How to Write a Great Answer in the UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam: ClearIAS Guidelines

Are you getting poor marks for your answers? How to write a great answer? Read this article in detail to convert low-scoring answers to high-scoring ones!

What is the difference between a good answer and a great answer?

If you ask me, I would say it lies in the structure and logical continuity of the answer.

To be frank, well-structured to-the-point answers are rare.

In this post, ClearIAS presents important guidelines on how to write a great answer.

Find what are you really supposed to answer

Let us first go through the question given below.

This is a question asked in UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam 2019 in General Studies Paper 2.

“Parliament’s power to amend the constitution is limited power and it cannot be enlarged into absolute power”. In light of this statement explain whether parliament under article 368 of the constitution can destroy the Basic structure of the constitution by expanding its amending power? (UPSC CSE 2019 Question, answer in 250 words, 15 marks)

In the above question, you are supposed to explain whether parliament can destroy the basic structure of the Constitution.

This should be the prime focus when you write an answer to this question.

Did you get this core requirement correct?

To find the core part of the question correctly, do the following process.

Find Keywords in the Question

Consider the same question again, with certain words written in bold.

“Parliament’s power to amend the constitution is limited power and it cannot be enlarged into absolute power”. In light of this statement explain whether parliament under article 368 of the constitution can destroy the Basic structure of the constitution by expanding its amending power? (UPSC CSE 2019 Question, answer in 250 words, 15 marks)

We call those words mentioned in bold letters are keywords.

In the above question, the keywords are – (1) Parliaments power to amend the constitution (2) Article 368 of the Constitution (3) Basic structure of the Constitution.

When you write your answer, ensure that you touch all the main keywords in the question.

Answer according to the Question Directive

Go through the same question again. Was there any question directive?

“Parliament’s power to amend the constitution is limited power and it cannot be enlarged into absolute power”. In light of this statement explain whether parliament under article 368 of the constitution can destroy the Basic structure of the constitution by expanding its amending power? (UPSC CSE 2019 Question, answer in 250 words, 15 marks)

In the above question, the question directive is ‘explain’.

‘Explain’, ‘Elucidate’, ‘Discuss’, ‘Analyse, ‘Critically Analyse’, ‘Elaborate’ etc are all question directives with a different meaning. You should answer according to the question directive.

We shall explain the minute differences in each of these directives in another post.

Structure your answers with the correct logical flow

Make sure your answer contains a well-planned introduction, body, and conclusion.

There are marks for each part.

Impressive introductions and conclusions play a great role in boosting your marks.

However, what matters most is the content present in the body of your answer.

Introduction of the answer: State your thesis

A thesis is a statement that is put forward to be proved. Your introduction should put forward the unproven ‘thesis’, which will be your opinion in most cases. This thesis should be proved and substantiated by quoting facts and examples in the body.

Note: Introduction is not the summary of your answer, but rather the thesis.

Body of the answer: Justify your thesis

Present your arguments logically in the body of your answer.

Touch all dimensions possible – social, political, economic – and give different examples to substantiate your view.

If the question is something related to India, don’t just present from the point of view of the Central government. As you know, India is a federal country. You may think from the perspective of states and even bring factors affecting local self-governing bodies. That’s how you can bring different dimensions to the answer.

Conclusion of the answer: Prove your thesis

In the conclusion part you should state that after analysing ‘this’ ‘this’ and ‘this’, your thesis is proved.

The conclusion should be logically derived from the introduction and body of the answer. If your thesis is positive, your conclusion should also be positive in nature. If your thesis is negative, your conclusion should also be negative.

That is, if you presented a negative outlook in the introduction and body, then don’t deviate abruptly from the same and provide a positive futuristic standpoint in the conclusion – just to impress the examiner.

You are supposed to prove your thesis, not contradict it at the end.

You should also not forget to

Apart from the above-discussed points, there are some other vital tips to boost your marks. This includes sticking to the mentioned word-limit in the question, providing examples, lucid explanations, critical thinking, creativity, original ideas etc.

(1) Provide value addition

UPSC CSE is a low-scoring exam with tough evaluation standards. The highest marks secured by toppers in GS is only around 45% (450 marks out of 1000). In that background, we have developed a marking scheme, which we use for ClearIAS AWP as well.

• 0-19% –  Not satisfactory.
• 20%-29% – Below average answer.
• 30%-39% – Average answer.
• 40%-49% – Above Average Answer.
• 50%-59% – Excellent Answer.
• 60% and above – Exceptional Answer.

Looking at the above marking scheme, you can understand that if you get 3.5 marks for a 10 mark question, that is an average score. However, if you get 1 mark extra (ie 4.5 marks for a 10 mark question), your answer is above average!

If there are 20 questions, and if you manage to get 1 mark more for each question, you would get 20 marks extra! Overall this would make a huge difference. This would help your final rank to go up at least by 300, considering that there will be 10-15 candidates per each mark.

Now the question is how to provide the correct value addition for each answer to get that 1 extra mark? How to make your answer stand out? How to make your answer special?

A few tips:

• Quote Supreme Court Judgments: In General Studies Paper 2, bring the viewpoints of the honourable Supreme Court of India to supplement your answer on crucial issues. We have compiled important judgments for UPSC aspirants into a handy book, which is already a best seller. Get the book ‘Important Judgments that Transformed India‘.
• Quote provisions from relevant Acts: For all papers (General Studies Paper 1 to Paper IV), add value to your answers by quoting provisions from relevant Acts. For example, when a question is asked about Disaster Managment, mention provisions from the Disaster Managment Act. If a question is asked about Fiscal Responsibility, quote provisions of the FRBM Act. The book ‘Important Acts that transformed India‘ can save a lot of your time in this respect.
• Connect the static part of your answer with relevant current issues: Make your answer interesting by linking it with items in news. Use recent examples.
• Use Important Data from the Economic Survey – Get Economic Survey Summary by ClearIAS. Use the facts and statistics to substantiate your answer.
• Quote the latest Budget – Get India Budget summary by ClearIAS.
• Mention relevant schemes or programs from the India Yearbook
• Quote NITI Aayog Reports
• Quote ARC Reports
• Quote Sarkaria Commission and Punchi Commission Reports
• Keep 5 notebooks – one for the essay paper, and four each for the General Studies Papers. Note down the value-adding points you come across during your preparation time in the respective notebooks. Practice this and believe me, the points you add to these notebooks will make your answer special in the exam-hall.

(2) Stick to the word limit

Sticking to the word limit will help you score better. Some question may have the word-limit set at 150, some others may have it at 250. Carefully check the word-limit before starting answering.

As you won’t get time to check the word-limit for every answer in the exam hall, make sure you try this while doing Answer Writing Practice (AWP).

A general thumb-rule which can be helpful in the exam-hall is that – if the question has 150-word limit, then the answer should be written within 1 and a half A4 page. If it’s 250, then write the answer not going beyond 2.5 A4 pages.

Precise answers will not only help you fetch better marks but also save a lot of time.

(3) Address add parts of the question

Not all questions are focused on a single topic. There may be questions which may be divided into 2-3 parts. While answering such questions, make sure you address each of these subparts.

(4) Give examples to substantiate your answer

Without examples, your answer will be so dry.

Your need interesting examples to justify your arguments.

If possible, use an example each to substantiate each of your main points/arguments.

(5) Use simple language (and may use points to explain)

Use small and simple sentences. Avoid jargons and flowery language.

You can use ‘points’ inside the body-part of your answer – if you feel that will make the answer standout.

If you prefer paragraph way of writing, break your contents into small paragraphs whenever possible.

(6) Bring Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking into the Answer

Even if automation replaces everything that human beings do currently, it cannot replace creative and critical thinking. This is what UPSC looks for in future candidates. No wonder, the Commission sets most of the questions with the popular directive – “Critically Analyse”.

If the question demands creative or critical thinking, your answers should be in that direction.

If you are asked to critically analyse, be sure that you present both sides – for and against – in the answer.

(7) Express your opinion; Bring original ideas

UPSC asks many questions seeking your opinion or viewpoint. Consider the below question asked in UPSC CSE Mains 2019.

“Do you think the Constitution of India does not accept the principle of strict separation of powers rather it is based on the principle of ‘checks and balance’? Explain.” (10 Marks)

In this question, UPSC had directly asked your opinion. Don’t run away without giving your opinion.

In these questions, rather than adding the quotes of experts, mention your opinion and substantiate it well. UPSC will appreciate candidates with fresh ideas and original thinking.

How to write a great answer: Concluding remarks

• You need to write a well-structured answer to score high marks in the UPSC Civil Services Exam.
• By being well-structured, it means having a logical connection between the introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Make sure you understand the what is the really asked in the UPSC question before starting answering it. This can be understood by carefully observing the keywords and directives.
• State your thesis clearly in the introduction.
• Give examples to substantiate your view in the body part. Cover multiple dimensions – social, political, economic etc in the body of the answer.
• End your answer by unequivocally that your thesis is proved based on the discussed arguments/facts/examples.

If you maintain the flow and logical continuity throughout your answer, you will definitely get high marks in UPSC Mains. All the best!