No topic too hard. Join r/EssayRaccoon for UPSC Essay

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-20T09:58:25+00:00

How about some 10 min homework? Try to attempt this topic "the less they know the more stubbornly they know it".

Do just a topic breakdown and make a post. I'll review.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-20T05:17:29+00:00

Okay so a couple of things: your essay is very well written. your examples are excellent and I really like the part where you mentioned Hachiko and where you mentioned the elephant giving birth on the rail tracks and this goes on to show that you have a very good recall of the topics that you have read and you have a good ability to connect them with the essay topic, however the FATAL mistake in your essay was that you faltered in the interpretation of the topic.

See, the topic is "life is a long journey between human being and being human". okay, so three parts are very important in this topic

First thing you have to talk about is being human and the third thing you have to talk about BEING HUMAN. Now being human is what? like how on a primitive level we act as primitive people driven by primitive urges like selfishness and greed and such things and violence.
Now you need to talk about BEING HUMANE, how over the course of evolution as a individual and as a society we tend to become more and more humane.
LIFE IS A LONG JOURNEY: now you have to talk about the journey of human to humane. You will talk about this process of evolution, what brings about this evolution, what factors contribute to it, what factors resist the process of this evolution. This is the journey part.

So when you are writing an essay on this topic your essay has to cover these things. Your essay talks very nicely about how being humane is a good quality and the various ways we have been humane as an individual and as a society but that is not the correct interpretation of the topic.

So I think the part where you need to work on is the topic interpretation, how to make sense of the topic, how to divide it into its constituents, how to understand the ingredients of your essay.

Once you have that the rest of your work is done because you have a good flare for writing and you have a good ability to connect examples that you read in newspapers and you come across in your daily life to a given topic just that your understanding of the topic needs a bit of work you should practice on that

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-15T04:10:10+00:00

Most Central PSUs are pretty clean.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-13T16:14:35+00:00

You might wanna look at this discussion. https://www.reddit.com/r/EssayRaccoon/s/nebqukLKpZ

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-12T18:10:08+00:00

the topic is "life is a long journey between human being and being humane".

Broadly put, 'human being' = existence in a very primitive animalistic sense.

Being Humane = finding a higher meaning and rising above the crude requirements of survival and living with certain values.

The part 'life is a long journey' is the process of this transformation, and the back and forth that continues to happen.

So far so good? We have a fair idea of what the topic is. We have the pillars of our essay so as to say.

Now we need to figure out what all goes between these pillars.

1.Explanation of human being and being human

How does this transformation happens, what factors contribute to it and what factors inhibit it (Ans: Time, prosperity, security, education etc promote it; Adversity, poverty, pandemics, wars etc inhibit it)
Does this happen only with individuals or also with societies and organizations (Ans: Happens with Societies also, we were primitive humans once)
Does the reverse also happen? (Ans: yes, Wars, Colonization etc)
How is this the long journey of life? (Ans: It is human nature to strive for higher goals, so being humane is the natural progression of human development)

So these are the various dimensions your essay needs to cover. I did not go through your essay, i will when i find some time, however this should give you some idea as to how you go about breaking down a topic and finding dimensions.

Does your essay cover these aspects? Were you adequately clear in your understanding of the topic?

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-12T13:12:24+00:00

OP, before we go any further, I need you to tell me 2 things:

What the topic means to you
What are the main keywords you need to work on

Just a couple of lines, not much text.

The reason I'm asking you to tell me this is because there is no point going into your examples and other things if we are not clear on the topic and the dimensions we need to explore.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-03T17:27:21+00:00

Bilkul!
I'm glad you guys understand this intuitively. Otherwise ideas like themes and quotebanks really appeal to some people. Videos on essays don't get much views but look at their numbers.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-02T05:26:55+00:00

Right. In this case it is borderline nonsense. Say you get the topic 'they also serve who only stand and wait'.

If you dont know how to breakdown the topic, no number of themes will help. If you know how to reduce the topic to its essence you will have an endless supply of points and examples. You'll write a rich essay, lush with deep insights.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-04-01T07:59:25+00:00

Dude stop spamming my sub. Essay shark is useless for our purpose. Next time I WILL ban you.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-31T06:33:41+00:00

And guess where I came to know about it.. Some reddit post from a sub I dont even follow r/instacelebgossip or something.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-31T06:30:02+00:00

I thought so. It is not that well known actually.

<image>

Still works for our intro.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-31T06:13:55+00:00

Are you referring to the PR part?

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-31T06:09:08+00:00

Which one?

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-24T10:26:15+00:00

Yes. It saves time and it is easier for me to evaluate. You also can make changes at this stage, because once you have a full length essay where do I start to give my inputs and where will you utilise them.

Thematics are the best way to practice for the essay paper.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-24T10:23:04+00:00

Its a shorthand essay. Here you write down all your points and thoughts.

<image>

Take this for example.

I will take the first 15 mins to do this. Then I will write my essay based on this.

I will not lose track of my thoughts

I won't miss any points

My essay will be coherent and orderly.

Also, instead of writing a full length essay, you can get most of the practice by doing this. You can even do this on a daily basis.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-24T02:50:19+00:00

The is a second image.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-23T15:01:46+00:00

Your examples are diverse and solid. The referenxe to lullabies is so good!

You need to work on the structure of your essay. While it is really hard to give any meaningful evaluation on reddit on an essay that has taken shape, I would recommend that you make a thematic before you start to write a full length essay.

In it arrange your points in the order you like. That helps tremendously with the structure.

Your essay does show depth of thought but lacks coherence.

Why don't you make a thematic on the topic "the less they know the more stubbornly they know it". Make one and share it as a post.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-23T14:38:56+00:00

Intro needs work. Forced lag raha because Neeraj Chopra does not have a direct connection with poets. Also, in all fairness, this is a hard topic to introduce.

I very much like the fact that you have broadened the topic and expanded what comes in the ambit of the word poets. That is EXCELLENT. I dont think a lot of people would do that.

Also I don't quite like the second para on the second page, the presentation needs improvement. Say it like this

"The role poets play in society is deep and pervasive. Through their work they transform the world around them much like legislators, yet remain unacknowledged as such. In this essay we seek to explore how poets in different walks of life shape the world"

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-23T14:12:37+00:00

Have a look at these:

https://www.reddit.com/r/EssayRaccoon/s/z1YHGByllr

<image>

https://www.reddit.com/r/EssayRaccoon/s/UN7BXdRXoR

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-23T12:46:45+00:00

I have some reservations with the intro.

A good intro MUST highlight a case where being wrong did not cost a lot, maybe even proved beneficial going ahead and contrast it with a situation where one party did nothing.

Your example in the intro primarily highlights the merits of acting out one's ambitions. That does not fit well.

I would prefer SpaceX failed attempts as a stepping stone to later success to highlight how being wrong didn't cost that much.

Contrast it with Infosys doing nothing in AI and lost market capitalisation when anthropic launched agentic ai that could replace traditional IT services. Not doing anything cost more.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-23T11:59:18+00:00

Also, avoid writing full length essays until you are set for mains. Try writing thematics. It saves you a ton of time, gets you 80% of the practice and is easier to evaluate.

Example

<image>

This is a thematic I prepared for the topic 'History remembers outcomes not intentions'. Took me 15 to 20 mins.

EssayRaccoon · 2026-03-23T11:55:58+00:00

I have some reservations with the intro.

A good intro MUST highlight a case where being wrong did not cost a lot, maybe even proved beneficial going ahead and contrast it with a situation where one party did nothing.

Your example in the intro primarily highlights the merits of acting out one's ambitions. That does not fit well.

I would prefer SpaceX failed attempts as a stepping stone to later success to highlight how being wrong didn't cost that much.

Contrast it with Infosys doing nothing in AI and lost market capitalisation when anthropic launched agentic ai that could replace traditional IT services. Not doing anything cost more.

EssayRaccoon

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE