general studies

On her fifth attempt, Nidhi Bansal cleared the UPSC CSE with an All India Rank of 23. Find out how she balanced her time preparing for GS and her optional paper for the mains.

“It is very important for your mind to be calm when you sit to study. You will also realise it is much easier to grasp and retain concepts better,” she shares.

“The only answer here is practice. One has to write answers and attempt mock tests within the proper time limit. I started first by writing answers daily which was three answers within the stipulated time limit,” shares Akshat.

“One of the mistakes I made was in essay preparation, or rather the lack of preparation. While I did attempt essays before the examination, I did not join any test series for it specifically.”

For the General Studies Paper Khan relied heavily on two newspapers –The Hindu and The Indian Express. “Normally, aspirants make notes of various news items in notebooks but I made notes on sheets of paper.”

“Many coaching institutes guide you on what sitting posture to use and how to make eye contact with the interview board members. I find such artificial training outright useless, if not harmful. The idea should be to come across as natural and as pleasantly as your real personality."