Candidates preparing for UPSC Engineering Services Examination (ESE) exam must make themselves familiar with the UPSC ESE Exam pattern 2022. UPSC ESE is considered as one of the most prestigious recruitment exams in the country. The exam pattern will let the candidates know how to begin their preparation keeping in mind the overall structure of the exam. Through the UPSC ESE exam pattern 2022, candidates can know the marking scheme, exam mode, duration and other useful information about the exam.
Highlights
The exam will be organized chiefly in two-phase i.e. preliminary exam and mains exam. Candidates can proceed to the mains exam only if they qualify the preliminary examination. Once they clear the mains exam, they will undergo the personality round/interview. The marks of the interview will also be considered in the final result. To get selected, candidates need to qualify all the stages. Here are some important information on the UPSC ESE exam pattern that every aspirant should know about-
- Exam Mode: Offline (Pen and Paper-based)
- Exam Language: Preliminary exam will include questions in English and Hindi languages, but the mains exam will only have questions in the English language.
- Exam Duration: 3 hours for all the papers (except for paper-I of pre-exam which will be of 2 hours)
- Type of Questions: Preliminary exam will have objective type questions whereas Mains exam will be of conventional type.
- of Papers: There will be two papers in each of the stages i.e. Preliminary and Mains.
- Marking Scheme: Varies accordingly
- Negative Marking: 33 marks (one-third) will be deducted if the candidate marks the wrong answer. They won’t be given any marks for skipping the questions.
The preliminary exam as well as the mains exam will have two papers each. The structure of which is as follows-
| Preliminary Examination | |||
| Papers | Subject | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| Paper-I | General studies and engineering aptitude | 200 | 2 hours |
| Paper-II | Engineering discipline | 300 | 3 hours |
| Total | — | 500 | 5 hours |
| Mains Examination | |||
| Papers | Subject | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| Paper-I | Engineering discipline-I | 300 | 3 hours |
| Paper-II | Engineering discipline-II | 300 | 3 hours |
| Total | — | 600 | 6 hours |
Note: To clear pre-exam, candidates must score at least 15% marks in each paper.
Personality Test/Interview
After qualifying the mains examination, candidates will be contacted to appear in the personality test cum interview process. The interview round will carry 200 marks and the marks scored by the applicant in this round will also be added to the final result. Candidates will undergo the rigorous interview process where they’ll be judged by a panel of experts to ensure if they’re the right fit for the service or not.
This test will basically assess a candidate’s ability to handle complex situations, his/her presence of mind, logical application to solve the common problems, capacity for leadership, initiative and intellectual curiosity, tact and other social qualities, mental and physical energy, powers of practical application and integrity of character etc. The marks secured by a candidate in preliminary exam, mains exam and personality test will determine his/her final ranking.
UPSC ESE Syllabus
Candidates should align their exam preparation with the UPSC ESE exam pattern 2022 and the syllabus prescribed by the authority. The syllabus of the UPSC ESE examination is quite exhaustive but the authority has stated the topics they must be aware of in order to qualify for the different engineering services that come under UPSC. Here is the quick peek into the UPSC ESE syllabus-
General studies and engineering aptitude
Current issues of national and international importance relating to social, economic and industrial development, Engineering Mathematics and Numerical Analysis, Drawing, Importance of Safety, Standards and Quality practices in production, General Principles of Design, Engineering Aptitude covering Logical reasoning and Analytical ability, construction, maintenance and services, Basics of Energy and Environment: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, Climate Change, Environmental impact assessment, Basics of Project Management etc.
Engineering discipline: This paper will be branch-specific and the questions will be asked about the topics/branch the candidate has done his bachelor’s from. These branches are- civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and electronics and communication engineering. Candidates need to study the subjects and topics they’ve been taught during their graduation.