The best way to write essays for UPSC Civil Providers Exams? This is among the hottest questions amongst aspirants. In UPSC Necessities’ particular collection ‘UPSC Essays Simplified‘, we take you thru numerous steps of writing essay. Whereas there isn’t any set system or fastened standards prescribed, Manas Srivastava talks to Ravi Kapoor, our skilled, on this new collection who guides the aspirants with a simplified framework on write essay.
Don’t miss ‘The Essay Train’ in direction of the tip of the article. Ravi Kapoor focuses on the next steps of pre-writing and writing phases which is able to assist aspirants to jot down a ‘good essay’.
Ravi Kapoor: UPSC Essay subjects may be deceptively onerous at instances. Some subjects are deeply reflective and philosophical just like the lately requested matter “Arithmetic is the music of causes.” Others can have social and moral connotations reminiscent of “A society that has extra justice is a society that wants much less charity.” No matter the kind of essay matter the UPSC asks, aspirants should know that the first step earlier than starting writing is to grasp the essay’s core totally. We name this step ‘Understanding and Deconstructing the Essay matter’. What follows is a collection of checklists and recommendation to help — the 5 parts of step one. Let’s perceive with examples.
5 parts to grasp and deconstruct the essay matter:
1. Verify your prior knowledge- Context
Although UPSC essay subjects appear generic, a few of them require substantial understanding and prior data of the subject to do justice. It’s essential to be deeply trustworthy with your self about your prior data of the subject earlier than delving into it.
As an example, “Historical past is a collection of victories gained by the scientific man over the romantic man” may look like a generic debate about rational pondering and idealism however the essay is not going to be of any worth until you’ll be able to illustrate your arguments through concrete historic examples traversing the darkish ages, the Copernican revolution, Renaissance, the economic age and many others.
It is perhaps a smart determination to altogether skip writing on essay subjects about which you’ve got restricted or half-baked data, even when it appears interesting.
2. Isolate the core themes- Deconstruction
Deconstruction Technique is a strong analytical device the place an announcement is damaged up into its primary constructing blocks for evaluation. It implies that you could have a look at the person components of the UPSC essay matter individually first, and later see how they mix to type the essay matter assertion. It’s a bottom-up method the place you begin with the small and construct as much as the massive Essay matter.
As an example, “Forests are the best-case research for financial excellence” speaks of two core themes or concepts- ‘Forests’ and ‘Financial Excellence’.
One other example- “Visionary decision-making occurs on the intersection of instinct and logic.” It consists of three primary themes or concepts- “Visionary decision-making”, “Instinct” and “Logic”.
It’s essential to say that the assertion within the essay matter might need to be quickly ignored to isolate the core themes. As soon as remoted, the core themes may be thought-about in additional element. This makes for superior ideation and brainstorming when the essay matter is learn as a complete. It additionally helps to make sure that the content material within the physique of the essay is complete.
3. Think about the counterarguments – Steadiness
A mistake aspirants usually make is to easily agree with the essay matter and elaborate on the contents with out realizing that an essay matter doesn’t all the time need to be agreed upon. No matter how definitively appropriate an essay matter might seem, it all the time has counterarguments that need to be highlighted.
Like two sides of a coin, an essay matter has two sides that should be appreciated in depth.
For instance- “The time to restore the roof is when the solar is shining.” It appears simple and proper. The assertion highlights the necessity for preparedness and serves as a name to be vigilant when instances are good.
Counter-argument- Whereas preparedness for the longer term has strong strategic benefit, life is brief and when instances are good, it’s maybe additionally the best time to understand the current second, depend one’s blessings, be grateful and “cease and scent the roses”, so to talk.
An essay that elaborates blindly with out appreciating the opposite facet of the subject is not going to be adequate and can mirror your restricted imaginative and prescient and knowledge. Contemplating the counter-arguments will convey steadiness and lend a extra mature perspective to your writing.
4. Penetrate the depth
Assume after trying on the essay matter: Is the assertion superficial, or metaphorical or does it result in a a lot deeper difficulty at hand?
It is perhaps tempting to have a look at an ambiguous and open-ended assertion like “You can’t step twice in the identical river” and try to interpret it with your personal understanding. Whereas it’s attainable to superimpose your understanding primarily based on frequent sense on such subjects, it may not be the easiest way ahead as a result of the depth of some subjects may be elusive.
“You can’t step twice in the identical river” is a deeply philosophical quote by Heraclitus that underscores the ever-changing nature of the universe. It’s a metaphysical assertion that makes use of the metaphor of the river as an instance that fidelity is an phantasm because the river all the time strikes and isn’t actually the identical, besides in our minds. It additionally speaks to the ever-changing nature of beings reminiscent of people whose experiences, personalities and even our bodies are slowly altering with every passing second. In reality, the entire quote by Heraclitus is “No man ever steps in the identical river twice, for it’s not the identical river and he’s not the identical man.”
The thought of impermanence is central to religions reminiscent of Buddhism (Annica), philosophy, psychology, and even science (Entropy, thermodynamics). To put in writing successfully on this matter you would want to penetrate its depth which isn’t any small feat to do on the spot within the examination corridor. Subsequently, whereas interested by essay subjects, be cautious and proceed solely if you end up sure in regards to the matter’s mental depth.
5. Map the width
Assume after trying on the essay matter: What are all the size which might be essential for the essay matter?
Typically, you could get the sensation of familiarity with an essay matter as a result of it’s summary and generic like “Smile is the chosen automobile for all ambiguities”. Meaning you understand one thing about it however not most of all there may be to find out about it.
Within the above essay matter, as an example, one can simply make out that the essay matter is about smiling as a misleading sign that can be utilized to convey or disguise real feelings. Whereas this matter revolves predominantly round social psychology, that’s not all there may be to it. To be complete could be to spotlight numerous dimensions together with examples related to it reminiscent of:
· A smile can be utilized to convey or disguise- confusion, malice, jealousy, pleasure, shock, love, hate, disgust and many others.
· Different themes and concepts value touching upon include- Non-verbal communication, empathy, compassion, relationships, emotional intelligence, psychological well being, social media, despair and many others.
· Utilized by advertising and marketing businesses, politicians and many others. to seem extra likeable.
· Moral dimension of how deception is normalized in our society.
This underscores the necessity for being complete from the perspective of content material whereas writing the essay.
The Essay Train
The 5 parts above are important issues earlier than selecting and writing the essay. Right here is an train to place this into apply:
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