How to Improve Writing Skills For the UPSC Exam 

Writing UPSC exam or any other exam is all about presenting excellently what you have learned. Hence writing skills is very crucial. It often happens that some students are very good at learning and speaking but when it comes to write the same thing with a pen on paper, they fail. Such students lack in writing skills. For cracking the UPSC exams in the first attempt, it is therefore very important that students should also work on polishing their writing skills. 

UPSC prelims exam is objective in nature, hence it is easy to crack only on the basis of your learning and knowledge. But this is not the case in UPSC Mains exam. It is subjective in nature, this simply means that students have to write and elaborate answers themselves instead of just picking the right option. 

Every year thousands of aspirants appear in this exam and they all learn the same syllabus and popular books. So, it is very important to stand out among the crowd and this is only possible when you write exceptionally well. 

Your answers should be neat, systematically arranged, and exactly match the demand of the question. This article gives you some essential and helpful tips for writing a UPSC Mains exam in the best way. 

Read More to Write Better 

When we read, we learn more. For writing the best & relevant answers it is very important that you keep reading more and more. Doing this, you will also observe the style of writing answers in the exams. This will also improve your vocabulary and dictionary of terminology that is much needed for writing pretigious exams like UPSC. So, yes! Reading is the first thing you should start doing before writing. 

Prepare A Writing Structure 

Outline and structure are significant. You can't just start writing the answers without knowing what points should be covered. Expert faculties at KSG - An institute for Preparing IAS, have suggested that students should write in a particular structure to improve the presentation of their answers. The most general structure is to write introduction i.e. acknowledging the concern in the question. Then write the points/paragraph required. At last, conclude the answer by giving the verdict. It is preferred to write in the points than a paragraph. If needed, draw charts also. 

Write to the Point. 

Don't write hefty answers. It is the myth that long answers score more marks than short ones. It is not at all about long or short answers. It all depends on the relevant points that are covered and not on the long length of answers. Always answer to the point and write only what is asked instead of making the papers black with unnecessary stuff just to make the answers lengthy. Evaluators are experts and you can't fool them. So try to avoid using very technical terms or words that are less commonly known. 

Don't Be Too Generalized 

Remember you are writing an answer and not a novel. Don't be too philosophical or generalized while writing the answers. It is advisable, you don't give your personal opinions until it is specifically asked. It is good to quote relevant phrases, metaphors, or idioms, if you want but doesn't exaggerate the whole thing. Formulate your write-ups in such a way that it goes with the context of the question else it seems that you just want to fill the answer sheet. However, if it is a literature question paper, doing these things may help. 

Don't Be A Parrot 

You know what we mean to tell here. Yes, don't just copy things what you have read in the books. Read, understand and explain everything in your language. This will be more effective. Don't be like a parrot and avoid repeating things from the books. It is although not wrong, what you write in your own words is the best. 

Practice! Practice! Practice! 

You must have heard "Practice Makes a Man Perfect" (Well, this applies to women also). Writing practice before exams really helps. Try writing answers. For this, you can solve previous year question papers and write the answers. Check and compare your answers with the ideal answer sheet. Find out the mistakes and correct them. UPSC exams are not extempore. It needs planning and practice. Practicing writing subjective answers is a very important part of UPSC Mains Exam preparation without which you can't think of clearing this exam. 

Improve Basics Like Tenses, Grammar, Etc. 

Whether you are attempting UPSC exams in Hindi or English, Grammar is very important. You can't take it for granted. If you are not sure that you are good at writing in the selected language medium, take classes but don't take a chance. Focus on improving grammar, spelling, tenses and other such language-related errors. Make your writing error-free.