Discourse on Essay Writing

What UPSC expects from your essay?

Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

The keywords in the above statement

• Multiple topics – that means at present the UPSC is asks you to write two essays picking one essay from each topic.
• Orderly fashion – this means essay should be well structured, there should be organic link between from one para to the next para etc.
• Write concisely – it should be written precisely, lucid manner and in short paragraphs.
• Effective and exact expression– this means whatever message you try to convey in your sentences should be clear, to the point and easy to understand.
• Special care should be taken to avoid grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.

How to prepare the content for the essay topics?

For this part you don’t need to do any great researches. Whatever you are reading study material as part of GS paper preparation, is more than enough. Apart from this regular preparation you should read the magazines like Yojana, Kurukshetra, Down to Earth and EPW. If you prefer to read any summary of these magazines read the ones which have mention of latest data/facts, statistics etc.

Then if you have book reading as a hobby you can get the great ideas, content and examples from the non-fiction books. For example- from the book Target 3 Billion by A P J Abdul Kalam, one can get ideas for sustainable development of rural India. It also gives ideas for social entrepreneurship etc.

In the same manner the editorials in the newspaper are a great source of content for essay. Aspirants can take note of examples, short stories, quotes etc from these editorials.

The power of presentation lies in the language and way of expression.

The language in the essay should be simple, clear and it should conform to brevity. Use the key words, phrases etc, which you know clear meaning and proper usage. Don’t try to use complex jargons – which renders the reader/evaluator clueless. The key to good essay lies in its simplicity, brevity, lucidness.

The way of expression is the way of writing the sentences to convey the matter in a powerful, interesting, accurate and effective manner. This requires the aspirants to be ready with good content, quotes, examples, data/facts coupled with arguments etc.

This also does not mean you should write like what the editorials in newspapers had written. Don’t go for that level, because most of the jargons used in newspaper editorial are highly technical and complex in nature. They can not be understood and comprehend easily. So, what you should remember in your sentence formation is

• Simple, to the point and do not beat around the bush.
• Data/facts, examples, stories to add value to your points or sentences.
• The hand written should be legible and no need of joining any hand-written courses.

How to choose topics?

• Since there are four topics in each section of the essay paper, aspirants have luxury of selecting any one topic of their choice.
• Read the essay topics of and choose the one for which can create content.
• If you are not comfortable with philosophical topics avoid such topics. But in 2018 essay paper section B is full of philosophical topics and you have to write. To avoid such circumstances try practicing the philosophical, quote based topics.
• It is advisable to select topics related to science and technology, Human development, Economic Growth and Development, Women issues, Education etc.
• Choose the topic which is somewhat related to your optional. So that you can cover multi-dimensional points.
• Finish this step in the first 5 minutes of time allocated for each essay.

How to prepare the rough draft or How to brainstorm?

• Write down random points which comes to your mind related to topics on the rough pages provided.
• Continue writing such points/examples etc related to topic, then try to cover the multiple dimensions and organise them as per the following dimensions viz.
  • Political, Economic, Scientific, Legal, Commercial, and Social (Dimensional aspects)
  • Present, Past and future (Time)
  • Family, Society and Nation (Levels)
  • Children, adults and Old age (levels 2)
  • Male, female and Transgender (marginalised)
  • Dalits, Women, Religious Minorities etc (vulnerable)
  • Primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector etc. (Sectors of economy)
  • Poor, middle class and Rich (Classes)
  • Hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere and biosphere (Geographical)
  • Equity, efficiency, consensus, decentralisation, participatory and integration (Principles)
• Not every essay covers these aspects fully, and we cannot cover also due to word limit and time constraints.
• Based on topic cover the most relevant dimensions.
• Write contemporary examples, mention data from government sources, reports, SC judgement etc wherever necessary to add value to your points.
• Make sure that each of your points, arguments are supported by an idea or reason or fact or principle or report or SC judgement.

What constitutes an impressive introduction?

Introduction should have the impact of “Love at first sight” or like first impression is the best impression. So, if you fail in writing the best introduction then there is every possibility that you may get less marks.

So, an impressive introduction can be as follows

• Start your introduction with a story
• A real-life anecdote or a hypothetical story
• A quote or paraphrase
• A simple introduction by defining something

The most powerful introduction can be of the first three categories. The last one is less impressive.

How to conclude?

Conclusion should be positive, optimistic, futuristic and should make the evaluator think about the topic of essay or should give a feel that he is also the part of the system.

Conclusion can be done by summarising the whole essay in about a paragraph. Cite the quotes, paraphrase, proverbs etc in the conclusion.

If the essay started with a story, then conclude it with the same story to give the sense of completeness.