How Many Months of Current Affairs are Required for IAS?

It is known that one-year current affairs questions practice is required preceding the months of the Prelims exam. A candidate must know about the latest news and have a thorough reading of the topics covered under the category. The current affairs questions for the exam are usually asked from events occurring one month before the Mains in which the candidate appears. Candidates must make crisp notes of vital current affairs that can be used to revise.

Aspirants preparing for IAS should devote less than two hours to reading the newspaper. Candidates should also dedicate their valuable time to cover the fixed portion of the syllabus and ensure to read the newspaper from the UPSC exam point of view. The candidates should concentrate more on national and international news rather than any particular state or district news.

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How to Prepare for UPSC Exam Pattern?

To prepare for the UPSC exam pattern in a limited time, follow the 5-step approach while practicing for the Civil Services Examination.

Few candidates also take online coaching, which saves more time; aspirants can learn from experienced tutors, listen to recorded lectures, and practice previous years’ question papers.

Understand the exam well:

Candidates should read or listen to the latest UPSC exam news to familiarize themselves with the exam syllabus, pattern, timeline, and eligibility criteria.
Aspirants should memorize the previous year’s papers and glance through them to understand what is asked in the exam.
Candidates should also begin reading the newspaper.
The UPSC exam pattern contains many subjects and specific topics, so preparing aspirants must be well-versed to avoid skipping crucial and heavy weightage categories asked in the exam.

Boost your foundation:

Candidates need to strengthen their basics by going through NCERT’s books or checking out their official website.
NCERT’s textbooks will help aspirants enhance their knowledge on various topics, so reading them at least 2 times is necessary.
Candidates must frame their notes and refer to them in one go while revising.
Aspirants should also improve their overall skills of risk inspection, intellectual and ethical integrity, emergency management, leadership qualities, and analytical and critical thinking.

Upgrade Your Knowledge:

There are several books that candidates can refer to while preparing for the UPSC exam.
Aspirants should create notes while reading, which will be helpful during answer-writing practice just before exam time.
Candidates can watch Youtube videos and graphical representations to comprehend the examination’s complex topics.

Practice Answer-Writing:

Aspirants should practice writing answers and revising essential questions while preparing for the UPSC Mains exam.
Candidates can adopt the strategy after they have covered a particular topic from various standard books, including NCERT.
The next step is systematically revising the topics that have already been practiced.
Individuals must organize a timetable wherein they practice questions during the weekdays and revise them during the weekends.

Mock-Test Based Learning/March Towards Prelims

Candidates can go for learning using mock tests just before two months of the prelims exam.
This approach helps to manage the overall problem-solving time and lessen the amount of stress during the actual exam.
Aspirants should know the importance of time management during the most challenging exam and should be able to judge their performance.
Mock tests help individuals to recognize their weaknesses and practice the subjects they have neglected.