TIPS FOR TACKLING THEORY QUESTIONS
Pattern of GS IV question paper
Let us begin with the structure of the GS question paper IV. It now seems to have acquired a stable format.
♤ Time : 3 hours
♤ Marks : 250
♤ Parts : 2 (A & B)
♤ Types and number of questions:
Part A : Theory 8 Questions
Part B : Case Studies 6 Questions (Questions suggests 3-4 answer choices and the
examineehas to evaluatethem or askshim/her to generate and discuss possible options.)
♤ Length of answers
Part A : approximately 2000 words (5 × 300 plus 3 × 150)
Part B : approximately 1500 words
Common Errors in Students’ Answers
Students make the following errors while answering questions.
♤ Students leave out some parts of the questions/sub-questions
♤ Answers far exceed the prescribed word limits.
♤ Answers are unstructured and unorganised; ideas are not arranged logically or sequentially.
♤ Language is loose and flabby, and ungrammatical.
A few words of explanation are needed on these errors. For simplicity’s sake, we discuss the first three errors by using examples from UPSC question papers.
Example I
What is ’emotional intelligence’ and how can it be developed in people? How does it help an individual in taking ethical decisions? (150 words)
The examiner is not asking you to write a mini-essay on emotional intelligence. He/she has three aspects of emotional intelligence in mind: (a) its definition; (b) the ways it can be fostered in people; and (c) the manner it aids in taking ethical decisions. Write about these sub-questions distributing the 150 words among them suitably.
Example II
Differentiate between the following (200 words):
(i) Law and Ethics
(ii) Ethical management and Management of ethics
(iii) Discrimination and Preferential treatment
(iv) Personal ethics and Professional ethics
Each sub-question has two terms, and the entire question has eight terms. The examiner is not asking you to write about the eight terms individually or separately. If you go on writing about the terms individually, the answer will be wrong, for that is not what you are asked to do. Briefly define each term in the pair and show how they differ.
Example III
Publicservants are likely to confront withthe issues of ‘Conflict of Interest’. What do you understand by the term ‘Conflict of Interest’ and how does it manifest in the decision making by public servants? If faced with the Conflict of Interest situation, how would you resolve it? Explain with the help of examples.
The scope of the question covers four aspects: definition of conflict of interest; explaining how it arises; how officers should respond to it; and illustrative examples. Your answer should cover these four issues, and not trail off into irrelevancies.
In brief, students should analyse the question and understand its scope. Their answer should be relevant to the question and sub-questions; and be based on the focus and thrust of the question.
Quotations and direction words/sentences
Many theory questions contain a quotation which is followed by a direction word/sentence for candidates. Pay special attention to these direction words/sentences which tell you what the central themes of the answer should be. Let us look at a few examples.
Corporate social responsibility makes companies more profitable and sustainable. Analyse
Strength, peace and security are considered to be the pillars of international relations. Elucidate
The crisis of ethical values in modern times is traced to a narrow perception of the good life. Discuss “Increased national wealth did not result in equitable distribution of its benefits. It has created only some “enclaves of modernity andprosperity for asmall minority at the cost of the majority”. Justify
Withoutcommonlysharedandwidelyentrenchedmoralvaluesandobligations,neitherthelaw,nordemocraticgovernment, nor even the market economy will function properly.
What do you understand by this statement? Explain with illustration in the contemporary times. We have italicized the quotations or statements and highlighted the direction word or sentence. “Analyse” means that the answer should explain the logic or rationale of the statement or specify itsvarious aspects. “Elucidate” indicatesthat the answershould elaborate the statement or expand its content. “Discuss” suggests that the answer should deal with both sides of an issue or all its dimensions. “Justify” means that answer should give reasons or facts in support of the statement. For example, it should not refute the statement. “What do you understand by this statement?” indicates that students should expand the statement showing what it conveys to them.
The short point is that students should comment on the quotation or statement in the light of the direction word or sentence. They should avoid merely giving a descriptive account unrelated to the direction word/sentence. Students should carefully look at the answers we gave to these questions later in the chapter.
Covering all parts of a question
The second common error in students’ answers is inadequate coverage. What we mean is that they forget about some question parts. They may not miss out the sub-questions which carry tag like
(a) or (b). Some questions with suchtags are also divided into bits. Thebits should also be answered.
We can use one of the previous examples to explain the point. Thus in example III, the question as worded seems to have three parts. But it also seeks examples. Students have to write about all the three parts and also give examples in the answer. If they omit any part, they will lose marks. They can decide how to distribute the 150 word limit among the parts.
Sticking to prescribed word limits
As regards word limit, interestingly this is the only material point on which UPSC’s instructions advise students on how to write answers. We quote from 2014 paper:
Word limit in questions, wherever specified, should be adhered to.
Answer questions in NOT MORE than the word limit specified for each in the parenthesis. Content of the answer is more important than its length.
Normally, each theory question (found in Part A of the paper), consisting of two parts (a) and
(b) has to be answered in 150 words. If (a) or (b) has parts, the words have to be distributed between such parts. What is a proper word limit? It could exceed (or fall short of) the prescribed word limit by 5% to 7%.
What happens when students write?
Before discussing ways of avoiding poorly structured and badly worded answers, we should understand the sources of such errors. They can be traced to bad reading and study practices. Students read superficially. They fail to grasp and firm up ideas in their mind in clear language. On most topics, they have hazy and vague ideas, often irrelevant, trivial and repetitive. They float in their mind in loose, long and ungrammatical sentences. Students tend to reproduce such ideas in raw form just as they occur to them as answers. Thus they write incoherent or jumbled up answers.
The difficulties have to be handled in two stages. First students should practise constantly before examinations for cultivating right techniques of answering questions. Secondly, students should answer questions, matching as closely as they can the expectations of the examiners. No adequate coverage of reading skills and study methods is possible within the short space available to us. But the tips mentioned in this chapter will prove helpful.
Let us consider a few examples of topics on which questions can be expected. One set could be: money bill, habeas corpus, feminism, surrogacy, balance of trade, current account deficit, inclusive growth, monetary policy committee, poverty line, good governance, cloud computing, Make in India and Start-up and acorns. Another set from Ethics syllabus could be: corporate governance, ethical dilemma, good life, virtue ethics, cognitive dissonance, rationalization, and difference between the pairs such as integrity and honesty, happiness and pleasure, and duty and obligation.
There is no point, as students doubtless know from their experience from examinations, in scratching one’s head in examination hall, and try to find words for such terms or concepts. It means that one’spreparation is inadequate. Students should remember these termsin readymade, memorized
phrases, and use them in writing answers quickly. If there is a question on a concept, definition, doctrineor administrativeprinciple,studentsshould be ableto answerit basedonclearlymemorized materials. These are topics included in the syllabus which students are supposed to learn. They should be able to recall such basic terms and theories in standard phrases. This knowledge should be at their fingertips. A store of suitably worded key ideas should be present in their mind. Then students will not struggle for expression. Their thoughts will be in a presentable form.
Are we suggesting memorization? The answer is partially in the affirmative, but such memorization will be with understanding and confined to critical terms and ideas. As they have to be used often in answers, it will save labour, and they need not keep thinking of new ways of writing them every time. If they are memorized, the task becomes easier.
Application-based questions need a different approach. In answering such questions also, memorized phrases can be selectively used. But answers to these questions should otherwise be in one’s words. Students will gain needful insights through practice in this matter.
To conclude:
♤ Never allow ideas to float vaguely in your mind. Firm them up in clear and concrete words.
♤ Keep a store of suitably worded basic terms, concepts, definitions, theories and key ideas in your mind.
Students should analyse questions quickly in examinations. It has to be a reflex or automatic process. In preparatory stage, students should master the process. Analysis involves looking at the following:
(i) What exactly is the question asking?
(ii) What are the ideas I know about the question?
(iii)What is the most logical way of arranging them in a serial order?
(iv) How can I express them in effective sentences?
To see what analysis involves, let us consider the following example from 2014 UPSC question paper: