The provided text, "run out of," constitutes an incomplete question. It lacks a subject, object, or any directive indicating the desired response. In the context of the UPSC Civil Services Examination, questions are expected to be complete and unambiguous, allowing candidates to demonstrate their understanding of relevant concepts and analytical skills. Without a clear prompt, it is impossible to formulate a meaningful answer. This response will therefore identify the question as malformed and explain the reasons for its inadequacy. The phrase "run out of" is a phrasal verb indicating depletion or exhaustion of a resource. However, without specifying *what* is running out, the question is fundamentally incomplete. A valid UPSC question would require a specific resource (e.g., "Discuss the factors that can lead a country to run out of foreign exchange reserves") or a context (e.g., "Analyze the consequences of a nation running out of critical minerals"). Why the Question is Malformed Lack of Subject: The question doesn't specify what is "running out of" something. Is it a country, a company, an individual, or a system? Absence of Directive Verb: UPSC questions typically begin with directive verbs like "Discuss," "Analyze," "Evaluate," "Explain," or "Comment." This question lacks such a directive. No Context: The question provides no context related to any specific field of study (e.g., economics, politics, science). To illustrate, consider how a complete question might look: Malformed Question Valid UPSC Question run out of Discuss the factors that can lead a country to run out of foreign exchange reserves. (15 marks) run out of Analyze the consequences of a nation running out of critical minerals for its manufacturing sector. (10 marks) Without a complete question, any attempt to answer would be speculative and irrelevant to the demands of the UPSC examination. The core principle of answering UPSC questions is to directly address the prompt with relevant knowledge and analytical skills. This is impossible with the given incomplete phrase. In conclusion, the question "run out of" is demonstrably malformed due to its incompleteness and lack of context. A valid UPSC question requires a clear subject, a directive verb, and a specific context to allow for a focused and meaningful response. Attempting to answer such an incomplete prompt would be unproductive and would not demonstrate the candidate's understanding of the subject matter.

What makes a question valid for the UPSC Mains exam?

A valid UPSC question must be complete, unambiguous, and include a clear directive verb indicating the type of response expected (e.g., discuss, analyze, evaluate). It should also be relevant to the syllabus.

Question 66 | UPSC Mains ENGLISH 2022

Model Answer

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Introduction

The provided text, "run out of," constitutes an incomplete question. It lacks a subject, object, or any directive indicating the desired response. In the context of the UPSC Civil Services Examination, questions are expected to be complete and unambiguous, allowing candidates to demonstrate their understanding of relevant concepts and analytical skills. Without a clear prompt, it is impossible to formulate a meaningful answer. This response will therefore identify the question as malformed and explain the reasons for its inadequacy.

The phrase "run out of" is a phrasal verb indicating depletion or exhaustion of a resource. However, without specifying *what* is running out, the question is fundamentally incomplete. A valid UPSC question would require a specific resource (e.g., "Discuss the factors that can lead a country to run out of foreign exchange reserves") or a context (e.g., "Analyze the consequences of a nation running out of critical minerals").

Why the Question is Malformed

Lack of Subject: The question doesn't specify what is "running out of" something. Is it a country, a company, an individual, or a system?
Absence of Directive Verb: UPSC questions typically begin with directive verbs like "Discuss," "Analyze," "Evaluate," "Explain," or "Comment." This question lacks such a directive.
No Context: The question provides no context related to any specific field of study (e.g., economics, politics, science).

To illustrate, consider how a complete question might look:

Malformed Question	Valid UPSC Question
run out of	Discuss the factors that can lead a country to run out of foreign exchange reserves. (15 marks)
run out of	Analyze the consequences of a nation running out of critical minerals for its manufacturing sector. (10 marks)

Without a complete question, any attempt to answer would be speculative and irrelevant to the demands of the UPSC examination. The core principle of answering UPSC questions is to directly address the prompt with relevant knowledge and analytical skills. This is impossible with the given incomplete phrase.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the question "run out of" is demonstrably malformed due to its incompleteness and lack of context. A valid UPSC question requires a clear subject, a directive verb, and a specific context to allow for a focused and meaningful response. Attempting to answer such an incomplete prompt would be unproductive and would not demonstrate the candidate's understanding of the subject matter.

Answer Length

This is a comprehensive model answer for learning purposes and may exceed the word limit. In the exam, always adhere to the prescribed word count.

run out of

Model Answer

Introduction

Why the Question is Malformed

Conclusion

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