IAS Exam 2012: Start your preparation now

One should never wait for the right time to start a good thing. The same holds true for the preparation of the oncoming IAS 2012 exam. If you work hard now, you shall reap the benefits your whole life and most probably for generations to come.

An early starter has an edge over others

In all competitive exams, smart work always pays better than hard work. Starting your preparation before others is smart work. Most candidates wait for the notification to start their preparation. Some don’t even select their subjects before the announcement of the notification by UPSC. However, if you ask a selected candidate, more than 90% would answer that they started early and were prepared better than the others because of that.

Tips on the first steps

First of all, analyze carefully the previous year’s questions. Remember that the pattern has changed and you need to study for CSAT and GS in PT and your optional subjects in the Main exam. Next, ask your seniors, family members and teachers and buy some very good books. Start reading and underlining in the books. When you start feeling comfortable, start making notes. Remember that some successful candidates vote against making notes. They rely on solving maximum number ofobjective-type questions and their answer-writing practice.
Finally, keep practicing. There are countless examples where those who practiced daily passed the exam and those who were overconfident because they were school, college or university toppers failed. Steady no matter slow still wins the race even in modern times!