5/6/2016

iasbaba.com

UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!IASbaba

http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/upscessaystrategyhowtowriteanessay/

UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!
IASbaba

EssayStrategy

InonewayortheotheryourfatewithUPSCisdecidedbythemostunpredictablecomponentof
thesyllabusi.e.theESSAY.Askyourseniors,yourpeersorevenyourteachersandnoonecancome
upwithaconcretestrategytoprepareforessays.Itisironicalthatdespitebeingthemostflexible
componentoftheUPSCsyllabus,itistheessaythatspoilsyourchances.Why?Theanswertothis
questionisamystery.So,ifanyonetellsyouthathe/sheknowstherightwaytowriteanessayandby
rightwemeanthebenchmarksetbyUPSC,besurethatthepersonhasgotalongwaytogobeforehe/
shecantrulyunderstandUPSC.Wesaythisbecauseofareason.Wehaveseenaspirantswithexcellent
writingskillsscoring70%inessayintheirfirstattemptwhilebarelymanaging35%intheirnextattempt!It
istheotherwayroundalsowithanumberofaspirants.

Now,hereweare!AfteracceptingtheunpredictablenatureofessayevaluationbyUPSC,howcanwebe
sureaboutanystrategy?Wecantandinfactwearent.Butthen,wemusttryuntilwetouchtheright
chords.Herewegiveyouastrategytowriteessaysinthemoststructured,smoothandsatisfactoryway
possible.Wedontguaranteesuccessifyoufollowourstrategybutwecanassureyouthataftergoing
throughthesubsequentparagraphsofthiswriteup,youwillhavealottoworkuponandimprove.Ifyou
keepinmindthefollowingpoints,youcandefinitelybetteryourprospectsinessay.

So,whatisanessay?OrratherwhythispaperonessaysinUPSC?Theanswerisanessaygives
youanopportunitytoputforwardyourthoughtsinamannerthatisnotimpededbywordlimitandtime(in
thesensethatyouaregivenenoughwordsandtimetoexpressyourknowledgeandviews).Itisaskedto
checkthedepthandbreadthofyourknowledge.Andwhenwesayknowledge,itdoesntmeanour
conventionalunderstandingofthesame.Thetopicsareunknowntousbeforetheexamandweare
expectedtoapplyallthatwehavelearnttoproducealogicalandintelligentaccountofwhatisbeing
asked.Thatiswhy,onecantprepareforessaysintheconventionalsense.

Nowcomingtothestrategypart,wemustsayattheoutsetthatyoumustnottreatessayasanyother
paperofUPSC.Infact,itisthemostinnovativewaytocheckyourlevelofpreparednessoftheentire
syllabusofUPSC.Ifyouperceiveitinthissense,yourtendencytolimityourimaginationbythefictitious
boundariesofsocalledessaypaperwillvanishandyouwillbeabletothinkmorefreelyandmore
innovatively.Shedallyourpreviousnotionsregardingthispaperandstartafresh.

http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/upscessaystrategyhowtowriteanessay/

1/5

5/6/2016

UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!IASbaba

Thekeytowritingasatisfactoryaboveaverageessayismultidimensionality.Depthmattersbutin
UPSCbreadthisfarmoreimportant.Keepthisfactinmindandapproachtheessayinamannerthatall
yourwisdomisreflectedintheinterconnecteddotsinyouressay.Now,whatdowemeanbythis?It
simplymeanstherepresentationofallthedimensionsthatarerelatedcloselytothetopicbeingasked.In
doingso,mostaspirantskeepthrowingunnecessarypointsandthatcanannoytheexaminer.Thebest
thingtodoinsuchascenarioistowriteallyourthoughtsinpointersatthespaceprovidedforrough
work.

Now,thisstepisveryimportant.Whattoolsdowehavetothinkaboutasmanydimensionsas
possible?Theanswerliesinthesyllabus.Luckily,thesyllabusofUPSCissoexhaustiveanddetailed
thatalmosteverythingunderthesunisthereinthesyllabus.Afteryouaredonewithyourownthoughts
andwrittenallthepossiblepoints,thinkaboutthesyllabusnow.Forthis,aprerequisiteisthatyoumust
havelearntthesyllabusbyheart.Havingsaidso,letusnowunderstandastohowyoucanusethe
syllabustocreatepointsforyouressay.

SupposeyouhavebeenaskedanessayonGandhianprinciplesanditsrelevancein
contemporaryIndia.Now,bylinkingthisessaywithvariouscomponentsofthesyllabus,youcancreate
anumberofgoodpointsforyouressay.Weprovideyouwithsomeexamples:

PaperI:
Indianheritageandcivilization:Gandhianthoughtsontheimportanceoflettingourcivilization
welcomeotherswhilemaintainingouridentityanduniqueness.Thisisparticularlyimportantinviewofthe
ongoingclashofcivilizations.
Womenissues:Gandhisideaonemancipationandempowermentofwomenanditsapplicabilityin
modernIndia.
Communalismandsecularism:Gandhianmessageofcommunalharmonyandtolerance.
Society:NumerousexamplesofGandhianviewsontheimportanceofcharity,roleoffamily,social
capital,socialnorms,cinemaetc.
Globalization:Gandhianmessageofselfrelianceanditssynthesiswiththeideaofglobalcommons/
wasGandhiagainstglobalization?

PaperII:
Constitutionandpolity:Gandhianideaofanationstate
Localgovernance:PanchayatiRajasenvisagedbyGandhi.
SHGs:Gandhianconceptionoftheideatheconceptofvillagegramodyogetc
http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/upscessaystrategyhowtowriteanessay/

2/5

5/6/2016

UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!IASbaba

Education:Gandhianmodelofeducationthatemphasizeduponimpartingskills
Internationalrelations:Gandhianidealsofcoexistence,nonviolence,nonproliferationetcappliedto
thecurrentforeignpolicyparadigmsatyagarahaandnonviolenceastoolstopursueforeignpolicy
goals.

PaperIII:
Inclusivegrowth:Gandhistalismananditsremarkableresonancewiththeveryideaofinclusivegrowth
Economicdevelopment:Gandhianideaofselfdependentvillagecommunities
Industries:Gandhianapprehensionswithrespecttowesternmodelofindustrialization
Agricultureandanimalrearing:Gandhisideasonorganiccultivation,supplementaryincomethrough
animalrearingetc.
Environment:Gandhianmessageoncleanlinessandsustainability(rememberthequoterelatedto
mansneedversusmansgreed?),Gandhisviewsonvegetarianismetc

PaperIV:
AllGandhianideaswithrespecttorevenge,change,forgiveness,happiness,strengthetcreflectthe
essenceofthiscomponentofthesyllabus.Wecanuseallofthemwiselytomakeourpointslookbetter
andlogical.
Atthispointoftime,itisimportanttomentionaboutcurrentevents.Trytorelatethetopicwiththecurrent
events.Itwilladdtothepersonalityofyouressay.Forexampleinthiscase,followingexamplescanbe
included:
Corporatesocialresponsibility:Gandhianideaoftrusteeship
Strugglefordemocracyinvariouspartsoftheworld:Gandhisthoughtsondemocracy
CrisisintheParliament:Gandhianideaoftrueleadership
Nowtherearesomeothertoolsthatarealwayshandyinhelpingyoumakeyouressaymulti
dimensional.Havealookandthinkhowtheycanbeusedindifferentscenarios:

PreambletotheConstitution
FRsandDPSPs
MillenniumDevelopmentGoals(NowSustainableDevelopmentGoals)
Quotationsbyeminentpersonalities
ImportantSupremeCourtjudgements
Conceptsofsustainabilityandenvironmentalethicsetc
http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/upscessaystrategyhowtowriteanessay/

3/5

5/6/2016

UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!IASbaba

Havingshownyoutheimportanceofknowingthesyllabusbyheartandkeepingoneselfupdatedwiththe
currentevents,wemoveforwardtothenextimportantphaseofessaywritingi.e.thestructure.

Thereisnouniversallyacceptedformatforwritinganessay.However,thereisageneral
understandingabouthowoneshouldapproachanessay.Ofcourse,onehastostartwithanintroduction.
Introductioncanstartwithaquote,ananecdoteorasimpleparagraph.Irrespectiveoftheapproach,the
introductionmustgiveanideatothereaderastowhatensueinthesubsequentparas.Introduction
shouldbecrispandinteresting.Dontuseclichedsentencesintheintroduction.

Inthenextfewparagraphs,youaresupposedtotouchuponthecoreareasoftheessay.Here,
thepointsinthebackofyouranswersheetwillcomehandy.Prioritizethepointsinamannerthatthe
essayfollowsalogicalflowofideasandrelatedpointsarecoveredinthesameorbacktobackparas.
Forexample,intheexamplegivenabove,youcantstartwiththeGandhianviewsanditsapplicability
regardinglocalgovernance,thenhopontotheroleofnonviolenceininternationalrelationsandthen
comebacktotolerancetowardsvariouscivilizations.Similarly,youcantclubtheideasofselfdependent
villagesandcommunalharmonyinthesameparagraph.Attheoutsetitself,youmusthaveinmind
theflowofyouressay.

Itisimportanttonotethatnotallyourjottedpointsneedfindamentionintheessay.Youcantrimthe
pointsandinfacteliminatetheirrelevantonestomakeyouressaycrispandclosetothecentral
argument.

Itisalsoimportantthatyoureadthetopicafterallyourparagraphssothatyoudontdeviate
fromthecentraltheme.
Alltheparagraphsmusthavetheirownpersonality.Thereshouldbenolooseends.Theparagraphsin
themselveshavetohavelogicalconclusionandifthatisnotpossible,atleastthekeytothenext
paragraph.Randomnessandunpredictabilityarethelasttwothingsthatyouressayneeds.
Comingontotheconclusionpartoftheessay,itmustbeunderstoodthatyouarenotsupposedto
forceyourselfinproducinganintelligentconclusion.Manyatimesitisbettertoletsomequestionremain
answered.Itisnotbecauseitshouldbeso,butbecauseitisnotpossibletohaveasatisfactoryanswer
always!Justmakesurethatyourconclusionisbalancedandthereissomeamountofoptimisminyour
views.Dontpredictdoomsdayintheessayevenifyouarethemostdepressedpersoninthisworld.
UPSCwantstorecruithappyandoptimisticpeople.Mindit!

Nowthequestioncomesaboutlanguage.Whatsortoflanguageshouldoneusesimpleor
ornamental,straightorflowery?Theansweriswritethewayyouhavealwayswrittenyouressays.The
bottomlineisyouhavetoimpresstheexaminerinwhicheverwaypossible.Ifwesuggestyoutouse
simplelanguageandyouareactuallygoodinwritingimpressiveEnglish,thechancesareyouwillspoil
yourattemptintryingtobecomewhatyouaredefinitelynot.Itisnotpossibletochangeoneswriting
stylesoquickly.Insteadoneshouldtrytomakehis/herstyleofwritingfetchbettermarksintheessay.
http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/upscessaystrategyhowtowriteanessay/

4/5

5/6/2016

UPSCESSAYSTRATEGY:HowtoWriteanEssay!IASbaba

Isitnotthatabridewearingalltheornamentsandmakeuplooksstunningbutatthesametimealady
withabeautifuleyebutwithnomakeuporjewelrylooksequallybeautiful?Thesameholdstruefor
language.Believeinyourownstyleandremainconfident.

However,wefinditprudenttocautionyouaboutbeingsuperfluous.Thiscanbefatal.Dontbeat
aroundthebush.Yoursentencesmustconveywhatyouhaveinmindandtheirlengthshouldbe
commensuratewiththemessage.Dontusetoolongasentence.Becrispandtothepoint.
Asfarasessayisconcerned,DONOTwriteinpoints.Onceinabluemoon,candidatesmighthave
scoredgoodmarksbyfollowingthisapproachbutthatisanexceptionandnottherule.RespectUPSC
anddontdoanythingfoolish.

Usequotesselectivelyandwisely.Notusingaquoteiswaybetterthanusingitwrongly.Youcan
preparealistofquotesthatcanbeusedintheessaysaskedbyUPSC.
Becreativeinyourwriting.Spendsometimeinthinkingaboutthewaysinwhichyoucanimproveyour
presentation.Askyourpeerstoreviewyouressaysandpointtheglitches.Trytoimproveuponthe
content,presentationandapproachbykeepinginmindthegivenstrategy.Wearesurethatin34
attempts,youressayswillstartreflectingyourefforts.

WeatIASbabawillkeeponpostingchallengingtopicsforessays.Weexpectyoutoattempttheminstrict
examconditions.

Shareyourinputsregardingthestrategyandifanyoftheseniorsreadingthis,kindlyshareyourthoughts
&strategytohelpfutureaspirants

Happywriting
IASbaba

http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/upscessaystrategyhowtowriteanessay/

5/5