UPSC Civil Services Prelims Strategy.

When the results got declared i was asked by many to write a detailed prelims strategy, but i didnt due to two main reasons. Firstly, I got busy preparing for this year's mains and secondly, there were plenty of strategies available of various toppers.

But now as i am free and the hullabaloo has ended, I think i should write one.

So, lets look from the point of view of syllabus itself.

The syllabus for the Preliminary Exam for Paper-I:

  • History of India and Indian National Movement.
  • Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
  • Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
  • Economic and Social Development - Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
  • General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change
  • General Science
  • Current events of national and international importance.


1.) History of India and Indian National Movement.



This section can be divided into 4 parts namely:-

a) Ancient history

When we started studyin for CSE, we were told that UPSC doesnt ask questions from ancient and medieval history, so nobody used to read these topics. But as our ill fate was, UPSC started asking from this section. But it still isnt a high ROI (return on investment) area, so you should confine yourself to just one book.

Source- Ancient History by RS Sharma/Makhan Lal (attached) OR Tamil Nadu Board 11th Standard Textbook. (attached)


b) Medieval History.

Most neglected part of the syllabus. These days UPSC is asking from it but still i would say that it has very low ROI. In 2016 prelims, 2 questions were asked but they cudnt be solved from the standard textbooks. Therefore just restrict yourself to one book, nahi aega to bhaad mein jaaye.

Source- Same Tamil Nadu 11th Standard Textbook (has both ancient+medeivel history) (attached)


c) Modern History.

Highest ROI both from prelims and mains point of view. Fortunately, there is a single source for it.

Source- Spectrum's Brief History of Modern India.(attached)


d) Art & Culture.

Most dreaded topic. How much u may read, you will always be short on confidence. So the best option is to just think of one source to be enough and stop thinking much about it.

Source- GK TODAY Modules (attached) or Nitin Singhania Book.



2)  Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.



The single most important topic from pre+mains combined.There are two kinds of people-one who like geography and others who hate it. I used to fall into the 2nd category and have gradually moved into the 1st. I would give the whole credit to Rajtanil Mam's Lectures on youtube(for mrunal.org).

Sources:
1) for maps- K.Siddhartha's "Geography through Maps" alongwith Oxford Atlas. Mark the physical features given in k.Siddhartha's book in the atlas by your own hand and revise it again and again. UPSC usually asks 2-3 questions from maps in prelims which aint very tough. So good ROI.

2) Watch rajtanil Mam's lectures for once for understanding and then refer the powerpoint slides of hers for revision. (Link for videos-https://youtu.be/SMPO60DOTKQ) 

3) GK Today Gepgraphy Module (attached) for miscellaneous information or GC Leong or any other book you have started or like.




3) Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.



As we all know-LAXMIKANT LAXMIKANT & LAXMIKANT.

Source- Indian Polity by Laxmikanth (attached)




4) Economic and Social Development - Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.


For the basic economic concepts you should read NCERT's first and then can move on to mrunal.org. If u have trouble learning economic concepts then first watch his lectures and if u are good at economy then skip watching the videos and read the powerpoints directly. You should do his old lectures first( the links of which i have provided below). After that move on to the new ones




For Social Topics only Current Affairs have to be done. No need to study any book.




5) General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change


 
One stop source for this part is Shankar IAS Academy's book. There are many chapters in various NCERT's as well but they ultimately get covered in this book as well.


Source- Shankar IAS's Book.(attached)




6)  General Science.



This topic usually covered the basic science part i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Biology, But lately UPSC has stopped asking questions from basic science and restricted itself to Science & Technology Questions.
But if u still want to study basic science then you should go through NCERT Compilations by Rajesh Nayak.


Source- Basic Science- NCERT Compilations (attached)
Science & Tech- Current Affairs-Vision PT365 module on S&T.



7)  Current events of national and international importance.


Plethora of material and diversity of opinions available. Be your own master in this area when it comes to choice and then have faith in it. It is not practically possible to mug up 3-4 sources plus the material is also repetitive. So its better you read one source for 10 times. Prelims is all about how much you are able to retain exactly and that is possible only through multiple revisions.


Source- Either VISIONIAS Monthly magazine for CA or Insightsonindia's Daily CA or any other material you find good.
Vision PT365 is very handy if u havent prepared CA well all through the year and are running short of time in the end.
My personal take- Read Insightsonindia Daily CA on a regular basis, make online notes if possible and then read Vision PT365 pdf's in the end. The inclination of UPSC towards CA has increased its importance and therefore 2 sources can be followed for prelims (not applicable for mains).




Some other Extra advice:


-Join a Test Series if possible or get Question Papers & answers of Test series (easily available everywhere). Revise them 2-3 times before going into the exam. Topics such as Ancient/medieval history can be best prepared from test series answers which have thorough explanation as well.

- Try to read topics such as Modern history and Geography from mains point of view i.e. not only mugging up facts but their descriptive part as well.

-Whenever you are reading something for the 1st time, use a highlighter for underlining important things (both hardcopy and softcopy). This will save time & energy the next time you read it.

- Always remember, MULTIPLE REVISIONS is the key to success. Just reading a thing for once wont help. I have lost counting of how many times i have read Laxmikant or Spectrum. (I think i would have read them atleast 25-30 times). In this attempt i got so bored of them that i didnt even revise them for once for mains. 4-5 times reading you should do.

- Always devise your own strategy and decide your sources wisely and then remember bhai's dialogue "Ek baar maine commitment kar di uske baad to mai khud ki bhi nahi sunta".

- Always maintain the habit of making and following a timetable. For example when i started my preparation i used to study history on mondays, geog on tuesdays, polity on wednesdays, Economy on thursdays, science/envt on fridays and misc on sat/sundays. And when exams were nearby, I would make a rigorous 15 days timetable which will have unrealistic targets covering each and everything to always keep me on my toes.

-Never feel disheartened or demotivated if u aint able to study for a few days. There are more off days than on days in preparation. Everyone faces them. If u ask the toppers about the number of days they were satisfied with the day's study, you will find out that such days were few.
The statements that this exam requires this much amount of study, more luck, single focus blah blah blah are all very subjective but according to me the one objective statement is that this exam would always force you to make tough decisions. You will face situations where you might have to let go salary, job, girl, frens etc etc. and you will feel many a times that why have I got into this hell. In such times remind yourself of the good times lying ahead and the regret you will have after 10-20 years if you dont give ya 100% right now.

-Eat well, sleep well, be nice to your parents and friends and you shall live your dream one day.


by
Akash Gupta
AIR-128, CSE-2016.







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