UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper – IAS Mains GS, Essay Paper PDF
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: November 14th, 2023
UPSC 2020 Mains Question Papers are of supreme importance for candidates preparing for the upcoming exam. Question paper helps to gain knowledge of the essential sectors of the syllabus and hence plays a crucial role in the preparation for the Civil Services Examination. Candidates who are preparing for the IAS exam must check out the UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper to comprehend the paper pattern, and to find out the crucial topics from the syllabus. Candidates can check and download the UPSC Mains Question Paper 2020 directly from the link facilitated in the post.
UPSC Mains 2020 was conducted from 8th January 2021 to 17th January 2021. After the completion of the exam, later the commission released the UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper on the official website. Candidates can go through the question paper to analyze where they stand when it comes to the preparation for UPSC.
Table of content
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1.
UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper
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2.
UPSC Mains 2020 Language Papers (Paper A, Paper B)
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3.
UPSC Mains Question Paper 2020 for Essay
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4.
UPSC Mains 2020 Question Paper for General Studies
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5.
UPSC Mains 2020 Optional Papers
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6.
Benefits of Solving UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper
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7.
How to Analyze UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper?
UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper
UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper consists of a total of 9 Papers. There are two qualifying papers namely Indian Language and English. Candidates need to score at least 25% in these papers or their other papers won’t be evaluated. There is one optional subject as well, and candidates get to choose it from the list of 48 optional subjects. There are two papers for an optional subject, and each paper carries 250 marks.
Download the UPSC Mains Syllabus to ensure that you have completed all the important topics of all the papers before the exam. We will provide a direct link to download the UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper below.
UPSC Mains 2020 Language Papers (Paper A, Paper B)
Paper-A and Paper-B are language papers, and as we have mentioned above these papers are qualifying in nature. Candidates need to score at least 25% (75 marks) to clear these papers.
UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper for English (Paper-B)
Candidates can download the compulsory Indian Language paper they have opted for. Check here the complete list of the UPSC Mains 2020 question papers to prepare efficiently for the upcoming exams.
| UPSC Mains 2020 Question Papers for Language Papers | |
| Telugu | Urdu |
| Punjabi | Sindhi (Devanagari) |
| Hindi | Kannada |
| Malayalam | Marathi |
| Nepali | Odia |
| Gujrati | Bodo |
| Sanskrit | Tamil |
| Assamese | Bengali |
| Maithili | |
UPSC Mains Question Paper 2020 for Essay
There is no certain UPSC Syllabus for the essay section in the UPSC Mains question paper. Candidates can choose essays from the given topics, and the aim of the essay section is to examine the candidates’ knowledge of that particular subject, and how he/she can arrange the idea for the given topic.
UPSC Mains 2020 Essay Paper PDF
As the marks secured in the essay will be counted and hence will determine the chances of the candidates in accomplishing the job, they must check the UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper to understand the difficulty level and prepare accordingly.
UPSC Mains 2020 Question Paper for General Studies
There are four General Studies papers in the UPSC Mains question paper, and these four papers cover a wide range of subjects like history, geography, polity, constitution, ethics, etc. below we have mentioned all the General Studies Papers of UPSC Mains question paper 2020.
- UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper GS-1
- UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper GS-2
- UPSC Mains Question Paper 2020 GS-3
- UPSC Mains Question Paper 2020 GS-4
UPSC Mains 2020 Optional Papers
There are a total of 48 optional subjects in the UPSC optional subject list. Candidates can choose any subject from this list. Below we have covered the question paper for each optional subject. Candidates can check out the question paper for any optional subject they have opted for.
Candidates can also choose any of the following literature subjects. We have provided a direct link to download these literature subjects.
Benefits of Solving UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper
If you don’t have any idea about what kind of questions you are going to face, then it would be quite impossible for you to crack the UPSC exam. There is no better source than the UPSC question paper to understand the UPSC Exam Pattern and topic-wise weightage. UPSC CSE is considered to be one of the toughest exams in the country, and to crack it you must have a robust strategy and execution. Here is how practicing UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper can add immense value to your preparation.
- Practicing the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers would help you to figure out the speed you need to keep in the Mains exam. While attempting the question papers you will learn time management tricks that are crucial from the examination point of view.
- Additionally, you will revise the topics you have studied, and evaluate your own performance. Then you need to work on your weaknesses.
- Many questions are asked repeatedly and with minor rephrasing, so practicing with the previous year’s question paper will help you to answer those questions.
- The optional subject carries a total of 500 marks, and the previous year’s UPSC Mains 2020 Question Paper of optional subjects would help to be familiar with the question pattern of optional subjects.
Also, download the UPSC Question Paper for various years to level up your preparation.
- UPSC Prelims 2021 Question Paper
- UPSC Prelims 2020 Question Paper
- UPSC Question Paper 2019
- UPSC Question Paper 2016
- UPSC Question Paper 2015
How to Analyze UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper?
Analyzing the UPSC Mains question paper 2020 after attempting is crucial as it will reveal so many things about your level of preparation, and guide you to the right path. When attempting the UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper make sure to set a timer so that you can keep track of time, and check how much time it is exactly taking you to be done with the paper. After attempting check if you have completed it on time or not. If you haven’t completed it before time then figure out where you went wrong and re-evaluate your time management strategy.
Then come to evaluate your paper based on UPSC answer key or you can download the UPSC 2020 Mains Question Paper with answers from the official website. Check your score and if you haven’t scored well enough then find out the reason behind it. See if it was due to a lack of preparation, or if you weren’t ready for it. Work on your weakness and then reattempt the paper after a while.
