There are two papers of 300 marks each. In the General guidelines given by the UPSC, it is stated that "the nature and standard of question in the General Studies papers will be such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialised study".
Although the syllabus prescribes many distinct areas like Indian Polity, India and the World, India's Economic interaction with the world, Social and Economic issues and so on, the questions asked are primarily from interlinked areas and mostly from current issues.
This implies that the aspirant should develop the habit of understanding things around in a logical manner and of expressing the ideas in a concise and analytical fashion. You can try some of these:
- Focussed reading of a standard English newspaper over a period of time can help achieve this trait. All areas in the syllabus except the Modern India portion and Statistical Analysis are enriched by this habit.
- A study of the basics of Indian constitution, Economic concepts and Indian Economic system, Indian Geography and concepts in Science and Technology shall go along with Newspaper reading for better clarity.
- The art of reading newspapers for the examination is a skill to be developed. You need to understand how you can concentrate only on themost essentialareas and discard the rest.You may also make notes to form a gist of the relevant material in a notebook.
- Matters are discussed in newspapers in a descriptive, analytical and argumentative fashion with issues at its backdrop. So, maintaining notes that are useful and contextual will help you in the long run. This will also ensure clarity of thought and communication.
- A look at the maps of India and World while reading will help develop better understanding of current affairs.
