Every year lakhs of people write the UPSC Mains exam to attain a position in the civil service department where seats are only limited to thousands. There are various factors that define the failure of an exam at such a large scale.
The mistakes that aspirants commit which led them to fail are the most facile reasons. The people who could clear the exam are not any super smart people, it is just that they took their preparation to extremes. Out of all the aspirants that appear for the exam only a few turn out to be a civil servant. The rest of the aspirants again have to try again in order to clear the exam.
Let’s look at the basic reasons why people fail in the mains and also the solutions to overcome in their next attempt.
- Not having the strategy of preparation
The amount of pressure while attempting an exam at this can often lead to energetic confusion and lead to answers incorrectly which results in fewer marks.
What can you do?
Have a strategic approach while answering the questions, do not override with one option on another and end up losing marks. Have a clear sight of answering the questions.
- Not balancing time for optional and GS
Most of the time aspirants overclock the time for both these papers and end up neither attempting all the questions of both the modules.
Also read: 10 Common mistakes committed by UPSC aspirants during the preparation
What can you do?
Prioritize your time for General studies and optional papers, complete one paper first and then optimize your time left in solving the other paper. Pick up an optional paper that excites you to write the exam. Do not mug up and put everything away on the day of the exam.
Also Read: What is the perfect strategy to crack UPSC Mains 2020?
- Taking language subjects for granted
Language papers are taken for granted reminiscing that these are the easier ones to crack, but even for an easy paper, you might end up losing marks with the negligent approach.
What can you do?
Prepare thoroughly, revise all the important concepts and fundamentals in both regional and English literature, keep practicing until you feel confident in attempting the paper.
- Inadequate revision
The most common reason for aspirants failing the UPSC mains has been an inadequate revision. Once you start preparing, don’t conclude that you have revised enough.
What can you do?
As the saying goes, practice makes a man perfect, keep practicing, and revising the concepts until you feel confident enough of yourself. Join the Analog IAS academy, try a test series where you can attempt different mock tests to understand how much you have studied
- Not attempting mock tests regularly.
Only studying the subject completely and not testing your knowledge
What can you do?
Consistency is the key for the preparation, after learning the subject, it is exigent to put into practice. Taking up the mock tests every day will provide a boost to your preparation for the exam.
- Choosing the wrong optional subject.
Choosing the wrong optional subject that is low scoring and also which doesn’t interest you, will be the biggest setback. This will result in a low scoring and decrease the chances of clearing the UPSC Mains
What can you do?
Chose the optional subject that will tick the following boxes
- The subject interest you
- It should provide a different perspective while preparing
- You should be able to gather all the study materials for the preparation.
- Lack of proper guidance
Too much of anything is a blessing in disguise, the preparation process should be in a guided format; one cannot learn everything by himself/herself.
What can you do?
Ask your peers who have already written the exam, ask them to guide you in your preparation. This will be advantageous as you already have a mentor who is keen to help you to achieve the same.
- Following each and every advice given
Everyone in your surrounding is eager to give you advice, but there are both pros and cons of such advice. Following the advice of unprofessional people isn’t of any use.
What can you do?
In the preparation process, a lot of people try to provide you with advice that diverts your attention from your keen preparation. Do not focus on what each one has to say, seek only for professional help.
- Lack of passion
In the tiring process of preparation, many aspirants give up in the middle and eventually fail to clear the exam.
What can you do?
You need to be passionate about clearing the exam and also seeing yourself being a civil servant. Don’t let the passion die, be calm and composed.
Do not commit the mistakes that provide a loss that costs your hard work.
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