In order to ace the UPSC exams, you must first understand the UPSC test pattern. Everything you learn and prepare for during your IAS preparations must be calibrated to the IAS exam pattern in the end. That is how crucial the UPSC exam pattern topic is.
The UPSC test is divided into three levels in order to get to the real deal. The Prelims round, according to the test structure, is essentially an elimination round aimed to weed out the majority of unsuitable candidates.
Then comes the second phase, often known as the Mains round, which is the heart of the UPSC tests and the most critical step in the selection process.
Finally, the Personal interview round, which is designed to examine your personality and bureaucratic acumen, is the third level of the examination pattern. We’ll go each step of UPSC Exam Pattern 2022 in detail.
UPSC Prelims IAS Exam Pattern
The IAS Prelims Exam pattern comprises of two papers, both of which are administered on the same day. In both papers, the question type is objective, with one correct answer among several multiple options.
Assuming that the chart above provides you with enough information about the overall marks and time period of the two papers in the Prelims exams, there are a few things I’d like to point out:
- Paper 1, often known as the GS paper, consists of 100 multiple-choice questions with negative marking. Every correct answer will get you 2 points, while each incorrect response will cost you 1/3rd of that, or. 66 points You will not receive or lose any marks if you opt to leave questions unanswered.
- Paper 2, often known as the CSAT paper, consists of 80 questions, the majority of which have negative marking. Each correct answer is worth 2.5 points, whereas incorrectly answering a question with negative marking is worth 1/3rd of that, or.83 points. Certain questions designed to test your decision-making abilities will not penalise you if you answer them incorrectly. In addition, queries that are left unanswered will not earn or cost you any points.
As I previously stated, the prelims paper is effectively a qualifying stage aimed to weed out unsuitable individuals from the examination process.
The remaining candidates are given the opportunity to take the Mains test. It’s also worth noting that the marks earned in the preliminary exam will not be taken into account when UPSC compiles the final merit list of successful candidates.
UPSC Mains IAS Exam Pattern
The UPSC exam format for the Mains examination consists of nine exams administered over a period of 5-7 days.
If and only if you pass the UPSC Prelims tests, you will be eligible to take the UPSC Mains exam.
This entails obtaining more than the declared cut-off marks in Paper 1 and a minimum of 33% in Paper 2 of the Prelims test.
Having said that, unlike the UPSC Prelims test, the UPSC Mains exam comprises of just Descriptive/subjective type questions for 1750 points, which means you’ll have to painstakingly write your responses rather than selecting the correct ones from a plethora of options.
Assuming you understood the table, here are some important points I’d like to add:
- Two of the UPSC Mains exam’s nine papers are qualifying language papers, which include English and any other Indian language. Each language paper has a maximum score of 300. In these two papers, a score of 25% is required to pass. The grades earned in these papers will not be used to determine a student’s ranking.
- Both language papers have 100 marks worth of essay questions, 60 marks worth of reading comprehension questions, 60 marks worth precis writing, 40 worth translation-based questions, and finally another 40, worth grammar-based questions.
- If you don’t get at least 25% of the total 300 points in the two language papers, UPSC will not examine the remainder of your mains papers for further examination.
- You can write all the papers, apart from the 2 language papers, in the language of your choosing provided that it is listed in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.
IAS Exam Pattern for UPSC Interview Round
In this stage, your interview will be taken by a panel of unbiased and competent persons in order to assess your personality.
The purpose of the interview questions is to elicit the most appropriate responses from the candidates, which are then thoroughly reviewed by the panel. The candidates are assessed based on how closely their mental and social characteristics match those of an ideal IAS officer.
Critical abilities of assimilation, a balance of judgement, the ability to lead and build social cohesiveness, mental alertness, clear and logical exposition, diversity and depth of interest, and intellectual and moral purity are some of the qualities that the panel will be searching for in you.
Now, talking about the toughness of the UPSC CSE, it is widely considered high on the difficulty level. Not only is the paper tough, but the competition is huge. Therefore, to crack the IAS officer exam, you will need to be extremely dedicated, perseverant, and patient.
