#CareerBytes: How can law students prepare for UPSC IAS exam?
What's the story
The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), popularly known as the IAS exam, is one of the country's toughest exams. Law students are said to have an edge over other UPSC aspirants in some subjects, but they must work hard and prepare properly to do well in other subjects to crack the exam. Here are some tips for law students to prepare for CSE.
UPSC exam
About the UPSC exam, syllabus, and pattern
UPSC aspirants need to know and understand everything about the exam, the syllabus, different stages, and the pattern. CSE is conducted in three stages: Preliminary examination, Main exam, and Personality Test/IAS interview. Prelims exam consists of two objective type papers, General Studies and Civil Services Aptitude Test (each carries 200 marks); Mains comprises 9 subjective papers; and the final phase is the Personality Test/Interview.
#1
Law students have an advantage over other UPSC aspirants
Law students have an advantage of logical and analytical approach over others. This will make Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability sections easier. Similarly, Indian Polity and Governance would be easier as they would have knowledge of constitutional law and related subjects. However, law students must focus on sections that could be difficult, including basic numeracy, data interpretation, reading comprehension, languages, technology, economic development, etc.
#2
Proper planning is a must; adhere to study timetable
Aspirants must understand the UPSC exam pattern and collect the required study material. They should also prepare a practical timetable for themselves and adhere to it. They should accommodate all the subjects in their timetable; they should identify which subjects/sections are easy for them and prepare a study/revision plan accordingly. Candidates must also allot at least an hour for reading newspapers and books daily.
#3
Can score high by choosing law as optional subject
While choosing an optional subject for the CSE Main exam, too, law students might have an advantage over others as they can select law as an optional subject. As they come from a legal background, they would already have a prior understanding of the subject. They can easily cover the syllabus and score high in the exam.
#4
Must solve previous UPSC papers, take mock tests
Aspirants should solve as many previous question papers and sample papers as possible to get familiarize with the exam pattern. This will also help them know the latest questioning trends, manage time better, and perform better. They should also regularly analyze their performance in these mock tests to identify their weaknesses and strengths and work on getting better at weak areas.
#5
Aspirants must read newspapers to enhance general knowledge, language skills
The importance of reading newspapers, magazines, books, and novels in UPSC preparation cannot be emphasized enough. Aspirants must make reading the daily newspaper a habit. They can choose newspapers like The Hindu, Economic Times, and The Indian Express to enhance their general knowledge and language skills. Also, it's necessary for aspirants to practice writing every day as UPSC Mains would test their writing capability.