Over the years, the questions asked in the UPSC CSE  – Main Examination have become more analytical and opinion-oriented. Thus, it cannot be denied that mere conventional reading of standard textbooks would not satisfy the demand of the examination. Preparation for the Main Examination needs to be multifaceted. Rather than having a piecemeal approach, all the important issues need to be analysed from different view points to prepare oneself for the examination.

What does the UPSC say?

In order to understand the nature of the question that may be asked, it is necessary to have a look at the following points from the UPSC – 2018 notification. The notification says:

“The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory.”   

“The questions are likely to test the candidate’s basic understanding of all relevant issues, and ability to analyze, and take a view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands.”

Therefore, it is clear that along with the procurement of information, it is equally important to develop the ability to analyze the information from different angles in order to take a view. 

Why is RESEARCH important?

‘READING’ and ‘REVISING’ have been an important part of the UPSC CSE preparation. However, the importance of the element of ‘RESEARCH’ is not adequately emphasized upon. In the age of technology where information is just a few clicks away, the UPSC seeks to evoke curiosity among the aspirants. And the curiosity can only be satiated by means of RESEARCH.

It cannot be denied that to answer the questions asked in the UPSC CSE Main examination, it is extremely important to go beyond the conventional setup and introduce more quality to answers by means of employing a holistic approach. Reading in and around an issue can ensure value-addition to the answers and thus result in more marks.

How does POINT IAS help the aspirants?

We genuinely believe that the preparation of all the aspirants must be guided by issue-based and RESEARCH oriented approach rather than piecemeal approach. It would be more beneficial for an aspirant if he/she, on encountering an issue, gets a basic understanding of all the relevant aspects of that issue rather than focusing on one specific angle that may be discussed upon in an newspaper editorial or any other resource. This would save time and give a more contextual exposure to the reader. However, due to the vast syllabus and limited time frame, you can leave the RESEARCH element to us.

We at POINT IAS, always provide our readers with a holistic viewpoint of the issues in our posts. Our articles are concise, well researched and drawn from various reliable sources. In our articles, we incorporate various angles to an issue which include discussions on the current scenario, challenges and the way forward. The articles are arranged in such a manner so as to form a ‘study-flow’ for the benefit of our readers. In the posts, we also provide our readers with practice questions which assists in exposing our readers to various angles to an issue.