Essay is crucial in determining your final selection. The mark in essay paper varies from as low as 30 to as high as 160 out of 250. So it can make or break you.
There is no syllabus for essay nor any single source. Your GS preparation should suffice to write a good essay. What you need to remember is Practice Practise Practise.Abstract topics can also be asked in this examination.
It is said that essay reflects one’s personality in terms of ideas , presentation , values , attitude ,assessment and analysis . So the emphasis should be as to how to present your ideas rather than merely throwing factual knowledge or information.
General trend in essay is that there are two sections A and B .Out of each section you have to choose one essay to write.
What constitutes a good essay ?
- Simple , short and lucid sentences. Clarity of expression is more important
- Integrity of essay : Define the subject clearly and avoid writing unnecessary details . Whatever you write should be directly associated with the topic
- Order : It should not be written in ad-hoc fashion. There should be proper structure and it should be written in seamless / continuous manner . There should be some degree of unity in essay.
- Don’t hesitate in giving your views
- Avoid grammatical and spelling errors
- Quality of content is more important than Word limit
What should be the plan for writing a good essay ?
- Take around six to ten minutes in selecting the topic. Eliminate the topics you are not comfortable with .Select the topic you think you can do justice.
- Use last two to three pages for rough work
- Once the topic is chosen you should now draw a basic framework of your essay. This should contain headings , sub-headings , points you would include in each paragraph . Take good amount of time to think of catchy introduction and conclusion. Think of making your essay multi-dimensional. Add various perspectives ( eg social , political , economic , historical etc ) to your essay.
- An introduction can be some catchy saying or an adage , an anecdote , recent happening etc to make first impression on mind of the examiner.
- You should take around 20-25 minutes in drawing the whole framework of your essay . Around 40-45 minutes are sufficient to do mechanical work of writing
- Now while you are writing final essay start elaborating your points which you have drafted in rough work
- You can underline important points , headings and sub-headings . You can add flow-charts and some diagrams as well
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Body of Essay |
Suggestions |
| Introduction |
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| Main content |
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| Conclusion |
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