UPSC MAINS ESSENTIALS
| Exclusive for Subscribers Daily: Harappan Culture and polar vortexthe UPSC Exam? Discover more insights in the UPSC Exam Notes for January 28, 2025 |
UPSC Exam Notes presents a dedicated initiative to help you excel in Mains answer writing practice. This program covers both static and dynamic components of the UPSC Civil Services syllabus across various General Studies (GS) papers. Each session is crafted to provide valuable insights and techniques to improve your answer-writing skills, aiming to enrich your preparation for the UPSC CSE Mains. Start with today’s answer-writing exercise based on GS-1 topics to evaluate and track your progress.
🚨 Additionally, UPSC Exam Notes releases its November issue of the monthly magazine, packed with critical content, expert analyses, and recent updates to assist your preparation. Dive into the issue to enhance your knowledge base. We welcome your feedback and insights in the comments or via email. 🚨
UPSC Exam Notes offers guidance on structuring Mains answers effectively to maximize your score and presentation.
Introduction
- Begin your answer with a concise introduction of 3-5 lines. Avoid one-liner introductions as they often lack context.
- Start by providing basic information, definitions, or key facts from trusted sources to set the foundation for your answer.
Body
- This is the core of your answer. Analyze the question carefully to understand its requirements and address each aspect fully.
- Use a mix of points and short paragraphs for clarity. Avoid long paragraphs or purely point-based responses, as balanced formatting enhances readability.
- Incorporate data from reliable sources, such as government publications, to strengthen your arguments and make your answer more credible.
- Analyze based on the question’s demand, but avoid over-analysis, which may dilute the answer’s impact.
- Highlight key terms by underlining, helping your response stand out and improving its presentation.
- Use flowcharts or tree diagrams where relevant to organize information efficiently, saving time and boosting clarity. These should be applied thoughtfully and only when they add real value.
Way Forward/Conclusion
- Conclude on a positive, forward-looking note. Highlight potential solutions or the broader implications of your analysis.
- If an unresolved issue is crucial to the topic, briefly mention it, but avoid repeating points from the introduction or body.
- Where applicable, reference findings from relevant national or international reports, surveys, or quotations to add weight to your conclusion.
Self-Evaluation
|
Model Answer (Approach Outline): This is not a definitive model answer but an approach to tackling the question effectively. |
Introduction
The Harappan Civilization, alongside Egypt and Mesopotamia, ranks among the world’s oldest known civilizations. It flourished along the Indus River, giving it the alternative name, the Indus Valley Civilization. Prominent sites associated with this civilization include Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and Nal (in present-day Pakistan), as well as Dholavira, Kalibangan, Lothal, and Rakhigarhi (in India).
Body
- The Indus Valley Civilization is known to have maintained strong trade relations with the Mesopotamian Civilization, whose cuneiform script was successfully deciphered in the 19th century.
- However, no bilingual inscriptions have been found to aid in interpreting the Harappan script. Despite over 100 documented attempts by archaeologists, linguists, epigraphists, and historians, decoding the Harappan writing system has seen little success.
- The numerous inscriptions unearthed at Harappan sites, including those on seals and terracotta tablets, display a variety of symbols and motifs, such as human and animal themes.
- Yet, scholars have not agreed on the total number of distinct symbols in the script. Andrew Robinson, in his book Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World’s U