Dear All,
We have got few queries with regards to our essay program.
Here is our answer.
Q- Is the Essay Program Flexible ?
A- Yes, the program is completely flexible, however we urge candidate to adhere to the timeline, so that by the time they are through the program their writing will be refined.
Q-How many tests ?
A- We give 10 essay tests. Each test has 4 topics and we ask student to write at least 2 topics from each essay test.In short we will give you 40 essay topics , and if you are interested in writing 40 essay topics , we review all the essays.
Q-Can a student write topics of his/her choosing ?
A- Last year we gave this flexibility, however we got many essay topics written by student that are not going to help them. However, if anyone who wants to write a topic of their choosing , we will review it nonetheless. Last year we managed to predict 6 out of 8 essay topics in the Mains exam, and urge you to write the topics which we provide first, so that you are better prepared for the upcoming exam.
Q- Is there a guidance available apart from the personalized feedback ?
A- We give 3 to 4 pages of review for each essay you write. However, due to multiple request by students, this year , we will give you some material and guidelines on each essay topic , so that you have fairly a good deal of idea on what to write for each topic. Materials will be varied (Editorial, references, books and frameworks written by us along with few good quotes to use them wisely)
Q-Is the coupon code still valid ?
A- Many have joined us at different points of time, hence we have reactivated the coupon codes , so that you can use them (Limited time only)
Here is the coupon code – treedisintstd
You have register at our student portal – http://www.iastree.com/
Q-Is there any limit on number of student ?
A- Yes, providing good review requires good faculty and there are very limited number of people who can give you top-notch essay reviews, thus the student numbers are also limited in this aspect.So if you are interested, joining sooner will be wise as essay has it own learning curve ( If you want to write top-notch essays , then you have to start soon, write them at regular intervals and get it reviewed- and before the exam , just check those reviews and appear, you will certainly do better)
Q-How do we frame the topics ?
A- We try to catch the pulse of the time and UPSC and then bring in some literary works along with critical aspects and devise a topic. Most of the topics are written by ourselves (for example – Technology makes democracy more democratic or Demography of India- Visible dividend or Invisible disaster or Sustainable development – myth or reality or India- Too may Children but too little childhood and so on – the topics itself are qualitative and can be used in your answers)
Q-I already score good marks in essay , so why should I join ? (Thanks Aakash for asking this question as it is one of those crucial mistakes that many make)
A- This is a very good question, most of the students who have written and scored well in the Essay paper have a good deal of idea on how devise a good framework. The only reason you may think to join us is simple, we give topic-wise reviews, so if that topic comes in the exam you will be better equipped to answer it.
Moreover, many say that they know how to write an essay and aware of the strategy. True. But most of us are aware of the general strategy. Unless you write an essay on a particular topic, you will never know, what is your strength and which mistakes to avoid to score even better. Hence topic-wise strategy is must. General strategy gives you the general idea but topic-wise strategy will take you far and help you succeed. Everyone , who scored well in essay are already aware of it. Also , once you write on each topic of the test series, you will be wiser on which topic to choose and which one to avoid and align it with your core strength.(For example – One can write very good essay on environment topic but may falter on a philosophical essay and if you are already aware of it, then those mistakes can be avoided. You should avoid the dilemma – if i have chosen that essay then I might have scored more – this can be avoided once you write and get it reviewed)
On a side note, Essay program is one of our flagship program. Last year, more than 90% who joined us have tried other programs and had Mains experience (at least once), and upon receiving their first review, they were highly satisfied. We put a sincere effort in our review and this year it is going to be much better as we will be giving reference materials and guidelines for essay topics.
In case any queries , feel free to write to us – upsctree@upsctree.com (The query does not necessary have to about the program, you can ask us anything with regards to preparation and we will certainly provide our insight)
As of now, 2 essay tests are already live. here are the topic of essay test 2:-
- Daughters of India – their plights and their achievements.
- Digital Economy and India
- Ability can take you to the top but character will keep you there
- Will we be leaving the earth as a better place than we found it ?
Topics of Essay test 1
- Technology makes democracy more democratic
- Embracing fourth Industrial revolution
- There is no meaning of economic prosperity if it is not accompanied by social justice.
- Demography of India- Visible dividend or Invisible disaster
Thank You
UPSCTREE
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Steve Ovett, the famous British middle-distance athlete, won the 800-metres gold medal at the Moscow Olympics of 1980. Just a few days later, he was about to win a 5,000-metres race at London’s Crystal Palace. Known for his burst of acceleration on the home stretch, he had supreme confidence in his ability to out-sprint rivals. With the final 100 metres remaining,
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]Ovett waved to the crowd and raised a hand in triumph. But he had celebrated a bit too early. At the finishing line, Ireland’s John Treacy edged past Ovett. For those few moments, Ovett had lost his sense of reality and ignored the possibility of a negative event.
This analogy works well for the India story and our policy failures , including during the ongoing covid pandemic. While we have never been as well prepared or had significant successes in terms of growth stability as Ovett did in his illustrious running career, we tend to celebrate too early. Indeed, we have done so many times before.
It is as if we’re convinced that India is destined for greater heights, come what may, and so we never run through the finish line. Do we and our policymakers suffer from a collective optimism bias, which, as the Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman once wrote, “may well be the most significant of the cognitive biases”? The optimism bias arises from mistaken beliefs which form expectations that are better than the reality. It makes us underestimate chances of a negative outcome and ignore warnings repeatedly.
The Indian economy had a dream run for five years from 2003-04 to 2007-08, with an average annual growth rate of around 9%. Many believed that India was on its way to clocking consistent double-digit growth and comparisons with China were rife. It was conveniently overlooked that this output expansion had come mainly came from a few sectors: automobiles, telecom and business services.
Indians were made to believe that we could sprint without high-quality education, healthcare, infrastructure or banking sectors, which form the backbone of any stable economy. The plan was to build them as we went along, but then in the euphoria of short-term success, it got lost.
India’s exports of goods grew from $20 billion in 1990-91 to over $310 billion in 2019-20. Looking at these absolute figures it would seem as if India has arrived on the world stage. However, India’s share of global trade has moved up only marginally. Even now, the country accounts for less than 2% of the world’s goods exports.
More importantly, hidden behind this performance was the role played by one sector that should have never made it to India’s list of exports—refined petroleum. The share of refined petroleum exports in India’s goods exports increased from 1.4% in 1996-97 to over 18% in 2011-12.
An import-intensive sector with low labour intensity, exports of refined petroleum zoomed because of the then policy regime of a retail price ceiling on petroleum products in the domestic market. While we have done well in the export of services, our share is still less than 4% of world exports.
India seemed to emerge from the 2008 global financial crisis relatively unscathed. But, a temporary demand push had played a role in the revival—the incomes of many households, both rural and urban, had shot up. Fiscal stimulus to the rural economy and implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission scales had led to the salaries of around 20% of organized-sector employees jumping up. We celebrated, but once again, neither did we resolve the crisis brewing elsewhere in India’s banking sector, nor did we improve our capacity for healthcare or quality education.
Employment saw little economy-wide growth in our boom years. Manufacturing jobs, if anything, shrank. But we continued to celebrate. Youth flocked to low-productivity service-sector jobs, such as those in hotels and restaurants, security and other services. The dependence on such jobs on one hand and high-skilled services on the other was bound to make Indian society more unequal.
And then, there is agriculture, an elephant in the room. If and when farm-sector reforms get implemented, celebrations would once again be premature. The vast majority of India’s farmers have small plots of land, and though these farms are at least as productive as larger ones, net absolute incomes from small plots can only be meagre.
A further rise in farm productivity and consequent increase in supply, if not matched by a demand rise, especially with access to export markets, would result in downward pressure on market prices for farm produce and a further decline in the net incomes of small farmers.
We should learn from what John Treacy did right. He didn’t give up, and pushed for the finish line like it was his only chance at winning. Treacy had years of long-distance practice. The same goes for our economy. A long grind is required to build up its base before we can win and celebrate. And Ovett did not blame anyone for his loss. We play the blame game. Everyone else, right from China and the US to ‘greedy corporates’, seems to be responsible for our failures.
We have lowered absolute poverty levels and had technology-based successes like Aadhaar and digital access to public services. But there are no short cuts to good quality and adequate healthcare and education services. We must remain optimistic but stay firmly away from the optimism bias.
In the end, it is not about how we start, but how we finish. The disastrous second wave of covid and our inability to manage it is a ghastly reminder of this fact.