The footprints of the past lead us towards the undiscovered horizons of the future.
Important Notice: For the student purchasing the book after the Mains 2023 exam, you will receive a free update to the book when published. (Including 2023 questions.)
UPSC Mains PYQ Book
It is so sad to see that students are so much worried about Prelims that they never prepare well for UPSC Mains. This becomes evident when they get selected in Prelims, and then somehow bring things together for Mains in 3 months, and only miss the interview by a few marks.
It is expected that students will prepare for Mains well before Prelims. And one of the important things in UPSC Mains preparation is strategy. While ambiguity is the biggest obstacle in UPSC-CSE, this book will help in getting clarity. This will reduce the number of unknowns and help you in preparing way better.
How Mains PYQ Book Will Help You?
1. Understanding the Big Picture
As one of the review by a student (given below) suggests, the book gives an Hawk-eye view of the UPSC Mains exam. At the outset, when you’re preparing your strategy, it is crucial to have an idea about such big picture. It will help you put things in perspective and help formulate a better strategy.
2. Understanding the Exact Syllabus of UPSC Mains
If you’re thinking that the syllabus provided by UPSC is sufficient in Mains preparation, you’re mistaken. Many a times what UPSC means by a particular topic does not become clear unless you refer to the PYQs. This is highly crucial so that you study in a proper direction.
For example, the official UPSC Syllabus says following about Geography in GS 1:
And if you analyse UPSC Mains PYQs, you observe the following:
From 2013, UPSC has asked 22 questions from World Geography, 43 from Indian Geography, and only 14 questions have been asked from Physical Geography.
If you observe the official syllabus (given above) it mentions world geography and physical geography in a lot of detail, while Indian Geography is given only in brackets, as if it’s not so important. Surprise!
There are many more insights like this, which will become apparent through the use of this book. Having known the exact syllabus will ensure that you’re not caught off-guard in the Mains exam.
3. Understanding the Subject & Topic Wise Weightage of Mains PYQs
There are 16 subjects in UPSC Mains. And it is so easy to get lost in details that you forget the big picture. For example, while Environment is important in UPSC Prelims, that is not the case with the Mains exam. As PYQ analysis suggests, around 3 questions are asked about this topic. Further, the scope of the environment in UPSC Mains is very different from that in UPSC Prelims.
While some subjects are important, others are not so. The same is the story with various topics also. There are certain topics where UPSC asks questions every year. And if you’re not preparing well for them, someone is already doing it. The subject and topic wise classification of questions makes it very easy to understand which subjects and topics are important from Mains perspective and which are not.
Following graph shows important various subjects in GS1.
You’ll also be surprised to see that topics 6,7,8,9 i.e. Society and Social Issues are as important as Topics 1-5 i.e. History. At least when it comes to UPSC Mains.Â
While you’ll have to read around 1500-2000 pages for history, you’ll only have to read around 1/10th of it for Society and Social Issues. Surprise Again!
Other Key Features of UPSC Mains PYQ Book
1. Official UPSC Syllabus
A well-structured and comprehensive approach to CSE is very important. Therefore, the UPSC Mains PYQ book includes the Official UPSC Syllabus, meticulously classified into various subjects.
2. Graphical Representation
Our UPSC Mains PYQ book contains multiple graphs which illustrate the distribution of marks across subjects and topics through. This makes the differences and patterns more clear and enables you to strategize your preparation smartly.
3. Chronological Question Papers
Along with subject-wise and topic-wise Mains PYQs, the book also contains the questions papers arranged in a yearwise manner. Thus, you don’t miss anything. Â
4. Expert Curation
The book is curated by experienced UPSC mentors, ensuring accuracy and relevance in question selection.
5. Versatile PDF format
The book comes in an A4 size PDF format. This ensures that it stays with you wherever you go. This also allows you to copy the questions for some topic, or subject and add them to your own notes.
6. 3 Year Download Guarantee
The UPSC Mains PYQ Book also comes with a 3-year download guarantee. On purchase, you get to download the book immediately. Additionally, you get an email with the download link for the book. Further, if you happen to misplace/delete the PDF file of the book, no worries. You can log in to this website and download your copies again. This option remains open for 3 years from the date of purchase.Â
Additionally, you can always contact us personally via Whatsapp/telegram/email or call for any technical assistance or query.Â
Other Formats of UPSC Mains PYQ Book
In Addition to the PDF format available on this website, you can also purchase the book in Amazon Kindle in e-book format, or in a hard-copy version on Amazon.in
38 reviews for UPSC Mains PYQ eBook (2023 Edition)