Ethics and Essay - Exclusive Mains

 

Ethics, Integrity - Analysis of Previous Year Papers            Essay Topics - Previous Year Papers                                    

  The two papers that have a major say in deciding your final rank are Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude & Essay. There is a general impression among aspirants that Optional is the keystone of the Mains Ecosystem. There is no denial that good command over optionals can take you through the rough weather of UPSC. However, in latest years, marks in Ethics and Essay seem to have busted the hegemony of optionals. Marks of some of the toppers are so exceptional and high in Ethics and Essay that it won’t be an exaggeration to say that "Ethics and Essay escalate your rank".

1. ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

Ethics is the easiest as well as hardest for the same reason that the syllabus is open ended. Overthinking is a sure shot way to land you into a quagmire. Instead, if one spends plenty of time thinking deeply about the ethical issues that confront civil servants in India and develops an independent and innovative perspective on them, they should do well.

We teach you the knack of Ethics and Essay. 

Illustration

• In Mains 2018 only we Predicted the same Thirukkural that was asked in GS 4.
• What does these quotations mean to you in the present context: “Falsehood takes the place of truth when it results in unblemished common good.”- Tirukkural. (150 words). (UPSC MAINS GS-4 2018).

Adherence to vital Thumb Rules as listed below is imperative in achieving competitive score in Ethics and Integrity.

5 thumb rules

1. Developing ethical competency
2. Covering all of the syllabus topics
3. Referring current events and personalities
4. Correctly using quotes and metaphors
5. Previous year questions are Precious.

The goal is to achieve a high score by integrating these rules and ensuring comprehensive preparation.

Ethical Competency

* Ethical competency is highly important over mere ethical knowledge.

* ⁠Emphasis on practical application of ethical principles is much desired.

* The understanding on ethical principles and philosophies, particularly in the context of Public Administration.

* Internalising ethical concepts and maintaining a strong character, which is crucial for success in answering the paper Ethics and Integrity

* The role of Socio -Political philosophy in enhancing ethical understanding and competency is highly undeniable. Hence aspirants with Sociology or Political Science and International Relations as optional paper are at a greater advantage.

Syllabus and Topic Coverage

* Thoroughly understanding the syllabus, including all minor topics and micro-level details.

* Need to prepare for both open-ended and case-study questions, emphasizing the significance of proper homework and syllabus review.

* Selecting relevant keywords and topics from the syllabus to ensure comprehensive preparation.

Current Affairs and Ethical Examples

* Need to incorporate current affairs and recent incidents into ethical discussions, using them as practical examples.

* The significance of historical and contemporary personalities, their actions, and their impact on ethical principles.

* Use specific examples and incidents to illustrate ethical concepts, making the answers more relevant and relatable.

* ⁠Citing real world incidents and personalities is desired and encouraged.

Using quotes and metaphorical phrases

* Quotes from philosophers and thinkers to enhance the depth of ethical arguments.

* Place the quotes in right context and relevance.

* Using popular quotes just because it is famous or from a well-known personality would not necessarily be productive.

Previous year questions are Precious

* Studying previous year questions and answers verbatim as we do in Schools for Board Exams w.r.t. Book Back Questions.

* Many questions are often repeated directly or indirectly, particularly those involving case studies.

* Prepare for both direct and indirect questions related to ethics based on PYQs.

Integrating our value addition classes to the above five thumb rules would definitely facilitate your scoring of 125+ in Ethics and Integrity. Overall, scoring in ethics paper is a game of keywords, awareness about self, and ability to project oneself as an individual who is pragmatic and productive while being committed to personal and professional ethics.

The nature of examination is of generalist kind. Hitherto UPSC has been asking questions that require the application of common sense while keeping ethical principles in mind.

Scoring well in ethics paper is the sine qua non for ESCALATING your RANK in final list and getting one’s desired service. Like the essay paper, this paper offers maximum returns. With CORRECT strategy one can easily score good marks.

 

Our Class notes are highly dependable and time saver.

• Ethics answer writing is wordplay of key jargons. Make a list of key jargons. Workout all previous year papers. Prepare a Definition for Each of the Terms with illustrations. If the question pertains to a specific ethical value, you must introduce the answer with a crisp definition, followed by an example. The definition can be a personal one, reflecting what it means to you.
• Incorporate examples from current, social issues, professional life, your areas of interest etc. Examples related to Administration – Civil Services form the core of answer writing in Ethics paper. For Example – Khemka Syndrome, Sagayam IAS – Incidents. Examples are what make your answer come alive. Without them, an ethics answer would be a pointless theoretical rambling.
• Use PICTORIAL TOOLS in Ethics to be innovative and unique. This will give you a competitive edge over others.
• Also, be ready to use a hypothetical situation if there are no real-life examples or anecdotes. Always start such examples with SUPPOSE….. ASSUME…. and so on.
• To illustrate, for a question on ‘conflict of interest’, you can write an example as suppose an IAS officer is a part of an interview panel. While taking interviews, he/she discovers that a candidate is a son of his friend. Then that IAS officer should disclose that fact. He should abstain from taking interview of that candidate.
• These kinds of scenarios have to be created in the exam hall depending upon the nature of the question. So, that kind of thinking has to be developed beforehand.
• One more important tip – every case study you solve is a hypothetical scenario. So, you can use the case studies you may have practiced as hypothetical scenarios for your answers in the exam.
• There is never a set answer for a case study. The idea should be to learn from the format:
• Actors
• Dilemmas
• Answer Body
• Points
• Keywords
• Theory
• Diagram
• Conclusion
• Try to provide practical solutions. Ideal solutions, if unworkable, would not fetch you marks. Give out-of-the-box yet practical solutions.
• Try to provide specific solutions. Avoid generalized solutions. To illustrate, don’t say, “I would take steps to promote transparency. Mention how you would promote transparency.
• When you are asked to give all the options available to you – give even the most undesirable course of action as one of the options. However, don’t choose that option. To illustrate, in a case that mentions the offer of a bribe to you, mention ‘acceptance of bribe’ as one of the options. But prefer the options that entail ‘rejection of bribe’.
• Do not touch upon only core issues. Also, touch upon peripheral issues in a case study. To illustrate, suppose a case study in which “you are the head of the committee investigating the irregularities of colleges. You are in the dilemma whether to recommend for the derecognition of college and spoil the career prospects of students or to recommend their regularization in the light of future of thousands of students. You have been offered a bribe of Rs. 5 crores.” In this case study, a core issue is ‘whether to regularize colleges’. Most candidates would just address this issue in their answer. However, there is another issue, the ‘peripheral issue’, that is, the offer of a bribe. Try to address that issue as well. While addressing bribe issue, please don’t just say – “I won’t accept the bribe”. Also, say – “I would lodge a complaint against the person who has offered me the bribe”.
• Let your solutions try to balance conflicting options as much as possible. (Caution – such balancing may not happen always). Consider the examples mentioned in the previous point. Most candidates would say, either “I shall recommend derecognition of colleges because errant colleges have to be punished” or “I shall recommend for regularisation of colleges because of the future of students”. Rather, try to think of a solution that penalizes the colleges and at the same time rescues the career prospects of thousands of students. One such solution can be – allowing already enrolled students to finish their course and recognizing their degrees while prohibiting any fresh admissions. Or, accommodation of students of such colleges in other recognized colleges.
• Last but not the least – Ethics paper has an emphasis on articulation and practical examples, which comes only with adequate practice. Besides, case studies across the years tend to have similar themes and ideas. So answering a lot of these beforehand will give you a sense of confidence to tackle any type of question.

Sample Questions and Answers – GS-IV – Ethics and Integrity

Q 1. “In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they do not have the first, the other two will kill you.” – Warren Buffett. What do you understand by this statement in the present-day scenario? Explain. (150 words) 10. UPSC – 2019 Question.

Integrity – refers to the use of powers and resources entrusted to an individual effectively, honestly and for legally destined purposes. Additional related ethical standards that the individual is expected to uphold include transparency, accountability, efficiency and competence. The concept of public integrity has been defined as “the consistent alignment of, and adherence to, shared ethical values, principles and norms for upholding and prioritizing the public interest over private interests in the public sector” (OECD, 2017).

Integrity ensures reliability and establishes one as trustworthy. Public integrity is essential for advancing the public good and ensuring the legitimacy of public organizations. It is also considered an antithesis to corruption.

The above statement highlights the importance of integrity. It says that without it, intelligence and energy can be detrimental to an organization and the person himself.

An intelligent and energetic man is capable enough to do unethical tasks and tricks a system. Without integrity, he is more likely to do so.

For Example – Nirav Modi is an intelligent and energetic businessman who has built his business empire. Unfortunately, he lacked integrity and hence it proved dangerous to him as well as the system.

Hence, integrity holds primacy over all other values.

Q.2. You are aspiring to become an IAS officer and you have cleared various stages and now you have been selected for the personal interview. On the day of the interview, on the way to the venue you saw an accident where a mother and child who happen to be your relatives were badly injured. They needed immediate help. What would you have done in such a situation? Justify your action. (25 Marks). 2017 UPSC Question.

• Subject matter: Dilemma between achieving career ambition Vs responding to accident as a good samaritan.
• Stakeholders involved: The mother, child, me, my family, society at large and the UPSC.
• Ethical dilemmas:
• • Personal ambitions vs. Moral responsibility to help others
  • Being punctual to the interview vs Saving life
  • Personal and family’s dream to be civil servant vs Moral
• obligation to relatives
• Options Available

Options	Merits	Demerits
Ignore the accident and head to the interview	Punctuality will be maintainedPersonal ambition will be fulfilled	Morally abdicating my duty to save life and against my conscience Poor example of an aspiring civil servant
Skip the interview and help the victims	Moral obligation towards my relatives will be metA good example to the society	Hampers the years of hard work to be a civil servant. Failing my and my family’s dream.Unbalanced decision making in response to multiple needs
Admit them to a nearby hospital and quickly try to reach the interview venue	Rescue the relativesRealise my career goalsClear conscience	• Risk of missing the interview

My preferred Course of action

• I shall choose the last option because I have a moral responsibility to help the victims, and a personal responsibility to myself, my family and my career. I worked hard to reach the interview stage, so it makes sense to balance both these obligations.
• So my immediate response would be to quickly move the victims to my cab. Using Google Maps, I’ll check for nearby hospitals and find the shortest route possible to get there. I will call the hospital and ask them to arrange emergency services by the time we reach.
• Along the way, I will also call the relatives’ family and ask them to reach the hospital. I will admit the victim to the hospital and pay any charges, if required. If it gets late for the relatives to reach, I will entrust the cab driver to kindly look after her, pay him his waiting charges and proceed to the interview.
• In the meantime, I will also check if I can reach out to anyone who can inform the interview panel about my situation and that I may reach late. If I do get delayed, I will make every attempt to convince the authorities involved as to the reasons why it happened. As soon as the interview is done, I will come back to the hospital and check on the victims’ condition and help them in anyway I can.
• As remarked by Gandhiji “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. By helping people, we not only make the world a better place but also stay true to our conscience. It leads to harmony, balancing social good with personal ambition.

2. ESSAY

An essay is “Any short composition in prose that undertakes to discuss a matter, express a point of view, or persuade us to accept a thesis on any subject.”- M.H. Abrams, American literary critic.

          “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.”

Essay distinguishes itself from GS in the sense that in GS, marks will be awarded purely for content. But in essay, examiners will pay special attention to not just the content, but also the language, coherence and the way you organise your write-up. So you must take adequate care to arrange your ideas properly and not commit any fundamental spelling or grammatical errors.

Securing approximately more than 50% of the marks is considered good. Hence 125+ is a good mark in this paper while 110-125 is considered average.

Points to Ponder

• Your essay should be understandable to the general people who have no idea about the issue- hence the language should be simple yet grammatically correct and express your opinion exactly.
• Before you attempt writing an essay, make a rough draft. It should be an overall structure inclusive of all the points that are going to be discussed in detail in the essay.
• Use ornamental language very judiciously as it can backfire instead of being appreciated. There should be a balance between the simplicity of the essay and the ornamentation such that it keeps the readers hooked while giving them a vivid idea about your perception.
• You never get a second chance to give First Impression. Pay attention to your introduction and conclusion. The introduction should make the person curious to read further while the conclusion should remind the person of everything the essay has covered so far, in a nutshell.

Essay introduction can be:

• a fictitious incident or story (where you introduce a character);
• a real life anecdote;
• a quote; or
• a simple definition of the words in the question (not recommended in Essay)

 In GS, definitional approach is a great way to introduce your answers. But in essay, they are rather stale, lacking in any human element. A good way to start your essay is to have that touch of humanity and warmth in your introduction.

• The tone of the essay should be impersonal-your opinion should be voiced with logical backup but must be done such that it does not express disdain or disregard of other views on the same subject.
• Read through the editorial sections of The Hindu, Indian Express and Livemint. There will be essays on different topics by renowned writers and editors. Try to grasp their writing style and implement some of them in your work. Keep a track of key jargons used in editorials. Make notes of good phrases, idioms, and words you come across while reading and also search their exact meaning.
• Language in essay must be simple and clear with as little jargon as possible. If you want to use complex definitional terms such as, say, ‘Constitutionalism’ or ‘Sanskritisation’ please define it in sentence just before you use it. Examiner will also understand clearly what you want to convey. Clear writing is clear thinking. And that is what any reader looks for.

Structuration of essay

This is a crucial part of essay writing where aspirants often fail to maintain coherence. However, if you make it a habit to create a rough draft of the subheadings and framework, you can easily complete the essay in three hours while maintaining a crisp flow throughout.

• Instead of loosely arranged lengthy paragraphs, let your essay be made of simple lucid short paragraphs packed tightly with content.
• The paragraphs should be hooked logically. (i.e) transition smoothly from one para to the next is must.

This can be done in three ways.

1. Through a link sentence at the end of a para:

Here, at the end of a para, you write a sentence that signals to the examiner what’s coming next. For example, let’s say you have just written a para about the threat posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to jobs. At the end of that para you can write a link sentence— “Further, we must be mindful of the fact that Artificial Intelligence poses a major challenge not just economically, but also ethically.” And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI.

2. Through a question:

Instead of a link sentence, you can also add a question at the end of a para so that examiner’s attention is helplessly carried to the next. To take the similar example as above, the question can be something like— “Thus we have examined the threat posed by AI to our economy, but what about the challenges brought by AI to our ethics and morals?” And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI.

3. Signalling the shift at the start of next paragraph:

Here you can simply add a word or two at the beginning of a para that signals a shift in your subtopic. For example in an essay on Globalisation, let’s say you have just written a para about its historical evolution and impact. You can start the next para with something like— “Politically too, globalisation has had a tremendous impact……” This way examiner immediately knows what to expect.

Don’ts in essay writing

• Don’t write in points or bulleting. Essays should be in a paragraph form.
• Do not focus excessively on only one point- this will be interpreted as being biased towards a particular perspective or idea. The essay will as a result lack multi-dimensional depth.
• We can get carried away while writing about a topic we are passionate about. However, in IAS mains essay you have to strictly ensure that your passion or perception does not get expressed through your write-up.
• When you take a final stand on an issue, it’s best to avoid extreme or highly unpopular opinions. We are free to have any opinion in the privacy of our minds, but in UPSC essay why take that risk? For instance, in an essay on Capital Punishment, in the main body content, you should present a case for both abolition and retention. But when you take a stance, it’s best to be an abolitionist.
• Avoid being too personal and name politicians or political parties. On selection, the aspirant is going to be a bureaucrat, not a politician.
• Don’t use quotes just for the sake.

Concluding an Essay

Conclusion needs to be on a futuristic, optimistic note. You need to summarise the complete essay in 3-4 sentences, after which you can write your vision for future.

You can source some useful terms from the speeches of PM Modi. Phrases like Sabka saath sabka vikas, Reform-Perform-Transform, Building A New India etc can come handy. Rhetoric, lofty expressions, constitutional ideals, Sanskrit slokas and quotes are a good way to conclude your essay.

But suppose in your introduction, if you had written about a fictitious character, then it’s always advisable to end your write-up with a reference to that character. It gives a sense of completeness to the essay.

Previous Year Essay Topics - UPSC - IAS MAINS