EssaythoughisoneofthemostscoringpapersinCivilServiceExam,itisalsothemostvaguewhenitcomestopreparinga

goodstrategy.Anessaypaperisfor250marksandgenerallycontainstwoquestionswhicharetobebroadlyansweredinabout
10001200words.
Afterextensivelyreading,researchingandfollowingthestrategiesgivenbypreviousyeartoppers,certaininstitutes,writing
variousmocksetcthisisthestrategyIhavearrivedat.IguessitmustbeadecentstrategybecauseIendedupscoring141.
Thiswasmyfirstattempt.
Hopethiscanhelpthoselikemewhowereveryconfusedabouthowtoacetheessaypaper.
Ihadattemptedthefollowingessays:
Educationwithoutvalues,asusefulasitis,seemsrathertomakeamanmorecleverdevil.
Cancapitalismbringinclusivegrowth?
BeforeIstartindepthaboutwritingagoodessay,someimportantpointerstoremember:
Alwayssticktothequestionaskedintheessay.Eg:Herethecapitalismquestionspecificallytalksaboutwhetherornotit
canbringinclusivegrowth,sotheanswershouldbearoundthattoo.Dontstartwritingabouteverythingyouknowabout
capitalismbecausethatwontfetchyoumarks.
Includemanyexamples.Specificallypertainingtocurrentevents.Trytorelatethetopictocurrenteventsasmuchas
possible.Eg:InthecapitalismessayyoucanwriteabouthowPMJDYwhichisforinclusivegrowthcanbefuelledbyPrivate
sectorbanksorhowinitiativeslikeMakeInIndiacanprovideemploymentandthusincreasethepurchasingpowerofmany
Indians.NOTEagainexamplesarestickingcloselytothequestionasked.
Donotwritetheoreticaljargon.Essayisageneralistpaperandthuswritingtheoriesofeconomistsatlengthorother
subjectheavyjargonwillnotresultingoodmarks.Ifatsomeplacesyouwanttomentionsometheoriststhatisfineaslong
asyourelatethemtotheessayquestionandtrytoexplaintheirtheoriesinassimplelanguageaspossibleinnotmorethan
onetotwolines.
Donotwritefloweryenglish.PleaserememberthispaperisforUPSCselectionprocess.Itistounderstandyouranalytical
skillsalongwithyourcommandoverwritingbutitisnowayatestofyourenglishwritingcapabilities!Itisnotatestofhow
literarycapableyouare.Pleaserefrainfromusingenglishwordswhichyouwouldntotherwiseuseineverydaylanguage.
Donotleanononlythepositiveorthenegative!Overalltakeabalancedstanceweighingbothsidesofthequestion.Eg.
Intheessayoncapitalismdonotwritetheentireessaywithatoneofyesitcansupportinclusivegrowthornoitcannot!
Trytogiveacritiquelookingatbothsides.AbalancedapproachwouldbetosayItseemsthatcapitalismcannotbring
inclusivegrowthbecauseofexamplesinthepastlikeexample1,2,3butatthesametimeitmayleadtoinclusivegrowthif
example4,5,6,7arefollowed.
Youmayormaynotdividetheessayinsubheadings.Inmycase,Idividedmyfirstessayinvarioussubheadingsbutin
thesecondoneIdidnothaveenoughtimetodoit,soIwrotetheentireessaywithoutsubheadings.Bothworked.
Underline!Thisisallaboutpresentation.NoticehereinmyarticleIhavewrittencertainpartsinBold,thesoleintentofthis
istomakethecontenteasyontheeyesofthereader.Samegoesintheexam.Underlineyourkeyideas.Butpleasedonot
overdoittotheextentthatthenonunderlinedpartsgethighlighted!
Ingredientstoagoodessay:
1.Structure

Whenitcomestostructuringtheessay,IbroadlychosethethemeofPastPresentFuture.Followthisthemeacrosstheentire
essayi.eintroductionshouldstartwithpast,thenthemajorbodytalkingaboutpresentandconcludingtheessaywiththefuture.
Theideahereisthatonceyoustartanessayonatopic,yougiveabackgroundwhichessentiallymeansthatyoustartwithwhat

hasalreadyhappenedinthatcontextinIndiaortheworld.Eg:Inthecapitalismessayagoodideawouldbetostartwithhow
acrosstheworldinthepastcapitalismcreatedadivideintermsofcreatingcategorieslikedeveloping,developednationsorwhy
capitalismwastheideologyfollowedinIndiauntil1991aftertheLPGreforms.
Nextthemajorbodyshouldtalkabouttherecentdevelopmentsinthegiventopic.Heretrytogiveasmanyexamplespertaining
tocurrentaffairsasyoucan.
Finallyendtheessaywithwhatisexpectedinthefuture.Whatcanbethemajordevelopmentsorwhetheritwillbeaparadigm
shiftfromthepastetc.Eg:InthecontextofcapitalismyoucantalkabouthowtheCSRinitiativemighthelpincapitalismtakinga
moresocietyorientedgoalratherthanpureprofitorientation,inthefuture.
2.Introduction
Theintroductionshouldbepowerfulandmustmakethereaderfeelexcitedtoreadfurther.Agoodideawouldbetostartwitha
story,thestorycanbeamadeuponeoranactualstoryaboutsomehappeningofrecenttime.Thisistheonlypartintheessay
whereyoucanhavebealittledramaticandtrytocreatesuspenseorinterest.Eg:Intheessayoneducation,youcanstart
withthestoryofanindividualwhoistaughtnuclearsciencebutinsteadusesittocreateweaponsofmassdestruction.
Theintroductioncanalsobeafamousquoterelatedtothetopicorthefindingsofsomegreatindividualqualifiedtotalkonthat
topic.(Againpleasenotedontgettechnicalandtrytokeepitatalaymansunderstanding.)Eg:Thecapitalismessaycanbe
startedwithsomesubstantialfindingofAngusDeatonorAmartyaSenonthistopic.
3.Dimensions
Thisisthemostimportantparttowritingagoodessay.Awellwrittenessaythoughmusthaveenoughdepthbutitmustalso
havegoodwidth.Whatthatessentiallymeansisthattheessaymusttouchvarieddimensions.Forexample,ifwelookatthe
essayoncapitalism,ourbasicinstinctistohighlightpurelytheeconomicaspectsoftheessay.Thatistheworstmistaketo
makeinaCSEessay.Foragoodessay,trytotouchvarieddimensions.Thesecanbebroadly:
Political
Social
Environmental
Ethical
Technologicaletc.
Whilewritinganyessay,alwaysbrainstormabouthowthatessaycanaffectthesevariousdimensions.Createasmanylinkages
asyoucan.Theselinksdefinitelyfetchmoremarks.Eg:Theenvironmentalaspectofcapitalismaffectinginclusivegrowth
canbethatIndustriesresultinpollutionandevensometimesleadtocatastrophesliketheBhopalGasTragedydueto
negligence.Insuchacase,lookingatcapitalismasapureinitiatorofemploymentwouldbewrongasitisaffectingthequalityof
humanlifeandmaythushamperdevelopment.
Orthesocialaspectcanbehowcapitalismcreatesadivideintheworldintermsofdevelopedanddevelopingnationsleading
tonotionslikeWestoxication(apingthewest)orevennotionslikeMcDonaldizationorcertainsimilarexamplesinIndia.
4.Conclusion
Alwaysconcludetheessayonapositivenotewithsolutionstoaddressthegivenquestionwhatcanbedone,whatshouldbe
betterimplementedetc.Hereyoucanbeinnovativeatthesametimedontwriteimpracticalsolutionswhichareimpossibleto
implement.
Eg:Theessayoneducationcanbeendedwithsolutionssuchasintroducingsubjectslikemoralscienceorethicsasapartof

compulsorycurriculuminschooloraddingEmotionalIntelligenceasameasureofchildscapabilitytoo.Othersolutionscanbe
tointroducechildrenatayoungagetospiritualityetc.Theconclusioncanalsoelaborateonhowpurelyeducationwithvaluesi.e
theoreticalaspectwillalsonotensuregoodcitizens,educationmustbesuchthatitincentivisesbehaviourwithgoodmorals.
CSE2015,AIR292,Essay141