How to open a UPSC essay
The introduction of a UPSC essay is 120 to 150 words. One paragraph, or two. It has two jobs. It opens on something concrete, and it states your position.
Four ways to open
Anudeep Durishetty, AIR 1 in 2017, scored 155 in the Essay paper. His guide to introductions lists four kinds of opening.
| Opening | Use it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An invented character in a specific situation | Yes | Puts a person where the abstract idea was |
| A real event, named and dated | Yes | Gives the examiner a fact to hold on to |
| A quotation you then argue with | Yes, with care | Works only if the essay does something with it |
| A definition of the words in the topic | No | He calls it "stale, lacking in any human element" |
A definition opening
Education may be defined as the process of acquiring knowledge, skills and values through teaching and study.
This uses 17 words and claims nothing. The examiner already knows it.
Three openings that work
An invented character. Give the person a name, an age and one specific problem.
Topic: Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. (2023, Section B)
Ravi passed his Class 12 chemistry exam with 91 marks. Ten years later he cannot balance an equation. He can still tell when a supplier is lying about a fertiliser, because a teacher once made him test every claim.
A real event. Name the place and the year.
Topic: Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them. (2024, Section A)
In 1974, Gaura Devi led the women of Reni village in Chamoli to stand between loggers and the trees above their fields. The 1970 Alaknanda flood had shown the valley what happens when the slopes are cleared.
A quotation you argue with. Use the exact words, and say who said them and when.
Topic: There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless. (2020, Section B)
On 25 November 1949, Ambedkar told the Constituent Assembly: "In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality." More than seventy-five years later, India is far richer. The question is whether the second half of his warning still holds.
How to write it
- Choose the opening after you have your position. The opening should point at it.
- Write the character or the event in three or four sentences.
- Add one sentence that connects the opening to the topic.
- End the paragraph with your position, in one sentence.
- Test it: could this paragraph open a different essay? If it could, choose a more specific opening.
Return to it at the end
Durishetty's guide gives this rule: if your introduction uses a character, return to that character in the conclusion. Do the same with an event or a quotation.
Use three or four sentences. Say what has changed for the person, or what should happen next.
Mistakes that cost marks
| Mistake | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Opening with a definition | Open with a person, a place or an event |
| A story with no link to the topic, then 900 words on something else | Choose a story that shows the claim you will argue |
| Stock examples: Nazi Germany, the Manhattan Project, Adam Smith's invisible hand, Harari, a famous Gandhi quote | Use a case from an Indian state, a district or a recent report |
| A quotation dropped in for effect | Quote only if your next sentences argue with it or build on it |
| A misquoted or invented quotation | Use only words you are sure of. Otherwise describe the idea in your own words |
| Saying the topic is important or widely discussed | Cut it. Start with the person or the event |
| Leaving the opening behind | Return to it in the conclusion |
What to collect while you prepare
Collect specific cases. Keep them in one file, three or four sentences each.
- a figure with its year and source
- a scheme that did not work, and why
- a person who changed their mind
- a court case or a report that settled something
Your turn
Topic: "The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining." (UPSC Mains 2022, Essay, Section B). Which opening does the most work?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (C) In 1999 a super cyclone killed about ten thousand people in Odisha. In 2013 Cyclone Phailin struck the same coast. Odisha had spent the years between building shelters and evacuation plans. Close to a million people were moved before landfall.
The answer is (C). It names two real events, a place and dates, and it shows the claim at work. Odisha prepared in the calm years between two cyclones. It could not open a different essay. (A) is a definition. It tells the examiner nothing new and makes no claim. (B) says the subject is important, which could open any essay on any topic. (D) is a stock quotation used for effect, and the essay does nothing with it.
✍️ Your turn
Write the opening paragraph, 120 to 150 words, for: "The years teach much which the days never know." (UPSC Mains 2025, Essay, Section B). Use an invented character or a real event. Do not define anything. End the paragraph with the position your essay will argue.