What is the syllabus and exam pattern of mains?

What is the syllabus and exam pattern of mains? The Civil Services Examination consists of two stages: Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for Civil Services (Main) Examination, and Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written and Interview/Personality Test) for the selection of candidates for various Services and posts.

The Preliminary Examination acts as a screening test, with only those candidates who qualified being eligible to appear for the Civil Services (Main) Examination of that year. The Civil Services (Main) Examination comprises a Written Examination and an Interview/Personality Test.

The Written Examination includes 9 papers of conventional essay type, with two papers being qualifying in nature. The marks obtained in the compulsory papers and the Interview/Personality Test are considered for ranking. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifying marks in the written part of the examination will be summoned for an Interview/Personality Test.

The number of candidates summoned will be about twice the number of vacancies. Candidates are allotted to various Services based on their ranks and preferences. The papers on Indian languages and English are of qualifying nature and not counted for ranking. Evaluation of the papers on ‘Essay’, ‘General Studies’, and Optional Subject is done simultaneously with the evaluation of qualifying papers on ‘Indian Languages’ and ‘English’.

The qualifying standards for the qualifying papers are 25% marks in ‘Indian Language’ and 25% in English. The paper on Indian Language is not compulsory for candidates from specific states and for candidates belonging to the Hearing Impairment sub-category of Persons with Benchmark Disability. Only marks obtained in papers I-VII are counted for merit ranking, but the Commission can set qualifying marks for these papers. For language medium/literature of languages, specific scripts are to be used. The Main Examination assesses candidates’ overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding.

The General Studies papers test candidates’ general awareness of various subjects relevant to a career in Civil Services. The scope of the syllabus for optional subject papers is equivalent to an honors degree level. What is the syllabus and exam pattern of mains, The qualifying papers on Indian languages and English test candidates’ ability to read and understand prose and express ideas clearly and correctly. The papers include comprehension of passages, precis writing, usage and vocabulary, and short essays.

The Indian languages papers also include translation between English and the respective Indian language. The papers on Indian languages and English are of qualifying nature and their marks are not counted for ranking. Candidates must answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the respective Indian language. Paper-I requires candidates to write essays on multiple topics, keeping closely to the subject and organizing their ideas in an orderly manner.