Referring old questions are important key to solving future
papers. The upsc question papers should be analysed to understand the following
areas-
Style of questions
Areas/coverage
Depth of subject
The above three areas will help analyse each question paper.
In the recent years the questions aren’t asked directly. The application of
things learned is expected from candidate. The coverage of syllabus is another
thing to keep in mind. In earlier years there was an expected line of asking
questions in civil service exams. Certain areas were always asked, while
certain areas weren’t. In previous years GS papers the tennis cup winners were
one of the most frequently asked question. Now the upsc wants to remove the
predictability from the exam. So you can always expect new patterns and style.
The aspirant should also note the depth of knowledge being expected. This is
especially true with regard to the optional. If you see last years psychology
paper or pub ad(geeks who wrote the paper say the question paper was greek!) ,
you will easily understand that.
There are few points aspirants that can be handy in exam:
1.
Dont panic seeing questions. Always expect some
twist and turns. The twist and turns you see is experienced by all the students
who take exam. Chillax and handle the questions well.
2.
There is no ideal answer. Many students waste
time searching for a complete perfect answer for previous years question papers. The
questions usually focus on some areas and not on any particular matter
specifically.
3.
Form an opinion. There are many areas where your
opinion matters. Eg: Nuclear power or energy production etc. Here you should
have an opinion of which are good and bad. And what stand you will take when
asked. Here too there isn’t an ideal answer.
I feel that aspirants should review questions
of last few years. There are students who refer question from times of
forefathers and exclaim “OMG....UPSC asked thissss??”. That is pretty useless
job.UPSC may have asked since that topic was relevant at that time. Lot of
water has flown through the Ganges since then. The pattern, areas, and
importance of a subject have changed. Looking papers which are very old doesn’t
serve much purpose. The new trends and
ways are to be understood.
