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03/12/2015

UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!|IASbaba

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UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!
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EssayStrategy

InonewayortheotheryourfatewithUPSCisdecidedbythemostunpredictablecomponentofthe
syllabusi.e.theESSAY.Askyourseniors,yourpeersorevenyourteachersandnoonecancomeupwitha
concretestrategytoprepareforessays.Itisironicalthatdespitebeingthemostflexiblecomponentofthe
UPSCsyllabus,itistheessaythatspoilsyourchances.Why?Theanswertothisquestionisamystery.So,
ifanyonetellsyouthathe/sheknowstherightwaytowriteanessayandbyrightwemeanthebenchmarkset
byUPSC,besurethatthepersonhasgotalongwaytogobeforehe/shecantrulyunderstandUPSC.Wesay
thisbecauseofareason.Wehaveseenaspirantswithexcellentwritingskillsscoring70%inessayintheirfirst
attemptwhilebarelymanaging35%intheirnextattempt!Itistheotherwayroundalsowithanumberof
aspirants.

Now,hereweare!AfteracceptingtheunpredictablenatureofessayevaluationbyUPSC,howcanwebesure
aboutanystrategy?Wecantandinfactwearent.Butthen,wemusttryuntilwetouchtherightchords.Here
wegiveyouastrategytowriteessaysinthemoststructured,smoothandsatisfactorywaypossible.Wedont
guaranteesuccessifyoufollowourstrategybutwecanassureyouthataftergoingthroughthesubsequent
paragraphsofthiswriteup,youwillhavealottoworkuponandimprove.Ifyoukeepinmindthefollowing
points,youcandefinitelybetteryourprospectsinessay.

So,whatisanessay?OrratherwhythispaperonessaysinUPSC?Theanswerisanessaygivesyouan
opportunitytoputforwardyourthoughtsinamannerthatisnotimpededbywordlimitandtime(inthesense
thatyouaregivenenoughwordsandtimetoexpressyourknowledgeandviews).Itisaskedtocheckthedepth
andbreadthofyourknowledge.Andwhenwesayknowledge,itdoesntmeanourconventionalunderstanding
ofthesame.Thetopicsareunknowntousbeforetheexamandweareexpectedtoapplyallthatwehave
learnttoproducealogicalandintelligentaccountofwhatisbeingasked.Thatiswhy,onecantpreparefor
essaysintheconventionalsense.

Nowcomingtothestrategypart,wemustsayattheoutsetthatyoumustnottreatessayasanyotherpaperof
UPSC.Infact,itisthemostinnovativewaytocheckyourlevelofpreparednessoftheentiresyllabusofUPSC.
Ifyouperceiveitinthissense,yourtendencytolimityourimaginationbythefictitiousboundariesofsocalled
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UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!|IASbaba

essaypaperwillvanishandyouwillbeabletothinkmorefreelyandmoreinnovatively.Shedallyourprevious
notionsregardingthispaperandstartafresh.

Thekeytowritingasatisfactoryaboveaverageessayismultidimensionality.DepthmattersbutinUPSC
breadthisfarmoreimportant.Keepthisfactinmindandapproachtheessayinamannerthatallyourwisdom
isreflectedintheinterconnecteddotsinyouressay.Now,whatdowemeanbythis?Itsimplymeansthe
representationofallthedimensionsthatarerelatedcloselytothetopicbeingasked.Indoingso,mostaspirants
keepthrowingunnecessarypointsandthatcanannoytheexaminer.Thebestthingtodoinsuchascenariois
towriteallyourthoughtsinpointersatthespaceprovidedforroughwork.

Now,thisstepisveryimportant.Whattoolsdowehavetothinkaboutasmanydimensionsaspossible?The
answerliesinthesyllabus.Luckily,thesyllabusofUPSCissoexhaustiveanddetailedthatalmosteverything
underthesunisthereinthesyllabus.Afteryouaredonewithyourownthoughtsandwrittenallthepossible
points,thinkaboutthesyllabusnow.Forthis,aprerequisiteisthatyoumusthavelearntthesyllabusbyheart.
Havingsaidso,letusnowunderstandastohowyoucanusethesyllabustocreatepointsforyouressay.

SupposeyouhavebeenaskedanessayonGandhianprinciplesanditsrelevanceincontemporary
India.Now,bylinkingthisessaywithvariouscomponentsofthesyllabus,youcancreateanumberofgood
pointsforyouressay.Weprovideyouwithsomeexamples:

PaperI:
Indianheritageandcivilization:Gandhianthoughtsontheimportanceoflettingourcivilizationwelcome
otherswhilemaintainingouridentityanduniqueness.Thisisparticularlyimportantinviewoftheongoingclash
ofcivilizations.
Womenissues:Gandhisideaonemancipationandempowermentofwomenanditsapplicabilityinmodern
India.
Communalismandsecularism:Gandhianmessageofcommunalharmonyandtolerance.
Society:NumerousexamplesofGandhianviewsontheimportanceofcharity,roleoffamily,socialcapital,
socialnorms,cinemaetc.
Globalization:Gandhianmessageofselfrelianceanditssynthesiswiththeideaofglobalcommons/was
Gandhiagainstglobalization?

PaperII:
Constitutionandpolity:Gandhianideaofanationstate
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UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!|IASbaba

Localgovernance:PanchayatiRajasenvisagedbyGandhi.
SHGs:Gandhianconceptionoftheideatheconceptofvillagegramodyogetc
Education:Gandhianmodelofeducationthatemphasizeduponimpartingskills
Internationalrelations:Gandhianidealsofcoexistence,nonviolence,nonproliferationetcappliedtothe
currentforeignpolicyparadigmsatyagarahaandnonviolenceastoolstopursueforeignpolicygoals.

PaperIII:
Inclusivegrowth:Gandhistalismananditsremarkableresonancewiththeveryideaofinclusivegrowth
Economicdevelopment:Gandhianideaofselfdependentvillagecommunities
Industries:Gandhianapprehensionswithrespecttowesternmodelofindustrialization
Agricultureandanimalrearing:Gandhisideasonorganiccultivation,supplementaryincomethroughanimal
rearingetc.
Environment:Gandhianmessageoncleanlinessandsustainability(rememberthequoterelatedtomansneed
versusmansgreed?),Gandhisviewsonvegetarianismetc

PaperIV:
AllGandhianideaswithrespecttorevenge,change,forgiveness,happiness,strengthetcreflecttheessenceof
thiscomponentofthesyllabus.Wecanuseallofthemwiselytomakeourpointslookbetterandlogical.
Atthispointoftime,itisimportanttomentionaboutcurrentevents.Trytorelatethetopicwiththecurrent
events.Itwilladdtothepersonalityofyouressay.Forexampleinthiscase,followingexamplescanbe
included:
Corporatesocialresponsibility:Gandhianideaoftrusteeship
Strugglefordemocracyinvariouspartsoftheworld:Gandhisthoughtsondemocracy
CrisisintheParliament:Gandhianideaoftrueleadership
Nowtherearesomeothertoolsthatarealwayshandyinhelpingyoumakeyouressaymultidimensional.Have
alookandthinkhowtheycanbeusedindifferentscenarios:

PreambletotheConstitution
FRsandDPSPs
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UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!|IASbaba

MillenniumDevelopmentGoals(NowSustainableDevelopmentGoals)
Quotationsbyeminentpersonalities
ImportantSupremeCourtjudgements
Conceptsofsustainabilityandenvironmentalethicsetc

Havingshownyoutheimportanceofknowingthesyllabusbyheartandkeepingoneselfupdatedwiththe
currentevents,wemoveforwardtothenextimportantphaseofessaywritingi.e.thestructure.

Thereisnouniversallyacceptedformatforwritinganessay.However,thereisageneralunderstanding
abouthowoneshouldapproachanessay.Ofcourse,onehastostartwithanintroduction.Introductioncan
startwithaquote,ananecdoteorasimpleparagraph.Irrespectiveoftheapproach,theintroductionmustgive
anideatothereaderastowhatensueinthesubsequentparas.Introductionshouldbecrispandinteresting.
Dontuseclichedsentencesintheintroduction.

Inthenextfewparagraphs,youaresupposedtotouchuponthecoreareasoftheessay.Here,thepoints
inthebackofyouranswersheetwillcomehandy.Prioritizethepointsinamannerthattheessayfollowsa
logicalflowofideasandrelatedpointsarecoveredinthesameorbacktobackparas.Forexample,inthe
examplegivenabove,youcantstartwiththeGandhianviewsanditsapplicabilityregardinglocalgovernance,
thenhopontotheroleofnonviolenceininternationalrelationsandthencomebacktotolerancetowards
variouscivilizations.Similarly,youcantclubtheideasofselfdependentvillagesandcommunalharmonyinthe
sameparagraph.Attheoutsetitself,youmusthaveinmindtheflowofyouressay.

Itisimportanttonotethatnotallyourjottedpointsneedfindamentionintheessay.Youcantrimthepointsand
infacteliminatetheirrelevantonestomakeyouressaycrispandclosetothecentralargument.

Itisalsoimportantthatyoureadthetopicafterallyourparagraphssothatyoudontdeviatefromthe
centraltheme.
Alltheparagraphsmusthavetheirownpersonality.Thereshouldbenolooseends.Theparagraphsin
themselveshavetohavelogicalconclusionandifthatisnotpossible,atleastthekeytothenextparagraph.
Randomnessandunpredictabilityarethelasttwothingsthatyouressayneeds.
Comingontotheconclusionpartoftheessay,itmustbeunderstoodthatyouarenotsupposedtoforce
yourselfinproducinganintelligentconclusion.Manyatimesitisbettertoletsomequestionremainanswered.
Itisnotbecauseitshouldbeso,butbecauseitisnotpossibletohaveasatisfactoryansweralways!Justmake
surethatyourconclusionisbalancedandthereissomeamountofoptimisminyourviews.Dontpredict
doomsdayintheessayevenifyouarethemostdepressedpersoninthisworld.UPSCwantstorecruithappy
andoptimisticpeople.Mindit!

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UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!|IASbaba

Nowthequestioncomesaboutlanguage.Whatsortoflanguageshouldoneusesimpleorornamental,
straightorflowery?Theansweriswritethewayyouhavealwayswrittenyouressays.Thebottomlineisyou
havetoimpresstheexaminerinwhicheverwaypossible.Ifwesuggestyoutousesimplelanguageandyouare
actuallygoodinwritingimpressiveEnglish,thechancesareyouwillspoilyourattemptintryingtobecomewhat
youaredefinitelynot.Itisnotpossibletochangeoneswritingstylesoquickly.Insteadoneshouldtryto
makehis/herstyleofwritingfetchbettermarksintheessay.

Isitnotthatabridewearingalltheornamentsandmakeuplooksstunningbutatthesametimealadywitha
beautifuleyebutwithnomakeuporjewelrylooksequallybeautiful?Thesameholdstrueforlanguage.Believe
inyourownstyleandremainconfident.

However,wefinditprudenttocautionyouaboutbeingsuperfluous.Thiscanbefatal.Dontbeataround
thebush.Yoursentencesmustconveywhatyouhaveinmindandtheirlengthshouldbecommensuratewith
themessage.Dontusetoolongasentence.Becrispandtothepoint.
Asfarasessayisconcerned,DONOTwriteinpoints.Onceinabluemoon,candidatesmighthavescored
goodmarksbyfollowingthisapproachbutthatisanexceptionandnottherule.RespectUPSCanddontdo
anythingfoolish.

Usequotesselectivelyandwisely.Notusingaquoteiswaybetterthanusingitwrongly.Youcanpreparea
listofquotesthatcanbeusedintheessaysaskedbyUPSC.
Becreativeinyourwriting.Spendsometimeinthinkingaboutthewaysinwhichyoucanimproveyour
presentation.Askyourpeerstoreviewyouressaysandpointtheglitches.Trytoimproveuponthecontent,
presentationandapproachbykeepinginmindthegivenstrategy.Wearesurethatin34attempts,youressays
willstartreflectingyourefforts.

WeatIASbabawillkeeponpostingchallengingtopicsforessays.Weexpectyoutoattempttheminstrict
examconditions.

Shareyourinputsregardingthestrategyandifanyoftheseniorsreadingthis,kindlyshareyourthoughts&
strategytohelpfutureaspirants

Happywriting
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