UPSC Mains | Answer Writing | Generic queries/views

zaphod_phi

thanks for starting this thread,one thing that comes to my mind with regard to "stand taking approach or not" dilemma is a comment made by vajiram's pol sc. teacher (btw this was in the context of Pol Sc. paper ).She said that in Pol Sc. many of the statements that you explain can be elaborated,justified, concluded in either of the ways.So to maintain a balance you need to vaguely conclude for such statements and hence she asked us to use phrases like "so the debate continues among the scholars wrt to _____".According to me, thats reasonable,if scholars on the topic have not concluded comprehensively,so we need take up the task on their behalf
secondly sometimes you do need to take a stand and in such situation where its inescapable,then the stand should be the generally accepted norm but that doesn't imply you can't go against it ,in the later case you need to have solid facts,arguements to support your opinion.According to her,dissent is something thats is not easily digestible by those professors checking the papers. So instead of trying to be different just for the sake of it ,present your opinion that goes along the flow but in a better manner than the rest.As it is,there is no emotional connection between the examiner and the examinee as have might have been the case with an university exam,so according to her try not to test the patience of those oldies,if your not capable enough.According to me there are some advantages-
1.the points mentioned by you would readily strike a chord with the examiner and would take less effort to check the papers ,searching for the keywords,key points based upon which marks are given.
2.this also shows atleast you know the stand that is accepted,the India's stand etc .

So if you want to deviate from the normal stand,atleast make sure you mention the current accepted norm or the current India's stand and then explain why you choose to go against it.

rav23cbzx

here is a COPY PASTE from my friends mail
Discuss Give both the positive and negative points(prelution and conclusion are must)
Describe focuss should be only on that particular subject matter(for ex: e-governance only)(prelution is must but conclusion is your optional)
Explain the answer should be based on answering in detail Why, How, for what, of that subject of the question.ie., we have to give all the important points.(prelution and conclusion are must)
Distinguish answer should be based on How the suject of question differs from otherthings.(only prelution is must)
Differentiate there should be detailed comparision and distinguishing(as said above) the subject of question with others.(only prelution is must)
Examine the answer should consist of the how good, what disadvantages, what impact of the subject of question.
Enumerate first list out the all the relevant points, then explain one by one.(prelution and conclusion are must)
Reason Find out what is the correct reason for the subject and explain one by one without side heading but highlighting the point with dots or numbers.(only prelution)
Analyse try to give your view with future impact and goods and bads.(both prelution and conclusion are must)

Partho

@rav23cbzx

Your friend has copy pasted from mrunal.org.

http://mrunal.org/2012/07/tips-mains-question-types.html

skylax

Unless his friend is Mrunal himself :P
Anyway, this is exactly the kind of thing I was warning people in the previous post about. Too much of 'prelution [sic] is must and conclusion is optional' is unnecessary pollution of the brain. It's hard enough answering the Mains questions, let alone keeping in mind these rules.

PEST approach, as someone pointed out, is good for thinking through various aspects of a question and structuring the answer but, again, it shouldn't become a must-follow-approach. There are a lot of questions whose answers are simply uni-dimensional and there is nothing that can be done about it.

A similar must-do-rule I have come across is must-draw-diagrams-or-flow-chart-or-something. I read in an interview of a successful candidate on Mrunal's blog that she religiously drew diagrams in every answer in GS! I wouldn't know how she did it and would love to hear from people how it is possible to draw diagram about Putin's confrontational approach (not a political cartoon I am hoping). Yes, diagrams are supposed to add value but shouldn't they be put in only when they add value?

Another candidate was even bigger victim to the must-draw-diagram-dictum as she drew diagrams in *Essay* paper and was left wondering on her blog as to why she got such a low score (she had got 50)!

Ziel

I agree with @skylax
Often the answer writing tips reflect 'idealism'. But, in the examination hall, all our strategy vanishes into thin air. We are left with 'realism' to practice in the paper!
I know a guy who barely drew 1-2 diagrams and cleared with ~350 in his optional subject.

rav23cbzx

@rav23cbzx

Your friend has copy pasted from mrunal.org.

http://mrunal.org/2012/07/tips-mains-question-types.html

ok thanks for pointing it out didnt know he forwarded/copied it from there...seems mrunal is rockstar nowadays for many cse aspirants...myself big fan too

Vibin

Not nowadays , Rockstar since started his site

gururaj

very interesting discussion - answer writing in mains is the most debated thing in upsc exam.......all toppers have their own versions... it is lot confusing...

how about this blog? http://insightsonindia.com/daily-answer-writing-challenge/

i saw many people writing good answers there..

lodudulo

guys plzz tell me if there is a comment type question will it be fair to do a balancing act by writing equal no. of points both for and against or we should strictly take a stand say by writing against it and concluding with some for points

checkmate

@lodudulo Fair enough and perfect!