The Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) Civil Services Exam (CSE) is less than a month away. The aspirants, as expected, are at the last leg of their preparation.

Since not a lot of time remains, the aspirants cannot dwell deep and wide into the syllabus. Instead, they should focus on things that will help them cross the prelims cut-off marks.

A major chunk of the prelims preparation is about current affairs. A trend is noticeable in recent years that current affairs not just from the last 12 months, but from last two-three years are asked.

The candidates don’t need to lose sleep over the outliers, and instead solidify their preparation of the core content. The current affairs of the last 12 months is, therefore, extremely important at this point.

Many candidates would find it challenging to revise this whole lot in less time. Many may also feel that while they have read the material before, they have forgotten everything. There is no need to panic.

First, start with selecting a source that you would use to revise all the current affairs. Different coaching centres produce monthly current affairs compilations. That can be the source.

Set a target of revising the material from September 2019 to August 2020 (If you finish in time, you can cover the rest). Prepare a time table of how many pages you need to read each day to finish the whole material in a certain number of days.

Next, while reading the material, practice the recall technique. First, read a topic mindfully. Based on your reading of previous year questions, imagine what kind of question could be asked from that topic, and pay more attention to such details.

Often, a topic is described in a lengthy and complicated manner in such compilations. They mostly lift the sentences as it is from the original news source. You need not give energy into building skills for complicated prose-writing. Instead, you need to focus on the crux of the matter.

So, after reading each topic, close your eyes and give one minute to summarise the topic in your head - what it’s about and what details are worth remembering.

Another good way of revision is question-solving. Different compilations of questions are available for current affairs. The candidates can pick one, and solve the questions. It is important to not just solve the questions, but also pay attention to the answers, and any details of the topics you might have missed/forgotten.