UPSC Mains Cheat-Sheet — from topper copies

Ready quotes (one per thinker)

• Gandhi — both means and ends ought to be pure (Q2a) — Mahatma Gandhi
• Q5 set quotations the candidate was asked to explain: Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Immanuel Kant — Immanuel Kant
• Q5 set quotations the candidate was asked to explain: Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Immanuel Kant — Swami Vivekananda
• 'It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it' paraphrased in Q5a conclusion (author not written - commonly attributed to Aristotle; flagged as uncertain) — Aristotle
• Lord Buddha: 'sometimes compassion overpowers righteousness because compassion itself is the righteous path' (Q9 case study) — Gautam Buddha
• 'Yoga Karmasu Kaushalam' — Bhagavad Gita (excellence in work) [Q11] — Bhagavad Gita
• 'According to Ambedkar, social equality is a prelude to democracy.' (closing line of Q5, attributed to Ambedkar) — B.R. Ambedkar
• Plato — invoked for the idea that there is no dual morality and that a moral citizen makes a moral State (Q8; paraphrased in the answer) — Plato

How to use this in the exam hall

Don’t memorise the whole sheet — pick two or three examples and one quote per GS4/essay theme you’re weak on, and rehearse where they land (an intro, a balanced body point, a forward-looking conclusion). One relevant, well-placed example beats five name-dropped ones. Revisit the linked source copy to see the placement, then write a timed answer and self-check against it.