Any special preparation needed for essay, Tackling philosophical essays- this time all essays were philosophical.."
As per official website of UPSC,
“Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay, to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.”
Topics asked in UPSC CS Mains, 2021 Essay paper:
Section A
1. The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.
2. Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.
3. Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.
4. The real is rational and the rational is real.
Section B
5. Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
6. What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!
7. History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.
8. There are better practices to “best practices”.
What is an essay?
So before going into tackling philosophical topics, first we will talk about how to prepare for essays in general. Let's start with defining the term essay.
Essay is an analytic or interpretive literary composition usually dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view, as per Marriam Webster dictionary. Aldous Huxley, famous essayist says that "the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything", and adds that "by tradition, almost by definition, the essay is a short piece".
The essay paper is an important aspect of the UPSC civil services exams. It can make or break your outcome. There are two sections in this paper. Each section gives you four topics out of which you have to choose one topic each. Each essay you write is marked out of 125 making a total of 250 marks.
Importance of Essay paper
Since we have to study a lot for our GS and Optional preparation, essay preparation is often sidelined. However, there are various advantages of focusing on this paper. The first one is that it is make or break paper with marks varying dearly. Then, you have three hours to write about 1000 to 1200 words per topic (word limit for essay in UPSC exam). Hence, you can do justice to the essay topic, which you have to select from multiple options(four). As you have ample time to structure your thoughts, you can use this as an advantage to showcase your creative side and then start writing.
Sources for essay paper
As for sources, most of the content read in GS and Optional can be put to use in this paper. Along with it non fictional books, magazines, anecdotes and stories from various sources like newspapers can help in value addition. Along with the knowledge work on vocabulary and language flow. For this practice, write 8-10 essays before the real exam.
Selecting the topic:
While writing an essay it is very important that you choose the right topic out of the available options, on which you have balanced and enough relevant content. After topic selection, prepare a rough draft of the essay. It helps in proper structuring of the essay. Your essay should ideally have an introduction, content, basic theme and conclusion. The introduction and conclusion are self-explanatory.
Structuring the essay:
Content should include facts and events related to your topic. Try to cover relevant aspects of the topic. The basic theme should talk about your views on the topic. Take a stand but a balanced one. You should also describe the negative and positive aspects of the topic chosen. Your conclusion may be related to the introduction or be futuristic and optimistic. Being in civil services, you have to be optimistic!
Dimensions to cover:
To get your preparation aligned and receive review from subject experts ONLYIAS has started the 60 day answer writing programme. For content you can elaborate on the following dimensions, depending upon the topic(applies to both general and philosophical topics);
Temporal: Past, present and future
Sectoral: Media, Science & Tech, Business, Sports, Religion, Politics, Administration etc
Walks of Life: Individual, Family, Professional workplace, Society, Community, National, Global
Problem & Solution: Concept (historical evolution+status), benefits, problems, solutions
Standard: Social, Political, Economical, Administrative, International, Environmental, Historical, Scientific, Security/Defence, Legal
Components of a good essay:
A good essay must include techniques like writing multidimensional essays including socio-eco-pol-environment-psychological-sports-world etc. Avoiding view based content as it is highly likely in a philosophical essay that either you miss the plot altogether or that your views do not sync with that of the examiner. So, focus on dimensions and make it a long GS answer. There should be continuity in your essay. Don’t jump from one point to another. Make your shifts seamless and smooth. Let there be a natural flow of points. This indicates clarity of thoughts. It should contain quotes, headings, sub-headings and diagrams if required.
Avoid the mistake of focusing too much on a person who has given a quote like Heagl in case of The real is rational and the rational is real. Stick to the topic. And make use of examples along with current affairs to make it more interesting for the examiner.
Essay writing is part of our 60 days answer writing programme which will help you get comfortable in writing a good essay on the D day itself. By the time you have completed our programme, presenting your ideas in a logical manner has become second nature to you. Hopefully, the preceding article was instructive and you now understand how to structure your essay. While essay writing takes time, reading the question carefully, comprehending it, and then revising it should be accomplished in a reasonable amount of time. These are some crucial steps that should be taken in the examination hall.
