CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 10

ESSAY - 2006
Write an essay on any one of the following topics
1. Women’s Reservation Bill Would Usher in Empowerment for Women in India.
2. Protection of Ecology and Environment is Essential for Sustained Economic Development.
3. Importance of Indo-U.S. Nuclear Agreement.
4. “Education For All” Campaign in India: Myth or Reality.
5. Globalization Would Finish Small-Scale Industries in India.
6. Increasing Computerization Would lead to the Creation of Dehumanized Society.
C.S.E-Mains 2007
ENGLISH
1. Write an essay in about 300 words on any one of the following:
(100)
(a) Heritage Tourism is Good for Us
(b) Importance of a Work-Ethic
(c) Should Mercy-Killing be Legalized for Terminally ill Patients?
(d) The Culture of Modesty
(e) “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty”.
2. Read the passage carefully and write your answers to the following questions in clear, correct and
concise language:
(5 x 15 = 75)
An educated man should know what is first-rate in those activities which spring from the
creative and intellectual faculties of human nature, such as literature, art, architecture and music. I
should like to add science and philosophy, but in these two subjects it is difficult for any but the
expert to estimate quality, and many educated people have not the close knowledge necessary to
judge their real worth. On the other hand everyone has close and daily contact with the other four.
Architecture surrounds him in every city, literature meets him on every book-stall, music assails his
ears on his radio set and from every juke-box; and art in its protean aspects of form and colour is a
part of daily life. The architecture may often be bad, the literature and music often puerile, the art
often undeserving of the name; but that is all the more reason why we should be able, in all of them,
to distinguish good from bad.
To judge by the literature offered us in hotel book-stands, and by most of the music played on
the radio and by jukeboxes we might be more discriminating in these fields than we are if it be said
that music and art and literature are not essentials of life but. its frills, I would reply that if so, it is
curious that they are among the few immortal things in the world, and that should a man wish to be
remembered two thousand years hence, the only certain way is to write a great poem or book,
compose a great symphony, paint a great picture, carve a great sculpture, or build a great building.

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 9

ESSAY - 2005
Write an essay on any one of the following topics:
1. Justice must reach the poor
2. The hand that rocks the cradle
3. If women ruled the world
4. What is real education?
5. Terrorism and world peace
6. Food security for sustainable national development
C.S.E-Mains 2006
ENGLISH
1. Write an essay in not less than 300 words on any one of the following:
(100)
(a) Social Impact of Black Money
(b) Women Combat Forces
(c) Internet as Virtual Library
(d) Fashion Boom in India
(e) Are we Aggressive and Rude People?
2. Read the passage carefully and write your answers to the following questions in clear, correct and
concise language
(5 x 15 = 75)
There is no reason to believe that there are fundamental differences between the East and the
West. Human beings are everywhere human and hold the same deepest values. The differences
which are, no doubt, significant, are related to external, temporary social conditions and are alterable
with them. East and West are relative terms. They are geographical expressions and not cultural
types. The differences among countries like China, Japan and India are quite as significant as those
among European or American countries. Specific cultural patterns with distinctive beliefs and habits
developed in different regions in relative isolation from one another. There were periods when China
and India were pre-eminent in cultural affairs, others when Western nations became dominant. For
the last four centuries Western nations aided by scientific development have dominated the East.
The world has now reached a state of inter-communication. All societies are fast becoming
industrialized and new sets of values are springing up. We are called upon to participate in the
painful birth of a new civilization. If we are to live together in peace we must develop international
cooperation and understanding.

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 8

ESSAY - 2004
Write an essay on any one topic of the following:
1. India’s Role in Promote ASEAN Co-operation.
2. Judicial Activism and Indian Democracy.
3. Whither Women’s Emancipation?
4. Globalization and Its Impact on Indian Culture.
5. The Lure of Space.
6. Water Resources Should Be Under the Control of the Central Government.
C.S.E-Mains 2005
ENGLISH
1. Write an essay in about 300 words on any one of the following:
(100)
(a) Environment and Conservation
(b) Role of Women in Social Transformation
(c) Nuclear Energy in War and Peace
(d) India’s Foreign Policy and World Power
(e) Television and its Impact on Youth
2. Read the following passage and answer in your own words the questions that follow:
(5 x 15 = 75)
It is wrong to believe that science has totally eclipsed literature with its inspiring zeal. That
literature plays a subordinate role to science is equally untrue. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that
science has comparatively a wider range for its impact on the physical world than literature. But that
does not mean that literature has been incorporated in the realm of science to the extent that it loses
its distinct individuality. The reality is that both co-exist without the one overshadowing the other,
Those who think that science has pushed literature into shade reducing it to a non-entity seem to be

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 7

ESSAY - 2003
Write an essay on any one of the following
1. The Masks of New Imperialism.
2. How far has democracy in India delivered the goods?
3. How should a civil servant conduct himself?
4. As civilization advances culture declines.
5. There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.
6. Spirituality and Scientific temper
C.S.E-Mains 2004
ENGLISH
1. Write an essay in about 300 words on any one of the following:
(100)
(a) Indian Budget is a Gamble on the Monsoons
(b) Necessity of Water-Harvesting in India
(c) Social Harmony vs. Communal Frenzy
(d) Criminalization of Politics
(e) ‘All That Glitters Is Not Gold’
2. Read the following passage and answer, in your own words, the questions that follow at the end
(5 x 15 = 75)
The flowering of Indian civilization constitutes one of the most glorious chapters in the
history of mankind. A culture, remarkable for its moral no less than for its material creativity, which
has endured for three millennia and more, is necessarily a subject of great fascination. Yet over and
above its longevity, Indian civilization is also characterized by some other features which deserve to
be highlighted in any review of its past. The ability of this civilization to absorb alien cultures
without losing its distinctive identity has intrigued scholars over the centuries; and this capacity for
creative absorption is as much in evidence today, when India is undergoing a seminal transformation
into a modern industrial community, as it was in the centuries past, when alien communities with
novel ways of life migrated into the subcontinent, to be drawn into the living matrix of Indian
society;

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 6

ESSAY - 2002
Write an essay on any ONE of the following subjects
(1) Modern Technological Education and human values.
(2) Search for Truth can only be a spiritual problem.
(3) If youth knew, if age could.
(4) The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
(5) Privatization of Higher Education in India.
(6) Responsibility of media in a democracy.
C.S.E-Mains 2003
ENGLISH

1. Write an essay in about 300 words on any one of the following:
(100)
(a) The Need for Alternative Sources of Energy
(b) The Role of Judiciary in India
(c) Freedom of Expression
(d) My Idea of an Administrator
(e) Pleasures of Reading
2. Read the following passage and answer in your own words the questions that follow:
(5 × 15 = 75)
This rule of trying always to do things as well as one can do them has an important bearing
upon the problem of ambition. No man or woman should be without ambition, which is the
inspiration of activity. But if one allows ambition to drive one to attempt things which are beyond
one’s own personal capacity, then unhappiness will result: If one imagines that one can do
everything better than other people, then envy and jealousy, those twin monsters, will come to
sadden one’s days. But if one concentrates one’s attention upon developing one’s own special
capacities, the things one is best at, then one does not worry over much if other people Ere more
successful.

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 6

ESSAY - 2001
Write an essay on any ONE of the following subjects
(1) What have we gained from our democratic set-up?
(2) My vision of an ideal world order.
(3) The march of science and the erosion of human values.
(4) Irrelevance of the classroom.
(5) The pursuit of excellence.
(6) Empowerment alone cannot help our women.
C.S.E-Mains 2002
ENGLISH
1. Write an essay in about 300 words in any one of the following:
(100)
(a) The ways to enrich our regional languages.
(b) Whither Indian democracy today?
(c) Terrorism in India.
(d) Science and Religion.
(e) If I were the Prime Minister of India.
2. Read the following passage and answer in your own words the questions that follow:
(5 x 15 = 75)
The scientific and technological revolution has brought about fundamental changes in the
socio - economic sphere. The use of diesel engine and electricity and the beginning of the application
of atomic energy have changed the modes of production. These things have led to the concentration
of capital in a few hands. Great enterprises are replacing cottage industries and small firms. The
working classes have certainly benefited economically. The miracle of production has necessitated
the miracle of consumption. Better amenities are available at a lower cost. A man can buy anything
he wants today, if he can only afford. But what kinds of men are needed today for our society? Men
who can cooperate in large groups, men whose tasks are standardized, men who feel free and

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 5

C.S.E-Mains 2001
ENGLISH 
1. Write an essay in about 300 words on any one of the following:
(100)
(a) Knowledge is power
(b) Consequences of globalization
(c) Value of yoga
(d) Science and human happiness
(e) Tourism in India
2. Read the following passage and answer in your own words the questions that follow:
(5 x 15 = 75)
The world we live in presents an endless variety of fascinating problems which excite our
wonder and curiosity. The scientific worker attempts to formulate these problems in accurate terms
and to solve them in the light of all the relevant facts that can be collected by observation and
experiment. Such questions as ‘What, ‘How’, ‘Where’ and ‘When’ challenge him to find the clues
that may suggest possible replies. Confronted by the many problems presented by, let us say, an
active volcano, we may ask ‘What are the lavas made of? How does the volcano work and how Is the
heat generated? Where do the lavas and gases come from? When did the volcano first begin to erupt
and when is it likely to erupt again?

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 4

English - 2000 (Main) (Compulsory)

Time Allowed : Three Hours Maximum Marks : 300
INSTRUCTIONS
Candidates should attempt all questions.
The number of marks carried by each question is indicated at the end of the question.
Answers must be written in English.
Q. 1. Write an essay in about 300 words on any one of the following : 100
(a) Man is saved not by faith but by work
(b) Indian Culture
(c) Contribution of Science to human progress
(d) Political reform you want in India
(e) Laughter is the best medicine
Q. 2. Read the following passage and answer, in your own words, the questions that follow : 5 x 15 = 75
Two important stages came not so long before the dawn of written history. The first was the domestication of animals; the second was agriculture. Agriculture, which began in the river valleys of Egypt and Mesopotamia, was a step in human progress to which subsequently there was nothing comparable until our own machine age. Agriculture made possible an immense increase in the numbers of the human species in the regions where it could be successfully practised but at first these regions were few. These were in fact, only those in which nature fertilised the soil after each harvest. Agriculture met with violent resistance, analogous to that which our Ruskins and Samuel Butlers offered to machines. Pastoral nomads considered themselves vastly superior to the tame folk who stayed in one place and were enslaved to the soil. But although the nomads repeatedly won military victories, the physical comforts which the upper classes derived from agricultural serfs always prevailed in the end, and the area of agriculture gradually increased. Even now this process is not at an end, but what remains for it to achieve is no longer very important.

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 3

English - 1999 (Main) (Compulsory)

Time Allowed : Three Hours Maximum Marks : 300
INSTRUCTIONS
Candidates should attempt all questions.
The number of marks carried by each question is indicated at the end of the question.
Answers must be written in English.
Q. 1. Write an essay in about 300 words on any one of the following : 100
(a) Power of the press
(b) An ideal college
(c) The technological miracles of the twentieth century
(d) An encounter with an astrologer
(e) "Cowards die many times before their death".
Q. 2. Read the following passage and answer in your own language the questions that follow : 75
Forecasting the weather, or trying to find out what it will be like in several day's time, has always been a difficult business. Many different things affect the weather and each one has to be carefully studied before we can make even a fairly accurate forecast. The ancient Egyptians, of course, had no need of this- the weather in the Nile valley hardly ever changes -but people living farther north had to protect themselves and their crops. During a period of drought, when no rain fell for weeks on end, streams and rivers dried up, cattle died from thirst and crops were ruined. A storm could wreck ships and houses, and heavy falls of rain caused rivers to flood a whole countryside. Action in the sky stirred man into action, and in this respect farmers became just as much men of action as were sailors on the high seas. Both had to reckon with the weather - it often upset their plans, sometimes with disastrous results.

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 2

English - 1998 (Main) (Compulsory)

Time Allowed : Three Hours Maximum Marks : 300
INSTRUCTIONS
Candidates should attempt all questions.
The number of marks carried by each question is indicated at the end of the question.
Answers must be written in English.
Q. 1. Write an essay in about 300 words on- any one of the following : 100
(a) The Limits of Science
(b) Our Intellectuals
(c) Have We Lost the Direction ?
(d) Computers in Everyday Life
(e) Below the Poverty Line
Q. 2. Read this passage carefully and answer the questions set at the end 75
We think of the moon as only a stone, a stone gone cold. An airless, waterless stone and the prophetic image of our own earth when, some few million years from now, the senescent sun shall have lost its present fostering power . .... And so on. This passage could easily be prolonged - a Study in Purple. But I forbear. Let every reader lay on as much of the royal rhetorical colour as he finds to his taste. Anyhow, purple or no purple, there the stone is - stony. You cannot think about it for long without finding yourself invaded by one or other of several sentiments. These sentiments belong to one or other of two contrasted and complementary groups. The name of the first family is Sentiments of Human Insignificance, of the second, Sentiments of Human Greatness. Meditating on that derelict stone afloat there in the abyss, you may feel a worm,. abject and futile in the face of wholly incomprehensible immensities. 'The silence of those infinite spaces frightens. me.' You may feel as Pascal felt. Or, alternatively, you may feel as M. Paul Valery has said: `The silence of those infinite spaces does not frighten me.'

CIVIL SERVICES EXAMS FOR ENGLISH ESSAY - 1

English - 1997 (Main) (Compulsory)

Time Allowed : Three Hours Maximum Marks : 300
INSTRUCTIONS
Candidates should attempt all questions.
The number of marks carried by each question is indicated at the end of the question.
Answers must be written in English.
Q. 1. Write an essay of about 300 words on any one of the following : 100
(a) Tolerance is the key to national unity
(b) Your idea of a happy life
(c) Advertisements : need for control
(d) Is vegetarianism a virtue ?
(e) Failures are the pillars of success
Q. 2. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow in your own words as far as possible. 75
It is true that the smokers cause some nuisance to the non-smokers, but this nuisance is physical while the nuisance that the non-smokers cause the smokers is spiritual. There are, of course, a lot of non-smokers who don't try to interfere with the smokers. It is sometimes assumed that the non-smokers are morally superior, not realizing that they have missed one of the greatest pleasures of mankind. I am willing to allow that smoking is a moral weakness, but on the other hand we must beware of a man without weakness. He is not to be trusted. He is apt to be always sober and he cannot make a single mistake. His habits are too regular, his existence too mechanical and his head always maintains its supremacy over his heart. Much as I like reasonable persons, I hate completely rational beings. For that reason, I am always scared and ill at ease when I enter a house in which there are no ash-trays.

CIVIL SERVICES ENGLISH ESSAY

ESSAY - 1977
Q. Write essays on any two of the following topics:
1. “More than the means of production science transforms the producer himself”.
2. Indian science should be rooted to the Indian soil.
3. Is ecology relevant to India?
4. Education as an avenue of social mobility.
5. Modernization as a contemporary myth.
6. Is consumer protection possible in India?
7. The concept of a welfare state.
8. Role and responsibilities of the judiciary in a Parliamentary democracy.
9. Democracy and the leadership principle.
10. India’s composite culture.
 
GENERAL ENGLISH - 1977
1. Make a précis of the following passage in about 340 words. The précis should be in your own words.
It should be written on the special sheets provided, which should be fastened securely inside the
answer-book.