For UPSC success, where should you invest: Content or Skills?

Let's take the example of sculpting. A good sculpture requires quality materials and fine craftsmanship.

If the material is too poor or too rough, the craftsman, regardless of his skills, would struggle to carve and chisel.

On the other hand, fine material in the hands of a mediocre craftsman will result in a distorted figurine.

In the case of UPSC, many have good content but lack exam craftsmanship. Some have good skills but may not always have strong content to make the sculpture sturdy and shiny.

Thus, both material and skills are equally important.

However, traditional UPSC coaching has overemphasised content, with little regard for critical skill development. That is why you see materials flooding the market, while pedagogies to build communication and analytical skills are scarce.

Thus, Lead IAS, since its inception, have focussed on designing techniques and methods to build exam skills.

The upcoming Prelims Readiness Assessment will be one such tool. It will test a candidate's skill to read the learning materials as per the exam needs. The tool will help a student to understand whether he/she has adequate familiarity with Prelims Previous year questions, a crucial starting point for prelims preparation.

A decent score in this readiness assesment will indicate that you are good with PYQs. On the other hand, a poor score will suggest the candidates to put more efforts in understanding the PYQs before they attempt to read for Prelims exam. The test will be opened to all aspirants soon!