upsc essay quotes

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• Useful Quotes For UPSC Mains Exam Gs And Essay Papers

Important Quotes for UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam General Studies and Essay Papers

Using quotes from revered personalities to emphasise your point adds a lot of value to your answers in the IAS exam. With the introduction of the GS 4 paper (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude) and the changing nature of the Essay paper (UPSC mains 2018 Essay paper had four topics related to quotes/philosophy/character), it has become quite necessary to include some relevant quotes in the answers.

For the UPSC Exam , selecting quotes is important as quoting some celebrity/non-entity is likely to do more harm than good. During the preparation phase, an IAS aspirant can either classify quotes based on the source or organise them under broad pertinent categories such as education, Justice, etc.

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In this article, we have compiled a list of quotes which are important from the UPSC syllabus point of view. Also, the two ways to categorise the quotes for quick revision are illustrated below. Candidates are advised to use the approach that suits their study process.

Important Quotes for UPSC GS and Essay

• Issue-based categories

The list given above is just a brief example. Aspirants should identify issues/keywords and make their list of UPSC relevant quotes.

• Quotes categorised by author/personality

Although comprehensive, the table of odd quotes above is by no means exhaustive. IAS aspirants should go through UPSC mains GS and essay papers from past years to understand how these quotes can come in handy and then compile and categorise their own lists.

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UPSC Quotes: Insightful Quotes for Impactful Discourse

Enhance your UPSC Quotes with impactful quotes! Exploring insights on quoting wisdom across categories for a compelling and informed discourse in your Civil Services Exam.

UPSC Essay: Infusing Wisdom with UPSC Quotes for Impactful Discourse

The Union Public Service Commission conducts Civil Services Exams every year which comprise three stages i.e Prelims, Mains, and the Interview. The UPSC Mains exam consists of multiple papers, with the first paper being the Essay paper. Although essay papers should have g ood content, proper structure, and coherency, using UPSC quotes or statements by famous people makes essays more informative and interesting. So in this article, we will put UPSC quotes and famous statements by great people which will make the essay more interesting and more informative.   

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UPSC Essay Excellence: Discourse with Relevance in UPSC Quotes

• Quotes or famous statements which are used in UPSC mains essay paper are pre-defined phrases given by famous authors on some particular issues. Putting appropriate quotations can enhance the quality of essay writing for the UPSC exam. It makes the examiner understand that a candidate has caught the core vision of the essay topic. 
• Effective Use of UPSC Quotes- One thing that should be noted here is that UPSC quotes can be applied in an essay only when they seem relevant, don’t put unnecessary and irrelevant quotes else it can make the essay boring and lose the main idea.

UPSC Essays: The Power of UPSC Quotes for Impact

UPSC Quotes can play a significant role in an essay, serving various purposes and adding depth to your arguments. Here are some reasons why UPSC quotes are important in an essay:

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• Backup Your Points: UPSC Quotes provide proof for what you’re saying. They’re like evidence that supports your ideas, making your essay more convincing.
• Use Expert Opinions: Include UPSC quotes from smart people who know a lot about the topic. This makes your essay stronger because it shows that experts agree with you.
• Make Your Essay Interesting: Good UPSC quote s to grab the reader’s attention and make your essay more interesting. They can be powerful or make people think, adding excitement to your writing.
• Change Up Your Writing Style: UPSC Quotes c an help make your writing more interesting by adding different voices. It’s like having a conversation in your essay instead of just talking the whole time.
• Say Things Clearly: Sometimes, other people say things in a really clear way. If you use their words, it can help your readers understand your point better.
• Look More Trustworthy: Using UPSC quotes from important sources makes your essay seem more trustworthy. It’s like saying, “Hey, even smart people agree with me!”
• Connect to Culture: UPSC Quotes can link your essay to bigger ideas or historical events. This makes your essay more relevant and relatable.
• Help Transition Between Ideas: UPSC Quotes can be like bridges that connect your different thoughts. They make your essay flow smoothly from one idea to the next.

UPSC Essay Insights: Quoting Wisdom Across Categories for Impact

Here are some UPSC quotes by famous people arranged according to the common categories which are asked in the UPSC CSE exam.

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UPSC Quotes FAQs

What is a quote, what is the importance of quotes in an essay, how many quotes should i include in my essay.

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Quotes for Essay and Ethics: UPSC

Quotes for upsc examinations-essay and ethics.

Relevant Quotes are always improve the quality of your Essay and Ethics Papers if used appropriately. It also tells the examiner that you have grasped the core idea of the Essay Topic. Having said that, we often forcefully use the quotations which becomes counter-productive. Sometimes we feel that we have memorized them with so much difficulty and hence if we do not use them, it would be huge waste of effort. Quotations for High Scoring Papers like Essay and Ethics are like ammunition that you need to keep in your back-pocket but use only when it is appropriate. Facts & Figures for UPSC: Click Here

“It is a fine thing to be honest, but it is also very important to be right.”

– Winston Churchill

“We must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.”

– George Bernard Shaw

“ Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. ”

– Samuel Johnson

“The person who is slowest in making a promise is most faithful in its performance.”

– Jean Jacques Rousseau

“It is better for a city to be governed by a good man than even by good laws”- Aristotle

“When Men are Pure , Laws are Useless: When Men are Corrupt , Laws are Broken”- Former British PM-Benjamin

“Knowledge is Virtue and Knowledge Promotes Virtue”-Socrates 

“Corruption is a direct child of inadequate probity” as was put more eloquently by the English Historian Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in which he wrote “Corruption is the infallible symptom of liberty”  

A basic concept in ethics is fairness, which the Greek philosopher Aristotle stated as “ Equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally ”.

The classical formula for justice, according to Plato and Aristotle, is that “an action is just when it offers each individual his or her due.”

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s quotes

“Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success “

“We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage”

If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds , I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher”

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enoug h”

“All of us do not have equal talent. But , all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents”

“ Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.”

“Dream, dream, dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action”

“If you fail, never give up because FAIL means “First Attempt In Learning”

Peace and Justice are two sides of the same coin

Dwight D.Eisenhower

Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth

Albert Einstein

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of Wisdom

Thomas Jefferson

Rabindranath Tagore once said, “ You cannot cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water ”.

Tagore was not only a man of words but also a man of action , who put his theory of education into practice by starting an Ashram school in 1901 at Shantiniketan. Twenty years later, he founded the Visva-Bharati. It became a central university in 1951 with the prime minister as its Chancellor.

“Since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace must be constructed” – UNESCO

Climate change and environmental degradation undermine the rights of every child.

Children are the least responsible for climate change, yet they will bear the greatest burden of its impact.

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

“A right delayed is a right denied.”

Martin Luther King

“The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person , is the most successful.”

Swami Vivekananda

“ By education , I mean an all-round drawing of the best in child and man in body, mind and spirit”.

Mahatma Gandhi

“ Democracy is not law of the majority but protection of the minority.”

– Albert Camus ________ “In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power, but carries the ultimate responsibility.”

– Norman Cousins

Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.

——Plato (Phaedrus)

“Open your arms to change but don’t let go of your values”

-Dalai Lama

Many years after Chanakya came Sun Tzu who had said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Chanakya had said, “ If the enemy is more powerful then he can be defeated by behaving like him ”.

“In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.”

Immanuel Kant

“ Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength”

– Dalai Lama

“ Economic growth without investment in human development is unsustainable and unethical.” – Amartya Sen

“ Sustainable development and climate change are two sides of the same coin” — BAN KI MOON

“You cannot have peace without security, and you cannot have security without inclusive development.” -KOFI ANNAN

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice. – Martin Luther King

American abolitionist, Wendell Phillips, in 1852, said, “Revolutions are not made; they come. A revolution is as natural a growth as an oak. It comes out of the past. Its foundations are laid far back.”

Wendell Phillips said in 1852, “What gunpowder did for war, the printing press has done for the mind, and the statesman is no longer clad in the steel of special education, but every reading man is his judge.”

“When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe”. — Frantz Fanon

In his book The Discovery of India Jawaharlal Nehru says that Indian unity is not something imposed from the outside but rather, “It was something deeper and within its fold, the widest tolerance of belief and custom was practised and every variety acknowledged and even encouraged.”

After food for the body is taken care of, we should provide food for the mind.

The Greek philosopher Plutarch believed, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

In his popular lecture series, The School and Society, the American philosopher and education reformer John Dewey says, “the chief difference between savagery and civilisation is not in the naked nature which each faces, but social heredity and social medium”.

Thomas Jefferson goes: “We… do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.”

Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it.

Rabindranath Tagore

Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar: “Bravery, respect, dignified conduct and reliability are the defining characteristics of any army.”

Buddha as saying, “ Courage is related to conviction , courage is mercy and compassion, courage is that which makes us stand on the side of truth and do that which is right.”

With Saint Thomas we associate humility . He rightly said “Humility which is a virtue, is always fruitful in good works”

Nobel laureate and author Octavio Paz has said modernisation can only begin by being a critique of our past.

Albert Einstein once said, “ The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each Citizen to defend it.”

Child slavery is a crime against humanity. Humanity itself is at stake here. A lot of work still remains, but I will see the end of child labour in my lifetime. –

Nobel prize winner Kailash Satyarthi

Child labour and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labour of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labour to the end of time. –

Grace Abbott

“Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing”.

In the same way, India’s trade policy must be an informed choice.

Swami Vivekananda used to say- “An ideal person is the one who is active even in absolute quietness and experiences complete peace even in extreme turbulent phases”.

Saint Thiruvalluvar said over 2,000 years ago: “Fate’s strength, one’s strength, the adversary’s strength, allies’ strength, weigh all these and decide your course of action” (Kural 471).

Time of crisis is time for empathy.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, this is time to “recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be any use to him.”

To quote Mahatma Gandhi: “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.”

A strong foundation for a self-reliant and healthy India lies on Make in India, Innovate in India and Collaborate in India.

Remember, Mahatma Gandhi had said: “India’s dignity cannot be saved if misgovernment and corruption flourish. I mention corruption because misgovernment and corruption always go together.”

Mahatma Gandhi said that unless people in India’s villages have economic and social freedom , India cannot be a free country.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in a harmony”

— MAHATMA GANDHI

“Be truthful, gentle and fearless”

“Heart is a very good fertilizer; anything we plant love, fear, hate, hope, revenge, jealousy-surely grows and bears fruit. We have to decide what to harvest”

— SWAMI VIVEKANAND

“We must become the change we want to see”

“To believe in something, and not live it, is dishonest”

“ Poverty ,” Gandhi once said, “is the worst form of violence.”

Mahatma Gandhi said, “ When ridicule fail s to kill a movement it begins to command respect”.

“ Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed”. –

Mahatma Gandhi.

“Martin Luther King’s memorable observation that ‘ a riot is the language of the unheard’ applies as much today.

India has to be transformed into a developed nation, a prosperous nation and a healthy nation , with a value system.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Let remember the words of Mahatma Gandhi who said, “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members”.

“ Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of one’s desires, but by the removal of desire.” –Epictetus

Courage calls for taking risks, feeling fear and aiming at an honourable outcome

We live in a society fascinated by courage and celebrates bravery, with children raised on a diet of heroic stories. In Plato’s Laches, Socrates defines courage broadly, to encompass even everyday activities. On the other hand, Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics confines courage to valour in the battlefield.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “When the Panchayat Raj is established, public opinion will do what violence can never do”.

At this time, we recall the words of Martin Luther King Jr. who said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

In an interview to the New York Times in 1988, author and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez said: “Plagues are like imponderable dangers that surprise people. They seem to have the quality of destiny.”

“Geographical proximity to justice is an important component of access to justice”

In India, there is no dearth of hype and hyperbole. Swami Vivekananda had once said, “an ounce of practice is worth twenty-thousand tonnes of big talk”.

Our oceans keep our economy and our lives above the waves . In the post-COVID-19 era, we must use the years ahead to steer our collective fleets toward sustainable oceans.

“ Freedom of individual development is the basis of democracy ,” observed the Commission (1948-49) appointed by the Government of India “to report on Indian University Education and suggest improvements and extensions that may be desirable to suit present and future”.

It had among its members Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and was cited by then Chief Justice of India, B.N. Kirpal, in the judgment in T.M.A. Pai Foundation & Ors vs State Of Karnataka & Ors (2002).

Winston Churchill, “ Never let a good crisis go to waste!

Rabindranath Tagore once said, “Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark”.

The darkness that looms over the world at this moment is the curse of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the bird of human freedom finds itself caged under lockdown, unable to fly.

Enthused by the beacon of hope, human beings will soon start picking up the pieces of a shared future for humanity , but perhaps, it will only be to find a new, unfamiliar world order with far-reaching consequences for us that transcend society, politics and economy.

For Other Important Quotes: Click here (Brainy Quote)

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IMPORTANT QUOTES FOR UPSC CIVIL SERVICES ETHICS PAPER

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

― Nelson Mandela

“By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man-body, mind and spirit. Literacy is not the end of education or even the beginning.”

– M. K. Gandhi

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

- Confucius

“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”

– Rabindranath Tagore

“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of minds to think.”

–Albert Einstein

“Education is the transmission of civilization.”

 –Will Durant

“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a cleverer devil.”

―  C.S. Lewis

“What is really needed to make democracy function is not knowledge of facts, but right education.”

“Basic education links the children, whether of the cities or the villages, to all that is best and lasting in India.”

“If we want to reach real peace in this world, we should start educating children.”

“There is only one purpose in the whole of life — education. Otherwise what is the use of men and women, land and wealth?”

– Swami Vivekananda

“Educate and raise the masses, and thus alone a nation is possible.”

"We want the education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one's own feet"

— Swami Vivekananda

“Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man.”

“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

Gender Equality

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”

― Maya Angelou

" A gender-equal society would be one where the word 'gender' does not exist: where everyone can be themselves."

— Gloria Steinem

“ Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. It is everyone’s responsibility.”

— Ban Ki-moon

“Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”

— Kofi Annan

“Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all kinds of oppression.”

— Nelson Mandela

“No country can every truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contribution of half its citizens.”

― Michelle Obama

“I raise my voice not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”

― Malala Yousafzai

“We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons… but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.”

― Gloria Steinem

“The Day a Woman Can Walk freely on the Roads, That Day we Can Say that India Achieved Independence.”

“ You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”

–Brigham Young

"The measure of any society is how it treats its women and girls"

— Michelle Obama

"To educate girls is to reduce poverty"

"Women's liberation is the liberation of the feminine in the man and the masculine in the woman.”

— Corita Kent

"I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves."

— Mary Shelley

"I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved."

— B. R. Ambedkar

“I believe the rights of women and girls are the unfinished business of the 21st Century.

— Hillary Clinton

“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.”

- Sheryl Sandberg

“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.”

- Hillary Clinton

Tolerance and Peace

“The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.”

―  MK Gandhi

“In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.”

–Dalai Lama

“The highest result of education is tolerance.”

–Helen Keller

“Anger and intolerance are the twin enemies of correct understanding.”

–Mahatma Gandhi

“Through the centuries, the history of peoples is but a lesson in mutual tolerance.”

–Emile Zola

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

–Martin Luther King, Jr.

If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.

—  Franklin Roosevelt

“Everything changes but change itself.”

- John F. Kennedy

“Impermanence is the law of the universe.”

- Carlene Hatcher Polite

“Where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders.”

- Rabindranath Tagore

“Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.”

- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“Change is inevitable in a progressive society. Change is constant.”

- Benjamin Disraeli

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

- George Bernard Shaw

“The best way out is always through.”

― Robert Frost

“I believe that virtually all the problems in the world come from inequality of one kind or another.”

- Amartya Sen

“Progress is more plausibly judged by the reduction of deprivation than by the further enrichment of the opulent. ”

“A nation will not survive morally or economically when so few have so much and so many have so little.”

-Bernie Sanders

“There can be no peace as long as there is grinding poverty, social injustice, inequality, oppression, environmental degradation, and as long as the weak and small continue to be trodden by the mighty and powerful.”

-Dalai Lama

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.”

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

— Abraham Lincoln,

“Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.”

- Mark Twain

“The great hope of society is individual character.”

- William Ellery Channing

“Conscience is a man's compass.”

- Vincent van Gogh

“Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”

- Albert Einstein

“There is no witness so terrible and no accuser so powerful as conscience which dwells within us.”

- Sophocles

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.”

- Nelson Mandela

“Extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere.”

“Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit.”

– Eli Khamarov

“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.”

– Aristotle

“We cannot afford to spend millions and millions over nuclear arms when there is poverty and unemployment all around us.”

– Lal Bahadur Shastri

“As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality exist in the world, none of us can truly exist.”

– Nelson Mandela

“A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.”

- Mahatma Gandhi  

“There's enough on this planet for everyone's needs but not for everyone's greed.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

“To a man with an empty stomach food is God”

  “Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings..”

Agriculture

“Agriculture was the first occupation of man, and as it embraces the whole earth, it is the foundation of all other industries.”

- E. W. Stewart

“No race can prosper till it learns there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.”

- Booker T. Washington

“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.”

- Samuel Johnson

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not.    

- Oprah Winfrey

“Courage combined with integrity is the foundation of character .”

- Brian Tracy

Environment

"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it".

- Robert Swan

" What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and one another".

"What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on?"

- Henry David Thoreau

“The environment is where we all meet; where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.”

- Lady Bird Johnson

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”

— Gaylord Nelson

“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.”

— Ernest Hemingway

Sustainable Development

“Our ancestors did great work for humanity. What will we do for the next generations?”

- By Lailah Gifty Akita

“There is no ‘Plan B’ because we do not have a ‘Planet B.’ We have to work and galvanize our action.”

“There must be a better way to make the things we want, a way that doesn't spoil the sky, or the rain or the land.”

- Paul McCartney

“There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.”

- Marshall McLuhan

“Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us.”

- Henrik Tikkanen

“Forests are the lungs of our land.”

Quotes by Gandhi

• You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
• The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
• Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
• Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever.
• First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
• You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
• The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
• Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
• A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.
• The future depends on what you do today.
• The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.
• It’s my conviction that nothing enduring can be built on violence.
• Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
• Nobody can hurt me without my permission.
• I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.
• The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
• Change yourself – you are in control.
• Without action, you aren’t going anywhere.
• A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave .

Quotes by Swami Vivekananda

• Arise,awake and donot stop until the goal is reached.
• We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
• Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.
• Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse. If superstition enters, the brain is gone .

Quotes by Tagore

• You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.
• The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.
• Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.
• Patriotism cannot be our final spiritual shelter; my refuge is humanity. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds, and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live.
• Discipline divorced from wisdom is not true discipline, but merely the meaningless following of custom, which is only a disguise for stupidity.

Quotes by Martin Luther King

• " The time is always right to do what is right."
• "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
• "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
• "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
• "Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase."
• "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
• "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
• "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
• “A right delayed is a right denied.”

Quotes by Nelson Mandela

• “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”
• “A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.”
• “One of the most difficult things is not to change society — but to change yourself.”
• “To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
• “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
• “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
• “While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.”
• “Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world.”

Quotes by Abdul Kalam

• “If you want to shine like a sun, first burn like a sun.”
• “Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.”
• “Thinking is the capital, an enterprise is a way, and hard work is the solution.”
• “The purpose of education is to make good human beings with skill and expertise... Enlightened human beings can be created by teachers.”

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Quotes for UPSC Essay Paper - Meaning with Usage

Quotes for upsc essay paper – meaning with usage.

Explore a curated collection of impactful quotes for UPSC Essay Paper preparation. Discover the meaning behind each quote and learn how to effectively incorporate them into your essays. Enhance your writing skills and impress examiners with thought-provoking insights from various fields and thinkers.

Quotes by Thinkers

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• Mahatma Gandhi
• B R Ambedkar
• Albert Einstein
• Gautam Buddha
• Immanuel Kant
• Martin Luther King Jr.

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ESSAY STRATEGY By Anudeep Durishetty, UPSC Civil Services Exam Topper, All India Rank – 1 CSE-2017 – How to write a good Essay in UPSC Mains, Explained 

Essay strategy.

How to write a good Essay in UPSC Mains, Explained 

By Anudeep Durishetty

UPSC Civil Services Exam Topper, All India Rank – 1 CSE-2017

Novelist Stephen King put it beautifully when he said, “I write to find out what I think.” 

Writing is a window to your thought process. What you write on paper will tell the reader how you think, how you argue and the way you substantiate your viewpoint. This is why for most competitive examinations and academic entrance tests, essay is mandatory. 

In the Civil Services Exam too, we have a paper worth 250 marks, equivalent to a General Studies paper. Despite its importance, essay paper often does not get the attention it deserves from aspirants. First timers think they will write an excellent essay in the final exam itself, whereas experienced aspirants believe that since they had already studied a ton for GS, it will alone be enough to write a good essay. This is a fatal miscalculation. 

I was one of those who made these errors in the past, and it is not a coincidence that I scored only 100 in CSE 2015. But in 2017, I devoted adequate time to this paper. I collected useful quotes, prepared notes and even made rough essay drafts for frequently asked topics. All this effort in essay paper helped me score 155. 

What follows is an elaborate post on how you should tackle the Essay paper. I’ve organised the content as follows: 

What UPSC says about the essay paper 

• How and from where to prepare? 

Improving language and expression 

• On subheadings and rough drafts 
• What you must avoid 
• How to write a powerful introduction? 
• Developing the content of an Essay 

Substantiating your arguments 

• How to conclude an Essay 
• My notes, quote collection and sample essays 

“Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to  keep closely to the subject of the essay,   to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and to write concisely . Credit will be given for  effective and exact expression .”  

Essay distinguishes itself from GS in the sense that in GS, marks will be awarded purely for content. But in essay, examiners will pay special attention to not just the content, but also the language, coherence and the way you organise your write-up. 

So you must take adequate care to arrange your ideas properly and not commit any fundamental spelling or grammatical errors. 

How and from where to prepare?  

Most of the content you write in Essay will come from your GS preparation. Apart from this, the following sources will help: 

• Reading non-fiction  helps you develop a matured thought process. Apart from imparting knowledge, they will also let you come across good figures of speech, art of argumentation, powerful rhetoric and unique content etc. For example, in an essay on Artificial Intelligence, I took arguments from Yuval Harari’s  Homo Deus  to argue that AI is an imminent threat to humanity. Or if you read  Why Nations Fail,  a book replete with examples, you will understand the importance of innovation, political and economic freedoms in propelling a nation forward. So my suggestion is, apart from UPSC related material, develop the hobby of reading non-fiction books. I do not mean to suggest that you should start reading one  non-fiction book per topic to get good scores in Essay, but reading them occasionally in your free time will benefit you in the long run. 
• Referring to specific magazines:  For certain topics, you can refer to specific issues of Yojana/EPW/Economic Survey etc. Example: for an essay on tribal issues or public health, you can go through specific issues of these magazines for getting the latest statistics (IMR, MMR, malnutrition levels etc) and also about the positives and criticisms of govt schemes in that sector. 
• Collecting good stories/anecdotes and quotes  Anecdotes, quotes and real life stories you see in newspapers and books which can be used in essay should be noted down. In most of my essays, I used to start with a relevant story or an anecdote that has the essay topic as its underlying theme. Apart from these, I also used a couple of quotes of eminent persons. 

         List of quotes, anecdotes I collected are available in the link at the end of this article.  

Language in essay must be simple and clear with as little jargon as possible. If you want to use complex definitional terms such as, say, ‘Constitutionalism’ or ‘Sanskritisation’ please define it in sentence just before you use it. Examiner will also understand clearly what you want to convey. Clear writing is clear thinking. And that is what any reader looks for. 

Keep your sentences short and powerful. Long, winding sentences makes it difficult to read and understand. If you tack on one clause after another through conjunctions, what you get is a bad sentence sprawl.   

Example of a bad sentence sprawl: 

At the end of World War 2, on the one hand, while capitalism was successfully championed by the nations in North America and Europe, on the other hand, it was USSR that put Communism at the forefront due to which there was an ideological clash between the  the  two superpowers which had led to proxy wars in various parts of the globe, a nuclear arms race and a rapid deterioration of the security of the world.  

(By the time readers finish reading it, they will lose their breath and the point of the sentence) 

So I had a simple rule: If you run out of your breath while  reading a sentence, then probably you will have to break it into two. 

Rewriting the aforementioned example after breaking it into two (which makes it much easier to read and comprehend): 

After World War 2, while the North American and European nations championed capitalism, USSR put communism at the forefront. This ideological clash between the superpowers led to several proxy wars, a nuclear arms race and a rapid deterioration of world security.  

Vocabulary   

There is no need to memorise complex words for writing a good essay. But an occasional use of a powerful word, or a good phrase definitely gives your write-up an edge. 

Also, I believe that learning numerous words by rote will not make them stick in your brain for long. The best way to build your vocabulary is by reading non-fiction and English newspapers. While reading these, if you come across a good turn of phrase, or a word that you don’t recognise, please note it down in a book, find its meaning and understand the context in which the word was used. This helps in long term memory. Having a dictionary app on your phone also helps. 

Building vocabulary is a slow process, but with consistency, anyone can become better at using an expansive set of words. 

Subheadings & Rough Drafts 

We can be a little innovative in our subheadings. Instead of bland subheadings such as ‘ Benefits of Nuclear Energy’  we can use “ Nuclear Energy: Promise or Peril?’  Similarly, for the essay on Social Media, instead of writing ‘ Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media ’, I wrote  “Social Media: A Double Edged Sword”  

You can find my collection of a few such subheadings in the link to my notes, given at the end of the article. 

I also prepared a rough draft for a few essay topics (link given at the end). You may need to modify the structure as per the demand of the question. 

What you must avoid in Essay 

• Do not focus excessively only on one point, or one dimension (such as the historical or political aspect) Your essay needs to be expansive and multi-dimensional. 
• During preparation, we read a lot and it’s understandable that we feel strongly about certain topics. And since essay offers freedom to write, it’s very easy to get carried away with such a topic. But make sure that you write what is asked, not what you know or feel like. No  mann   ki   baat . Always stick to the subject of the topic. It helps to read the question in the midst of your essay to ensure that you are not steering away from the topic. 
• If you are not comfortable writing about abstract philosophical topics (I am terrible at writing them), avoid such questions. Your choice of topic has no bearing on the marks and that is why, selecting an unpopular topic just for the sake of it is unwise. Also, if there’s a technical term in the question, be doubly sure that you understand it correctly. For instance, in 2014, there was a question on ‘standard tests’, which is a technical term. I misunderstood it and wrote a generic essay. I got 112. 
• When you take a final stand on an issue, it’s best to avoid extreme or highly unpopular opinions. We are free to have any opinion in the privacy of our minds, but in UPSC essay why take that risk? For instance, in an essay on Capital Punishment, in the main body content, you should present a case for both abolition and retention. But when you take a stance, it’s best to be an abolitionist. 
• No ranting. You might be a great fan of Karl Marx, but if there’s a question on Capitalism, do not rant or rail against it  You must present both the positives and negatives of Capitalism and end the essay on a balanced note. 
• Do not dedicate disproportionate amount of time for the first essay and scamper through the second. Both carry equal marks, so please invest equal time. 

How to transition smoothly from one para to the next 

This can be done in three ways. 

Through a link sentence at the end of a para:  

Here, at the end of a para, you write a sentence that signals to the examiner what’s coming next. For example, let’s say you have just written a para about the threat posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to jobs. At the end of that para you can write a link sentence—   “Further, we must be mindful of the fact that Artificial Intelligence poses a major challenge not just economically, but also ethically.”  And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI. 

Through a question:    

Instead of a link sentence, you can also add a question at the end of a para so that examiner’s attention is helplessly carried to the next. To take the similar example as above, the question can be something like—   “Thus we have examined the threat posed by AI to our economy, but what about the challenges brought by AI to our ethics and morals?”  And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI. 

Signalling the shift at the start of next paragraph: 

Here you can simply add a word or two at the beginning of a para that signals a shift in your subtopic. For example in an essay on  Globalisation , let’s say you have just written a para about its historical evolution and impact. You can start the next para with something like—  “Politically too, globalisation has had a tremendous impact……” This way examiner immediately knows what to expect. 

These steps will ensure that the transition between paragraphs is not abrupt. 

How to write a good Introduction to your Essay? 

Essay introduction can be: 

a fictitious incident or story (where you introduce a character);  a real life anecdote;  a quote; or  a simple definition of the words in the question (not recommended in Essay) 

In GS, definitional approach is a great way to introduce your answers. But in essay, they are rather stale, lacking in any human element. I always believe that a good way to start your essay is to have that touch of humanity and warmth in your introduction. 

In my Mains exam, this was my introduction to the essay ‘Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classroom’ 

“The year was 1945. Towards the end of a gruesome world war, the world powers decided to carve up the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel.  

“Before partition, North and South Korea might have been homogeneous in every respect, but after the division, they steered onto different paths. While schools in the North chose to ‘educate’ their children in the worship of a cult leader, ideological indoctrination and servility, its southern counterpart focused on liberal education, innovation and economic growth.  

“Today, almost seven decades later, the difference in the fates of these people and the trajectories of both these nations cannot be more stark. One is known for gross violation of human rights, while the other a champion of liberal democracy. One is known for gut-wrenching poverty, while the other unbridled prosperity.  

“This only proves the age old adage that the destiny of a nation is indeed shaped in its classrooms.”  

Similarly, for the Social Media essay, my introduction sought to bring to the fore the paradox of Social Media. I wrote on how social media was leveraged to crowdsource help and rescue during Chennai floods in 2015. At the same time, I mentioned how it was used nefariously in 2012 to cause mass exodus of northeast people from Bangalore. And taking cue from this introduction, in the main body, I discussed about the inherent selfishness and altruism associated with social media. 

These real life stories, anecdotes and incidents are everywhere in our books and newspapers. So when you come across them, note down and ponder as to how you can use them in your essay.   

Developing the Main Content from the Topic 

This is like spinning the web from a thread. Depending on the topic, you can choose among the following options that fits best. 

• Temporal : Past, present and future 
• Sectoral :  Media, Science & Tech, Business, Sports, Religion, Politics, Administration etc 
• Walks of Life : Individual, Family, Professional workplace, Society, Community, National, Global 
• Problem & Solution:  Concept (historical evolution+status), benefits, problems, solutions 
• Standard : Social, Political, Economical, Administrative, International, Environmental, Historical, Scientific, Security/Defence, Legal 

Example: for a topic like  “Has  Globalisation  delivered on its promise?”  I find the problem & solution method an apt way to develop your narrative. So choose as per the question. 

In the main body of the essay, each para must have an argument or an idea and a reasoning to back that argument. You can substantiate it through a real life example, a statistic, an authentic committee or organisational report etc. 

For example, if you are arguing that Capital punishment is an expensive form of justice, you should be able to given an example or a statistic or Law Commission’s opinion as to how the subjects of death penalty are overwhelmingly from poor communities. 

Statistics, examples, expert opinions and constitutional provisions are crucial and they make your arguments authoritative. 

Concluding an Essay 

Conclusion needs to be on  a futuristic, optimistic note. You need to summarise the complete essay in 3-4 sentences, after which you can write your vision for future. 

You can source some useful terms from the speeches of PM Modi. Phrases like  Sabka   saath   sabka   vikas ,  Reform-Perform-Transform, Building A New India  etc can come handy.  Rhetoric, lofty expressions, constitutional ideals, sanskrit slokas and quotes are a good way to conclude your essay. 

But suppose in your introduction, if you had written about a fictitious character, then it’s always advisable to end your write-up with a reference to that character. It gives a sense of completeness to the essay. 

Readers should keep in mind that these notes are written rather haphazardly (I mean who makes notes thinking that in future, they might have to upload them publicly :D)  

They are fragmented in certain pages, so you may not be able to comprehend them completely, but nevertheless I hope you take home something useful.  

Link to handwritten notes: 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jmVMGOzAk2d9B5Y0HQ9XpVF5Mh2IXGku  

Quote collection:  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jk71jLao60hHwJoTuGYaIDgJWccxa5Xn  

List of Topics one needs to prepare:  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1q0W0PeH-80EKt6ucJTFOVPUlmXvCIzd-  

Sample Essay:    

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jqfUi1FXdG0icBdJpdQvwH1wlAizCMvo  

https://anudeepdurishetty.in/my-upsc-marksheet/

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Famous Quotes & Anecdotes for Essay Writing - UPSC Mains Essay Preparation - UPSC - Notes, Videos, & Tests

Part of the course, famous quotes & anecdotes for essay writing study material, notes for famous quotes & anecdotes for essay writing - upsc mains essay preparation, other chapters in upsc mains essay preparation, how to prepare for upsc, frequently asked questions on preparation of upsc cse.

• Is 1 year enough for IAS preparation? Yes, 1 year is sufficient for IAS preparation without coaching. If you do focus on study then you can clear this exam in your first attempt. Preparing for UPSC itself is a full-time job, during preparation you need to work hard daily at least 6-8 hours
• Does 12th Marks matter in UPSC? No class 12 marks don't matter for SSC and UPSC. The eligibility for civil services is that you should hold a Bachelor's degree from any recognized institution in respective subjects.
• Does UPSC ask questions from NCERT? Every year at least 35-40 prelims questions are directly asked from the NCERTs. If you read one book for the prelims it also comes in handy in the mains. For Example, Geography NCERTs of classes 11 and 12 and History NCERT of classes 10 and 11 are the most comprehensive books which must be read by every aspirant.

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