8 min readNew DelhiJul 24, 2024 12:02 PM IST
First published on: Jul 21, 2024 at 02:47 PM IST
UPSC Mains 2024 season has begun. One of the most popular questions in the aspirants’ minds for the mains preparation is: How to write essays for UPSC Civil Services Exams? We have an answer for you in the form of our new series.
In UPSC Essentials’ special series UPSC Essays Simplified, we take you through various steps of writing a good essay. While there is no set formula or fixed criteria prescribed, Manas Srivastava talks to Ravi Kapoor, our expert, in this new series who guides the aspirants with a simplified framework on how to write a good essay. Don’t miss ‘The Essay Exercise’ towards the end of the article.
About our Expert: Ravi Kapoor (Ex-IRS) offers free quality mentorship to UPSC aspirants, drawing upon his ten years of experience to create customised and productive curriculum. Through a free mentorship programme, he integrates tailored educational materials, psychological principles, visual learning techniques, and a strong emphasis on mental well-being into his teaching skills granting aspirants a chance to learn from his expertise.
Ravi Kapoor focuses on the following steps of pre-writing and writing stages which will help aspirants to write a ‘good essay’.
| PRE-WRITING STAGE (Steps 1-3) |
Step 1: Understanding and Deconstructing the topic (Previous article: Click here) |
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Step 2: Ideation and Brainstorming (Previous article: Click here) |
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Step 3: Structure and Flow (Previous article: Click here) |
| WRITING STAGE (Steps 4-8) |
Step 4: How to write an introduction? (Previous article: Click here) |
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Step 5: What goes in the body? (Previous article: Click here) |
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Step 6: How to conclude (Previous article: Click here) |
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Step 7: Essay Extras (Today’s article) |
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Step 8: Types of content |
Today, we will focus on Step 7, the second stage of writing stage for UPSC Essays.
How to get the ‘Extra Edge’ in Essays?
There is more to an exceptional essay than good arguments. Aspirants must focus on some powerful but uncommon methods and techniques to maximise their score in the exam. Let us learn how to strategically insert quotes, use evocative words and other linguistic hacks to produce an impactful essay.
How to use quotes strategically?
Quotes can add some superficial value to your essays but cannot be compared to or can substitute well-constructed arguments in simple language. That said, if you are going to use quotes in your essay, it is better to do so optimally and to prepare smartly.
There are infinite quotes out there and obviously trying to memorize them is a futile activity. So, what to do?
The answer is to use VASP Quotes.
What is VASP technique?
VASP is a way to filter out and short-list the type of quotes that are particularly useful for the UPSC exam as opposed to learning a lot of random quotes. It stands for Versatile, Authoritative, Short and Pithy quotes.
| 1. Nothing will work unless you do.
– Maya Angelou |
| 2. May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.
– Nelson Mandela |
| 3. The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer someone
else up. – Mark Twain |
| 4. Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where
there is no path and leave a trail. – Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| 5. There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and
we suffer more often in apprehension than reality.”
– Seneca |
| 6. “Whatever you are, be a good one.” – Abraham Lincoln |
| 7. “Imitation is suicide.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| 8. “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,
it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain |
| 9. “He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony
with the universe.” – Marcus Aurelius |
| 10. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you are in harmony” -Mahatma Gandhi |
How to enhance expression by using Metaphors?
When we talk about ‘good expression’ in writing, it refers to the creative way in which words are used to convey meaning. For instance, if you are a ‘black sheep’, you get ‘cold feet’, or you think ‘love is a highway’, then you’re probably thinking metaphorically. So, the question is: How to add beauty and expression to your essays?
A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.
Here are the basics:
- A metaphor states that one thing is another thing.
- It equates those two things not because they actually are the same, but for the sake of comparison or symbolism.
- If you take a metaphor literally, it will probably sound very strange (say for instance in the ‘black sheep’ example: Are there actually any sheep, black or otherwise, in your family?)
- Metaphors are used in poetry, literature, and anytime someone wants to add some creativity to their language.
Here is a list of metaphors to satisfy all your metaphorical cravings.
(Note that the above statement is metaphorical. You cannot actually eat a list of metaphors)
Aspirants must focus on some powerful but uncommon methods and techniques to maximise their score in the exam. Let us learn how to strategically insert quotes, use evocative words and other linguistic hacks to produce an impactful essay. (Source: FreePik) 
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