CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATION (CSE)

Conducted by UPSC

STRUCTURE OF EXAMINATION

Its a 3 stage exam

Stage 1: Preliminary

Stage 2: Mains
Stage 3: Interview

1.Preliminary Examinations
Conducted in month of May

Paper I : General Studies Paper 2 : Optional Subject Total:

150 marks 300 marks 450 marks

Optional Subjects for PRE

Agriculture Civil Engineering Geography Mathematics Physics Public Administration
Animal Husbandry & Veterinary

Botany Economics Indian History Medical Science Political Science Statistics

Chemistry Electrical Engineering Law Philosophy Psychology zoology

Commerce Geology Mechanical Engineering Political Science Sociology

 Act as screening test only.

Any one optional subject can be selected.

Objective type.

Negative marking.
2 hours duration each.

2.The Main Exam

held in October/November

Total 9 papers. 3 hours each

Paper 1 & paper 2

Paper 1 : One Indian Language (300 marks). Paper 2 : English (300 marks).

Compulsory to pass Marks obtained in this paper will not be includes in making final merit list.

Languages
Assamese Bengali Bodo Dogri Gujarati

Hindi

Kannada

Kashmiri

Maithili

Malayalam

Manipuri

Marathi

Nepali

Oriya

Punjabi

Punjabi

Sanskrit

Santhali

Sindhi

Tamil

Telugu

Urdu

Paper 3
Paper 3 : Essay (200 marks) No word limit. Any topic can be asked.

Paper:4 & 5 (general studies)

Paper 4 : General Studies (300 marks) Paper 5 : General Studies (300 marks) No specialized study is required.

Paper 6,7,8 & 9

Paper 6 : Optional Subject 1 paper (300 marks) Paper 7 : Optional Subject 1 paper (300 marks) Paper 8 : Optional Subject 2 paper (300 marks) Paper 9 : Optional Subject 2 paper (300 marks)

Optional Subjects for Main

Agriculture
Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science

Anthropology

Botany

Chemistry

Civil Engineering Geology

Commerce and Economics Accountancy History Law

Electrical Engineering Management

Geography

Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering Psychology

Medical Science Public Administration

Philosophy

Physics

Political Science and International Relations

Sociology

Statistics

Zoology

Continue

Arabic

Assamese

Bodo

Bengali

Dogri

Chinese

English

French

German

Gujarati

Hindi

Kannada

Kashmiri

Konkani

Maithili

Malayalam

Manipuri

Marathi

Nepali

Oriya

Pali

Persian

Punjabi

Russian

Sanskrit

Santali

Sindhi

Tamil

Telugu

Urdu

 Total 55 optional subject. choose any 2 of them. Scope of the syllabus is a level higher than the bachelors degree and lower than the masters degree. For Engineering the level corresponds to the bachelor's degree.

3.Interview
held in April/May 300 marks.

How to Begin

Selection of optional subjects

Consider following:Familiarity or background. Availability of study material.

The syllabus of almost every subject is equally

lengthy.

Consult your friends, seniors, teachers etc. etc..

Study the syllabus properly. Get the previous years papers from:SATISH U. P. S. C. SERIES Published by: SATISH & BROTHER
PUBLISHERS & BOOK-SELLERS 9966, ISLAMGANJ, LIBRARY ROAD, AZAD MARKET, DELHI- 110006

NOTE :Almost all subjects papers are available

HOW TO START MEANINGFUL PREPARATION

Difference between PRE & MAIN

Preliminary
Its a test of recognition. Aim should be to clear exam

Mains
Test of exact information. To get maximum marks

Sometimes source of
question is difficult to trace. Syllabus is not specific

Only straightforward questions

will be asked. syllabus is beautifully elaborated Run like a horse. i.e. Focused study.

You should work like donkey

i.e. all corners should be touched.

General Studies
History Polity Geography Science and Technology Economy Current Affair Social Issues Statistics(for MAINS only) Mental Ability(for PRE only)

NCERT books should be studied carefully

http://www.ncert.nic.in
whatever one has studied up to Class XII is only

asked in General Studies.

Googling.

Current affair
A good newspaper and Magazine

http://www.hinduonline.com
Web site of DDNews: www.ddinews.gov.in National Portal of India http://india.gov.in/ Competitive magazine may mislead you. Dont blindly believe them.

Optional Subjects
Approach to Optional paper is not universal and is individual specific. study the entire topics of the syllabus just to develop ideas about them.
Read standard books.

Practice writing answer. Frame the possible questions which can be asked Topic / Subtopic wise. Dont dig up into some topics cover all.

Interview
Its a test of personality not your knowledge. Intelligent listening is the mantra to succeed. Talk humbly about your achievements and hobbies.

 They know you are good or you would not have come so far. They are looking for warm, sensitive respectful and attentive youngsters. Presence of an inquisitive and independent mind.

Recap

 Be consistence .

Try to read a few books many times instead of

many books at one time

You are supposed to know something about

every thing not every thing about something.

 Should have good reason for why you want to

become a civil servant .

Read think, write and think again. Stick to what you consider is good for you.

References:
http://www.upsc.gov.in/exams/notifications /csp2008/notcvl.htm http://www.civilservicesindia.com http://visionias.worldpress.com http://www.crackias.com http://www.civilservicesanalyst.com http://www.geocities.com/indiancivilservices