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UPSC Mains 2026 · Paper A & B

Don't lose the year to a qualifying paper.

Paper A (Indian Language) and Paper B (English) are qualifying-only at 25%, but failing either disqualifies your entire Mains attempt. This page covers the exam pattern, language choice, section-wise strategy and the 25-hour preparation plan that gets aspirants safely past the 75-mark gate.

2 papers Paper A + Paper B300 marks each qualifying only25% threshold 75 marks each3 hours each handwritten

At a glance

Same structure, different language.

Both papers follow a near-identical four-section structure. The only major variation is that Paper A swaps the English-only translation section for an English-to-language and language-to-English translation block.

Paper A

Indian Language

300 marks · 3 hours · 25% qualifying · 22 eligible languages

  • Comprehension — passage + 5 short questions (~80 marks)
  • Précis — reduce a 600-word passage to ~200 words (~60 marks)
  • Translation — English ↔ chosen Indian language (~60 marks)
  • Short essay — 600-650 words in the chosen language (~100 marks)
Paper B

English

300 marks · 3 hours · 25% qualifying · same for every candidate

  • Comprehension — passage + 5 short questions (~80 marks)
  • Précis — reduce a 600-word passage to ~200 words (~60 marks)
  • Grammar & usage — tense, agreement, prepositions, voice (~60 marks)
  • Short essay — 600-650 words in English (~100 marks)

Strategy

Five moves that clear the 25% threshold.

The goal is qualifying — not perfecting. Spend the minimum time required to safely cross 35–40%, then redirect to GS and Optional revision.

  1. Treat them as graded chores, not exams.Both Paper A and Paper B are pass/fail at 25%. They never contribute to your final rank. The cost of failing them is total — your GS and Optional marks become moot. The cost of perfecting them is wasted time you needed for GS revision. Aim cleanly for 35–40% and stop.
  2. Reading comprehension is the cheapest 30 marks.Both papers carry ~30 RC marks. The passages are simpler than CSAT — more like Class XII textbook prose. Read each passage twice; answer in full sentences that stand alone without the passage. This single discipline gets most aspirants over the 25% line.
  3. Précis: cut to one-third, then cut once more.Almost no aspirant under-précises. The most common mistake is staying at 50% of the original. Drill three passages in the week before Mains and one of them should be 1/3 — no quotation, no first-person, no examples not in the original.
  4. Translation (Paper A only) is a transcription drill.You translate from English into your chosen Indian language and vice versa. UPSC tests register accuracy — newspaper-Hindi, court-Marathi, formal-Bengali — not literary flourish. Practise 5 translations a week for a month before Mains.
  5. Short essay: write the boring one.Both papers ask for a 600–650 word short essay. The temptation to philosophise (especially in Paper B) is the leading cause of unqualified scripts. Write a structured, plain, six-paragraph essay with a clear thesis and a balanced conclusion.

Paper A languages

22 eligible languages from the Eighth Schedule.

Pick a language you write in formally — not just speak. State-board Class XII textbooks in the chosen language are the closest match to UPSC's register.

Assamese
Bengali
Bodo
Dogri
Gujarati
Hindi
Kannada
Kashmiri
Konkani
Maithili
Malayalam
Manipuri
Marathi
Nepali
Odia
Punjabi
Sanskrit
Santhali
Sindhi
Tamil
Telugu
Urdu

Books

A short shelf for a qualifying paper.

Aspirants over-buy here. Three resources finished cover-to-cover beat ten resources sampled.

Paper B — EnglishWren & Martin: High School English Grammar.The grammar/usage section maps directly. Read sparingly; drill the exercises.
Paper B — EnglishA Communicative Grammar of English by Geoffrey Leech.Optional; useful if you struggle with reported speech and conditional sentences.
Paper B — EnglishHindu / Indian Express editorials, daily.The précis passages in UPSC sound exactly like editorials. Read three a week and précis one.
Paper A — HindiLucent Samanya Hindi or Bharati Bhawan Class X Hindi.For Hindi candidates; covers grammar, vyakaran, vakya-rachana.
Paper A — Other languagesA Class XII state-board textbook in your chosen language.For Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, etc. — state-board prose is the closest match to UPSC's register.

Pitfalls

Common ways to lose Paper A or B.

The failure modes are predictable. Every aspirant who has failed these papers cites at least one of the four below — usually two.

Skipping practice "because they're only qualifying".

The single most common reason aspirants fail Paper A or B is having never written a 600-word essay in that language. The first time you do so should not be on exam day.

Translating word-by-word.

UPSC penalises register mismatch more than literal accuracy. A formal English passage rendered in colloquial Hindi loses marks even if every word is "right".

Writing too much in the short essay.

Both papers cap the short essay at ~650 words. Overshooting by 200 words signals weak planning. Stop at the count even mid-paragraph; close the thought in one line.

Choosing a language you never write in.

Paper A must be one of the 22 Scheduled Eighth languages. Aspirants who pick a language they speak but don't write — typically by influence of family — fail more often than those who pick their school-taught medium.

FAQs

Questions aspirants ask about the compulsory papers.

What are the UPSC Mains Compulsory Language Papers?
The Civil Services Mains exam has two compulsory language papers: Paper A in one of the 22 Indian languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, and Paper B in English. Both carry 300 marks each but are qualifying-only — you must score at least 25% (75 marks) in each. Marks do not contribute to your final rank, but failing either disqualifies the entire Mains attempt.
Which Indian languages can I pick for Paper A?
Any of the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. You declare this in the DAF before Mains; the choice cannot be changed during the exam.
What is the qualifying mark for each compulsory paper?
25% — that is 75 marks out of 300 — in each paper. The threshold is the same for all categories; no relaxation applies. Both must clear independently; you cannot make up Paper A marks with surplus Paper B marks.
What sections appear in Paper B (English)?
A reading comprehension passage with questions (~80 marks), a précis (~60 marks), translation and usage / grammar (~60 marks), and a short essay (~100 marks). Total 300 marks, 3 hours. The structure has been broadly stable for the last decade.
What sections appear in Paper A (Indian Language)?
A passage in your chosen language with comprehension questions, précis writing in the same language, translation from English to that language and vice versa, and a short essay in that language. The marks split mirrors Paper B but with translation replacing some of the grammar weight.
How much time should I spend preparing for these papers?
For aspirants comfortable in their chosen Indian language and in standard English: 25–30 hours total spread over the last 4–6 weeks before Mains. For aspirants from non-English-medium schooling targeting Paper B, or those choosing a language they don't write daily: budget 60–80 hours starting 8–10 weeks out.
Are passing marks in the compulsory papers part of the Mains cut-off?
No. The Mains cut-off is calculated on the seven counted papers — Essay, GS 1–4, and Optional Paper I & II. The compulsory language papers are evaluated only after the result of those seven is checked; if you cleared the cut-off but failed the language paper, you are still disqualified.
Is Hindi mandatory for non-Hindi-speaking candidates?
No. You pick any Indian language from the Eighth Schedule for Paper A. A Tamil candidate may pick Tamil; a Bengali candidate may pick Bengali. The only constraint is that the language must be one you can write formally — UPSC does not allow oral exams or dictation-style answers.
What level of English is expected in Paper B?
Class XII CBSE / equivalent state-board level. Writing must be grammatically correct, register-appropriate (formal), and structured. Idioms are not required and often penalised when misused. A clear, plain, six-paragraph essay is the safest format.
How often have aspirants failed Mains because of Paper A or B?
UPSC does not publish a precise number, but Mains-paper-failure rates are estimated at 3–5% per cycle from anecdotal reports across coaching circles. The figure is small but real — and entirely avoidable. Three practice sessions in the language and three timed practice essays per paper are usually enough to clear the 25% gate.

Companion resources

Use these alongside the compulsory-paper prep.

Course portalBrowse Anantam IAS CoursesMains-focused programmes — QIP, mentorship and answer-writing — that bundle qualifying-paper drills.PracticePaper B practice questionsComprehension, précis, short essay and grammar items with model answers.Mains hubMains practice questions440 questions across Essay and GS 1-4 with full model answers.SkillMains answer writingHow to structure a 250-word answer and a 1000-word essay.EssayEssay strategyThree-lens outline for the Essay paper.SyllabusFull UPSC syllabusCross-reference the official Mains structure.CourseMains QIP 2026Daily answer writing, mentor evaluation, complete GS + Essay coverage.

Next step

Write one full précis and one 650-word essay this week.

That single hour of timed practice in your chosen language tells you exactly how much more you need. Most aspirants need three rounds total. Start six weeks before Mains and the calendar works for you.

Browse coursesPractise Paper B