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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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30 Best Quotes for Essay Writing

December 10, 2023 by Sandeep

The essay is an independent, educational, and scientific student research. In writing this paper, students master the methods and gain the ability to conduct research. In addition, essay writing helps form the student’s creative thinking, test the skills of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting literature, and formulate conclusions and suggestions.

Successful essay writing depends on strict adherence to the basic requirements. These requirements relate primarily to the scientific level of the work, its content, structure, form of presentation of the material, and design. The teacher may not accept works in violation of state standards and established requirements. Inconsistencies in the design can significantly affect the final evaluation of the work. The student’s compliance with all the requirements for writing and design of the essay instills certain skills in conducting research, which will be useful in creating other types of papers.

All of the above points are important to gain the ability to complete an essay. However, this is not an as simple type of student paper as it may seem at first glance. Students often have difficulty in both essay writing and designing. Fortunately, today everyone can find someone to write a paper online. It is only necessary to pay the set price. The best writers work for an online company DoMyEssay. To get their help, you should visit the site and request, “Please, do an essay for me.” The high quality and reliability of writing services are guaranteed for everyone.

Requirements for Quotes & References in Essay Writing

A compulsory component of any scientific work is a scientific citation. It is essential to cite the source from which the materials or individual results are borrowed or the ideas and conclusions based on which the problems, tasks, issues to which the work is devoted are developed. Such links make it possible to find relevant sources, check the accuracy of citations, obtain the necessary information about these sources.

The use of references in essays is mandatory and is used in the following cases:

  • When quoting fragments of text, formulas, tables, illustrations;
  • When paraphrasing, non-verbal reproduction of a fragment of another’s text;
  • When analyzing the content of other publications in the text;
  • When referring to other publications where the material to be discussed is more complete.

The absence of a link is a copyright infringement, and an incorrect link is considered a serious error. All sources cited in the list of references must be indicated in the text of the paper.

Importance of Correct Citation in Student Papers

The importance of citation is in the need to demonstrate the breadth of research and interest in the publications of other authors, to confirm own arguments with statements from other sources. Text borrowed from other sources is used for this purpose.

Here are three main functions that quotes perform in essay writing :

  • Places your work in context, creates dialogue;
  • Pay tribute to the previous work that formed the basis of your research;
  • Maintains the authenticity and accuracy of scientific literature.

List of Helpful Quotes You Can Use in Your Essay Writing

Below is a list of 30 quotes you can use in your essay writing:

  • The simplest example is more convincing than the most eloquent sermon (Lucius Annec Seneca);
  • It is not people who need rules, but rules need people (S. Dube);
  • The one who is no longer able to serve as anything serves as a good example (Andre Siegfried);
  • Take an example from your elders, while they behave approximately (Jerzy Leszczynski);
  • The need to set a good example for your children robs middle-aged people of all pleasure (William Feder);
  • Remember: sooner or later, your son will follow your example and not your advice (Pierre Corneille);
  • An example is stronger than a threat (Pierre Corneille);
  • Bad examples are stronger than good rules (Joey Locke);
  • You only have one life. You have to live it as fully as possible (Jojo Moyes);
  • When life is good, there is no need to argue about it (Ray Bradbury);
  • There are moments in life that change us once and for all (Jeffrey Deaver);
  • The reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The person who never reads experiences only one (George Martin);
  • On our path in life, we will meet everyone who is destined to meet us (Charles Dickens);
  • What is the sense of life? Serve others and do good (Aristotle);
  • Those who illuminate the lives of others will not be left without light themselves (James Matthew Barry);
  • In general, I live without hesitation, so I always have fun (Francis Scott Fitzgerald);
  • An example is always more powerful than a sermon (Samuel Johnson);
  • When it comes to budget, everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die (Jean Chrétien);
  • Violating our duty, thereby we violate our rights (Jean-Jacques Rousseau);
  • You cannot talk about the budget without knowing approximately the figures of its income and expenses (Theodor Herzl);
  • Civilization road paved with tax receipts (Andrew McKenzie);
  • If you know how to spend less than you get, then you have the Philosopher’s Stone (Benjamin Franklin);
  • Only two incentives make people work: the thirst for wages and the fear of losing them (Henry Ford);
  • There is no perfection in the world (Antoine de Saint-Exupery);
  • You are forever responsible for the one you tamed (Antoine de Saint-Exupery);
  • It’s good where we are not (Antoine de Saint-Exupery);
  • All adults were children at first, only a few of them remember this (Antoine de Saint-Exupery);
  • Live and learn (Lucius Annec Seneca);
  • The end justifies the means (Ignatius de Loyola);
  • Truth is in wine (Pliny the Elder).

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Abhiyan store, abhiyan pedia, 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

quote for essay upsc

“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

quote for essay upsc

“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

quote for essay upsc

“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

quote for essay upsc

“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

quote for essay upsc

“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

quote for essay upsc

“The best way out is always through.”

― Robert Frost

quote for essay upsc

“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

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“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

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“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

quote for essay upsc

“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

quote for essay upsc

“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

quote for essay upsc

“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

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  • 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

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  • 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

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  • 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.

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Quotes by Martin Luther King

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  • " 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

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  • “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

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  • “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.”

quote for essay upsc

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Motivational Quotes For UPSC Aspirants

Motivational Quotes For UPSC Aspirants: A List of Inspirational Quotes Along With their Meanings

As we all know, the IAS examination is one of the toughest and most challenging tests of the other assessments. A UPSC student needs to be directed and determined towards their goal.  A prosperous competitor is not just a well-prepared one but also one who can nourish their courage levels throughout the procedure.

Passing the UPSC exam is not simple, many obstacles may be suffered during the process of the assessment. Pupils are motivated and nourished to give their best.

Here are some of the best inspirational quotes for UPSC aspirants to make their minds upright towards achievement. Also, you can get details about the best IAS coaching in India . Check out the best IAS online coaching from this article to join the best online coaching for IAS. 

Also Read  : How to Write a Philosophical Essay for UPSC? Learn Some Pointers to Ace the Exam

Best Quotes for UPSC Aspirants

There are numerous quotes for the competitors to encourage them and help them accomplish the objective. Several inspirational quotes by famous people like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Abdul Kalam Azad.

Below is the list of motivational quotes for the IAS aspirants to nourish their minds and encourage them to pursue their dream of becoming successful IAS officers. Read the article till the end to understand the inspiring quotations stated by famous people, along with their meanings.

Motivational Quotes for UPSC IAS Aspirants

Rabindranath tagore.

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.”

– Rabindranath Tagore

One can’t pass the sea just by gazing at it. Similarly, one can’t pass the IAS examination just by dreaming and gazing at the success stories of previous aspirants. One has to take a step forward to accomplish their purpose and get the courage to clear the test with flying colours.

 “Genius is 1% talent and 99% per cent hard work.”

This famous quote by Einstein gives a great message to all the students and makes them realise that they stand all equal. They should eliminate from their mind that the CSE is only for talented nominees. No one is less capable than the other. The talent sums up only 1% in making the person a genius, the rest 99% is hard work and overcoming procrastination. Anybody can pass the IAS examination just by working hard and not being intelligent.

“Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”

As we all believe every day is a new beginning of life. This quote by Buddha states exactly the message. No one has knowledge about what is going to occur tomorrow. Employ your today to make your tomorrow better. If you fail to serve yesterday don’t get disheartened,  begin each new day afresh and work hard with unique courage. Your future relies on how you utilize your present.

“Rarest of all human quality is consistency.”

Rome was not constructed in a day. Nothing is accomplished in a day. It takes time and a consistent pace for something huge to happen. Working hard for a short period and taking a long break doesn’t help you to achieve your objective. Your plan and work should be steady with proper flow. Always remember the slow tortoise with a constant pace has a higher chance of achievement rather than the fast rabbit with an inconsistent pace.

Mahatma Gandhi

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

This popular quote by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation has motivated the ages of the world. It states that whatever the transition you accept, the world has to begin from you. Be innovative in your trial. Understand the paths to effectively employ your available aids for the preparation. You’re the future of the world.  Always remind yourself that the difference in the community starts with you.

Bertrand Russell

“The hardest thing in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.”

– Bertrand Russell

Proficiency and hard work are not enough to pass the IAS examination. To succeed, one has to work smart, not hard. Quality matters more than quantity. Working hard all day with insufficient profit is not a proper solution.  One should realize, what are the most achieving regions in the preliminary and the main of the IAS examination. One should know which editions have to be read and which books have to be prevented. To achieve an IAS position with the least effort, candidates have to be tactful.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

– Confucius

In life, one cannot attain success without confronting failures. Don’t get disappointed when you are not able to pass the exam in one attempt. Many famous IAS officers also endured failures and passed the CSE examination in the 2nd or 3rd attempt.  One must understand that negligence is a very ordinary thing. Every time you fall, get up with unique courage. The more you fail, the more you realise your faults. Analyse your errors in your earlier attempt, discover from them and formulate an action plan and commit it and then victory will be yours.

Benjamin Franklin

 “Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle.”

– Benjamin Franklin

Candidates must comprehend to make use of the effective accessible resources in a leading manner. Concentrate on aspects that are in your hands and dismiss what you can’t change. Wasting time on things you can’t transform is the biggest fool. If your surrounding habitat is not in your favour, don’t keep on cursing it, rather develop an optimistic attitude and be a guiding lamp to others.

“All persons ought to endeavour to follow what is right, and not what is established.”

– Aristotile

Students must take opinions based on rationality. Never run behind the crowd. Don’t prefer an option just because many people are preferring it or don’t examine a magazine or a book just because it is browsed by many people. People are not right every time.  You must make your decision only after a thorough analysis. Make your opinion wisely so that others follow you.

Swami Vivekananda

“Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.”

– Swami Vivekananda

Among all the quotations illustrated above, this quote from Swami Vivekananda is the most influential and has played a tremendous role in the prosperity of many IAS officers. Great IAS officers got inspired and achieved their target by following this saying of Swami Vivekananda. This quote enables the students to be proactive and do the needful to achieve in the examination. Arise, awake every day and don’t stop until you reach your objective.

“Push yourself because no one else is going to do for you.”

You are the only one who can inspire and promote yourself. No one will help you pursue your goal. No one is your true friend except the books and your desires. Help, Support yourself and encouragement is the only best solution for a prosperous future. The treasure lies in you, all you need to do is dig it with great effort.  Nobody will let you know how skilful you are. You need to realize and discover the ability and talent that lies in you.

“Nothing can inspire you more than your dreams.”

We dream and desire something to accomplish. Nobody can stop you from dreaming. Dreams are the only objective we all have and they don’t work until we do. Every new day, we dream to motivate ourselves for a new objective making our lives better. Preparing and nourishing the mind.  Vanishing the failed person within us. Discard the obstacles, doubts and justifications. And that’s how victory will arrive at you.

“Achieve your goals in silence.”

As we all believe, work hard in silence, let success make noise. Accomplish your goals secretly, don’t let anyone know your mystery. People usually speak more than what they do. A prosperous student never likes to circulate the secret he has overcome. That’s how achievement develops in silence.  Someone quoted well, actions speak louder than words. Let your success prove your ability to the world. Don’t let your efforts get wasted in making others believe that you are capable of doing something.

Also Read  : UPSC History Optional Question Paper 2022: Let’s Get Ready for UPSC 2023!

Nelson Mandela

 “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

-Nelson Mandela

Everything appears impossible until it’s performed. If someone believes that nothing is impossible, that’s a very powerful sense. Your thinking makes the work possible for you. A positive attitude and organized plan help you make the impossible possible.  A task first looks impossible, once you get started it appears tough, then when you get the flow with your tactics it seems easier. Nothing is impossible in life if you have an intense mind determined towards the motive.

 “Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits.”

Never put a limit to your challenge instead challenge your limits. Take a task as a dare and make your mind to achieve it. Challenge yourself to be better and do better every day with new energy and motivation. Always remember, challenges are accomplished by moving beyond the present circumstances. It won’t change until you challenge it. If you don’t challenge yourself, you will never get to know what lies in you and what you wish to achieve in life. It’s the only path that leads to improvement.

 “Power is not given to you, you have to take it.”

This quote speaks a lot. It makes you realize that nothing gets to you as complimentary. Nothing is priceless in life, you earn it, you get it. Power doesn’t arise in you automatically, you need to awaken the courage and skill by your efforts. It is not given to you by anyone, work hard and attain it. Awake the treasure in you ignoring the obstacles in order to achieve your dreams and do what you love.

Andrew Murphy

“You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.”

-Andrew Murphy

Man has this unusual power to build limitations of his capacities. Uncertainly, the more self-aware we become, the more we concentrate on our drawbacks and thus start restricting our intentions. Convince yourself that there are aspects beyond your stretch and should not seek risky tasks or else you would neglect and feel hopeless. Smash all these mental binds today as they are all tales we tell ourselves. Act on your fantasies today no matter how limited you are you will be prosperous only if you understand it. Take this quote as motivation and get inspired in your life to achieve something new every day.

“You are stronger than you think.”

This is an empowering motivational quote, particularly for all those in the world who are undergoing an inferiority complex that impacts components in the community and sometimes families. Just because the world around you is adequate does not indicate you will have to be one of them permanently. You have all the privilege to learn your true ability. Surge higher than your limitations and attain greatness no matter what the world may tell you. Just understand that you are more powerful than you feel and are committed to incredible things.

“Do it now. Sometimes later becomes never.”

As we all know, procrastination is the greatest destroyer of minds. Do not halt anything that holds prestige for you. A duty, for instance, exams or health goals, may seem hard at initial but adequate planning and actions in that path will assist you to attain it successfully. Just because a job seems difficult doesn’t mean it should be left to handle later. Just take the major step and begin with the tiniest duty, to begin with. Once you have set the wheels in action, the entire task will be achieved even before you recognize it.

“Don’t stop when you are tired, stop when you are done.”

Among all the motivational quotes, this is one of those that pass a message of determination and hard work. Strives and prosecutions in your life will make your body and soul tired. It is bound to attract you to give up and realise that all this hard work is not worth it, so just leave it. This is actually why you need to stay strong and assure yourself not to relax. You should enjoy it only after you are accomplished with the task and attain your goal. Only then the people will parade with you to applaud your victory and you will enjoy the treasure of success with much-deserved peace.

“Remember why you are doing this.”

In the battle to accomplish your objective, there may be times when you are exhausted and just want to halt and sit down, there may be times when everyone around urges you to bend down or distract you from the path. It’s simple to miss the sight of the initial plan and the motive behind doing it. In that case, question yourself why you are doing this and utilize the reason to get yourself back on track, pick up, encourage yourself, concentrate on your purpose, force yourself forward and be victorious.

“Be stubborn about your goals, and flexible about your methods.”

A life without objectives is no existence at all. And it’s all the more significant to have the motivation and intention to follow them. No matter what society and situations try to distract your interest from your missions, you have to hold them tightly and become stubborn. In the technique to attain them, you may sometimes think that your strategies no longer work. So you need to discover an alternate and more productive way. In this vibrant world, there is just one law and that is ‘there is no rule’. Keep your eyes on the objective and don’t be prohibited by rigidity. Feel independent to bend the laws sometimes to accomplish marks. If you don’t, you are confined to giving up and resigning.

“Excuses don’t get results.”

Reasons are the stories we narrate ourselves for our losses or disuse. We frequently get so dominated by the mere magnitude of the job ahead of us that we begin postponing. When we are responsible for it, we make justifications. When we begin giving excuses to ourselves, knowing better that we cannot cheat our conscience, we tread in guilt and self-pity. Why go over that suffering when we can just stand up and confront the duty in the very beginning. Execute the most terrible task early and the rest of the day would be steadily moving, so no further excuses.

Also Read  : How to Prepare for UPSC in 1 Year? Let’s Find the Best Coaching Classes to Prepare for!

Above is the best and most inspirational list of quotes with their meanings for the UPSC aspirants to make them pursue their objectives. It is not essential that all the quotations are equally favourable to all the UPSC candidates. Select four to five quotes that have motivated you greatly. Inscribe them on a piece of paper and stick them near your workplace. It will act as a steady reminder and will enable you to proceed with your rehearsal with tremendous devotion.

Hoping that the above article helped you encourage your mind towards your objective. Give time to read and understand all the quotes stated and explained above. It will assist you to create a positive attitude in life. If you are looking for more such content related to the IAS examination, then do visit the website UPSC Pathshala for all essential topics for the aspirants associated with the IAS examination. It is the best IAS coaching in India. You will not only find all the information on this best IAS online coaching but also will get all the motivation from different articles related to the journeys of the candidates. You must join this best online coaching for IAS to achieve your goals.

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Thank you for boosting our confidence for the examination, can you also provide some last minute tips for the aspirants?

quote for essay upsc

The UPSC preparation is the toughest time for the candidates. This article has all the quotations that can help the aspirants to get out the stress and achieve their goals. Do you get inspired by the motivational quotations?

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Feeling motivated…ready to embark on this journey

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These are really motivational. I am completely ready to create wonders.

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About the Author

Shilpa is a professional web content writer and is in deep love with travelling. She completed her mass communication degree and is now dedicatedly playing with words to guide her readers to get the best for themselves. Developing educational content for UPSC, IELTS aspirants from breakthrough research work is her forte. Strongly driven by her zodiac sign Sagittarius, Shilpa loves to live her life on her own notes and completely agrees with the idea of ‘live and let live. Apart from writing and travelling, most of the time she can be seen in the avatar of 'hooman' mom to her pets and street dogs or else you can also catch her wearing the toque blanche and creating magic in the kitchen on weekends.

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Essay Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC

Last updated on April 3, 2024 by Alex Andrews George

Essay Syllabus – Civil Services Mains Exam UPSC

Table of Contents

Tips for UPSC Essay Paper from ClearIAS.com

Do keep in mind the below-mentioned tips. Following these strategies can make a huge boost in your Essay Paper marks .

  • Try to write a few essays in full during your preparation, simulating the environment in the examination hall.
  • Familiarize yourself with previous essays asked by UPSC so that you will have a clear picture of the type and standard of questions to be expected.
  • UPSC/the examiner normally gives credit to new perspectives and fresh analysis.
  • Avoid verbosity and flowery language. Use a simple style instead.
  • You may use relevant quotes to reinforce your arguments. But never try to alter the quotes of great personalities.
  • Good handwriting is always an asset. If your handwriting is not legible, put some effort into that area.
  • Make your statements precise. Avoid guesses.
  • The introductory paragraph should have clear indications about what you are going to write in the essay.
  • You may show your inferences in the concluding paragraph.

Also read:   ClearIAS launches Essay Writing Course for UPSC

Additional Links:

  • Useful Civil Services Books .
  • Civil Services Study Materials for Online Preparation .
  • IAS Question Papers .

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quote for essay upsc

About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and social entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training , Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped many aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

Reader Interactions

quote for essay upsc

October 16, 2015 at 12:03 am

Hello sir…. May I know what is the language to write an essay…. I mean English or hindi…thanks

quote for essay upsc

August 8, 2016 at 7:44 pm

Your exam medium is essay langauge

quote for essay upsc

July 7, 2022 at 1:37 am

What types of eassy come in upsc?

quote for essay upsc

May 12, 2016 at 12:59 am

Hello sir…… May I know that what is trade under in IAS. & which is the best course after 12th & which is the best subjects for IAS preparation.

quote for essay upsc

August 28, 2020 at 7:20 am

Make any one of the optional subject as your UG stream .it will help you in the preparation

quote for essay upsc

May 23, 2016 at 7:03 am

plz suggest me books for essay in hindi and english language

quote for essay upsc

October 5, 2016 at 12:25 pm

pls tell me good essay book of bengali version.

December 2, 2016 at 9:15 pm

quote for essay upsc

January 7, 2017 at 4:53 pm

Wt is the medium of essay writing Any language…? We can choose

February 18, 2017 at 9:25 pm

suggest some topics for essay writing

October 13, 2017 at 3:24 pm

Which syllabus for essay writing

October 13, 2017 at 3:26 pm

which topics for essay writing tell me please

April 7, 2017 at 4:45 pm

One of the most discriptive and very helpful website for civil services aapirants..

November 8, 2018 at 1:36 pm

Sir IAS yaa IPS Ke liye physical yaa medical exam bhi dena hota h kya

quote for essay upsc

November 22, 2018 at 11:45 am

PLEASE CLEAR CIVIL SERVICE MAINS PAPER A & B

quote for essay upsc

August 5, 2019 at 9:49 am

my mother tongue is Bengali .can I give the mains exam in Bengali??

August 10, 2019 at 1:15 pm

Hello sir!! Can I know from which topic these essays will be given. Like, generally or from optional subjects we choose?!

quote for essay upsc

September 14, 2019 at 12:39 pm

Go through the previous years question papers to find out what type of essay do UPSC ask

quote for essay upsc

October 13, 2019 at 10:52 am

Sir , What are those tips & advices you are gonna give for school students who’s aim is to become an IAS officer ?

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Important Quotations for UPSC Essay Paper

Quotations for UPSC Essay Paper

Importance of Quotes for UPSC Essay Writing

Relevant quotations, though not necessary, always improve the quality of your Essay 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.

So Quotations for UPSC Essay are like ammunition that you need to keep in your back-pocket but use only when it is appropriate. I had made a list of quotations for the Essay Paper just a couple of days before the exam day and memorized them. Here is the list of UPSC Essay Quotations the I had prepared.

You can also download quotes for UPSC essay pdf format. Link for PDF download is given at the bottom.

Quotations on Education

  • “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”  Nelson Mandela
  • “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”  Mahatma Gandhi
  • “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”  Margaret Mead
  • “I have never let my schooling interfere with my Education.”  Mark Twain
  • “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learnt in school.”  Einstein
  • “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”  Aristotle
  • “Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man.”  Swami Vivekananda

Quotations on Science and Religion

  • “All thinking men are atheists.”  Ernst Hemingway 
  • “Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind…”  Issac Newton
  • “The notion that Science and Spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.”  Carl Sagan
  • “Science without Religion is lame and Religion without Science is blind”  Einstein
  • “What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.”  Christopher Hitchens

Quotes on Democracy

  • “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”  Churchill
  • “The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so much dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy”  Montesquieu
  • “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”  Abraham Lincoln
  • “There cannot be daily democracy without daily citizenship.”  Ralph Nader
  • ” I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong.”  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

Quotes on Materialism/Consumerism

  • “A fellow who is ashamed merely of shabby clothing or modest meals is not even worth conversing with.”  Confucius
  • “To live fully, we must use things and love people, not love things and use people.”  Powell John
  • “The world has enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.”  Mahatma Gandhi
  • “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there would be peace.”  John Lennon

Quotations on Peace/Justice

  • “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” William Gladstone
  • “Peace and Justice are two sides of the same coin.”  Eisenhower
  • “Poverty is the worst form of violence.”  Mahatma Gandhi

Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi

  • “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
  • “Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.”
  • “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”
  • “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”
  • “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.”
  • “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will.”
  • “The good man is the friend of all living things.”
  • “Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.”
  • “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
  • “I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.”
  • “There are people in the world, so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
  • “Violent means will give violent freedom.”
  • “There is higher courts than courts of justice and that is conscience.”
  • “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonesty.”
  • “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”

Quotes on Women Empowerment

  • “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman” Margaret Thatcher
  • “There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.” Kofi Annan
  • “Educate a man and you educate an individual. Educate a woman and you educate a family.” A. Cripps
  • “I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men, they are far superior and always have been.” William Golding
  • “If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.” Plato
  • “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.” Hillary Clinton
  • “There is no hope for that family or country where there is no estimation of women, where they live in sadness. For this reason, they have to be raised first.” Swami Vivekananda

Quotes on Freedom of Speech, Liberty

  • “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” Soren Kierkegaard
  • “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”  Benjamin Franklin
  • “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”  George Orwell
  • “Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” George B. Shaw
  • “When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson

By no means this is any exhaustive list. But I also need to tell you two things. One is that I could use 3 quotations from this list in the first essay. Second, I didn’t use any quote for the second essay.

READ: Sample Essay Written by IAS Topper (Score:164)

7 thoughts on “Important Quotations for UPSC Essay Paper”

Sir, please update with quotation of a new topic- “Science and technology”. I would be grateful to you.

Great initiative…. Thank you…

Thank u so much 🙂

APPRECIABLE. KEEP IT UP. THANKS.

Thank you so much sir.

Please send some essays of toppers

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UPSC Essay Topic wise Question Papers of last 31 years (1993-2023) for Civil Services IAS/IPS Exam Free Download

In the UPSC mains examination, essay paper is worth 250 marks and three hours. Here is the topic wise questions from the earlier years for the benefit of civil service IAS IPS aspirants.

1.1 India Since Independence

1.2 federalism, decentralization, 1.3 administration, 1.4 judiciary, 1.5 poverty, social justice, 1.6 indian society, culture and values, 1.7 media, tv & cinema, literature, 2.1 growth vs development, 2.2 environment vs development, 2.4 sectors of economy, 3.1 values in education, 3.2 scheme implementation, 3.3 higher education, 4.1 character, honesty, ethics, 4.2 knowledge, 4.3 compassion, 4.4 truth and reality, 4.5 youth, discipline, 4.6 towards excellence, 5.1 @national politics, 5.2 @world / quote type, 5.3 empowerment overall, 5.4 compared to men, 6.1 globalization, 6.2 international org./ bilateral, 6.3 security, 6.4 history, 7.1 science and religion, 7.2 science and education, 7.3 computer and internet, 7.4 sci-tech: others, appendix: linear paper of upsc essay 2023, appendix: linear paper of upsc essay 2022, appendix: model answer pe free lecture & powerpoint, appendix: syllabus of essay paper in upsc, 1 india: democracy, administration, society, culture.

  • Is the Colonial mentality hindering India’s Success? -2013
  • In the context of Gandhiji’s views on the matter, explore, on an evolutionary scale, the terms ‘Swadhinata’, ‘Swaraj’ and ‘Dharmarajya’. Critically comment on their contemporary relevance to Indian democracy -2012
  • Dreams which should not let India sleep. -2015
  • Why should we be proud of being Indians? -2000
  • Whither Indian democracy? -1995
  • How far has democracy in India delivered the goods? -2003
  • What we have not learnt during fifty years of independence. -1997
  • What have we gained from our democratic set-up? -2001
  • My vision of India in 2001 a.d. -1993
  • Impact of the new economic measures on fiscal ties between the union and states in India. -2017
  • Water disputes between States in federal India. -2016
  • Cooperative federalism : Myth or reality. -2016
  • Creation of smaller states and the consequent administrative, economic and developmental implication -2011
  • Evaluation of panchayati raj system in India from the point of view of eradication of power to people. -2007
  • Water resources should be under the control of the central government. -2004
  • The language problem in India: its past, present and prospects. -1998
  • There are better practices to “best practices”. -2021
  • How should a civil servant conduct himself? -2003
  • Politics without ethics is a disaster. -1995
  • The VIP cult is a bane of Indian democracy -1996
  • Need for transparency in public administration -1996
  • The country’s need for a better disaster management system. -2000
  • Politics, bureaucracy and business – fatal triangle. -1994
  • We may brave human laws but cannot resist natural laws. -2017
  • Justice must reach the poor -2005
  • Judicial activism and Indian democracy. -2004
  • Judicial activism. -1997
  • A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity. (- जिस समाज में अधिक न्याय होता है उस समाज को दान की कम आवश्यकता होती है।) – 2023
  • There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless (बिना आर्थिक समृद्धि के सामाजिक न्याय नहीं हो सकता, किन्तु बिना सामाजिक न्याय के आर्थिक समृद्धि निरर्थक है ) -2020
  • Neglect of primary health care and education in India are reasons for its backwardness. -2019
  • The focus of health care is increasingly getting skewed towards the ‘haves’ of our society. -2009
  • Food security for sustainable national development -2005
  • Reservation, politics and empowerment. -1999
  • Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have (जो हम है, वह संस्कार; जो हमारे पास है, वह सभ्यता ) -2020
  • Indian culture today: a myth or a reality? -2000
  • Modernism and our traditional socio-ethical values. -2000
  • The composite culture of India. -1998
  • The Indian society at the crossroads. -1994
  • From traditional Indian philanthropy to the gates-buffet model-a natural progression or a paradigm shift? -2010
  • New cults and godmen: a threat to traditional religion -1996
  • Biased media is a real threat to Indian democracy. -2019
  • Responsibility of media in a democracy. -2002
  • Role of media in good governance -2008
  • Does Indian cinema shape our popular culture or merely reflect it? -2011
  • How has satellite television brought about cultural change in Indian mindsets? -2007
  • Is sting operation an invasion on privacy? -2014
  • Mass media and cultural invasion. -1999
  • The misinterpretation and misuse of freedom in India. -1998
  • Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world (कवि संसार के अनधिकृत रूप से विधायक होते हैं) – 2022

2 Economy, Development

  • Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. -2018
  • Digital economy: A leveller or a source of economic inequality. -2016
  • Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare. -2016
  • Near jobless growth in India: An anomaly or an outcome of economic reforms. -2016
  • Crisis faced in India – moral or economic. -2015
  • Was it the policy paralysis or the paralysis of implementation which slowed the growth of our country? -2014
  • GDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the wellbeing of a country-2013
  • Can capitalism bring inclusive growth? -2015
  • Resource management in the Indian context. -1999
  • Economic growth without distributive justice is bound to breed violence. -1993
  • Forests are the best case studies for economic excellence (आर्थिक समृद्धि हासिल करने के मामले में वन सर्वोत्तम प्रतिमान होते हैं।) – 2022
  • Alternative technologies for a climate change resilient India. -2018
  • Should a moratorium be imposed on all fresh mining in tribal areas of the country? -2010
  • Urbanisation and its hazards -2008
  • Protection of ecology and environment is essential for sustained economic development. -2006
  • Urbanization is a blessing in disguise. -1997
  • Ecological considerations need not hamper development. -1993
  • Globalization would finish small-scale industries in India. -2006
  • Multinational corporations – saviours or saboteurs -1994
  • Special economic zone: boon or bane -2008
  • Is the criticism that the ‘Public-Private-Partnership’ (PPP) model for development is more of a bane than a boon in the Indian context, justified ?-2012
  • Farming has lost the ability to be a source of subsistence for majority of farmers in India. -2017
  • BPO boom in India. -2007
  • Tourism: Can this be the next big thing for India? -2014
  • Are our traditional handicrafts doomed to a slow death? -2009

3 Education

  • Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in – school. (- शिक्षा वह है जो विद्यालय में विधालय में सीखी गई बातों को भूल जाने के बाद भी शेष रह जाती है।)
  • Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classrooms. -2017
  • Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make a man more clever devil-2015
  • Independent thinking should be encouraged right form the childhood. -2007
  • Are the standardized tests good measure of academic ability or progress? -2014
  • Irrelevance of the classroom. -2001
  • Is the growing level of competition good for the youth? -2014
  • Literacy is growing very fast, but there is no corresponding growth in education. -1996
  • Is an egalitarian society possible by educating the masses ? -2008
  • What is real education? -2005
  • “Education for all” campaign in India: myth or reality. -2006
  • Restructuring of Indian education system. -1995
  • Privatization of higher education in India. -2002
  • Credit – based higher education system – status, opportunities and challenges -2011

4 Quote based, Philosophy, Ethics

  • A smile is the chosen vehicle for all ambiguities (हर असमंजस के लिए मुस्कराहट ही चुनिन्दा साधन है) – 2022
  • Philosophy of wantlessness is a Utopian, while materialism is a chimera. -2021
  • Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me. -2021
  • Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication (सरलता चरम परिष्करण है ) -2020
  • Ships don’t sink because of water around them ships sink because of water that gets into them (जहाज अपने चारों तरफ के पानी के वजह से नहीं डूबा करते, जहाज पानी के अंदर समां जाने की वजह से डूबता हैं ) -2020
  • Life is a long journey between being human and being humane.  (मनुष्य होने और मानव बनने के बीच का लम्बा सफर ही जीवन है)-2020
  • Values are not what humanity is, but what humanity ought to be -2019
  • Best for an individual is not necessarily best for the society -2019
  • Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success -2019
  • Wisdom finds truth -2019
  • A people that values its privileges above its principles loses both. -2018
  • Customary morality cannot be a guide to modem file. -2018
  • Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed. -2016
  • Character of an institution is reflected in its leader. -2015
  • With greater power comes greater responsibility. -2014
  • Words are sharper than the two-edged sword. -2014
  • Attitude makes, habit makes character and character makes a man. -2007
  • He would reigns within himself and folds his passions and desires and fears is more than a king. -1993
  • Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team. (- सोच एक खेल की तरह है, यह तब तक शुरू नहीं होता है जब तक कि एक विपरीत टीम/पक्ष न हो।) – 2023
  • Mathematics is the music of reason. (- गणित ज्ञान का संगीत है।) – 2023
  • The real is rational and the rational is real. -2021
  • Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self (विचारपरक संकल्प स्वयं के शांतचित्त रहने का उत्प्रेरक है )-2020
  • ‘The past’ is a permanent dimension of human consciousness and values. -2018
  • A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. -2018
  • There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. -2003
  • Disinterested intellectual curiosity is the lifeblood of civilisation. -1995
  • Joy is the simplest form of gratitude. -2017
  • Compassion is the basic of all morality of the world -1993
  • Lending hands to someone is better than giving a dole. -2015
  • Be the change you want to see in others (Gandhi)-2013
  • Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right (केवल इसलिए कि आपके पास विकल्प हैं, इसका यह अर्थ कदापि नहीं है कि उनमें से किसी को भी ठीक होना ही होगा) – 2022
  • Reality does not conform to the ideal, but confirms it. -2018
  • Truth is lived, not taught -1996
  • When money speaks, the truth is silent. -1995
  • Search for truth can only be a spiritual problem. -2002
  • The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining (छप्पर मरम्मत करने का समय तभी होता है, जब धूप खिली हुई हो) – 2022
  • You cannot step twice in the same river (आप उसी नदी में दोबारा नहीं उतर सकते) – 2022
  • Discipline means success, anarchy means ruin -2008
  • Youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle, old age a regret -1994
  • If youth knew, if age could. -2002
  • Youth culture today. -1999
  • Fifty Golds in Olympics: Can this be a reality for India? -2014
  • Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic. (- दूरदर्शी निर्णय तभी लिए जाते है अंतर्ज्ञान और तर्क का परस्पर मेल होता है।) – 2023
  • Not all who wander are lost. (- भटकने वाले सभी गुम नहीं हो जाते।) – 2023
  • Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane (- रचनात्मकता की प्रेरणा अलौकिक ता में चमत्कार ढूंढने के प्रयास से उपजति है) – 2023
  • A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ship is for (जहाज बन्दरगाह के भीतर सुरक्षित होता है, परन्तु इसके लिए तो वह होता नहीं है) – 2022
  • Quick but steady wins the race. -2015
  • Useless life is an early death. -1994
  • Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds. -1995
  • The paths of glory lead but to the grave. -2002
  • The pursuit of excellence. -2001

5 Women empowerment

  • Greater political power alone will not improve women’s plight. -1997
  • Women’s reservation bill would usher in empowerment for women in India. -2006
  • The new emerging women power: the ground realities. -1995
  • Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. -2021
  • If women ruled the world -2005
  • The hand that rocks the cradle -2005
  • Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality (पितृ-सत्ता की व्यवस्था नजर मैं बहुत काम आने के बावजूद सामाजिक विषमता की सबसे प्रभावी संरचना है) -2020
  • Fulfilment of ‘new woman’ in India is a myth. -2017
  • If development is not engendered, it is endangered. -2016
  • Whither women’s emancipation? -2004
  • Empowerment alone cannot help our women. -2001
  • Women empowerment: challenges and prospects. -1999
  • Woman is god’s best creation. -1998
  • Men have failed: let women take over. -1993
  • Managing work and home – is the Indian working woman getting a fair deal ?-2012

6 International issues, Internal Security, History

  • South Asian societies are woven not around the state, but around their plural cultures and plural identities. -2019
  • Modernisation and westernisation are not identical concepts. -1994
  • ‘globalization’ vs. ‘nationalism’ -2009
  • National identity and patriotism -2008
  • Globalizations and its impact on Indian culture. -2004
  • The masks of new imperialism. -2003
  • As civilization advances culture declines. -2003
  • The implications of globalization for India. -2000
  • My vision of an ideal world order. -2001
  • India’s contribution to world wisdom. -1998
  • The world of the twenty-first century. -1998
  • Preparedness of our society for India’s global leadership role. -2010
  • Technology as the silent factor in international relations (अंतर्राष्ट्रीय संबंधों मैं मौन करक के रूप मैं प्रौद्योगिकी) -2020
  • Has the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world ? -2017
  • Restructuring of UNO reflect present realities -1996
  • The global order: political and economic -1993
  • India’s role in promoting ASEAN co-operation. -2004
  • Importance of Indo-US nuclear agreement -2006
  • Management of Indian border dispute is a complex task. -2018
  • In the Indian context , both human intelligence and technical intelligence are crucial in combating terrorism -2011
  • Are we a ‘soft’ state ? -2009
  • Good fences make good neighbours -2009
  • Is autonomy the best answer to combat balkanization? -2007
  • Terrorism and world peace -2005
  • True religion cannot be misused. -1997
  • History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. -2021
  • Geography may remain the same ; history need not. -2010

7 Science-Technology

  • Spirituality and scientific temper. -2003
  • Science and Mysticism : Are they compatible ?-2012
  • What is research, but a blind date with knowledge! -2021
  • Modern technological education and human values. -2002
  • Value-based science and education. -1999
  • The march of science and the erosion of human values. -2001
  • The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced. -2021
  • Rise of Artificial Intelligence: the threat of jobless future or better job opportunities through reskilling and upskilling. -2019
  • ‘Social media’ is inherently a selfish medium. -2017
  • Cyberspace and Internet : Blessing or curse to the human civilization in the long run -2016
  • Increasing computerization would lead to the creation of a dehumanized society. -2006
  • The cyberworld: its charms and challenges. -2000
  • Computer: the harbinger of silent revolution. -1993
  • Technology cannot replace manpower. -2015
  • Science and technology is the panacea for the growth and security of the nation-2013
  • The modern doctor and his patients. -1997
  • The lure of space. -2004

Section-A (write any one)

  • Thinking is like a game, it does not begin unless there is an opposite team. (- सोच एक खेल की तरह है, यह तब तक शुरू नहीं होता है जब तक कि एक विपरीत टीम/पक्ष न हो।)
  • Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic. (- दूरदर्शी निर्णय तभी लिए जाते है अंतर्ज्ञान और तर्क का परस्पर मेल होता है।)
  • Not all who wander are lost. (- भटकने वाले सभी गुम नहीं हो जाते।)
  • Inspiration for creativity springs from the effort to look for the magical in the mundane (- रचनात्मकता की प्रेरणा अलौकिक ता में चमत्कार ढूंढने के प्रयास से उपजति है)

Section-B (write any one)

  • Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands – two equally harmful disciplines. (-लड़कियां बंदिशों के तथा लड़के अपेक्षा के बोझ तले दबे हुए होते हैं दोनों ही समान रूप से हानिकारक व्यवस्थाएं हैं।)
  • Mathematics is the music of reason. (- गणित ज्ञान का संगीत है।)
  • A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity. (- जिस समाज में अधिक न्याय होता है उस समाज को दान की कम आवश्यकता होती है।)

Answer one-one essay from each section in 1000-1200 words

  • History is a series of victories won by the scientific man over the romantic man (इतिहास वैज्ञानिक मनुष्य के रूमानी मनुष्य पर विजय हासिल करने का एक सिलसिला है।) – 2022
  • A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ship is for (जहाज बन्दरगाह के भीतर सुरक्षित होता है, परन्तु इसके लिए तो वह होता नहीं है) & 2022
  • Just because you have a choice, it does not mean that any of them has to be right (केवल इसलिए कि आपके पास विकल्प हैं, इसका यह अर्थ कदापि नहीं है कि उनमें से किसी को भी ठीक होना ही होगा) – 2022

Essay: 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 orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.

UPSC Essay: Examples, Quotes, Case studies

Environmental dimension, the hornbill festival.

It is a remarkable story of conservation of the bird after which it is named. Today, the Naga people are at the forefront of ensuring the safety of hornbill nests. It is an amazing example of how hunters can turn protectors.

Prof. Wangari Maathai

  • Introduced the idea of planting trees with the people
  • Through the Green Belt Movement she has assisted women in planting more than 20 million trees on their farms and on schools and church compounds.

Case Studies

  • Holy compost in temples at Bengaluru. Leaf decomposters to process flower waste
  • Project Tsang-da aimed at sustainable waste management in rural areas of Leh
  • Norwegian Embassy in Delhi - equipped with eco-friendly technology and techniques — first green embassy in India
  • “We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children”.
  • "We are the first generation to get impacted by climate change, and last who can do something about it" (Barack Obama, Paris COP)

Note: We will keep updating these examples.

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Anecdotes, Facts, Examples for GS and Essay

sbhati

|   2 year(s) ago

This thread is meant to be a repository of interesting anecdotes/news articles/facts/examples/case studies which we can use in our essay and GS papers. In my experience, listing these things down somewhere is not enough to ensure that we are able to use them in the exam. Therefore let us discuss and debate so that we can internalize them.

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sbhati   .  

commented 2 year(s) ago

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sjerngal   .  

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nerdfighter   .  

I really love the opening sentences of Nivedita Menon's book 'Seeing like a Feminist'. You can steal it, with some modification, to begin some essay on Gender, Women, Caste Oppression, etc.

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sbhati said I will start. As per SIPRI, world spent $2 trillion on military in 2020. Jeffery Sachs estimates that we need around $3.5 trillion spread over 20 years to eliminate global poverty. So if we are able to cut down our military expenditures for few years we will have enough money to deal with problems such as poverty and climate change. A lesson for ethics in international relations?

The thing you wrote about writing & posting the stuff is not enough is so so true. We shall try to discuss when we get off time. I had made some good compilation on various book about poverty including Jeffery Sachs ka books. I'll try pen the crux of it down when I get some time. 

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Some fodder for Essays (Social Media & Democracy)

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sbhati said @nerdfighter  I think "stop, think and apply"  should be motto. The best thing would be if we are able to use such things in the next test or the practice answers we write. But I am myself struggling with this. I have read so much interesting stuff during the course of my preparation, but none of it reflects in my answers. 

Exactly. I actually read shit tonnes of books in college, more than I care to admit. But I did not have any recollection mechanism then. 

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Walter Lippman's Book 'Public Opinion'

For Lippman, the world was too complex for an ordinary individual to comprehend. In order to make sense of it, people carried a mental image of the world inside their heads. These pictures were what drove groups or individuals to act in society in the name of Public Opinion.

A strong democracy, therefore, needs institutions and media that help in creating the most accurate interpretations of the world in the minds of the people.

But this isn’t easy. Lippman was worried democracy relied on something so irrational as a public opinion that takes shape in the minds of poorly informed and easily manipulated people. For Lippman, policymakers and experts should use narratives for ‘manufacture of consent’ among people which enables public opinion to be channelled in a manner that’s consistent with what’s good for society. Lippman believed persuasion and the knowledge of how to create consent through ‘propaganda’ will change politics in the age of mass media. Walter Lippmann’s Public Opinion, published in 1922, is one of the most persuasive critique of democracy. Shortly after it was published, John Dewey, the great defender of democracy and the most important American philosopher of the era, called Lippmann’s book “the most effective indictment of democracy as currently conceived.”

(I'll edit this post as I get more time. This isn't very clear. Just copy pasted it from my notes for now)

Further Readings:

https://www.vox.com/2018/8/9/17540448/walter-lippmann-democracy-trump-brexit

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1919/11/the-basic-problem-of-democracy/569095/

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chamomile   .  

This thread has become my favourite already! Sometimes it simply astonishes me that there are so many people around who have such depth of interest and knowledge in issues and topics. 

Keep sharing guys! If not for mains, these snippets in themselves are much more enlightening in general. 

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DM   .  

Narrow Corridor by Acemoglu & Robinson

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sbhati said @nerdfighter  Is the "narrow corridor" meant to be the ideal state of things? (have not seen the video. it is too long :P)

Yes. And I will try to write down the summary soon. 

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iOTA   .  

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Patootie   .  

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Patootie said For philosophical essays, I’ve found this YouTube channel “Academy of Ideas” pretty great. Scored 141 in essay last time, and a large part of one of the essays was influenced by this channel. 

More insights on what makes a good essay?

nerdfighter said » show previous quotes Patootie said For philosophical essays, I’ve found this YouTube channel “Academy of Ideas” pretty great. Scored 141 in essay last time, and a large part of one of the essays was influenced by this channel. 

Hi, I think scores may have been different if someone else valued it; so, some of the following , if not all, might be useless. I scored very poorly in all my essay mocks last time, but got decent feedback on forum. 

My learnings are as follows:

1. Adopting an argumentative method of writing the essay, as opposed to a method where you simply elaborate on the given topic may pay rich dividends. For instance, if I got a topic “There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless”, I would broadly engage with the following ideas: a) Can there be social justice without economic prosperity; b) Is economic prosperity a precondition for social justice; c) Is economic prosperity without social justice meaningless or can economic prosperity be a gateway to greater social justice? Rather than adopting an approach where I would simply elaborate on the given topic by touching upon different topics, I adopted a style where I wasn’t afraid of going against the topic if I had cogent reasons to do so. Then of course, where it was apt, I did add in quotes, but only if I could connect it directly with the point I was making. For example, in the above topic, I remember using “The opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice.” 

2. Presenting ideas and arguments, and having a logical flow to them rather than jumping around different dimensions of the same topic helps. 

3. Staying authentic. I felt presenting ideas that are internalised adds more value than giving a great number of facts or examples or quotes. 

4. A run of the mill essay can be boring. An essay which is a bit off beat can be high risk, but highly rewarding. Striking a conversation with the examiner helps, because majority of aspirants fail to do this. 

5. Pick a topic which you can connect with. Popular advice is to avoid philosophical essays as much as you can. I felt comfortable with them because they are open to interpretation. I wrote on the essay “Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self.” That topic, at least to my interpretation, struck I chord with where I was at that point in my life. So, I felt I could present my ideas well. 

6. Spending way too much time brainstorming can be counterproductive. Having a broad idea of the arguments you would engage with, and a reasonable idea about the specific points that you can quote on the way might be enough. If I spend too much time brainstorming, I overcomplicate. I think writing an essay gives you ideas along the way. Do use them because they might be your best ones. However, be careful not to deviate from the topic. 

7. What gets valued is your thought process, not your knowledge. 

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