Civil Service Exam Tips, Essay Tips, Civil Services Tips

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will hold the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2007 on 18th May, 2008 for recruitment the 671 posts of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and certain other Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ Central Services / Posts.

UPSC Examination List

Civil Services Examination
Central Police Forces Examination
Combined Engineering Services
Combined Defence Services
Combined Medical Services Examination

Special Class Railway Apprentices Examination
Indian Forest Service
National Defence Academy
Geologists’ Examination
Indian Economical Services Examination

TIPS FOR WRITING AN ESSAY:

One is required to write an essay for three hours duration. This length of duration is enough. There is no standard word limit for writing an essay.
Remember to divide an essay into three parts – (i) Introduction (ii) Main body and (iii) Conclusion.
The choice of topic on which the essay is to be written after careful thought. While selecting a topic, the knowledge base of the topic – i.e how much you know about the subject is of crucial importance. If you have data or statistics at your fingertips to back some statements, all the more better.
The introduction is of crucial importance. Remember – well begun is half done. This applies to an essay all the more. One could begin with a saying or a quotation. Quotations make the essay interesting to read.
If you cannot mentally arrange the points to be covered in the essay, jot down the points on a rough sheet of paper. Try to expand one point in its entirety in one paragraph and then move on to the next point. Do not keep returning back to one point after you have started another point. It makes the essay repetitive and boring to read. If possible, try to maintain a link between the points by a connecting sentence at the end of the paragraph covering a given point.
Keep your sentences short. Longer sentences not only lead to complex sentences, but also point to complexity in thought process. Use minimum number of conjunctions. Finish off a sentence as quickly as possible and start a new sentence.
In an essay, try to point out the problem areas and also suggest solutions to solve them.
Conclusion is as important as an introduction. It gives an insight into your analyzing powers. Try to give a brief overview in the form of a gist of the essay in the conclusion.