How to Prepare Your Current Affairs Plus Answer Writing to Score Effectively in essay as well as GS Papers?

1: Limit your sources
A fundamental problem with Current affairs is the deluge of reading material. Running after too much material is counter-productive. Choose quality over quantity.
Current Affair sources:

The Hindu (One English Daily)
IE Explained section on the website (for a comprehensive understanding of an issue)
One daily compilation
One monthly compilation
All India Radio— Spotlight/Discussion
Misc (RSTV’s Big Picture, India’s World, and PRS India)
Principle 2: Limit your time
The problem with most aspirants is not that they neglect newspapers, but they overplay its importance. Some read newspapers for almost 3-4 hours a day, leaving them with no time to read other subjects.
Current affairs are important, newspapers are important, but not so much that you invest a disproportionate amount of time in it. Ideally one should finish reading day’s current affairs under 2 hours. 3-4 hours for everyday current affairs is an overkill.
Current affairs preparation consisted of

Newspaper reading (30-45 min, no note-making)— every day
Online reading of the daily.
A revision of last week’s issues, catching up on All India Radio (selectively), and internet research on selective issues
Referring to a monthly compilation (choose institute material )
 Principle 3: Focus on issues, not news.
 Many a time, coaching material covers issues comprehensively. If it doesn’t, use the internet to find quality content and make online notes so that you have a complete understanding of each issue.
Principle 4: Learn to make notes online. Making them online saves a lot of time. capture and highlight the daily news compilations put out by coaching institutes
Reading newspaper gives a good summary of what’s happening, and it becomes that much easier to read the daily compilation later. Since you read it twice, you tend to retain it longer. So recurring issues in newspapers will tell us how weighty an issue is and what we must focus on.
Anecdotes and examples for essays, ethics, and interviews can be sourced only from reading the newspaper.
Consistent reading of an English daily subconsciously improves your vocabulary and writing.
 Besides, download the Evernote Web Clipper extension from the Chrome Webstore. This tool is incredibly useful in clipping online articles, highlight them on the spot and organize neatly into your Evernote.
 Principle 5: Read. Revise. Execute.
The aforementioned methods will ensure that you capture 90-95% of current affairs in a manner relevant to this exam. But current affair is a continuous topic that keeps piling up by the day. The best way to retain the content is through constant revision and by executing them in the answers you write during daily practice or test series. Just mentioning the relevant issue in a sentence or two will add tremendous value to your answers.
Besides, it’s best to revise current affairs immediately after you read the concerned static part of a paper. 

 Best wishes - Team Analytics IAS