Program Overview
Fees: Rs. 3000/- only
Prelims Cleared Candidates: Zero Charges
Total Tests: Five Essay Tests
Dates: Customisable and Flexible
Reference Essays
- Model essays
- Essays by Raja Sir
- Thavaseelan, IAS
- Sivakrishnamurthy, IAS - Essay 1
- Sivakrishnamurthy, IAS - Essay 2
- Rajarshi Das Gupta, IAS
- LIST OF PREVIOUS YEAR ESSAY TOPICS (1993-2021)
Understand Essay - Paper
Your writing is the examiner's only window to your thoughts. Thinking ought to precede writing. What you write on paper will tell the examiner how you think, how you argue and the way you substantiate your views.
UPSC through its essay paper which carries 250 marks, consisting of eight questions of two sections, where you have to answer any one question from each section of 4 questions, checks the coherence in the writing of the candidate, ideas in his mind and the way one can systematically and structurally write them on the paper.
The questions asked in this paper are not subject-specific but are a blend of Current Affairs, Ethics, Economics, Society, Politics etc.
To score good marks and to taste the success, the approach to attempt this paper is to have a broader perspective of History, Geography, Economics, Ethics and Polity.
How to write the essay for UPSC?
1. Read the topics thoroughly
This is the most important step in the process. You should choose one out of four topics. While selecting your topic, make sure you know most about that topic out of the given topics.
- A sensitive or controversial topic like say, Religious Fundamentalism.
- A topic about which you are too passionate or feel strongly about.
- Avoid too factual and technical topics like "GM Foods - Boon or Bane" & "Urbanization - Its Hazards".
- Topics on Socio-Political issues are most preferable.
2. Think for some time
Spend 15 minutes for each topic you have chosen.
Once you've selected your topic, you should not start writing straight away. It is prudent to think for some time and organize your thoughts. Write in pencil the points you want to write.
Before writing a Fair Draft of the Essay, write one rough draft and strike it out later. Once you have the rough points in hand, you can start writing the essay. While writing, you must adhere to a good structure. A well organised, cogent paragraphs.
Important pointers to note while you write
- Don't resort to name-calling. Never get personal in your essay.
- Don't have extreme views. The Buddha's middle path can help you here!
- Don't just present problems. Give possible reforms/solutions also.
- Don't criticize the government/administration excessively.
- Even if the topic is provocative, your essay shouldn't be. Present a balanced picture.
- You don't HAVE to agree or disagree to the topic.
- Avoid writing Utopian solutions.
- Keep in mind you are a bureaucrat, not a journalist or politician.
- Avoid writing lengthy paragraphs.
- Using Quotes is though good not must.
The right use of quotes in essays
The right use of quotes in essays augments the power of your arguments and makes your essays appear more convincing. Plus, essays with quotes tend to score better than essays without them, because of the initial impact the use of quotes create on the reader, and help strengthen your point.
But we need to exercise prudence. Only use quotes as is, if you are convinced that paraphrasing would lower the impact or change the meaning of the original author's words or when the argument could not be better expressed or said more succinctly.
How do I incorporate quotes into my essay?
A great quote plays one or more roles from the following: creates initial impact, makes the essay look more promising, establishes credibility and concludes the essay with a point to contemplate.
If the quote doesn't serve any of the above then you are forcing it into the essay and this could do more harm than good.
Can I alter the structure of the quotation?
Using the exact words from the original source is called quoting. If you want to borrow an idea from the author but don't put the idea in their exact words, then it's called paraphrasing.
For example, Ronald Reagan said, "Trust, but verify." You can alter the quotation according to the passage, by saying: 'To paraphrase Ronald Reagan's famous quote, "It is easier to trust when you can verify."'
Avoid too many quotes
If you deploy a lot of quotations in your essay, it appears as though several people are talking about the topic apart from yourself. Quote as infrequently as possible. As a rule of thumb, refrain from using more than 2 quotes in any essay.
Introducing the quote
The last thing you would want is get your score cancelled on account of plagiarism. It's highly recommended that you cite the author of the quotation.
You should place the quote in double quotation marks.
Substantiating your arguments
In the main body of the essay, each para must have an argument or an idea and a reasoning to back that argument. You can substantiate it through a real-life example, a statistic, an authentic committee or organisational report etc.
For example, if you are arguing that Capital punishment is an expensive form of justice, you should be able to given an example or a statistic or Law Commission's opinion as to how the subjects of death penalty are overwhelmingly from poor communities.
Statistics, examples, expert opinions and constitutional provisions are crucial and they make your arguments authoritative.
Concluding an Essay
Whether it is Introduction / Conclusion do not write a sub heading mentioning Introduction or Conclusion. That shows a kind of immaturity.
Conclusion must logically flow form your preceding arguments and it must essentially be on a futuristic, optimistic note.
2023 Essay Topics
Section A
- Thinking is like a game; it does not begin unless there is an opposite team.
- Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two.
- Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.
- When intuition and logic agree, you are always right.
- Not all who wander are lost.
- Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane.
Section B
- Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands - two equally harmful disciplines.
- Her wings are cut and then she is blamed for not knowing how to fly.
- Mathematics is the music of reason.
- A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.
- Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.
- Education sans values.
2022 Essay Topics
Section A
- Forests are the best-case studies for economic excellence.
- Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
- History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man.
- A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ship is for.
Section B
- The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.
- You cannot step twice in the same river.
- A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities.
- Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right.
2021 Essay Topics
Section A
- The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced.
- Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me.
- Philosophy of wantlessness is Utopian, while materialism is a chimera.
- The real is rational and the rational is real.
Section B
- Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
- What is research, but a blind date with knowledge!
- History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as a farce.
- There are better practices to "best practices".
2020 Essay Topics
Section A
- Life is long journey between human being and being humane.
- Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self.
- Ships do not sink because of water around them, ships sink because of water that gets into them.
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Section B
- Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have.
- There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless.
- Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality.
- Technology as the silent factor in international relations.
2019 Essay Topics
Section A
- Wisdom finds truth.
- Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be.
- Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society.
- Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success.
Section B
- South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural cultures and plural identities.
- Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness.
- Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy.
- Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling.
Previous Year Essay Topics
The complete list includes UPSC Mains Essay Topics from 1993 to 2021, including Section A and Section B topics, predicted essays, model topics, and related essay test questions.
This section can be expanded year-wise based on website layout requirement.