Essay Writing for Civil Services Examination
Understanding Essay Writing
Essay writing for CSE
- For the CSE essay paper, two essays have to be written under 3 hours in the 1000-1200 word
limit. Each essay carries 125 marks for a total of 250.
- The essay paper is divided into two sections - A and B, each carrying a choice of 4 essays each,
and the aspirant has to choose only one essay from each section.
- The instructions in the syllabus are clear in what is being expected from the aspirant.
- Aspirants are ‘expected to keep their thoughts closely to the subject and arrange their ideas
accordingly.It furthur tates that, credit will be given for effective and coherent expression’
.
- The underlined keywords are important because after content, these are the exact parameters on
which the essay will be evaluated.
Beginning Essay Writing
Practice makes perfect. For scoring good marks in the essay, one needs practice. But, before we get
to the practising part, we should do some basic homework first. We would start by looking at what a
well structured essay is, how it can be planned, what elements can be added to make the essay more
scoring, and most importantly, how to do it all within the prescribed time limit.
Basic structure of an essay
The most common method of structuring a essay is breaking it up into paragraphs. In this technique,
besides the introduction and the conclusion, there will be body-paragraphs. In these
body-paragraphs, the aspirant will have to fit in all his content.
- Body-paragraphs can broadly be supportive, critical or narrative. Ideally, one can start any
argument in an aptly phrased narrative paragraph which describe the topic in some detail and
then move on to a supportive paragraph containing a few positive facts/ideas on the topic.
- Though critical paragraphs look best when they are placed last, there are no such rules, and for
some topics it can be used as the opening paragraph for the topic.
- The most important part of the essay is perhaps the introduction. First impressions are very
important, and a well thought out introduction will definitely make a positive impression on the
examiner. We will discuss how to write a proper introduction later in this strategy.
Similarly, the conclusion is where one can score additional marks if done properly. This will
also be discussed later.
Planning to write an essay
A good essay needs planning. There are three steps to it - defining or understanding what the essay
is going to be about in very clear terms, brainstroming on the topic and thirdly, devising the
outline of the essay.
Central idea of the thesis statement
- All CSE essays have a thesis statement. For example, in CSE 2016, the following essay was asked—
‘Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare’. Here the central idea
is ‘innovation’. The aspirant is supposed to explore those dimensions of innovation that affect
‘economic growth and social welfare’. In doing so, the aspirant should not veer from the central
topic of innovation but if possible add a few related ideas which may supplement the overall
central idea that not only socio-economic but also other areas like technology and culture are
affected by forces of innovation.
- In another essay asked in CSE— ‘Water disputes between States in federal India’ – the central
idea is how the water disputes between various Indian states have played out and what are its
various dimensions. Constitutional, legal, social and political dimensions, for ex, are a must
for addressing this topic. In order to find out the various dimensions of any given topic we
should perform a brainstorming exercise.
Adding elements to the essay
- Any good essay will definitely have a multitude of elements and dimensions to it. For CSE essay
writing, there are certain basic rules that one can follow while searching for these elements
and dimensions.
- The first of such rules would be to follow and uphold Constitutional values at all times. This
is very crucial for essay writing in CSE, that the values enshrined in our Constitution reflect
in whatever idea, problem or solution we discuss in the essay. At no point should one try and
support an idea that is unconstitutional.
One must also be democratic while addressing issues. The concepts of ‘freedom and equality’
should be the guiding principles while suggesting solutions and while criticising events or
issues.
- Generally, one must also avoid taking absolutist/non-compromising positions. In fact, the best
way to handle complex problems is to find the middle ground.
One must also try not to make sweeping generalisations on any given issue. Instead, there should
be hints of patience, justice and understanding in addressing or discussing any given topic.
- Lastly, there are two more things that an aspirant need to keep in mind while attempting the CSE
essay.
(A) Do not question the topic itself, which is to say, in other words, do not
contradict yourself. Pick a position (ideally, the middle path) and stay true to it throughout
the essay.(B) Never use positively, things that are universally considered or used in a negative
sense, and vice-versa. For ex, one must not say that ‘terrorism’ under certain conditions is
equivalent to a freedom struggle, even though quotes like ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s
freedom fighter’ are quite common.
Elements in an essay
- The three basic elements — social, political and economic — form the bedrock of a good CSE
essay.
To these, one may add other dimensions like Constitutional, legal, technological, technical etc.
- Another important element is the persona Good personal experiences or anecdotes can no doubt be
used to increase the effectiveness of the essay but these should stay within the accepted
framework of ethical conduct.
Outlining the essay
- Before writing the essay, it is best to outline it. To outline an essay means to figure out what
to say in the introduction/conclusion, which idea comes where, or even what quote to use for the
essay etc.
- Outlining the essay in rough helps us grasp the entirety of the essay before actually writing
it. It helps us get the big picture, and also see what we could be missing.
- It is said that once we canfigure out the conclusion to our essay, it becomes much easier to not
only begin but finish it with confidence.
Writing An Essay
Sticking to the time limit
In the CSE, one has to write two essays in 3 hours which translates into 1 hour 30 minutes for each
essay. Out of this, around 45 minutes to 1 hour will be required to write one essay. One can add
another 10 minutes for the revision of one essay. This leaves us with roughly 30 minutes of time to
prepare the essay in rough, and it includes time for carrying out the brainstorming and outlining
exercises.
How to introduce the essay
- The goal of the introduction should be to arouse the reader’s interest in the topic and to
prepare the reader for what is to follow.
- A good introduction to the essay can be a brief explanation of the essay topic itself. It can be
made further interesting by adding to it some personal experience, or some relevant anecdotes or
quotes
- The introduction should not be confusing or lacking in clarity, rather it should be able to
immediately clear up any doubts regarding the topic if there is any.
Writing in paragraphs
- In a stand-alone paragraph, the concluding sentence announces that the paragraph is finished,
complete. In an essay, the concluding sentence of a paragraph is more likely to play the role of
a transitional device, joining one paragraph to the next.
- Flow is very important in an essay. It is also connected to writing order. Writing orders are of
two types
- Known-to-New is the order of writing where the author by choice goes from known (given) concepts
to unknown ones. New material is gradually added to build on the unknown.
- Simple-to-Complex is the order of writing where the author first establishes a base of concepts
that are easily understood and then develops over it increasingly complex ideas.
- One can use the FREQOES method to add matter to the various paragraphs.
How to conclude the essay
- The purpose of the conclusion is to bring a smooth end to the essay. It is also important to
note that a strong finish is as important as a strong opening. Both are important for scoring
better marks.
- The essay can be concluded in the following ways - restating the main points in brief and with
different wordings (summarizing), suggesting a way forward or a course of action, or adding an
interesting personal comment or any relevant anecdote.
- Another way to conclude the essay is by returning to the discussion begun in the introduction.
This is called the ‘cyclic return’ and a lot of essays follow this simple method of concluding
an essay.
- The conclusion should bear a positive outlook, it should see the silver lining in the clouds. It
should also be as clear and concise as possible.