Get familiar with exam pattern: Practicing previous year papers will help you understand the exam pattern, the types of questions asked, and the weightage given to different topics.
Identify areas of strengths and weaknesses: Solving previous year papers will help you identify your strong and weak areas. This will help you focus on the areas that need more attention and dedicate more time to prepare for them.
Improve time management skills: Solving previous year papers under timed conditions will help you improve your time management skills. You will learn how to manage your time effectively and answer questions quickly without compromising accuracy.
Boosts confidence: Solving previous year papers and getting good marks will boost your confidence level and help you stay motivated towards your goal.
Improves accuracy: Practicing previous year papers will help you improve your accuracy in answering questions. You will learn how to read and understand the question properly and avoid common mistakes that can cost you marks.
Hence, the best way to get insight into what to study and what to skip is by going through the UPSC Previous year papers. Analyse and solve papers to learn how UPSC asks the questions and what is the weightage of different topics. After solving a few previous year papers, you will also learn that UPSC demands understanding and analysis of a topic rather than cramming up and rote learning.
You can Download the papers from https://www.iashelpdesk.in/upsc-previous-year-paper/1/Prelims-General-Studies
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