Tips on Current Affairs Preparation for the IAS Main Exam 2011

In the UPSC Civil Services Main examination Current Affairs section plays a crucial role. In the Current Affairs section all types of questions i.e. full length questions, short length questions and very short length questions are asked in the IAS Main exam. Candidates need to answer to these questions to the point, analytically and uniquely. To update your current affairs you can read any of the national daily newspapers and some standard monthly magazines which are available for the Civil Services exams. Nowadays internet has become a good source of current affairs information. You can visit some of the authentic sites which are associated with good brands and which provide current affairs information from competitive exam point of view.

You need to keep a track of the latest developments of nationally significant issues like the debate on Lokpal Bill, Civil Society, and Corruption etc. In the main exam you need to answer to the questions precisely, (within the word limit prescribed by the UPSC) focusing on the topic asked. It is advisable to write answers highlighting the important points of the topic. You should write a critical angle of the topic if there is any, to prove that you have full understanding on the same. And finally conclude the answer with a nice conclusion.

You have to be updated with sports, culture, news, personalities, places, science and technology etc. to handle the short questions. You should study about important personalities, new terms recently in news, places in news to answer the 2 marker and 3 marker questions. Reading everything from the newspapers seems difficult and time consuming. So, sometimes you can catch up news on your television set. Monthly magazines give information to the point and sometimes in bullet form. So, you can study from magazines various information that you miss out in the newspapers and tv.