Mastering the Art of Answer Writing: Key Tips for Civil Service Aspirants
Description
How to improve Answer Writing Skill?
The Civil Service system serves as a crucial tool for the governance of India, functioning as the government's implementation arm. Consequently, its selection process is renowned for being one of the most challenging. The Civil Services Examination can be likened to a complex puzzle, where each successful solution propels candidates forward on their trajectory. At every stage of the examination, namely Prelims, Mains, and the Interview, there are points of elimination.
Each year, lakhs of students take the Civil Services Examination, yet only about 1000 candidates (and sometimes even fewer, depending on the available seats) are selected for the services. Consequently, the probability of success is exceedingly low. While every candidate strives to perform their best throughout the process, only a few manage to achieve success. However, clearing the examination requires the right skills and focused preparation.
One crucial aspect of preparation involves mastering the Art of Answer Writing. Before delving into this skill, let's address the following questions:
• Do you struggle to effectively express your knowledge in your mains answers?
• When you start answer writing, do you find it challenging to consolidate your thoughts?
An ideal answer typically consists of three parts:
a) Introduction: This section requires the student to provide a brief definition or introduce the central concept upon which the question is based.
b) Main body: Here, students should present their views, provide descriptions supported by examples, and offer critical analysis.
c) Conclusion: The conclusion should encapsulate the key points of the answer, accompanied by a way forward or a neutral conclusion based on the specific question asked.
Let’s understand this with proper examples:
Question 1: Do you think that “one-size-fits-all' approach of fire protection is perhaps incompatible with the ecology of India’s tropical dry forests?
Subject: Disaster Management
Sub-topic: Forest Fire
Checklist
- Introduction: Forest fire in India and its causes
- Main body: Issues in one-size fits all approach of Forest fire management
- Conclusion: What needs to be done?
Note for the Aspirant
- The question has specifically mentioned about the tropical dry forests, thus stick to that angle. Do not beat around the bush.
- The focus should be more on the challenges and recommendations.
Answer:
The forest fires in India mainly occur in the tropical dry forests of our country, an umbrella category encompassing scrub, savanna grassland, dry and moist-deciduous forests. The incidence of forest fires in the country is on the increase and more area is burned each year.
Issues in Forest management
The major cause of this failure is the piecemeal approach to the problem. Both the national focus and the technical resources required for sustaining a systematic forest fire management programme are lacking in the country.
Important forest fire management elements like strategic fire centres, coordination among Ministries, funding, human resource development, fire research, fire management, and extension programmes are missing.
Lacuna of one-size fits all approach
The roots of our current fire crisis lie squarely in the blanket implementation of 'one-size-fits-all' approach for fire protection. For example, the fires in Bandipur Tiger Reserve were immensely difficult to control because of ample fuel supplied by the alien invasive species Lantana camara.
Forest dwellers set fire to forests to clear walking paths, to collect non-timber forest products like gooseberry and mahua flowers, and to encourage the fresh growth of grass for their livestock, and sometimes as a part of ritual practice.
Thus there are various reasons for forest fire in different regions of the nations as it is also linked with cultural and livelihood factor of tribes.
Hence one-fits-size policy cannot be implemented for forest fire management. There should be bottom-up approach.
In a centralised, top-down hierarchical system, these two broad ways of wielding fire are clearly incompatible. By enacting legislation that made the setting of forest fires an offence, the forest department gradually legitimised one world view of forests as timber and wildlife production systems and ignored other world views that envisioned forests as cultural and livelihood spaces.
Conclusion
Instead of viewing forest fires as being purely destructive in nature, forest managers should perhaps expand their world view and be more inclusive to information from ecological and local knowledge systems that view fires as being both rejuvenating and revitalising.
Few tips
A. Bullet format vs Paragraph format
• There is no fix format for writing any answer. The structure changes according to the question asked.
As in the above question related to forest fire – the question is analytical in nature thus paragraph format will suit in better
B. Grammar and language
• The language should be easy. In the General Studies answers avoid very tough jargons.
• Use the terminologies associated with the concept properly.
• Avoid spelling mistakes, it develop very wrong impression.
• Do not write important terms as India, President, Prime Minister, etc in small letters.
Structure of Answer
• Bring articulation in the Answer i.e. while switching from one paragraph to another, there should be symmetry and flow.
• Bring Objectivity in the Answer i.e. if you are critically analyzing the topic, justify your points with proper examples.
Enrichment of Answer
• Read different sources to enrich your content. But while reading it jot down crux of the topic in about 200 words so that you can use that easily in the answer.
Hope the above tips while help you in improving the Answer writing skill.
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