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Most of this paper came from familiar ground. Below is every question from the Essay paper and General Studies Papers I to IV, word for word, and next to each one the past UPSC questions it echoes.
The UPSC Civil Services Mains 2026 examination set 87 questions across 5 papers — the Essay paper and General Studies Papers I to IV. Every question below is reproduced word for word from the actual paper, alongside the past UPSC questions it echoes.
8 questions · 1000 marks offered (write two, for 250)
On average about 70% of each answer was within reach of a prepared candidate.
20 questions · 250 marks
On average about 74% of each answer was within reach of a prepared candidate.
20 questions · 250 marks
On average about 77% of each answer was within reach of a prepared candidate.
20 questions · 250 marks
On average about 72% of each answer was within reach of a prepared candidate.
19 questions · 250 marks
On average about 74% of each answer was within reach of a prepared candidate.
We are not saying that every question could be completely answered from old UPSC papers or from DAW and the Sherlocking Simulators. That is not possible, and we will not pretend it is. What we are showing is this: most of this paper came from familiar ground. A student who had gone through past-year questions, read the basic books, and practised answer writing had already met most of what this paper asks, only in different words. This is why we keep repeating the same four things:
The Language papers (Paper-A and Paper-B) and the two Optional Subject papers are written after the General Studies papers. We publish those questions here as soon as they are available.
Every past question linked from these pages lives in our UPSC Mains previous year questions archive, organised by paper and syllabus topic. If you are writing Mains next year, the Mains test series and daily answer writing are where this kind of preparation is built.