities ask you to submit a writing sample with your application. As a student, you’ll also write essays in your courses. Impress your professors with your knowledge and skill by using these great essay writing tips.

Prepare to Answer the Question

Most college essays ask you to answer a question or synthesize information you learned in class. Review notes you have from lectures, read the recommended texts and make sure you understand the topic. You should refer to these sources in your essay.

essay writing upsc topper

Plan Your Essay

Many students see planning as a waste of time, but it actually saves you time. Take a few minutes to think about the topic and what you want to say about it. You can write an outline, draw a chart or use a graphic organizer to arrange your ideas. This gives you a chance to spot problems in your ideas before you spend time writing out the paragraphs.

Choose a Writing Method That Feels Comfortable

You might have to type your essay before turning it in, but that doesn’t mean you have to write it that way. Some people find it easy to write out their ideas by hand. Others prefer typing in a word processor where they can erase and rewrite as needed. Find the one that works best for you and stick with it.

essay writing upsc topper

View It as a Conversation

Writing is a form of communication, so think of your essay as a conversation between you and the reader. Think about your response to the source material and the topic. Decide what you want to tell the reader about the topic. Then, stay focused on your response as you write.

essay writing upsc topper

Provide the Context in the Introduction

If you look at an example of an essay introduction, you’ll see that the best essays give the reader a context. Think of how you introduce two people to each other. You share the details you think they will find most interesting. Do this in your essay by stating what it’s about and then telling readers what the issue is.

essay writing upsc topper

Explain What Needs to be Explained

Sometimes you have to explain concepts or define words to help the reader understand your viewpoint. You also have to explain the reasoning behind your ideas. For example, it’s not enough to write that your greatest achievement is running an ultra marathon. You might need to define ultra marathon and explain why finishing the race is such an accomplishment.

essay writing upsc topper

Answer All the Questions

After you finish writing the first draft of your essay, make sure you’ve answered all the questions you were supposed to answer. For example, essays in compare and contrast format should show the similarities and differences between ideas, objects or events. If you’re writing about a significant achievement, describe what you did and how it affected you.

essay writing upsc topper

Stay Focused as You Write

Writing requires concentration. Find a place where you have few distractions and give yourself time to write without interruptions. Don’t wait until the night before the essay is due to start working on it.

essay writing upsc topper

Read the Essay Aloud to Proofread

When you finish writing your essay, read it aloud. You can do this by yourself or ask someone to listen to you read it. You’ll notice places where the ideas don’t make sense, and your listener can give you feedback about your ideas.

essay writing upsc topper

Avoid Filling the Page with Words

A great essay does more than follow an essay layout. It has something to say. Sometimes students panic and write everything they know about a topic or summarize everything in the source material. Your job as a writer is to show why this information is important.

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UPSC Toppers Booklet - Model Answer Copy

Topper's answer booklet, gamini singla rank - 3, 2021, medium - english, aishwarya verma rank - 4, 2021, medium - english, utkarsh dwivedi rank - 5, 2021, medium - english, yaksh chaudhary rank - 6, 2021, medium - english, samyak s jain rank - 7, 2021, medium - english, ishita rathi rank - 8, 2021, medium - english, preetam kumar rank - 9, 2021, medium - english, yasharth shekhar rank - 12, 2021, medium - english, priyamvada ashok mhaddalkar rank - 13, 2021, medium - english, anshu priya rank - 16, 2021, medium - english, ravi kumar sihag rank - 18, 2021, medium - hindi, diksha joshi rank - 19, 2021, medium - english, sunil kumar dhanwanta rank - 22, 2021, medium - hindi, ashish rank - 23, 2021, medium - english, shruti rajlakshmi rank - 25, 2021, medium - english, utsav anand rank - 26, 2021, medium - english, saksham goel rank - 27, 2021, medium - english, naman goyal rank - 30, 2021, medium - english, navandar anay nitin rank - 32, 2021, medium - english, jaspinder singh rank - 33, 2021, medium - english, shashvat sangwan rank - 34, 2021, medium - english, kartikeya jaiswal rank - 35, 2021, medium - english, kushal jain rank - 40, 2021, medium - english, sonali dev rank - 41, 2021, medium - english, anjali shrotriya rank - 44, 2021, medium - english, shradha shukla rank - 45, 2021, medium - english, naman kumar singla rank - 47, 2021, medium - english, divyansh singh rank - 49, 2021, medium - english, akshay pillay rank - 51, 2021, medium - english, ankur das rank - 52, 2021, medium - english, arpit sangal rank - 53, 2021, medium - english, arpit gupta rank - 54, 2021, medium - english, kiranmayi koppisetti rank - 56, 2021, medium - english, shraddha gome rank - 60, 2021, medium - english, mohit kasniya rank - 61, 2021, medium - english, kanika rank - 64, 2021, medium - english, pulkit rank - 65, 2021, medium - english, anand malhotra rank - 67, 2021, medium - english, anendya raajsshre rank - 68, 2021, medium - english, gaddam sudheer kumar reddy rank - 69, 2021, medium - english, narayan amit malempati rank - 70, 2021, medium - english, shreya shree rank - 71, 2021, medium - english, parth gupta rank - 72, 2021, medium - english, namrata choubey rank - 73, 2021, medium - english, surbhi singla rank - 75, 2021, medium - english, charu rank - 76, 2021, medium - english, ashutosh kumar rank - 77, 2021, medium - english, surbhi goyal rank - 78, 2021, medium - english, sampada trivedi rank - 79, 2021, medium - english, nikhil mahajan rank - 80, 2021, medium - english, antriksh jain rank - 130, 2021, medium - english, atulesh jha rank - 131, 2021, medium - english, shubham kumar rank - 1, 2020, medium - english, jagrati awasthi rank - 2, 2020, medium - english, ankita jain rank - 3, 2020, medium - english, mamta yadav rank - 5, 2020, medium - english, praveen kumar rank - 7, 2020, medium - english, jivani kartik nagjibhai rank - 8, 2020, medium - english, satyam gandhi rank - 10, 2020, medium - english, mithun premraj rank - 12, 2020, medium - english, karishma nair rank - 14, 2020, medium - english, ria dabi rank - 15, 2020, medium - english, arth jain rank - 16, 2020, medium - english, sarthak agrawal rank - 17, 2020, medium - english, radhika gupta rank - 18, 2020, medium - english, p srija rank - 20, 2020, medium - english, sadaf choudhary rank - 23, 2020, medium - english, vaibhav rawat rank - 25, 2020, medium - english, maithreyi naidu rank - 27, 2020, medium - english, divya mishra rank - 28, 2020, medium - english, prakhar kumar singh rank - 29, 2020, medium - english, divyanshu choudhary rank - 30, 2020, medium - english, y megha swaroop rank - 31, 2020, medium - english, simrandeep singh rank - 34, 2020, medium - english, narwade vinayak karbhari rank - 37, 2020, medium - english, varuna agrawal rank - 38, 2020, medium - english, divyanshu nigam rank - 44, 2020, medium - english, anil basak rank - 45, 2020, medium - english, jubin mahapatra rank - 46, 2020, medium - english, vinayak chamadia rank - 47, 2020, medium - english, sai manasa n c rank - 48, 2020, medium - english, rajat ravindra ubhaykar rank - 49, 2020, medium - english, abhishek shukla rank - 50, 2020, medium - english, nisha rank - 51, 2020, medium - english, vidhu shekhar rank - 54, 2020, medium - english, utkarsh kumar rank - 55, 2020, medium - english, jayant nahata rank - 56, 2020, medium - english, faizan ahmed rank - 58, 2020, medium - english, shailja pandey rank - 61, 2020, medium - english, shivakshi dixit rank - 64, 2020, medium - english, anisha shrivastav rank - 66, 2020, medium - english, akshita gupta rank - 69, 2020, medium - english, saloni verma rank - 70, 2020, medium - english, laxman tiwari rank - 71, 2020, medium - english, kalpesh kumar sharma rank - 73, 2020, medium - english, srishti singh rank - 78, 2020, medium - english, subhankar bala rank - 79, 2020, medium - english, ravi kumar rank - 84, 2020, medium - english, ayushi jain rank - 85, 2020, medium - english, garima nautiyal rank - 86, 2020, medium - english, rickey agarwal rank - 87, 2020, medium - english, prakhar jain rank - 90, 2020, medium - english, aakash shrishrimal rank - 94, 2020, medium - english, aishwarya singh rank - 97, 2020, medium - english, sonu bhatt rank - 99, 2020, medium - english, adarsh kant shukla rank - 149, 2020, medium - english, catherine saranya a rank - 157, 2020, medium - english, bhanu pratap singh rank - 372, 2020, medium - hindi, girdhari lal meena rank - 387, 2020, medium - hindi, vipin kumar dwivedi rank - 557, 2020, medium - hindi, ravindra kumar meena rank - 628, 2020, medium - hindi, bharti meena rank - 669, 2020, medium - hindi, sunil kumar dhanwanta rank - 683, 2020, medium - hindi, subhash chandra meena rank - 737, 2020, medium - hindi, jatin kishore rank - 2, 2019, medium - english, pratibha verma rank - 3, 2019, medium - english, vishakha yadav rank - 6, 2019, medium - english, ganesh kumar baskar rank - 7, 2019, medium - english, abhishek saraf rank - 8, 2019, medium - english, ravi jain rank - 9, 2019, medium - english, sanjita mahapatra rank - 10, 2019, medium - english, nupur goel rank - 11, 2019, medium - english, ajay jain rank - 12, 2019, medium - english, raunak agarwal rank - 13, 2019, medium - english, anmol jain rank - 14, 2019, medium - english, neha bhosle rank - 15, 2019, medium - english, gunjan singh rank - 16, 2019, medium - english, shrestha anupam rank - 19, 2019, medium - english, nidhi bansal rank - 23, 2019, medium - english, abhishek jain rank - 24, 2019, medium - english, chandrajyoti singh rank - 28, 2019, medium - english, pari bishnoi rank - 30, 2019, medium - english, simi karan rank - 31, 2019, medium - english, navneet mann rank - 33, 2019, medium - english, apurv chauhan rank - 34, 2019, medium - english, natisha mathur rank - 37, 2019, medium - english, ruchi bindal rank - 39, 2019, medium - english, dipankar choudhary rank - 42, 2019, medium - english, om kant thakur rank - 52, 2019, medium - english, ashish rank - 53, 2019, medium - english, mukund kr rank - 54, 2019, medium - english, yashni nagarjan rank - 57, 2019, medium - english, aranyak saikia rank - 59, 2019, medium - english, priyank kishore rank - 61, 2019, medium - english, avadh singhal rank - 62, 2019, medium - english, patil yogesh ashokrao rank - 63, 2019, medium - english, saurav pandey rank - 66, 2019, medium - english, nikita yadav rank - 67, 2019, medium - english, chandrima attri rank - 72, 2019, medium - english, riddhima shrivastava rank - 74, 2019, medium - english, darpan ahluwalia rank - 80, 2019, medium - english, shruti srivastava rank - 82, 2019, medium - english, shubhank mishra rank - 85, 2019, medium - english, aishwarya sheoran rank - 93, 2019, medium - english, anisha rank - 94, 2019, medium - english, singa reddy rushikesh reddy rank - 95, 2019, medium - english, hardik rank - 96, 2019, medium - english, shikhar choudhary rank - 97, 2019, medium - english, y megha swaroop rank - 98, 2019, medium - english, archana p p rank - 99, 2019, medium - english, amit jain rank - 100, 2019, medium - english, bishakha jain rank - 101, 2019, medium - english, sidhartha gupta rank - 102, 2019, medium - english, aditya bansal rank - 104, 2019, medium - english, anshuman raj rank - 107, 2019, medium - english, kumar shivashish rank - 108, 2019, medium - english, makarandu manda rank - 110, 2019, medium - english, anurag dwivedi rank - 114, 2019, medium - english, neha bandhu rank - 121, 2019, medium - english, sujit shankar rank - 122, 2019, medium - english, punit dwivedi rank - 123, 2019, medium - english, raghav jain rank - 127, 2019, medium - english, pawan kumar goel rank - 131, 2019, medium - english, vishakha dabral rank - 134, 2019, medium - english, anukriti sharma rank - 138, 2019, medium - english, akarshi jain rank - 140, 2019, medium - english, paritosh pankaj rank - 142, 2019, medium - english, rishi anand rank - 145, 2019, medium - english, manush pareek rank - 146, 2019, medium - english, akshansh yadav rank - 149, 2019, medium - english, harshit kumar rank - 150, 2019, medium - english, padmini narayan rank - 152, 2019, medium - english, tanya singhal rank - 159, 2019, medium - english, angad mehta rank - 161, 2019, medium - english, umesh prasad gupta rank - 162, 2019, medium - english, harsha priyamvada rank - 165, 2019, medium - english, rahul goel rank - 168, 2019, medium - english, mayank mishra rank - 172, 2019, medium - english, moomal rajpurohit rank - 173, 2019, medium - english, aprajit rank - 174, 2019, medium - english, piyush sinha rank - 175, 2019, medium - english, nishant saurabh rank - 178, 2019, medium - english, sambhav jain rank - 179, 2019, medium - english, nidhi thakur rank - 180, 2019, medium - english, nikhil agarwal rank - 181, 2019, medium - english, kumar biswaranjan rank - 182, 2019, medium - english, anchal chauhan rank - 183, 2019, medium - english, parikshit khatana rank - 184, 2019, medium - english, nongjai mohd ali akram shah rank - 188, 2019, medium - english, sonakshi saxena rank - 189, 2019, medium - english, yashpratap shrimal rank - 192, 2019, medium - english, raspreet singh rank - 196, 2019, medium - english, sohan lal rank - 201, 2019, medium - english, rahul mishra rank - 202, 2019, medium - english, ankur kumar jain rank - 205, 2019, medium - english, pooja kumar rank - 207, 2019, medium - english, shashank shekhar singh rank - 208, 2019, medium - english, chirag jain rank - 215, 2019, medium - english, shivam ashutosh rank - 220, 2019, medium - english, saransh mahajan rank - 224, 2019, medium - english, arushi mishra rank - 229, 2019, medium - english, matthews mathew rank - 233, 2019, medium - english, abhinav choudhary rank - 238, 2019, medium - english, abhinav tyagi rank - 245, 2019, medium - english, maninderjit kaur rank - 246, 2019, medium - english, mukul jamloki rank - 260, 2019, medium - english, varun singhal rank - 262, 2019, medium - english, ayush khare rank - 267, 2019, medium - english, manish sharma rank - 268, 2019, medium - english, archit nigam rank - 270, 2019, medium - english, ashish joon rank - 271, 2019, medium - english, nihal randhwa rank - 273, 2019, medium - english, reecha ratnam rank - 274, 2019, medium - hindi, ravi kumar sihag rank - 317, 2019, medium - hindi, kanishak kataria rank - 1, 2018, medium - english, akshat jain rank - 2, 2018, medium - english, junaid ahmad rank - 3, 2018, medium - english, srushti deshmukh rank - 5, 2018, medium - english, karnati varun reddy rank - 7, 2018, medium - english, vaishali singh rank - 8, 2018, medium - english, gunjan dwivedi rank - 9, 2018, medium - english, namrata jain rank - 12, 2018, medium - english, varnit negi rank - 13, 2018, medium - english, atirag chaplot rank - 15, 2018, medium - english, trupti ankush dhodmise rank - 16, 2018, medium - english, chitra mishra rank - 20, 2018, medium - english, rahul jain rank - 21, 2018, medium - english, vaibhav gondane rank - 25, 2018, medium - english, himanshu nagpal rank - 26, 2018, medium - english, sameer saurabh rank - 32, 2018, medium - english, manisha awhale rank - 33, 2018, medium - english, ankit rank - 34, 2018, medium - english, minal karanwal rank - 35, 2018, medium - english, ankur kaushik rank - 37, 2018, medium - english, garima agrawal rank - 40, 2018, medium - english, nandini maharaj rank - 42, 2018, medium - english, amritpal kaur rank - 44, 2018, medium - english, deepak kumar dubey rank - 46, 2018, medium - english, kumar anurag rank - 48, 2018, medium - english, rangashree t.k rank - 50, 2018, medium - english, vikram grewal rank - 51, 2018, medium - english, sumit kumar rank - 53, 2018, medium - english, sumit kumar rai rank - 54, 2018, medium - english, saurabh suman yadav rank - 55, 2018, medium - english, dileep mishra rank - 56, 2018, medium - english, chahat bajpai rank - 59, 2018, medium - english, anya das rank - 60, 2018, medium - english, girdhar rank - 61, 2018, medium - english, anand kumar sharma rank - 62, 2018, medium - english, gss praveenchand rank - 64, 2018, medium - english, vibhor aggarwal rank - 71, 2018, medium - english, dilip pratap singh shekhawat rank - 72, 2018, medium - english, dalip kumar rank - 73, 2018, medium - english, pradeep kumar dwivedi rank - 74, 2018, medium - english, shivansh awasthi rank - 77, 2018, medium - english, khushboo gupta rank - 80, 2018, medium - english, jay shivani rank - 81, 2018, medium - english, sanya chhabra rank - 84, 2018, medium - english, ayushi singh rank - 86, 2018, medium - english, veer pratap singh rank - 92, 2018, medium - english, kartik jivani nagjibhai rank - 94, 2018, medium - english, himadree kaushik rank - 97, 2018, medium - english, khushboo lather rank - 98, 2018, medium - english, dhurav mittal rank - 99, 2018, medium - english, ravi kumar rank - 337, 2018, medium - hindi, atul prakash rank - 4, 2017, medium - english, pratham kaushik rank - 5, 2017, medium - english, koya shree harsha rank - 6, 2017, medium - english, ayush sinha rank - 7, 2017, medium - english, anubhav singh rank - 8, 2017, medium - english, saumya sharma rank - 9, 2017, medium - english, ashima mittal rank - 12, 2017, medium - english, sagar kumar rank - 13, 2017, medium - english, shivani goyal rank - 15, 2017, medium - english, sikha surendran rank - 16, 2017, medium - english, abhilasha rank - 18, 2017, medium - english, abhijeet sinha rank - 19, 2017, medium - english, varjeet walia rank - 21, 2017, medium - english, akhil pilani rank - 22, 2017, medium - english, tapasya parihar rank - 23, 2017, medium - english, prudhvi tej rank - 24, 2017, medium - english, saad miya khan rank - 25, 2017, medium - english, sameera rank - 28, 2017, medium - english, keerthi vasan rank - 29, 2017, medium - english, sandeep bhagia rank - 30, 2017, medium - english, abhishek verma rank - 32, 2017, medium - english, gaurav kumar rank - 34, 2017, medium - english, haseeb rank - 36, 2017, medium - english, aparna gupta rank - 38, 2017, medium - english, sudhir kumar rank - 42, 2017, medium - english, abhilash rank - 44, 2017, medium - english, vikramaditya malik rank - 48, 2017, medium - english, vishal mishra rank - 49, 2017, medium - english, pratishtha mamgain rank - 50, 2017, medium - english, sambit mishra rank - 51, 2017, medium - english, digvijay bodke rank - 54, 2017, medium - english, akshat kaushal rank - 55, 2017, medium - english, adityavikram rank - 60, 2017, medium - english, fatima rank - 62, 2017, medium - english, priyadarshini rank - 66, 2017, medium - english, rohan joshi rank - 67, 2017, medium - english, rahul bhat rank - 68, 2017, medium - english, aditya vikram yadav rank - 72, 2017, medium - english, shreshth rank - 73, 2017, medium - english, utpal rank - 76, 2017, medium - english, ravi anand rank - 79, 2017, medium - english, amol rank - 83, 2017, medium - english, manish kumar rank - 84, 2017, medium - english, prateek jain rank - 86, 2017, medium - english, haseen zahera rizvi rank - 87, 2017, medium - english, sanjeev kumar maurya rank - 89, 2017, medium - english, benson rank - 90, 2017, medium - english, sangh priy rank - 92, 2017, medium - english, ketan garg rank - 93, 2017, medium - english, aprit upadhyay rank - 94, 2017, medium - english, rahul shinde rank - 95, 2017, medium - english, videh khare rank - 99, 2017, medium - english, mourya n rank - 100, 2017, medium - english, kumar shivashish rank - 108, 2017, medium - english, anirudh kumar rank - 146, 2017, medium - hindi, kanta jagir rank - 632, 2017, medium - hindi, anmol sher singh bedi rank - 2, 2016, medium - english, saumya pandey rank - 4, 2016, medium - english, anand vardhan rank - 7, 2016, medium - english, shweta chauhan rank - 8, 2016, medium - english, bilal mohi ud din bhat rank - 10, 2016, medium - english, tejasvi rana rank - 12, 2016, medium - english, utsav kaushal rank - 14, 2016, medium - english, sidharth b. rank - 15, 2016, medium - english, anuj malik rank - 16, 2016, medium - english, namami bansal rank - 17, 2016, medium - english, manish gurwani rank - 18, 2016, medium - english, sahil gupta rank - 19, 2016, medium - english, shailendra singh indoliya rank - 38, 2016, medium - english, ila tripathi rank - 51, 2016, medium - english, garima lekhwani rank - 136, 2016, medium - english, satyam rank - 218, 2016, medium - english, priyadarshini rank - 227, 2016, medium - english, kanchan kumar kandpal rank - 263, 2016, medium - hindi, abhilasha abhinav rank - 308, 2016, medium - english, anita yadav rank - 350, 2016, medium - english, pankaj yadav rank - 642, 2016, medium - hindi, tina dabi rank - 1, 2015, medium - english, artika shukla rank - 4, 2015, medium - english, shashank tripathi rank - 5, 2015, medium - english, ashish tiwari rank - 6, 2015, medium - english, sharanya ari rank - 7, 2015, medium - english, karn satyarthi rank - 9, 2015, medium - english, anupam shukla rank - 10, 2015, medium - english, siddharth jain rank - 13, 2015, medium - english, vipin garg rank - 20, 2015, medium - english, prathamesh kumar rank - 23, 2015, medium - english, chandra mohan garg rank - 25, 2015, medium - english, pulkit garg rank - 27, 2015, medium - english, pankaj rank - 29, 2015, medium - english, sarneet kaur rank - 39, 2015, medium - english, ruchir pandey rank - 52, 2015, medium - english, ravi mittal rank - 61, 2015, medium - english, aayush garg rank - 63, 2015, medium - english, annapurna rank - 68, 2015, medium - english, sibi adhithya rank - 72, 2015, medium - english, vishal rank - 73, 2015, medium - english, eesha priya rank - 75, 2015, medium - english, p pravinya rank - 82, 2015, medium - english, alankrita pandey rank - 85, 2015, medium - english, narendra kumar shah rank - 86, 2015, medium - english, harsimran singh rank - 90, 2015, medium - english, gandharva rank - 93, 2015, medium - english, charchit rank - 96, 2015, medium - english, harsh chirania rank - 100, 2015, medium - english, premsukh delu rank - 170, 2015, medium - english, nidhi gupta rank - 3, 2014, medium - english, vandana rao rank - 4, 2014, medium - english, suharsha bhagat rank - 5, 2014, medium - english, arvind singh rank - 10, 2014, medium - english, sanskriti jain rank - 11, 2014, medium - english, ananya das rank - 16, 2014, medium - english, ajay dwivedi rank - 17, 2014, medium - english, ayush prasad rank - 24, 2014, medium - english, muhammed abdaal akhtar rank - 35, 2014, medium - english, pavan agarwal rank - 43, 2014, medium - english, gargi jain rank - 45, 2014, medium - english, abhijit shukla rank - 48, 2014, medium - english, mahima sikand rank - 53, 2014, medium - english, anunaya jha rank - 57, 2014, medium - english, bhavesh mishra rank - 58, 2014, medium - english, prabhat malik rank - 68, 2014, medium - english, purva garg rank - 79, 2014, medium - english, tushar singla rank - 86, 2014, medium - english, smrutiranjan mohanty rank - 87, 2014, medium - english, m n harendhira prasad rank - 93, 2014, medium - english, gaurav agrawal rank - 1, 2013, medium - english, bharti dixit rank - 5, 2013, medium - english, sakshi sawhney rank - 6, 2013, medium - english, divyanshu jha rank - 9, 2013, medium - english.

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How I Secured One of the Highest Marks in UPSC CSE’s Essay Paper: IAS Officer

Prateek Rao standing outside the UPSC Office building in Delhi. High scorer in Essay

UPSC CSE: IAS officer T Prateek Rao scored one of the highest marks in the Essay paper of UPSC Mains. Here's his strategy.

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He continues, “This examination tests your strategy, not necessarily only your knowledge.”

Standing in the academy flanked by post-its. Essay high scorer.

Prateek’s tips to approach the essay:

IAS officers outside the LBSNAA academy in Mussorie.

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Essay Paper Strategy from Toppers

The Essay Paper in the UPSC civil services mains exam is sometimes overlooked by candidates thinking that all they have to do is write on a topic from material that they have learnt for the general studies papers. They take it easy thinking it doesn’t require any additional preparation. But, read on to understand why the essay paper is important and should not be ignored.

Aspirants would find this article very helpful while preparing for the IAS Exam .

On the other hand, this paper can also rattle candidates who are unnerved by the ‘lack of a concrete syllabus’ for the UPSC essay paper. Both extremes should be avoided and candidates are advised to put in the right amount of effort needed for this paper. IAS toppers Chandra Mohan Garg and Mittali Sethi aced the essay paper and scored 149 marks and 160 marks respectively out of a total of 250.

Essay Tips from Chandra Mohan Garg (AIR 25; CSE 2015)

Essay tips from Chandra Mohan Garg

Download the 2019 UPSC Essay Paper at the linked article.

Essay tips from Mittali Sethi (AIR 56; CSE 2016)

The above details would help candidates prepare for UPSC 2023 .

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ESSAY STRATEGY By Anudeep Durishetty, UPSC Civil Services Exam Topper, All India Rank – 1 CSE-2017 – How to write a good Essay in UPSC Mains, Explained 

Essay strategy.

How to write a good Essay in UPSC Mains, Explained 

By Anudeep Durishetty

UPSC Civil Services Exam Topper, All India Rank – 1 CSE-2017

anudeep durishetty

Novelist Stephen King put it beautifully when he said, “I write to find out what I think.” 

Writing is a window to your thought process. What you write on paper will tell the reader how you think, how you argue and the way you substantiate your viewpoint. This is why for most competitive examinations and academic entrance tests, essay is mandatory. 

In the Civil Services Exam too, we have a paper worth 250 marks, equivalent to a General Studies paper. Despite its importance, essay paper often does not get the attention it deserves from aspirants. First timers think they will write an excellent essay in the final exam itself, whereas experienced aspirants believe that since they had already studied a ton for GS, it will alone be enough to write a good essay. This is a fatal miscalculation. 

I was one of those who made these errors in the past, and it is not a coincidence that I scored only 100 in CSE 2015. But in 2017, I devoted adequate time to this paper. I collected useful quotes, prepared notes and even made rough essay drafts for frequently asked topics. All this effort in essay paper helped me score 155. 

What follows is an elaborate post on how you should tackle the Essay paper. I’ve organised the content as follows: 

What UPSC says about the essay paper 

Improving language and expression 

Substantiating your arguments 

“Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to  keep closely to the subject of the essay,   to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and to write concisely . Credit will be given for  effective and exact expression .”  

Essay distinguishes itself from GS in the sense that in GS, marks will be awarded purely for content. But in essay, examiners will pay special attention to not just the content, but also the language, coherence and the way you organise your write-up. 

So you must take adequate care to arrange your ideas properly and not commit any fundamental spelling or grammatical errors. 

How and from where to prepare?  

Most of the content you write in Essay will come from your GS preparation. Apart from this, the following sources will help: 

         List of quotes, anecdotes I collected are available in the link at the end of this article.  

Language in essay must be simple and clear with as little jargon as possible. If you want to use complex definitional terms such as, say, ‘Constitutionalism’ or ‘Sanskritisation’ please define it in sentence just before you use it. Examiner will also understand clearly what you want to convey. Clear writing is clear thinking. And that is what any reader looks for. 

Keep your sentences short and powerful. Long, winding sentences makes it difficult to read and understand. If you tack on one clause after another through conjunctions, what you get is a bad sentence sprawl.   

Example of a bad sentence sprawl: 

At the end of World War 2, on the one hand, while capitalism was successfully championed by the nations in North America and Europe, on the other hand, it was USSR that put Communism at the forefront due to which there was an ideological clash between the  the  two superpowers which had led to proxy wars in various parts of the globe, a nuclear arms race and a rapid deterioration of the security of the world.  

(By the time readers finish reading it, they will lose their breath and the point of the sentence) 

So I had a simple rule: If you run out of your breath while  reading a sentence, then probably you will have to break it into two. 

Rewriting the aforementioned example after breaking it into two (which makes it much easier to read and comprehend): 

After World War 2, while the North American and European nations championed capitalism, USSR put communism at the forefront. This ideological clash between the superpowers led to several proxy wars, a nuclear arms race and a rapid deterioration of world security.  

Vocabulary   

There is no need to memorise complex words for writing a good essay. But an occasional use of a powerful word, or a good phrase definitely gives your write-up an edge. 

Also, I believe that learning numerous words by rote will not make them stick in your brain for long. The best way to build your vocabulary is by reading non-fiction and English newspapers. While reading these, if you come across a good turn of phrase, or a word that you don’t recognise, please note it down in a book, find its meaning and understand the context in which the word was used. This helps in long term memory. Having a dictionary app on your phone also helps. 

Building vocabulary is a slow process, but with consistency, anyone can become better at using an expansive set of words. 

Subheadings & Rough Drafts 

We can be a little innovative in our subheadings. Instead of bland subheadings such as ‘ Benefits of Nuclear Energy’  we can use “ Nuclear Energy: Promise or Peril?’  Similarly, for the essay on Social Media, instead of writing ‘ Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media ’, I wrote  “Social Media: A Double Edged Sword”  

You can find my collection of a few such subheadings in the link to my notes, given at the end of the article. 

I also prepared a rough draft for a few essay topics (link given at the end). You may need to modify the structure as per the demand of the question. 

What you must avoid in Essay 

How to transition smoothly from one para to the next 

This can be done in three ways. 

Through a link sentence at the end of a para:  

Here, at the end of a para, you write a sentence that signals to the examiner what’s coming next. For example, let’s say you have just written a para about the threat posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to jobs. At the end of that para you can write a link sentence—   “Further, we must be mindful of the fact that Artificial Intelligence poses a major challenge not just economically, but also ethically.”  And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI. 

Through a question:    

Instead of a link sentence, you can also add a question at the end of a para so that examiner’s attention is helplessly carried to the next. To take the similar example as above, the question can be something like—   “Thus we have examined the threat posed by AI to our economy, but what about the challenges brought by AI to our ethics and morals?”  And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI. 

Signalling the shift at the start of next paragraph: 

Here you can simply add a word or two at the beginning of a para that signals a shift in your subtopic. For example in an essay on  Globalisation , let’s say you have just written a para about its historical evolution and impact. You can start the next para with something like—  “Politically too, globalisation has had a tremendous impact……” This way examiner immediately knows what to expect. 

These steps will ensure that the transition between paragraphs is not abrupt. 

How to write a good Introduction to your Essay? 

Essay introduction can be: 

a fictitious incident or story (where you introduce a character);  a real life anecdote;  a quote; or  a simple definition of the words in the question (not recommended in Essay) 

In GS, definitional approach is a great way to introduce your answers. But in essay, they are rather stale, lacking in any human element. I always believe that a good way to start your essay is to have that touch of humanity and warmth in your introduction. 

In my Mains exam, this was my introduction to the essay ‘Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classroom’ 

“The year was 1945. Towards the end of a gruesome world war, the world powers decided to carve up the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel.  

“Before partition, North and South Korea might have been homogeneous in every respect, but after the division, they steered onto different paths. While schools in the North chose to ‘educate’ their children in the worship of a cult leader, ideological indoctrination and servility, its southern counterpart focused on liberal education, innovation and economic growth.  

“Today, almost seven decades later, the difference in the fates of these people and the trajectories of both these nations cannot be more stark. One is known for gross violation of human rights, while the other a champion of liberal democracy. One is known for gut-wrenching poverty, while the other unbridled prosperity.  

“This only proves the age old adage that the destiny of a nation is indeed shaped in its classrooms.”  

Similarly, for the Social Media essay, my introduction sought to bring to the fore the paradox of Social Media. I wrote on how social media was leveraged to crowdsource help and rescue during Chennai floods in 2015. At the same time, I mentioned how it was used nefariously in 2012 to cause mass exodus of northeast people from Bangalore. And taking cue from this introduction, in the main body, I discussed about the inherent selfishness and altruism associated with social media. 

These real life stories, anecdotes and incidents are everywhere in our books and newspapers. So when you come across them, note down and ponder as to how you can use them in your essay.   

Developing the Main Content from the Topic 

This is like spinning the web from a thread. Depending on the topic, you can choose among the following options that fits best. 

Example: for a topic like  “Has  Globalisation  delivered on its promise?”  I find the problem & solution method an apt way to develop your narrative. So choose as per the question. 

In the main body of the essay, each para must have an argument or an idea and a reasoning to back that argument. You can substantiate it through a real life example, a statistic, an authentic committee or organisational report etc. 

For example, if you are arguing that Capital punishment is an expensive form of justice, you should be able to given an example or a statistic or Law Commission’s opinion as to how the subjects of death penalty are overwhelmingly from poor communities. 

Statistics, examples, expert opinions and constitutional provisions are crucial and they make your arguments authoritative. 

Concluding an Essay 

Conclusion needs to be on  a futuristic, optimistic note. You need to summarise the complete essay in 3-4 sentences, after which you can write your vision for future. 

You can source some useful terms from the speeches of PM Modi. Phrases like  Sabka   saath   sabka   vikas ,  Reform-Perform-Transform, Building A New India  etc can come handy.  Rhetoric, lofty expressions, constitutional ideals, sanskrit slokas and quotes are a good way to conclude your essay. 

But suppose in your introduction, if you had written about a fictitious character, then it’s always advisable to end your write-up with a reference to that character. It gives a sense of completeness to the essay. 

Readers should keep in mind that these notes are written rather haphazardly (I mean who makes notes thinking that in future, they might have to upload them publicly :D)  

They are fragmented in certain pages, so you may not be able to comprehend them completely, but nevertheless I hope you take home something useful.  

Link to handwritten notes: 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jmVMGOzAk2d9B5Y0HQ9XpVF5Mh2IXGku  

Quote collection:  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jk71jLao60hHwJoTuGYaIDgJWccxa5Xn  

List of Topics one needs to prepare:  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1q0W0PeH-80EKt6ucJTFOVPUlmXvCIzd-  

Sample Essay:    

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jqfUi1FXdG0icBdJpdQvwH1wlAizCMvo  

https://anudeepdurishetty.in/my-upsc-marksheet/

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[GS, Essay Copies] Shubham Kumar | UPSC Topper | Rank 1

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You don’t have enough attempts to commit all mistakes by yourself and then learn from them. That’s why you ought to learn from the strengths and weaknesses of your peers.

This article contains GS and Essay Answer copies of Shubham Kumar – UPSC 2020 Topper

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Taritla Prateek Rao

"Knowledge - Is - Religion"

The Essay paper in UPSC CSE is marked out of 250, equal weightage to other GS and Optional papers. The catch lies in the disproportionately high marks that can be secured in this paper even at the average score - in relation to other papers. GS papers would average around 95-100, given 2020 marks observed among toppers. Essay averaged around 115-120. This 15-20 mark gain can actually make or break a selection or choice of service.

My Strategy

I relied on writing practice essays at home and getting it checked by mentors and peers for the first 3 attempts. I got scores of 130, 105 and 124 in my previous 3 attempts. This year I joined the essay test series at Vision IAS, and found the feedback, lectures and strategy to my liking, ended up getting a 147 in CSE 2020

Although I did follow strategy of Vision IAS, I also finalized some basics at my end, basis my own experience writing essay over the years. They are as follows -

Introduction, Body, Conclusion - as the basic format 

10 pages per essay - 110-120 words per page

1-2 page introduction and body linkage, 7-8 page of Body with 5-6 ideas, 1/2 - 1 page of pre conclusion and 1 page of conclusion

5-10 minutes to choose both topics - basis topic clarity and understanding, knowledge, anecdotes and quotes (in that order)

20-25 mins to brain storm the topic and make rough notes

1 hour of writing one essay

Brainstorm individually - do not spend first one hour choosing the topics and brainstorming both. Brainstorming second essay after writing first will do two things 

Sense of completion of one essay - will give confidence

Rest to hands and mind after writing for 1 hour

Ideas from first essay will be out of your mind, you will not repeat the same ideas and come up with fresh ones since now some space in your mind has been freed and dumped on paper

Every idea in 1-2 paragraphs

Every paragraph 3-4 lines maximum.

Every line as simple and short as possible

2-3 Paragraphs per page

Introduce your idea/hypothesis

Additional statement to explain

Example or Data to substantiate the argument

Concluding remark and link to next idea

Stick to the demand of the topic - do not write everything you know about the topic. If you have less material - rather choose another topic, or explain less ideas with more depth. 

Write with flow and logic - the introduction, body and conclusion should be one single entity, not various ingredients lying separate. Try to complete every argument in the body. If there are 10 areas that you come up with while brainstorming, stick to 5-6 and do not try to shove all ideas into the essay. It may end up looking like an apple, a dosa and a pasta kept in one plate - non coherent and non aesthetic. Instead, choose few arguments and complete them logically.

Have a set of 20-25 topics prepared in one-pagers - this can be done from GS knowledge

Basic knowledge​

Anecdotes 

Personalities

Schemes, Govt. initiaties etc

Books 

Broad anecdotes that can be used in various topics (Will explain later)​

Set of quotes that can be extensively used 

Use headings for ideas, conclusion and pre-conclusion

Keep a track of time while writing - do not give 1.5 hours to one essay and 45 minutes to other 

Summarize your ideas and give a sense of completion before conclusion in a 'pre-conclusion'

Give a futuristic and hopeful conclusion

Check out essays written in Yojana, Kurukshetra magazine - they will give a good sense on how to approach a topic

Check out copies of previous essay toppers - pick some traits on your own wisdom

Force fit anecdotes or quotes

Leave an essay unfinished. Even if you have written 5 pages and are short on time, complete with a short conclusion

Start a new idea in the conclusion

Focus too much on data and facts -focus on flow, connectivity and cohesiveness

Use too many inks in essay 

Use flowcharts, unless absolutely necessary (Max 1 diagram or flowchart)

Only criticize or only eulogize the topic - write both sides, even if the percentage may not be the same (Eg:- 65% criticism and 35% pros and benefits)

My checked copies from 2020

Essay strategy session at shankar ias - kindly refer to the session presentation attached .

887a60b4-26bc-4f48-aa4a-8e70f77ea8a9.JPG

IMAGES

  1. IAS Topper Shares Strategy to Ace the Essay Paper In UPSC CSE Exam

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VIDEO

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