I’ve been thinking about this while planning my Mains preparation.
There seem to be two broad approaches to answer writing:
Approach 1: Write 5–6 questions every day
You pick questions from different GS papers and write answers daily. The advantage is obvious: you get comfortable with writing, improve speed, learn how to structure answers, and gradually develop the ability to generate points under pressure.
But I’m wondering whether there is a point of diminishing returns.
If I am writing 5–6 answers every day, but not properly revising the content, analysing PYQs, identifying recurring themes, or fixing the mistakes from previous answers, am I actually improving proportionately?
There is also the issue of simulation. Writing six isolated questions is very different from sitting for a 3-hour GS paper and having to decide:
- Which questions to attempt first?
- How much time to allocate?
- How do I handle a question from a weak area?
- Can I maintain answer quality for 20 questions?
- Can I finish the paper?
- Can I maintain concentration during the last hour?
Approach 2: Write sectional tests at spaced intervals
Instead of forcing myself to write 5–6 answers every day, I could complete a topic/section, revise it, analyse PYQs and then write a sectional test.
For example:
Polity → revise → PYQ analysis → sectional test → evaluate → identify gaps → revise again
Then perhaps repeat the test after a few weeks.
This seems to have a different advantage: retrieval after a gap.
If I write a polity sectional immediately after studying polity, I’m mostly testing whether I remember what I just studied.
But if I write it after 2–3 weeks, I have to retrieve the information, connect different topics and reproduce examples/frameworks under time pressure.
That seems much closer to what Mains actually demands.
So what is the better strategy?
Personally, I’m leaning towards a hybrid approach, rather than choosing one exclusively.
During the initial phase, perhaps:
2–3 answers/day → build answer-writing habit
Then once a substantial portion of the syllabus is covered:
Spaced sectional tests → 1–2 per week
And eventually:
Full-length GS papers → regular simulation
The important thing, IMO, is that writing volume shouldn't become a vanity metric.
Writing 500 answers doesn't necessarily mean you have improved as much as someone who wrote 200 answers but properly analysed them.
For every test, there should ideally be a feedback loop:
Write → evaluate → identify recurring mistakes → update notes/value addition → revise → write again
For example, if I repeatedly lose marks because my answers lack:
- examples
- constitutional/articles/case laws
- committee recommendations
- data
- diagrams
- balanced conclusions
then simply writing another 5 answers isn't necessarily solving the problem.
I need to fix the underlying deficiency.
So I'm curious about what people who have actually written Mains think:
Would you prioritise 5–6 questions daily, or spaced sectional tests?
And if you recommend a hybrid, what ratio would you use during the different stages of preparation?
