IES Preparation Tips & Guide 2026

Exam On - 8 Feb '26

Updated on Sep 20, 2025 22:36 IST

By Shikha Goyal, Assistant Manager

Being one of the toughest examination conducted by UPSC, IES examination need a very through preparation plan. Having a vast syllabus structure makes it even more difficult to cover each and every topic. We at Shiksha will help you with the exam preparation by guiding you through well planned preparation strategy.

Table of contents

IES Preparation Tips 2025

IES Preparation Tips 2025

Read the tips below to get an idea on how to make a well planned preparation strategy to crack IES examination.

The first and most important tip while preparing for IES examination is time management. A candidate has to manage time spent for stronger and weaker parts of the IES exam syllabus. You can develop a timetable for this purpose to help devote equal time or as desired.
NCERT books should be your first choice when referring the study material. Most of the questions in IES examination will be picked from NCERT books.
Your preparation for IES exam should begin a year before the exam applications are released. Time left after the release of applications to the actual date of exam should be devoted to revision and PYPs.
Carefully study the exam pattern to have an idea about the marking scheme and types of questions covered in the question paper.
Solving Mocks and PYPs will also help to understand the exam pattern. This will also help the candidates in practicing to solve the complete question paper in the given time. It is recommended to refer last 5-10 years question papers for deeper study.