UPSC CSE Topper by Vikas Dhayal

Prelims Results to be out by end of the week as things stand today. Not today will update here when any fresh info is available

Regarding Prelims-26 Cut offs: In the days following the Prelims, I have spoken to many serious aspirants, veterans, and candidates who consistently score well in GS. I have also gone through a substantial amount of data from various portals and polls. Based on all of this, I am fairly confident that the cut-off is unlikely to go beyond 78. How far it falls below 78 will largely depend on the extent of the damage caused by CSAT, and from what I have observed, CSAT appears to have affected a significant number of candidates. As per my assessment, the cut-off is likely to remain in the range of 76 ± 2. As results are likely to be announced next week, still a head-start of few days is there with people who are scoring above 78 and passing CSAT.

The best snippets from topper copies (2019–2025), handpicked and arranged theme-wise. To save everyone’s time.

Dhananjay(AIR 554) was part of the Essay Kaise-25 and MIGs for all GS Papers last year. One of the 71 people who got selected and were part of our courses. Improved his Essay Score by 21 Marks and GS score by 31 Marks. Essay Kaise-26 is available now(starting 16th June) Ethics MIG-26 is running currently Details in pinned messages, can text at @csetopper_helpline for details and enrolment.

As more than 60 people who have appeared in CSE Interview are writing and competing in the MIG-26 for ethics along with other serious candidates: Here are a few common mistakes people make which keeps them below 120 in GS-4 based on my observations from the past 4 years of reviewing MIG copies. 1. Not providing an organised structure to the answer. E.g. In a quote based answer in Ethics, when asked in the Present context what this quote means to you, a good structure can be to break it down to meaning of the quote for an individual, Society, industry, public administration, national interest etc. 2. Not writing short enough: Writing long sentences in your points shows poorly on your skills to write and deliver the point concisely. 3. Not knowing textbook definitions of syllabus topics like Persuasion. If you want to make up a definition while writing it won’t be as good as the standard one. For instance: “Persuasion is the process of influencing someone’s attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors through communication, reasoning, or emotional appeal. It involves guiding people toward a specific decision by techniques such as credibility, social proof, or scarcity.” Someone memorising this and writing this for the definition will always get higher marks than a cooked up definition. 4. Not following crisp reasoning based on keywords followed by example model in theory answers. 5. Not giving importance to the context statement given in the question.

Sharing this OG Pro Tip after a few students messaging regarding it For those who are not able to complete the Mains paper in time Pulkit Singh(AIR 65, CSE 2021), also an IIT Bombay graduate, used this unique method for completing paper in time. He downloaded a customizable stopwatch freely available on play store and app store. These apps are meant for gym goers to create sets of excercises so that they know when to finish cardio and move on to weight training for instance. For a 10 marker you get 7 minutes He created sets of 20 second for reading the question, 50 seconds for writing intro, 2.30 minutes for writing first part of question and so on. When a set finishes the app plays a beep sound which pushes you to go to the next part of the question. This way he was able to create urgency in his writing and allowed him to give equatable time to all parts of questions. This is psychological hack that you can use to train your mind to manage time like a pro in the mains exam and mock tests. Share it with those who find it hard to finish the paper coz finishing all questions is a must for clearing mains. @csetopper Thank me later

Trying to add some value to all of you preparing for mains-26. Mains-365s are bulky and late, few posts everyday and will cover most of what is needed for Current through the Free Current Affairs Series, on similar lines as the hugely Successful Free Mapping Series for Prelims Can follow it on this channel 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 https://t.me/ABCD_of_UPSC/2391

What should you be aiming for Mains: Essay 110+ GS-1 90+ GS-2 120+ GS-3 90+ GS-4 120+ Optional- 270+ The Mains total has to be 800+ if you wish to get a decent rank. Keep asking yourself if you’re making enough efforts to get to it. Ethics MIG is starting today for those who wish to target 120+ in Ethics with its intensive and competitive answer writing method. Details in pinned messages GS-1,2,3 MIGs to be out post Pre results.