UPSC 2023 GS-I · 10 marks · 150 words

How are the fjords formed? Why do they constitute some of the most picturesque areas of the world?

What “Explain” demands

set out how or why something works, with the mechanism made explicit.

The characteristic failure: stating that it works without showing how.

What a top answer must contain

These are the checkable specifics from the marking standard for this question — the actual case, committee, datum or thinker, not an instruction to “give examples”.

Formation: glacial over-deepening of pre-glacial river valleys, submergence post-glaciation; threshold/sill at mouth, hanging valleys
U-shaped cross-profile, depths exceeding adjacent sea (Sognefjord ~1300 m) — the diagram earns marks here
Locations: Norway, SW New Zealand (Milford), Chile, British Columbia, Greenland
Picturesque logic: steep walls + deep calm water + waterfalls from hanging valleys + glacial horns above

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How are the fjords formed? Why do they constitute some of the most picturesque areas of the world?

What a top answer must contain

Now write it, and find out what you actually scored

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