Is UPSC CSE Mathematics hard Subject?

Youth Destination Published on 06 October 2022

If a candidate wants to choose Mathematics optional, he must have a genuine interest in Mathematics. It is very important since the syllabus is large and requires considerable practice. Mathematics Optional offers certain advantages which made it a popular choice. In this subject, the marks scored are almost proportional to your efforts.

  1. An aspirant can attempt all the questions with proper practice and hard work and can expect more than 50% marks despite heavy scaling but this kind of certainty is not available with humanities Optional.
  2. It is necessary to stick to limited resources as the syllabus for Mathematics is quite large.
  3. You can rely on notes provided by Youth Destination, a well-known UPSC coaching in Delhi for covering the syllabus. These notes are very comprehensive and you don't have to spend much time scanning reference books for relevant material. Our faculty helps you complete the syllabus in a disciplined manner.
  4. You can also underline important theorems, formulas, and results mentioned in the notes as this is very useful for revision.
  5. It's natural to skip some chapters due to the heavy syllabus but it is necessary to know at least the basics of each chapter because there will be some compulsory questions.


How to deal with Maths question

  1. Writing proper steps is very important to represent the logical flow with which you reach the solution.
  2. Only writing the final answer is not a good approach.
  3. Make the presentation of your answer as easy as possible so that the examiner can reward you with maximum marks.
  4. Mention any property or theorem If you are using a particular step.
  5. The diagram should be drawn neat and clean with proper labelling. These small things will help you score what you are expecting in Maths optional.
  6. Candidates have to consciously work through the test series to develop the habit of writing such detailed answers.
  7. So, work in this direction, it will not develop overnight.


Choosing Mathematics as an optional

  1. A large number of aspirants want to take maths because of its good performance in recent years. Maths is indeed doing well and candidates are scoring in the range of 290 to 310.
  2. But only a few candidates get high and the rest of them get very low due to the scaling.
  3. There is a big difference in marks between the highest and lowest the candidates who get high definitely have performed better than the rest.
  4. There is no concept of average marks in Mathematics unlike humanities Optional, either you will get higher marks or lower marks.
  5. So don't select Mathematics by getting attracted to the marks obtained by successful candidates.
  6. Most students would have got very low marks also in Maths.
  7. Students who take Mathematics optional come from reputed institutes like IITs, and NITs. Therefore the competition is very high.


Joining the test series for Maths optional make it easy

  1. With regular practice, a student can complete the Maths paper in 3 hours. Test series are very important to assess your performance and identify weak and strong areas.
  2. There are many questions similar to the Youth Destination test series in the Civil Service exam
  3. Rectify the common mistakes you are committing in the test series and don't repeat the same mistakes again and again.
  4. The actual IAS exam will be the same just as any other test when your performance improves with each test. You will be able to complete the paper comfortably without any pressure.


How to prepare

  1. There will not be much gap between General Studies and Maths papers.
  2. Therefore short and handy notes containing important formulas and theorems will be very useful at such times.
  3. Going through the summary of each chapter will provide confidence before the actual exam.
  4. In the exam hall, complete the compulsory questions first and five, first.
  5. Now, you can choose three out of the remaining 6 questions. Your priority should be the easier questions from topics like Numerical Analysis, Linear Programming, and Linear algebra.
  6. If you don't know the solution to any question then also you should write steps as you even can get some marks.
  7. Don't analyse your performance during the Mains exam.

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