1. Start covering core syllabus/ subjects
Before you start writing your answers, you have to study the static subjects with current affairs to understand the topic’s importance, and it will be easier to frame your answers.
2. Daily News Papers
It is mandatory to know what is going around you. Subjects like International relations, Polity, Science, and tech, Economy, Geography and, Environment require updates from the Current Affairs. Without current affairs, you cannot write a complete answer.
While reading daily newspapers, make some notes for facts (Supreme court judgments, Committee, and commissions report). Later, it can be used in your answers to make your answer more unique.
3. Make Notes
Make notes for dynamic and most important topics. Topics like Governance, Agriculture, Social justice, Economy requires these kinds of notes. Notes can be collected from various sources, but they should be maintained at one place. It would be best if you did not scatter your notes here and there.
See this Example: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s367/sh/fb1296a5-9aac-858d-a7a5-7d3607287bb3/feb2ff3ab7117a87628f369baf7cb8dd
See how I am maintaining notes for Stubble Burning. I have collected these notes on various dates and sources, but I still organized them in a single place. So that at the revision time, I won’t miss anything related to stubble burning. Even in the future, if I tend to read anything related to stubble burning, then I will update here.
Likewise, you can make the notes offline as well as online.
4. Note Making Format
For any given topic, your note making format should be in this way.
- What does it mean? (Definition of the Topic)
- What’s the present situation? (You can state some recent reports, facts, data of any organization)
- What are the Causes?
- What are the Solutions?
- Government Initiatives/Measures?
- Way Forward (What we can do in the future to overcome this problem as well as some positive conclusion can be included in this area)
This template can be used for all the topics of mains. For prelims, the note-making process differs.
5. Start Writing Answers
- We have studied the static subjects, Current events, and made excellent notes, and now the final part has come. Yes. We are going to write our answers.
- After understanding the questions’ demand, try to organize the content from your static and current affairs notes, and write the answer. Answer writing is art. You have to practice a lot to master it.
- Your answer should contain, A small intro, subheadings, some diagrams, and finally, a way forward. (but no hard and fast rule, it should be modified depending upon the demand of the question)
- While moving from one paragraph to the next, please interlink the concepts for a good flow. It should flow like a river, should not stagnate like a pond.
- As we are future administrators, we should see all sets of people. So, try to have Multidimensional views in your answers. Don’t write answers in a narrow mindset. It will show your personality. So, be cautious.
- Your answers should be legally, constitutionally correct. Don’t write unethical answers.
- Always end the answer with a positive note.
6. Get reviewed
- Please get your answers reviewed by your friends or mentors.
- We can’t self Evaluate the answers.
- Someone has to point out our mistakes. So don’t fail to do this. Reviewing your answers is essential so that you can rectify your mistakes.
7. Revise
Once you have done with answer writing, Please file it somewhere safe and revise periodically. Revision is the crucial part here. Without revision, you cannot remember anything. The human mind tends to forget everything if you take some gap from the revision.
Remember this 4 R’s – Read – Revise – Retain – Reproduce
Hope you got some idea about answer writing. Please post all your comments here or in our telegram group. @getintoiasofficial
(This article was written as a part of our Mentorship Program)
