UPSC Previous Year Question Papers

The UPSC IAS Exam is one of the most competitive exams in India. Clearing this exam requires the right preparation strategy and trustworthy resources like the UPSC previous year question papers. Since the inception of the UPSC Civil Services exam, the experts have always suggested solving the UPSC Previous year papers so that aspirants can understand the types of questions, paper pattern, and time taken to solve each question. Aspirants can rely on the UPSC previous year question paper as these are the official resources provided by the UPSC on their official website. Hence it is very important to solve the UPSC previous year paper. 

In this article, our Online IAS Coaching experts have curated the UPSC prelims previous year question papers and UPSC mains previous year question papers from 2014-2022. You can check the below sections and download the UPSC Previous Year Question Paper PDF for free.

UPSC Prelims Previous Year Question Papers

UPSC IAS Prelims Exam consists of 2 papers having objective-type questions with multiple-choice answers. The first paper is General Studies 1 and the second is General Studies 2 (CSAT) paper. Both papers are of 200 marks each making the total 400 marks. CSAT is qualifying in nature. Candidates who score the minimum required marks in CSAT are eligible to have their GS Paper 1 answer sheet evaluated. The score achieved by candidates in GS Paper 1 decides if they are eligible for UPSC IAS Mains Exam. The prelims exam is hence qualifying in nature. The UPSC prelims previous year question papers will help aspirants to score well in this stage and will allow moving ahead in the UPSC IAS selection process.

Candidates can download the UPSC prelims previous year papers from the direct link given in the table below for free. Just click on the link given below for the General Studies paper and CSAT paper and solve it at your ease. These papers are highly recommended to improve your knowledge and practice for the exam. Candidates must practice the UPSC Prelims Previous Year Question Papers papers to increase their chances of passing the prelims exam.

Check out UPSC CSE Prelims previous year question papers in the table below:

Check the UPSC IAS Prelims Strategy here!

UPSC Mains Previous Year Question Papers

The mains exam is the second stage of the selection process for the UPSC IAS Recruitment. It consists of a total of 9 papers. Two of these 9 papers are qualifying papers and 7 papers will be counted for merit. The 2 qualifying papers are the Language papers- English and a compulsory Indian Language. The remaining 7 papers are- General Studies I, II, III, IV, V, Optional Paper I & II, and an Essay. The duration for all these papers is 3 hours each. The overall weightage of the UPSC CSE Mains Exam is 1750 marks.

To clear the mains exam, it is crucial to solve the UPSC mains previous year question papers. We have curated a list of all the UPSC previous year question papers for Essay, Mains GS, and Optional papers. Aspirants can download the UPSC mains previous year papers in the below tables.

UPSC Mains Previous Year Paper: Essay

Below is the list of the UPSC previous year question papers for Mains Essay from 2014-2022. You can click on the "Download PDF" and get the Essay previous year paper of the desired year.

Check the UPSC IAS Mains Strategy here!

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers: Mains General Studies

There are 4 General Studies papers in the UPSC IAS Mains exam. The weightage of each paper is 250 marks. The details for these papers are given below.

• General Studies I: Indian Heritage & Culture, History and Geography of the World & Society
• General Studies II: Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice & International Relations
• General Studies III: Technology, Economy Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security & Disaster Management
• General Studies IV: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude

Download the UPSC Mains Previous Year Paper PDF for General Studies in the table below:

UPSC Mains Previous Year Question Papers: Optional Subjects

Candidates are given the option to choose 2 optional papers for the UPSC IAS Mains Exam. Some of the optional papers for the IAS exam are- Agriculture, Civil Engineering, Geology, Management, Political Science and International Relations, Zoology, Sociology, History, Economy, etc. Based on your interest, you must choose your desired optional subject and start practising the mains optional UPSC previous year question papers.

Download the UPSC mains previous year question papers of Optional Subjects in the table below:

UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers: Language Papers

There are 2 language papers in the UPSC IAS Mains exam. In the first paper, candidates have the option to choose any Indian Language. This could be Hindi, Sanskrit, Punjabi, Kannada, Bodo, Marathi, Bengali etc. The second paper is an English-language paper. The weightage of each paper is 300 marks and both these papers are qualifying in nature. 

UPSC Mains Previous Year Question Papers: Literature

The literature paper is different from the language papers. It is important to practice the UPSC previous year paper of literature for the Mains exam. Candidates can choose their preferred literature paper from the list of 23 literature.

Check out the UPSC Mains previous year papers for literature in the table below:

UPSC IAS Exam Pattern

The UPSC IAS has two examinations that are important for the selection procedure. First is the UPSC IAS Prelims, followed by the UPSC IAS Mains. Candidates must know the exam pattern for both these papers before preparing for the examination. Check out the UPSC IAS exam pattern below:

UPSC IAS Preliminary Exam Pattern 

This examination will have two papers consisting of objective-type questions which the candidates have to qualify to move to the next stage of the UPSC IAS recruitment procedure. There will be a deduction of 1/3rd marks on every wrong answer. The paper pattern is as mentioned in the table below: 

UPSC IAS Main Exam Pattern

Candidates who pass the UPSC IAS Prelims examination will be qualified for the UPSC IAS Main Examination which is a descriptive examination and the paper pattern of the main examination is given below: 

Know more about UPSC IAS Admit Card here.

Benefits of UPSC CSE Previous Year Question Papers

The UPSC CSE Previous Year Papers are one of the best study materials recommended by experts to study for competitive examinations. It offers specific benefits to the candidates appearing for the UPSC CSE Examination which are as follows:

• The UPSC Previous Year Question Papers will help you to understand the concepts better leading to improved performance in the actual exam.
• Your exam preparation will improve based on the result you get after attempting each UPSC Previous Year Question Paper.
• You will be well versed with the types of questions, their difficulty level, and the tricks to manage your time in the examination by going through the UPSC CSE Previous Year Papers thoroughly.
• You can practice whenever you want by downloading the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers PDF.
• UPSC IAS Previous Year Paper will boost your confidence for UPSC Mains Literature Paper.

UPSC Previous Year Paper Analysis

Candidates should analyze the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers to examine the difficulty level, important topics, and the type of questions asked. The paper might not be similar to the present year’s paper but it will definitely give the candidates an idea about the exam.

The UPSC Question Paper doesn’t follow the same trend every year and is subject to change. The difficulty level of the Prelims Paper has been moderate to difficult overall. Each section is valuable and candidates should pay attention to each one if they want to score good marks.

The difficulty level of the Mains Paper overall is moderate to difficult. Candidates should be very thoughtful about their optional as it could be a game changer in their results. Candidates should also analyze the Previous Year Paper for their optional subject to get an edge in their preparation.

Know the Best optional subject for UPSC here!

How to Analyze UPSC Previous Year Question Papers?

Candidates might be confused that how should they analyze the UPSC Previous Year Paper correctly to gain information from it. For the convenience of the students, we have shared some points about analyzing the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers below:

• Take a printout of the UPSC Previous Year Paper you want to analyze. 
• First, give a brief reading of the paper and try to understand the questions.
• In the second reading, mark the questions you know or have an idea about. 
• Then start solving the question paper, and set a timer for yourself as per the stipulated time of the question paper.
• Visualize yourself as you are in the actual exam hall and solve the questions as per that. Be calm and composed while solving the questions.
• If you don’t know the answer to any question don’t panic mark those questions and keep solving the rest.
• Once done, evaluate your answers and mark yourself. 
• Review your shortcomings and resolve them. For the questions left unanswered, find out their answers from the books and study materials and prepare them.
• After evaluating your performance, make another attempt. Remember practice makes us perfect and as a UPSC candidate, you should be ready to face failures before you taste success. 

Through the analysis of UPSC CSE Previous Year Papers, candidates can check their preparation level and correct their shortcomings and have full-fledged preparation for the UPSC Exams.

We hope all the UPSC Previous year question papers given in this article will help you in your exam preparation. Meanwhile, you can also download the free Testbook App to get access to study material for various competitive and government examinations. Also, attempt an ample number of UPSC IAS Test Series before the exam to gain speed and accuracy All the Best!