UPSC conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE) annually for various major civil service posts in the Government of India including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), etc. For CSE preparation one should familiarize himself/herself with the exam scheme/pattern and its syllabus which will help him/her to be ahead of others in planning his/her preparation in the most suitable way for him/her. Following are the complete details regarding the exam:
UPSC CSE Pattern / Scheme:
The Civil Services Examination consists of three consecutive stages:
- Civil Services Preliminary Examination-Objective Type for selection of candidates for Main Examination.
- For the selection of candidates for Civil Services Main Examination- Written, Interview.
- Interview or personality test for selection of candidates for various services and posts.
IAS Exam Pattern of Preliminary Exam:
- The Preliminary Examination consists of 2 compulsory papers – a General Studies paper and (the CSAT) Civil Services Aptitude Test to test the analytical skills of the candidate.
- All the questions in the Preliminary Examination are of objective nature. Hence, the candidate has to choose any one option out of the 4 answers given for each question.
- The questions are in both Hindi and English languages. However, in the CSAT paper, the comprehension questions are in the English language without Hindi translation.
- The questions are in both Hindi and English languages. Also, the prelims exam is qualifying only. The cut-off for Paper ‘I’ is decided by UPSC every year. The CSAT paper requires candidates to score at least 33% i.e. 66 marks and be able to appear in the main exam.
Marking Scheme of Preliminary Exam:
It is very important to understand the IAS exam pattern to crack the preliminary exam. Here is the marking scheme for prelims:
- For each question in the paper, I am of 2 marks. So, the question paper is of total 200 marks.
- Each question in Civil Services Aptitude Test is 2.5 marks. So, the question paper is of total 200 marks.
- Also, 0.33 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer by the student i.e. 0.66 from Paper I and 0.83 from Paper II.
- If the candidate gives more than 1 answer, it will be treated as wrong even if one of them is correct.
- To appear in the main exam candidates have to cross the cut-off marks in Paper I and a minimum of 33% marks in Paper II.
You all will know how difficult is the UPSC exam, in such a situation, if you want to be successful in this exam, then you should join the IAS Coaching in Dehradun.
Negative marking:
The civil Services Exam (CSE) pattern is different from other exams. Also, candidates can easily get negative marking in the UPSC exam. In other words, 3 wrong answers will lead to a deduction of approximately 2 marks. In short, 1/3rd marks will be deducted for wrong answers to the candidate. There is no negative marking for blank answers.
IAS Exam Pattern for Mains Exam:
- UPSC CSE Mains is an offline exam. There is a total of nine papers in the Mains exam.
- Each paper is of 3 hours and blind students are given an additional 30 minutes.
- Paper ‘A’ and Paper B’ are of 300-300 marks and the remaining paper is of 250-250 marks.
- The main exam is divided into 2 parts which are considered for merit and aptitude. And it is mandatory to appear in all the exams to go to the interview stage. The questions here are subjective. And you can write either in Hindi or in the English language, therefore, the candidate is tested on the basis of knowledge and understanding of the subject. You have to answer by touching on the basic and relevant aspects. You will also be marked if you can provide valuable and creative ways to further
Qualifying paper
Paper A – Any Indian language can be selected from the 8th schedule of the constitution. It is of 300 marks.
Paper B – This paper tests your knowledge of basic English papers. And it is also of 300 marks.
General Studies – Students have to score minimum marks in General Studies papers to crack the exam. Moreover, the question paper is set to test the analytical ability of the student. In other words, the questions test the understanding of the student about the concept and the subject. However, there will be 2 optional exams that the student will have to choose from.
