Relevance Of Mocks In CSE
                                                                         —Chitra Mishra, IAS Topper 2018-19, 20th Rank
               At all the three stages, UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE)
             expects you to completely overhaul your ability to be tested as
             per specific exam-oriented requirement as per Prelims, Mains
             and Personality Round.
                             PHASE I—PRELIMS
               How far Mock Tests make you confident to ace the
             MCQ ?
               At this stage, the mocks become extremely crucial and
             important. I opted for a test series programme which was
             spanned over 10-11 months, 3 stages course—Basic, Advanced
             and Full-Length test series in a flexible online and offline
             mode.
               First level programme was basic level of sectional
             objective test series. Second level programme was
             advanced level of sectional mock papers with increased
             analytical difficulty level.
               So, in this section, if a candidate can begin preparation of
               HHistory—Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern India
               HGeography—Indian, Physical and World (Additionally,               I read Competition Success Review many times
                   Economic and Human Geography)                                    for toppers’ interviews since my school days.
               HPolity—Constitution, Governance and Government                              It is a very good magazine for
                   Schemes                                                       all the budding aspirants both in urban and rural
               HEconomy—entire emphasis is on Macro-economic                       areas. The magazine acts as a bridge between
                   section                                                          current affairs section and newspapers. It is
               HScience and Technology is a dynamic section—completely
                   based on current affairs. Emphasis is on key areas like             extremely instrumental for preparation.
                   Space, Defence, Health and Nutrition.                           —Chitra Mishra, IAS Topper 2018-19, 20th Rank
               So, in first phase between August and March, if the               For example, due to excess of coverage of Geography,
             emphasis can be to solve basic and advanced level of sectional    Modern India, Indian Culture, Polity and Indian Economy our
             test papers in Prelims with 10-15 days preparation gaps, it will  sections of GS I, GS II and III is usually at its peak in
             be very useful.                                                   preparation, owing to its common significance in Prelims as
               Final 8-10 weeks leading to Prelims:                            well as Main Examination. But let us look at some of the
               This phase requires comprehensive revision, consolidation       following areas:
             and massive practice to ensure that all the basic conceptual        H Indian Society
             preparation done so far has been brought to application in the
             most effective manner.                                              H Internal Security
               Role of current affairs in the last 8-10 months acquires          H International Relations
             supreme significance here, and alongside this, UPSC CSE             H Disaster Management
             previous years’ papers from 2014 onwards enable you to              H World History
             understand difficulty level of the exam. Utmost care should         H Post-Independence India
             be taken that, there is a proper fusion of study material, test     H Ethics
             paper solution sheets, discussion analysis to understand the        Yes, it is these areas which can be very effectively dealt,
             course of preparation.                                            through mock test series. Because once you are enrolled into
               So by the time you are approaching Prelims, mock test           these test series programme at any institute—online or offline,
             becomes an effective tool to enhance your confidence to           you will be bound to face questions from these areas. Further,
             approach the actual exam, to track your months of relentless      you will be made to think, answer, write, analyse, discuss those
             reading, understanding and processing information progress        topics, and finally be marked. In the model answers provided
             in many ways.                                                     to you, you will confront the possible information and probable
                              PHASE II—MAINS                                   manner of writing a decent answer in limited word format.
                                                                               That would be a very useful exercise.
               Main Exam is like a marathon. One must be very balanced           This is exactly what mocks help you with to begin in terms
             right from the outset to give equal weightage to all the papers   of Mains preparation.
             alike, for one tends to read intensively certain areas and ends     H A course of planned action to divide the extensive syllabus
             up ignoring other not-so-important areas.                              into specified available time.
             COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2021                                                                                        69