What was your strategy for GS paper IV (ethics) for UPSC Mains examination?
What was your strategy for GS paper IV (ethics) for UPSC Mains examination?
GS paper IV (Ethics) was my favourite paper among all mains paper. This was because it required very less preparation and was very rewarding in terms of marks. I scored more than 100, to precise 114 which is considered a decent score in CSE Mains.
In the very first year 2013 also I scored 97 without any special preparation. Thus I will be sharing what strategy worked for me.
1. Conceptual clarity of each and every words in the syllabus: I tried to get conceptual clarity about each and every word in the syllabus. I made short notes on each topic in the syllabus. I refereed internet and Lexicon for this. I tried to give simple definition of each term in syllabus. I would like to emphasis that do not mug up very complex and technical definition. See below sample of my notes.
2. Examples from newspaper: While reading newspapers I used to note down examples. See a sample of my notes
You can follow my Telegram channel https://t.me/asksantoshsir where I share examples related to ethics from newspapers daily.
3. Look for ethical debates in current affairs:Many issues have ethical dimensions eg Surrogacy, capital punishment, etc. Therefore while preparing these topics focus on ethical aspect.
For example: Corona pandemic has raised various ethical issues like:
Drug trials?
Who should get the vaccine?
Should lockdown extend at the cost of livelihoods?
4. Try to relate with your life and experience while answering questions: Let me give an example in 2016 there was a question. What is happiness? Do not give a bookish answer. Make the answer as real as possible.
For e.g. happiness is when I help my friends before exam, helping my grandfather, etc.
5. Read Second Administrative Reform Commission report on Ethics in Governance. This is a good read for ethics paper. Every year I have observed atleat one question from 2nd ARC.
Let me prove with example. In CSE 2019 following case study came.
Q8. Honesty and uprightness are the hallmarks of a civil servants. Civil servants possessing these qualities are considered as a back bone of any strong organizations. In line of duty, they take various decisions, at time some become bonafide mistakes. As long as such decisions, are not taken intentionally and do not benefit personally, the officer cannot be said to be guilty. Though such decisions may, at times, lead to unforeseen adverse consequences in the long term.
In the recent past, a few instances have surfaced where in civil servants has been implicated for bonafide mistakes. They have often been prosecuted and even imprisoned. These instances have greatly rattled the moral fiber of the civil servants.
How does this trend affect the functioning of civil services? What measures can be taken to ensure that honest civil servants are not implicated for bonafide mistakes on their part? Justify your answer. (250 words) (20 marks)
This is directly taken from the chapter 7 of 2nd ARC
6. Daily answer writing: To score high in ethics, writing practice is a must. You can practice daily answer writing from questions based on newspaper reading. I post everyday important question in Daily Practice Sheet
7. Case studies: It is very important to prepare case studies since it comprises half of the paper. I have developed 7 templates for different types of case studies. UPSC case studies can be divided into seven categories. If you learn to analyze these seven categories and use the seven template case studies will be a cake walk.
In case you need help, you can have a look at Ethics Master Class, where I share all my experience and content which is enough to score more than 100 in ethics paper.