Monday, August 16, 2010

ESSAY

ESSAY

-this is 200 marks paper requiring one to write one essay in 3 hrs.it is usually on 2nd day of gs mains paper with compulsory english paper in evening
ESSAY is an important part of mains esp since a difference of 30 marks can be decisive in one getting interview call or for the final rank,which may affect service u get...
lets first analyse the words given in notification for the essay(most dependable place to get direction for writing essay) :-
one is expected TO KEEP CLOSELY TO THE SUBJECT of the essay(focus should not be lost)
to ARRANGE YOUR IDEAS IN ODERLY FASHION(see the emphasis here is on ur own ideas n order in presentation)
pay special attention to candidate's GRASP OF HIS MATERIAL,RELEVANCE TO THE SUBJECT CHOOSEN(grasp means clarity of thought and obviously the material should be relevant to the topic choosen,then only should be included in the essay)
-ABILITY TO THINK CONSTRUCTIVELY (having an optimistic orientation,esp while giving innovative solutions to the problem being discussed towards the end of essay....)
-to present one's ideas CONSISELY, LOGICALLY AND EFFECTIVELY.(very important point is here..logically means idea should be logically analysed,sentences connected logically n paragraphs also have a logical connection so a flow in essay may be there...effectively means the idea should be communicated to the examiner in the manner u have interpreted it...and should be convincing)
-credit will be given for EFFECTIVE AND EXACT EXPRESSION..(thus,not only the ideas r important but the way they r presented is equally important)

some suggestions-

-selection of topic is important...usually we used to prepare on themes(more generalised than topics-like education,gender issues,science n tech...) but last years paper shows that unexpected topics may turn up....
 -write MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS,consider the essay topic at BROADEST LEVEL(eg...in essay on education,everyone will mention functional literacy...why not write about legal literacy(knowledge about one's rights) or financial literacy(managing savings through bank account and role of NREGA to providefinancial literacy  to rural people as it gives payments only  through a bank account ....)
-most of us must be making a BLUEPRINT before writing the essay proper-where we jot down points n then decide which should b written first,which one next so that a flow is there in the essay....we can easily give around 35-40 minutes for same n utilise remaining time to write essay in about 1200 words(though officially no word limit has been prescribed,but 1200 is considered gud enough to write quality essay n manage time for blueprint also)
-a good essay has 3 parts-INTRODUCTION,BODY N CONCLUSION...basically,the debating of topic happens in body but innovative solutions n suggestions can b given in conclusion.. .conclusion should potray hope n vision...
-content in the essay should have analysis ,insightsetc.....
-dont start with quotations,i believe an innovative n currents related introduction will be best...eg:the essay i wrote in mains had first line as health is the central focus of inclusive growth-this had focus on topic-health n innovation in form of connecting it to the inclusive growth...this also gave it a contemporary touch...
-for body,interlinking the requirement of ur essay with knowledge of gs,both optionals,magzines,hindu and ur own opinion will help...esp,i used knowledge of sociology optional extensively in the essay but without giving any technical details like thinkers names or sociological jargon...


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8 comments:

  1. I sincerely appreciate your effort in sharing the know-how. Kindly mention few techniques on improving the essay-writing. Lotta practice may b one, brainstorming, etc r others. How did you start writing the essay or choose the essay-topic ??

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  2. hi Vikram,Thanx...i feel weaving the information u hav with ur personal opinions in a balanced manner will giv u an advantage..
    choosing an essay topic is one of the important things n should b one that u can explore in detail from multiple dimensions n giv valuable analysis n insights on...

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  3. Dear Garima , Can you please tell us at what time u really started consolidating ur newspaper or revision of current affairs material and stop collating extra new material from the paper . This i am talking with respect to Prelims ?

    Thanks
    Shaif

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  4. Wonderful words. Wisdom examplified. I am bookmarking this. Please keep posting such nice thoughts.

    Best Regards,
    Kavitha

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Ma'am,

    it is very generous spirit of you to provide these valueable suggestions, thanks you so much. I am a cs aspirant, and I had one doubt that whether to make notes, if yes then how long they should be for each paper. I would be highly obliged if you can be kind enough to reply??

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  6. Sad. An IAS officer is typing You like u and like n ! :( ....Can't we just stop destroying language that took years to evolve ?

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  7. The post you have created and shared here is contain very informative contents. Essay is an important task for all level students. The assignment is always preparing long essay or short essay. Many are using custom essay writing service for the assistance purpose.

    ReplyDelete