How to write effective answers for UPSC Mains Exam : 3 steps and FAQs
In the process of decoding the art of answer writing for Mains, let's learn how to break down a question into smaller parts and then frame answers to each of the parts to write a decent and scoring answer.
Let us consider a previous year question (PYQ) of the UPSC Mains Examination:
The growth of the cabinet system has practically resulted in the marginalisation of parliamentary supremacy. Elucidate. (Answer in 150 words) – GS II, UPSC CSE Main Exam, 2024.
As a beginner, when one looks at this question for the first time, their task is to break down the entire question into the following 3 steps:
1.What are the most important keywords in the questions around which our answer should revolve?
2. Out of the total of 150 words, how many are to be devoted to the introduction, the body, and the conclusion? (Important: Within the body, how many words should be allocated in favour of the argument and how many words are to be devoted against the statement?)
3. Are there any thematic diagrams that can be drawn?
Once one has answers to these three questions, they have a very clear understanding of the question and can begin writing.
Let us break down the question in consideration into the 3 steps mentioned above.
2. Marginalisation of Parliamentary Supremacy
3. Elucidate
Identification of keywords tells us that our answer should incorporate the following dimensions:
1. How has the Cabinet System grown in India over the past few years? Since the directive word is Elaborate, we have to give certain examples to corroborate our arguments, depicting the rising strength of the Cabinet.
2. Alongside, we also have to depict using examples as to how the strength of the Parliament has been overpowered by the Cabinet in recent times and how the Parliamentary agenda is controlled by the rising power of the Cabinet.
3. Whenever the directive word is 'Elucidate', we have to write 75% of the answer in favour of the argument and 25% of the answer depicting the other side of the coin.
4. So, once we have written about the rising power of the Cabinet and the marginalization of the Parliament, we need to use the 25% of the word limit to depict as to how the power of the Cabinet in India is not absolute and still there are Parliamentary checks over it in the spirit of 'Separation of Power' and the overall 'Basic Structure of the Constitution'.
Usually, in questions with the Directive Word 'Elucidate', maximum content is to be written in the Body with almost equal proportion of words for introduction and the conclusion. In this 150-word answer, we can do the rationing in the following manner:
Introduction – 20-25 Words
Body – 100 Words
Conclusion – 20-25 Words
It is always a good idea to supplement your Mains answer with relevant diagrams, wherever and whenever possible. In the question under consideration, we can try and depict our thought process with the help of a diagram like:
In the above diagram, keeping in mind the requirement of the question, I have depicted the areas where the rise of the power of the Cabinet is reducing the power of the Parliament ranging from the Parliamentary Sessions to the legislative business to the budgetary allocation to the Ministries to the announcement of major policy decisions by the Government without discussing them in the Parliament.
Such thematic diagrams give a bird's eye view of the answer to the examiner, evoking the interest and the curiosity of the copy evaluator, forcing them to read the entire answer and giving your answer an edge over the others.
Once you are ready with the framework in mind and ready to write the answer, make sure you write sub-headings in the answer copy and underline them. This would make your answer more readable and give an evaluator an idea about the clarity of thought with which you have written the answer.
With regards to the question under consideration, we can depict the sub-headings in the following manner:
Question: What pen should be used while writing an answer?
Answer: Pilot pens, which write smoothly on paper, are the best choice for Mains answer writing and are among the most commonly used pens.
Question: What should you do when you don't know the answer to a question?
Answer: Don't beat around the bush. Answer only the parts of the question that you know. Making up stories or giving vague replies won't fetch you marks. Filling up the answer sheet with irrelevant content is not what UPSC expects. Move on to questions—or parts of questions—that you are more confident about.
Question: How can one improve answer-writing speed and quality under exam conditions?
Answer: Practice as many questions as possible every day in an exam-simulated environment. Use a stopwatch to ensure you don't exceed 5–7 minutes for a 10-marker and 10–11 minutes for a 15-marker question.
Question: How important is the handwriting and presentation in the final evaluation?
Answer: Aspirants initially start writing answers at a slow pace. Eventually, due to the paucity of time, they begin to scribble and spoil their handwriting as the exam time runs out. It is important to realise that, from an evaluator's perspective, good handwriting is a very important aspect of answer writing. Good handwriting here means a legible, neat, and clean script. Complement a well-structured answer with good presentation and relevant diagrams to gain an extra edge in the exam.
Question: Should answers be written in paragraph form or bullet/point format?
Answer: Writing in paragraphs or points depends on the demand of the question. Points or bullet form are preferred by many when the answer is straightforward and needs to be easily readable. However, answers or essays that require a strong introduction and conclusion can have a mix of bullet points (in the body) and paragraph form.
(About our Expert: Mudit Gupta has been a mentor and faculty for the UPSC Civil Services exam for 8 years with expertise in CSAT, Polity, International Relations, and Current Affairs.)
For any queries and feedback, contact manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com
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As of now, it is catering mainly to the rising electricity demand, which has increased three times since 1990 and is projected to grow even higher. • While only around 10% of new electricity installed capacity in 2024 was fossil fuel-based, the use of fossil fuels, in absolute terms, is still growing, according to the IRENA report. • Between 2012 and 2023, global electricity generation grew by 2.5% every year on average, and renewable energy expanded at a rate of about 6% during the same time. This has led to a steady rise in the share of renewables in the electricity generation mix. However, fossil fuels currently account for more than 70% of global electricity production. • In absolute terms, more fossil fuels are being burned today than 10 years ago to produce electricity. To make matters worse, the increase in use of fossil fuels is expected to continue for at least a few more years. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions have reached record highs in recent years. • Moreover, electricity is still only a small slice of total energy use. Just 20% to 22% of the total energy consumed in the world every year is in the form of electricity. Only 30% of electricity generation comes from renewable sources. • This means that about 6% of the world's energy consumption comes from clean sources. More than 90% still comes from fossil sources. Note that there are some countries, mainly in the Nordic region, where renewables account for a significantly higher share of total energy consumption. However, the special conditions existing in these countries are difficult to replicate elsewhere. • The IRENA report said 71% of the renewable capacity addition last year took place in Asia. This is slightly misleading as China alone accounted for more than 62% of global additions that is, 364 GW of the 582 GW installed globally. The whole of Africa together got less than 1%. Do You Know: • According to projections, by 2050, even in the case scenarios, not more than 40% to 45% of the world's total energy consumption would come from clean sources. This means that energy transition, which involves moving away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, on its own, is unlikely to help tackle the climate crisis. That is why carbon removal interventions, which are yet to become viable, assume great importance in the fight against global warming. • For the last few years, China has been consistently installing more renewable energy than the rest of the world combined. Apart from developed countries, China, and some large players such as India, the renewable energy footprint has not grown at a fast pace. • However, this kind of lopsided deployment of renewable energy, coupled with the fact that China has a near monopoly on the production and supply chains of most renewable systems, could leave many countries and regions behind once again. • Renewable energy, such as solar and wind, might be available universally — unlike, say, petrol that is found in only limited geographies — but the technologies needed to harness this energy are getting increasingly inaccessible. • China dominates the production and manufacturing of solar PV systems, for example, but also consumes more than half of it. Large buyers such as the United States and India corner most of what is exported. There is little supply for others. • The transition to clean and renewable energy systems is not as simple as it is sometimes made out to be. There are several layers of complexity which make the goal of curbing global temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius look increasingly unrealistic to achieve. • At the 2015 climate conference in Paris, India in collaboration with a few other countries including conference host France, set up the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to accelerate the deployment and absorption of solar energy across the world, and mainly in the developing countries. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍India's 'green' power capacity overtakes thermal — What you must know for UPSC Exam 📍India reaches key climate goal 5 years ahead of target: The full picture, explained Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: (3) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2016) 1. The International Solar Alliance was launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2015. 2. The Alliance includes all the member countries of the United Nations. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests. General Studies-III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment What's the ongoing story: India's efforts to secure a concession for its small and medium enterprises under the UK's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) did not materialise, as the text of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) released on Thursday made no mention of a resolution on the contentious issue. Key Points to Ponder: • What is the significance of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA)? • Know the key details of the India-UK FTA • What is CBAM? • What are India's concerns regarding CBAM? • What is the role of the WTO in resolving disputes between nations? • What are the challenges with the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO? • What are the challenges related to the WTO? Key Takeaways: • The UK's CBAM, which is set to come into effect from January 1, 2027, is expected to impact India's exports of steel, aluminium and other carbon-intensive goods. India's steel and aluminium exports are already facing steep tariff restrictions from the US after US President Donald Trump raised the tariffs on the items to 50 per cent. • An absence of a resolution not only weakens India's position—as it missed the opportunity to address the levy within a legal framework—but also casts a shadow over the duty concessions won for 99 per cent of its exports to the UK under the long-negotiated trade deal as UK could raise tariffs on industrial imports once it implements CBAM. • While the Ministry of Commerce and Industry claims that the UK trade deal will allow around 99 per cent of Indian exports to benefit from zero-duty access to the UK market, CBAM significantly could alter that. • The UK government has said that the carbon tax will apply to both 'direct and indirect emissions' embodied in imported CBAM goods, 'including those emissions embodied in relevant precursor goods at a point further up the value chain'. • India's exports to the UK rose by 12.6 per cent to $14.5 billion, while imports grew by 2.3 per cent to $8.6 billion in 2024–25. Bilateral goods trade between India and the UK increased to $21.34 billion in 2023–24 from $20.36 billion in 2022–23. • As no concession was secured under the FTA, India could challenge the regulation at the WTO on the grounds that CBAM violates special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions, which advocate longer implementation periods for developing countries to safeguard their trade interests. • However, trade law experts warn that the CBAM regulations in both the UK and EU may be in effect by the time the WTO rules on the matter, given the dysfunction of the organisation's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). Do You Know: • According to the World Bank, 'a carbon tax directly sets a price on carbon by defining a tax rate on greenhouse gas emissions or – more commonly – on the carbon content of fossil fuels'. It is a type of carbon pricing, and the other type of carbon pricing is the emissions trading systems (ETS). The CBAM is a form of carbon pricing system. • The CBAM or Carbon Tax was first introduced by the European Union in 2021. It taxes certain products coming in from other countries based on their carbon emissions footprint in their production process. For instance, if the imported steel was produced through a process that entailed higher emissions than the emissions standards for that product in Europe, it would be taxed. • CBAM allows industries in Europe to remain competitive while continuing to maintain high environmental standards. It prevents these industries from relocating their production to countries where the production might be cheap owing to less strict emission norms, a situation described as carbon leakage. In the process, it hopes to contribute to reducing global emissions. • However, it hurts the export competitiveness of developing countries such as China and India. The developing countries point out that CBAM overlooks the 'differentiation' embedded in the global climate architecture that allows them to be treated differently from the developed nations. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Knowledge Nugget: What is Carbon Tax and why is it important for UPSC exam? 📍Trade deal stalled over UK carbon tax, India proposes plan for 'rebalancing' Prelims Question Covering similar theme: (4) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2023) Statement-I: Carbon markets are likely to be one of the most widespread tools in the fight against climate change. Statement-II: Carbon markets transfer resources from the private sector to the State. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I (b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect (d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for July 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at Khushboo Kumari is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She has done her graduation and post-graduation in History from the University of Delhi. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. She holds experience in UPSC-related content development. You can contact her via email: ... Read More
