UPSC Preparation: Essentials for Compulsory English Paper for Mains Examination

Many aspirants tend to overlook the fact that it is imperative to qualify both the Compulsory English Paper and Compulsory Indian Language Paper in order to have the rest of the seven papers of the Mains Examination to be evaluated by the UPSC examiners. Some of them even chose to even skim through the relevant material for the Compulsory Papers (English and Indian Language) It is essential to understand that cracking the Compulsory English Paper is not rocket science. It can be mastered with consistent practice, committed reading and continuous self evaluation of one’s English skills. The first step would be to start reading ‘The Hindu’ religiously every single day without fail. It might feel like Greek and Latin initially for a few weeks but trust the process and it will gradually improve your mastery over reading comprehension. 

Another major step which has to be followed while preparing for Compulsory English Paper is to practice answer writing for question papers of previous years in order to familiarise oneself with the pattern. This is crucial as it helps you monitor your thinking process and will enable you to spend less time on the areas where you are confident and more time on the parts of the Compulsory English Paper where you are doubtful. Do watch the video below for further clarity and guidance.

In the video titled ”Unacademy: Compulsory English Paper for Mains UPSC IAS Preparation”, Dr. Roman Saini gives all the necessary tips needed to qualify the Compulsory English Paper.  Dr. Roman stresses on the importance of clearing the Compulsory English Paper of the Mains Examination and provides the statistics of the performance of previous IAS candidates who had appeared for the CSE to illustrate the same. The video provides in depth analysis of the syllabus for the English Compulsory Paper, why it is necessary to study English, distribution of marks, sample questions and the strategy to score qualifying marks in the Compulsory English Paper.

For more such articles and videos subscribe to the Unacademy YouTube channel and follow Dr. Roman Saini on Facebook.