Transcription
Good afternoon, all of you. So, it is a great honor and a privilege for me to introduce this year's all-India first-ranking candidate to you. Though you don't, she doesn't need any introduction. You all know, you must have seen her face in the newspaper and in the media. So, welcome to our program, Shruti.
[Applause]
All the best. Okay, so she was a student of the General Studies course two years ago, and we have requested her to share her experience of preparing for this exam with you and give you certain tips to prepare well for your attempts. I have specially requested her to tell you how to link the class notes that you get here with your self-study, as she had done it. So, anyway, I don't want to hold you back for long. So, Shruti, the stage is now set for you. Please.
Hello, uh, good afternoon, everyone. Um, so I've been asked to talk to you. If you have any questions at the end of it, and if you have any doubts, you can ask me. I'll just be sharing, I think, what may have worked out for me. Hopefully, it works out for all of you. And most of you, um, so I'll just be dealing with certain questions that, um, people might have regarding the examination and as to how I dealt with them.
So, firstly, is with respect to what motivated me to take up civil services as my career. And I think this is very important because, as all of you know, this is not, uh, an easy journey. It's not something that you prepare for in one week or a few months. Uh, it requires a certain amount of commitment, um, at least, I think, two years at the minimum because I think at least one year before you start giving the examination or appear for your prelims, and at least one year, uh, during which the examination itself takes place. So, you need to understand why you're sitting for this examination. So, for me, I personally wanted to do something. I always felt, I think, it would be personally fulfilling for me, uh, to do something in which I could, uh, do something for people around me, help them in some way, work on the ground, and this gave me a sort of fulfillment. And I felt that, um, the civil services provides me a platform where I can best do that to my ability. So, it's important for you to understand why you want to do it. If it's only because of parental pressure, if it's only because of the status, if it's only because you think it'll give you a certain amount of respect in life, I think, um, that sort of motivation won't keep you going for as long as two years. And so, you need to understand that and go forward thinking that.
Secondly, um, which is the most important, once you've decided, uh, that you're gonna take this examination, is the strategy. And, uh, there are three levels: prelims, mains, and interview. Uh, so, there's first and foremost, it's important to understand that there's no clear-cut division in terms of prelims. It's an integrated, uh, sort of, um, preparation, but there is a difference in strategy at each level. So, for prelims and mains, the books that you'll be relying on will be the same. So, I'll just, I think, uh, depending on the subject, I'll just, uh, tell you the books which I used. They were basic books, nothing out of the blue that I, you know, scored out of from some different shop that you guys don't have access to. It was the basic book. So, for example, um, polity, you take up, it was Laxmikanth. And apart from Laxmikanth, these are books you have to read for both mains and prelims. Right now, mainly telling you for prelims. So, mains, I also added certain more things for my own, which I'll tell you later. So, um, Laxmikanth was there for prelims. Last year, I also, uh, went through the bare act. Just the bare act. I just revised it two times before my. It won't take too much time. So, it looks like a very fat thing, but, uh, however many articles are there in the Constitution, you just read that. You have already gone through that in Laxmikanth. So, it's not as if you just replace Laxmikanth, but once if you have had multiple revisions of Laxmikanth, you can go through the bare act in terms of cracking certain prelims questions. Sometimes the question is, the Constitution mentions this, so you know that you've read it in Laxmikanth, but you don't know if it's mentioned in the Constitution. So, if you just go through that, I think it personally worked for me. If you don't have time for that, it's completely fine. I'm just telling you what I did. So, first was that polity.
Then economics. So, economics, I used, um, I was in the, uh, residential coaching academy at Jamia. So, there was, I didn't go for all the classes there, but there was a sir, who sadly passed away during the pandemic, Zulfikar sir. So, his notes, I mainly relied on, um, and so they were available. I used that. Some people who were preparing alongside me also looked at certain other notes which are available in the market. If you're coming for coaching classes, uh, I think, um, sir, teachers economics here, you can just rely on your coaching classes' notes. So, I think, uh, the most important thing is relying on one source. So, whatever coaching you're going for, whatever classes you're going for, just stick to those notes. Apart from that, you can refer any book. I personally didn't use it. 11th class NCERTs. People who have absolutely no background and who want to go through the basics of micro, macro, and Indian economic development can go through the 11th, 12th NCERTs as well. Economics. History. I personally had a history optional background, so I didn't go through many other books. But Spectrum is one thing all of you can go through for modern history. For ancient and medieval, um, there are two ways of going about it. So, one is the chronology-based idea. So, the old NCERTs, which is R.S. Sharma and, um, Satish Chandra, are usually used for getting a basic hang of what the chronology was. Uh, for the prelims, I also went through the Themes books. But because I was already a humanities student, it took me a little less time. I just skimmed through them and jotted down points which I thought were important with regard to the prelims. So, that is more useful for a thematic sort of study after, you know, the chronology of what happened in ancient, medieval, and modern. So, that is how I went about with history.
Geography. Just sticking to the basic NCERTs, 11th and 12th, mainly. You can also go back to 9th, 10th if you feel, uh, you're not able to get a hang of the 11th ones. So, that is there. What other subjects are there? Can any of you? Environment. Uh, towards the end, closer to my prelims, I also used to do a sort of analysis of previous year papers. So, based on that, I made a Google map of major national parks and sanctuaries in terms of understanding their location and not just like remembering them. So, I just used to pin them and look, look there. I, I made a list of the endangered animals, the, the 22 species recovery program, just getting a hang of, uh, the environment that those specific animals live in. So, certain things apart from the book, you have to do on your own. So, those things I used to sort of make a list about that. Basic. So, that sort of analysis of previous year papers, you can do. Any other subject? Yeah. Art and Culture. I used ninth class Fine Arts. I think it's a good book with regard to a basic understanding of architecture, temples, which helps you in mains also. Last year, there were questions which, if you had gone through the Fine Arts, book of 11th class, you could have answered sufficiently well. And for Science and Tech, I didn't use any specific material. Um, you can go through the NCERTs. I think previous year's, uh, prelims paper, if you had gone through the NCERT, that was a lot of like biology-based questions. If you, if you're just gone through previous year papers, um, and looked at NCERTs, you would have been fine. I personally didn't go through that, but I think it's a good idea. And, uh, and Science and Tech, I used the basic material that is available towards the end in terms of the, whatever coaching, uh, books or compilations at the end which are available for prelims. I used that.
So, these were the basic books. Apart from that, for current affairs, you can use whatever coaching material. I used to use the compilations. I personally didn't go through monthly books because I didn't have that much time. But I have seen lots of people use the monthly books and leave the compilation. So, they used to regularly read the monthlies, make tiny notes, or underline, and then use the monthlies only. So, that depends on you. I don't think it makes any difference. Um, so, these were the, uh, materials for prelims. My strategy, uh, apart from that, was going through previous year papers, um, analyzing them. So, the last three, four years' paper, I used to religiously go through in terms of after attempting it, go through the other options as well. Google search certain things, and then make, uh, notes out of it or just one or two pages. So, you, I can just revise towards the end. Um, for the other ones, uh, like the previous 10, 15 year papers, last year what I did was, I, uh, looked at them thematically. So, if I'm looking at modern history, I look at all the questions, sort of see where they're going, and based on that, then I used to study accordingly. And again, make notes or whatever the answers were, because sometimes it does have, sometimes there's repetition of questions. There was a certain question, I remember, regarding Parev Rajaka. This is completely, like, I can remember right now, which was in a previous year paper, and it used me, it helped me to eliminate a certain question in the next year paper. So, sometimes it does help, just going through thematically, previous, uh, 10, 10, 15 year papers. So, that was my strategy for prelims.
For mains, for mains, it's a different ballgame. There are, apart from the basic books, so you need to have a command over the basic books by that time because you'll have revised it two, three, at least, uh, three times for your prelims, which is very, very necessary. Revision is something again, which I'll again and again remind you, because it's one of the hardest, like, it's the hardest thing to do. Once you've read it, there's a sort of inertia which comes. You don't want to look at that same book again. You feel it's already done, but you need to pick it up. You need to pick it up as soon as possible and then later on as well. So, multiple revisions are the only way in which you can actually, um, make things remain in your head. For mains, apart from all of this, um, looking at the previous year syllabus is very, very important, and looking at previous year question papers is very, very important. So, what I would suggest is, if you're, say, um, looking at geography or if you're looking at environment, you would have your class notes with you, right? So, you would have your class notes with you, you have your basic books with you. Uh, before you start again revising or start preparing, just go through the syllabus of that particular geography unit, uh, or for example, say, social issues unit. There's an issue called, I think, women's issues or population. There are certain keywords which are mentioned there. So, while you're going through that material, focus on those keywords again, and then look at the previous year question papers as well. And after that, come back to study. So, you'll be studying the same thing, but your orientation and in your mind, you'll be like, this is some question which came, this is some question which may come in the future. So, there's a trend you can analyze and then prepare accordingly. So, that, I think, was important for me in terms of keeping the syllabus in mind and then reading your static material.
As a corollary, as a corollary to that, and that is what sir was also seeing in terms of how to integrate your class notes with the preparation and with current affairs. So, after you've done the basic preparation, when you're going through current affairs, and I personally, the newspaper was a very important part of my preparation. I used to read The Hindu. Early on, towards the end, I started reading The Indian Express also. I've heard that, um, and I also, I think, there are editorials in terms of analysis on the site of Vajiram. So, that also you can go through. But I think there's no substitute to reading the paper. So, read the analysis, but also develop a habit of reading the paper as well. And, uh, so, based on those headings in the syllabus, what I used to do with, uh, the notes that I used to make of the newspaper was not a note of the article itself. So, for example, if there's something on inter-river interlinking, there's a news which came, there's a proper article in it. My notes will not be about that article. My notes will be about river interlinking, right? And so, I'll talk about the issue, the history of it, by what will take a little more time. I'll use the example which was used in that, and I'll leave a little space at the end or on the side in terms of any other additional information which I'll get. So, say, two weeks later, if there's another issue or there's another issue of interstate dispute over a river interlinking project, what I'll do is, I'll just add the example at the end. So, my notes are already ready. If there's any additional point in terms of causes or consequences or way forward, I'll write that also. So, um, rather than making article-based notes, I used to make topic-based notes based on the syllabus and things and topics which I feel could help me and a probable question could come on that. So, that was how I prepared for mains. And of course, I think with respect to answer, I think there's a separate thing at the end which I have to talk about.
Interview. I think, uh, is a different sort of preparation. So, personally, I, uh, became relaxed after my mains. I thought, let's, let's, uh, chill for some time. You studied a lot, and I thought that there'd be more time, uh, for my preparation once the results are out because usually UPSC gives one month. So, this time, as always, UPSC surprises. Um, so, it, I got very little time for my interview. I think three days after the result, three days after the first interview, I got my interview call. So, but I think for interview preparation, what is important, newspaper reading, you've already done it. It's important to develop an opinion on it and back it up. So, apart from your DAF, your DAF is very important. I think those are later aspects of the preparation which I think all of you are just starting out. 2023, I think most of you are appearing in. So, that is something I think you will develop later. But as a very preliminary thing, um, the change in terms of current affairs for the interview preparation is, uh, you have to give, you have to have some sort of opinion and balance. It doesn't need to be a one, a far-sighted, like opinion, but the nature of the preparation changes in terms of not you're not just remembering facts, but you're understanding them and understanding their consequences, issues. So, just the orientation becomes a little different for interview preparation. But I think that we'll get to later on. Um, yeah. So, this was the main thing as terms in terms of, like, subparts of this, uh, we've already discussed preparing comprehensively for prelims and mains in terms of it not necessarily being a subdivision. But say, three months before the prelims, what you start doing is, you, uh, start attempting, uh, more testing. You, I think, you'll already enroll yourself in some sort of MCQ answering programs or maybe, uh, solve three to four MCQs a day. Some people work like that. I used to start attempting more test series, uh, before the prelims. So, three months before the prelims, I used to get those, uh, test series, the prelim tests, and started attempting them and then analyzed in terms of, uh, not just, not just the answer. So, I used to, the things that I've got wrong, I used to write them down in one separate notebook, just before the prelims, so that I can not look at those papers again and still revise the things that I'd done wrong. But also in terms of how many questions you're attempting and how many of them are turning wrong, and also like highlight which ones you weren't sure about, but still marked anyway. So, there's this, some tense, maybe some subset of questions which you were not sure about, but you still marked. So, then you need to like guess your accuracy as well in terms of analyze it over 10 to 15 tests in terms of how many questions you actually want to attempt in the final, uh, paper because different things work for different people. Okay. So, this is one thing I did in terms of answering as many test series as possible three months before.
Importance of attending classes regularly and guidance to cover the syllabus. So, I think, yeah, if you're attending a coaching, which I think all of you are, uh, try to stick to it. Try to attend, uh, classes and most importantly, integrate them with whatever you're studying and prepare a time plan. So, although the coaching may have developed some sort of time plan for you guys, I think it's also important to have your own thing going. You can't completely rely on any external factor, but integrate both of them together. So, have a personal study plan as well, as well as attend the classes and integrate both of them together as well as you can. Um, guidance, I think, is very important, more more important than content because content is available in the market. So, you don't have to fall for, um, any guidance. But, um, I think, uh, Ravindran sir and, uh, sir here, Funky sir, and Tarik's especially helped me a lot during the interview, in terms of history preparation, how to, uh, sort of attempt the paper, how to, how to go about the paper itself. So, I think guidance in terms of any mentor that you may have is very important.
Third is study material. Study material, I think we've already gone through, um, the material or the basic books. But what is more important is, uh, stick to what. Don't go, like, don't think, "Catch ya, there's some new material in the market." Like, first of all, identify which one you're sticking to and then stick to it. You can keep on adding stuff. I'm not saying that don't keep on adding stuff. Sometimes you find, uh, certain new things in certain papers, but you don't need to go through the all of it or like the entire magazine. Just pick up what you think is important based on the syllabus, not because it's new in the market and someone else is using it. So, trust one source material.
Current affairs. Current affairs, we've already talked about. Apart from whatever magazine you're following, I think personally, I would, uh, like, I would also recommend what, uh, what I used towards the end before my mains preparation because I had my own notes as well. Um, what, what we did, I think, during the previous pandemic, four of our friends, we came together and we had more time at our disposal as well. So, we used to divide certain topics and each one used to prepare one, and we made a Google Doc out of it and used to discuss it. So, by the end of those two months, we had a good amount of, uh, note material available based on topics that were going on in the news and which we thought were important and important sub-subheadings of the syllabus. So, that we used. But apart from that, current affairs is something that is very important. So, the Vajiram, I think, towards the end before, um, before the mains, they take out one booklet about most probable topics or something like that. So, I think that was a very important addition to the notes that I had because it made me revise important things before the mains. So, choose your study material well and then stick to it. Current affairs, we've already covered. The newspaper, we've already covered.
Importance of note-making. And, um, I think I personally would credit a lot to note-making. And note-making, I think sometimes what we do is, "Toppers' notes are available in the market, let's get that and we'll be sorted." But I think the process of note-making itself is very important. It's not just about the final product, but making, making that effort yourself. And since you're familiar with it, it'll be easier for you to revise that as well. Even if you're relying on some other external process for notes, make them your own. So, I also use notes, I also use material of other toppers, of other markets available, but reread it so many times that you make it your own and keep making additions to it. So, at any level, any sort of material would be stagnant. So, you have to keep on adding to it. So, note-making, I personally think is important. But, um, note-making should not be seen to be a regurgitation of whatever you're reading. So, it shouldn't be a, "Cha, I'm reading this NCERT, I'll copy down most of it." So, it needs to at least come down. There needs to be a point of note-making. The point of note-making is that you bring it down so it's easy for revision and it's easy for you to remember. So, anyone else doesn't need to necessarily understand the notes of making, but at least you need to understand it. And it doesn't need to be exactly, you're using every single article, every single pronoun that was used in the book. Okay. And like, it's important also to understand which books you need to make notes of. Say, Laxmikanth, I personally think doesn't need note-making, but because it's already, um, a book meant for the UPSC preparation, right? So, that is something you need to understand.
Then most important, importance of prelims test and mains exams test writing. So, for prelims, I've already told you, the nature of the exam is changing. So, um, not just the test series. Test series, I think, is very, very important in terms of getting a hang of whether you've covered the entire syllabus and you've done the basic books and you know how many questions you want to attempt to get the maximum optimal score. But also previous year question papers. Okay. So, there needs to be a balance between both in terms of, um, prelims test. And I would say the same for mains test answer writing. For, uh, previous year question papers, what I used to do was, we used to again have a certain group, used to write three, four questions depending on the subject we've chosen, of previous year question papers. Later, we used to make a sort of model or test answer in terms of introduction, example, like this, we used to do for previous year papers because you don't have a ready, a template available, in terms of previous year papers for a test series. And I took, uh, Vajiram's test series as well. I think it was a very, like, the questions were very well thought out and the checking was also good. So, pick any, any test series that you're sticking to and, um, work on the feedback that has been given to you, that that is provided to you. Even if you're getting good marks in a certain question, don't be complacent. Think how you can make it better. Think how, at this one example, you came across in some newspaper or is in your notes. Go back to your notes again. If you've written an answer, after you've written the answer, when the checking thing is there, go back. Ethics, may this was one example which could have made this answer better, and write it down. So, answer writing, I think, is very, very important, which I personally practiced, which maybe helped me to get a good score in the final, uh, mains answers. Okay. So, this was, uh, mainly in terms of prelims, mains preparation. Any other things, I think, I might have left out with regarding this, I'll answer later.
Then I come to optional subject. So, firstly, why did I choose history as an optional subject? So, this is one thing which I heard a lot while I was, while I was choosing my optional, that history is not a very well-scoring thing. Why are you taking it? Sociology, say, would be better. This, that, this, that. But I think the reason I chose it, firstly, was my interest and familiarity with the topic. And I think, uh, people sometimes, um, disregard this. In terms of philosophy, for example, if I have got by chance history, then maybe next year, like history topper took, so I also take it. So, that's not how it works. People have talked with, um, whatever options they've taken, they've talked with math, they've talked with sociology, they've talked with, like, any other subject. So, I think first and foremost is interest because it will involve a lot of hours. And believe me, like, before the mains, the history syllabus was quite vast. So, it was very, very difficult for me to balance both, uh, general, general studies and history. But it was my interest in the subject, and I wouldn't like mind studying for long hours or this subject, even before while I was making notes, um, which made me, uh, go on with it. Okay. So, first is interest. Secondly, is also, um, I think personally, that helped me, but that may not be the case. My graduation was also in history, so I had a certain familiarity, I had certain source material with me. So, uh, access to material is also important whenever you take any optional. So, apart from the books that were suggested to me, in terms of P.N. Chopra, or say, Satish Chandra, or Nomula, I had my notes from college which also helped me. So, second is material. And third is guidance. And Tarik sir was with me, um, in, um, Jamia RC as well. And, uh, his support from me, both during the interview as well as during the entire preparation, he was the first person I went to regarding history preparation. And so, I think guidance, uh, all of you guys do have if you choose to take, uh, history optional, um, at Vajiram. So, this was the reason why I chose history optional.
Apart from that, these are things that I did not realize, but later I realized in terms of utility of history in other aspects of the preparation as well. And first and foremost is the prelims. So, prelims, the nature of questions that are coming, uh, nowadays is very different from say, that used to come ten years back in history, especially in ancient, in medieval history. And I think, uh, maybe not in terms of, uh, the exact question, I may not have gone through the exact question, but familiarity with the subject helped me a lot to eliminate things, uh, when it came to history preparation, whether it was the Daya Bhagavad Gita school last year, or say, some random temple, or the etymology of words which is used. So, I think, or something, a question came, I remember, "Vap" was used in the Rigveda. So, I think I linked it a little with land. So, these things, it helped me in the prelims to eliminate a lot of things because of my background in history. So, it helped me in prelims. In general studies also, I think, social issues paper in the first, in, in GS1, is something when you talk about social issues. So, the historical background of many social issues, say women, say population, say communalism, uh, I could better answer because of that. The essay paper, again, essay paper had a specific question, I think, about "History repeats itself: first as a farce, first as a tragedy, second as a farce." So, if you had a certain history background, I felt you could use many examples. So, I think not just in the optional paper, but in many aspects of general studies, history personally helped me, something which I did not think of or consider before I took the option, but something which I realized later on. So, just in case any of you guys have interest in the subject, this is something that you can consider as a positive.
Okay. So, this was regarding my optional subject preparation. For essay, what I did was, again, practice. I used to practice. I, uh, whenever I came across an interesting example in the newspaper, when I was reading a book, for example, a non-UPSC book, I used to write that down. This is maybe something that I can probably use. I used to write down certain quotes as well. And just preparing a collection of, no, quotes or preparing a collection of or say, sayings, um, or examples doesn't really help you unless and until you actually use it. Because you'll get all of this, you'll get toppers' quote collection, you'll get toppers' examples collection, both for ethics and for this. But unless and until you yourself practice in terms of where you're using it, it doesn't help. So, in essay, I used to maintain that, uh, collection. At the same time, I used to practice it while I was writing, and that probably helped me.
And lastly, and most importantly, is time management and motivation, which I think all of us, and anyone who is preparing for this examination, uh, struggles with. Is time management? So, um, it's easier said than done, but I think it is an essential prerequisite for, uh, cracking this examination. And time management doesn't necessarily mean that you have to get up at four o'clock in the morning and study for supposedly 18 to 20 hours a day and then go to sleep. Because it's a big myth. But I think, and linked to that is motivation. I think more important than motivation, because motivation is something I feel which dies down quickly. I, I think I remember reading this quote in terms of motivation is like bathing. You need it every day. And getting it every day becomes a little difficult. One day you'll be full of this "josh," you know, "I'll crack it in my first attempt, I'll get top 10 rank," and next week you feel you're good for nothing, you can't do anything, and you don't want to study. So, more important than motivation, I think, which is definitely important, is maintaining a level of consistency in your preparation and maintaining a certain level of discipline in your preparation. So, once you have that sort of internal accountability that this is something that I need to finish today, and this, uh, this is an option that I don't have to not finish it today, keeping motivation. If you make those daily targets and just stick to them, I think in the long run, things itself will start falling into place. So, that sort of internal accountability, you need to have. I'm not saying it's easy, but I think if you've decided to crack this examination, it's something that you have to cultivate. And in that way, I feel a supportive environment does become necessary, which I think to me was provided by my teachers, by my parents, by my friends, because there are definite lows. I'm not saying there are not lows. You feel, uh, like you're not doing, uh, enough. You feel that you can't, uh, do it. You feel you may have done anything else, and this amount of effort, if you, if you would have put in anything else, you would already have, uh, got success. So, that sort of decisions you have to make on your own. But I think once you've made that decision that you want to crack this examination, certain level of discipline, uh, is required. And there are no two ways about it. You have to sacrifice certain things. Uh, I'm not saying balance is not required. You do need breaks. Personally, I was one, and I'm, I think I'm emphasizing all of this too much because I personally struggled with it a lot. I'm not, I'm not a person who, you know, I, I have, I have been a good student. I, I have got good marks at all times, but I was not one who only liked to slog, right? Like I needed my breaks. I was someone, like, when I was really productive, and when I felt like being productive, I would put in every bit of my energy. But at the other times, I completely, like, left studies and used to, you know, um, take breaks. But when I was studying, I made sure that I was accountable to myself. And and that's why I think internal, apart from you. So, I think that is going to be, uh, what I'll leave you with. And any sort of questions you have after that.
Okay, I think, uh, CSAT has been an issue for lots of people in the last two, three years. Personally, uh, did not have a major problem with it, but at the same time, I did not let myself have that problem also because I prepared for it in advance. So, what I did was, um, I think my English, I was sort of sorted with. Although at the same time, the nature of questions that are coming in the last two years, even someone with a basic and decent understanding of English can't count on them. So, with regard to English, um, even if I had gone through, um, I had gone, I'd given three minutes or four minutes to an, uh, to a question when I'd read, uh, the passage, I'd gone through the options, and I wasn't sure of it. If I thought the options maybe had confusion, it, I didn't make the mistake of choosing anything, even if I had gone through those four minutes, because attempts is very important, and negative marking, um, brings a lot, a lot of people down. And CSAT, so again, I thought, "Key, no, I'm not sure about this. There's too much confusion. I would leave it and go to the next question." So, with regard to English, that was my strategy. But, so, most of what I attempted in English turned out to be right. Later on, with regard to math, what I did was, I thought it was my weak point. Towards the end, I was more comfortable with it. Is, um, I used to just go through videos available online. I didn't take any coaching for CSAT specifically. I, uh, because the number system is a very important topic. So, um, I used to go through previous year question paper solution videos, uh, online. So, I used to just put it on. There was one question on the screen. I used to attempt it myself, and then I used to play it again. So, if, um, if I could answer it well, I went, I went ahead. If I couldn't, I used to look at the tricks that she was, uh, using, he, she, or she, whoever in the video was using. I used to go through these thematically, which were available online, and then later on, based on, so, I, at the end, I had like three, four pages worth of formulas, which I then revised at the end. So, it held me in good stead. I, you know, I got, at the two times I attempted the prelims, I got 100 plus both times. So, I think that was not an issue for me. But at the same time, I did, I didn't take it for granted because sometimes what happens is, many people who scored really well in the CSAT of previous year papers three, four years back, they couldn't even clear this time because they were complacent. They thought, "Let me just not look at the CSAT paper and we'll go directly." So, I didn't do that. I made my notes. I compiled a collection of formulas. For English, I didn't do that much practice, but I think that worked for me.
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When you start preparing for the first time, and how much time are you able to cover the whole series? Okay. Uh, so with me, what particularly happened was, I think I took a lot of time initially because I was sort of half-hearted in terms of how I was going about it. I decided to do this towards the end of my graduation, or the third year of my graduation, I started doing it. But at that time, I wasn't putting my 100% in it. After that, I did. But I, stable reading was a habit that I already had, like irrespective, before even I even decided to appear for, uh, C for UPSC, since 11th and 12th, that was something that I had cultivated early on. I used to read The Hindu, I used to read other newspapers sometimes also because I liked reading it. So, that sort of familiarity with the newspaper, I already had. Towards the end, I, the third year of my preparation, the third year of my graduation, I started going through the syllabus, I started going through the notes as well. I used to attend classes as well, but I wasn't very serious at that time. I think it was properly in 2019 when I started my preparation. And, so, I think you can, I wouldn't be a perfect in terms of a role model, but I've seen people do it in one. I think properly, I did preparation for one year before the 2020 attempt. But I, I would still say I was familiar, I was gaining familiarity with the syllabus, with the topics from early on since 2018. But 2019, I properly started. That was when I, um, started studying with my group also at RCA. And, um, post that, I gave my examination in 2020. Then the next year, I think, 2020, the COVID pandemic time, I made my notes, which I was, or telling, or telling you about in terms of the collective notes that we made. And during the Hindi preparation, I think that also strengthened in terms of my understanding, maybe because I used to go through the notes in English, which I had prepared, apart from the other notes, and I used to use Google Translate to sort of translate them into Hindi. So, that was one, one year which went into that. And the next year, my, this 2021 attempt, I gave in English. So, it was a long journey. I would, I would say.
My point was like, we try to read our whole syllabus like first, first of all, NCERTs and then standard books. First time in a book, like we have gone through the whole series and all the books. So, like how much time and seriousness do you give for the first time studying of both the books? That's what I'm saying. I think it depends from person to person. But I think one year is a good enough time if you have all the material available and if you have the guidance available. So, sometimes what happens to people is, figuring out the strategy itself takes a lot of time. So, but I think once you have that strategy, and I think a positive right now is that a lot of online resources are available, guidance is available. So, I think, and also based on your background. So, sometimes people with non-social sciences background have to go through, uh, the entire, uh, NCERTs as well from six to twelve, which I say, didn't go through. But if you're going through basic books, which I'm saying, NCERTs and, and, uh, and other basic books of Laxmikanth and everything, if you have a basic understanding, if you know what you're doing, if you have a clear-cut mindset, if you have clarity of mind, one year without any sort of external involvements, say, if you're doing a job, I am personally saying, I would, I, people who are going through jobs or pursuing other courses would know better, but I think one year of definite preparation without any other involvements is good enough for going through the syllabus.
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Okay. Um, I think that is, uh, that is something that you prepare on your own. It depends on, say, for example, if you are from a certain home. So, if you prepare every single word which is there in your DAF. So, if you're say from Uttar Pradesh, you would go through the history of Uttar Pradesh, the the current economic situation, the statistics involved in terms of the sex ratio, everything regarding that. So, DAF preparation would be, you just pick up something. Or say, you went to a school, I see, I went to Sadar Patel Vidhyalaya. So, if there's Sadar Patel involved, I could probably be asked a question about Sadar Patel as an individual rather than the school itself. So, that every single word, you have to carefully go through and prepare. Whatever you think, any sort of hobbies that you have, in terms of how you could possibly use those hobbies in administration. If you have an optional subject, then a detailed analysis of that optional subject, uh, is also there. Another thing, say, for example, history optional. A lot of questions of history were asked for me in the, in the final interview as well. So, your optional remains a consistent part of your entire preparation, even the interview.
Okay. Um, I think compulsory papers, you can deal with with not too much hard work. If, for example, my compulsory papers were English and Hindi. English is a compulsory paper anyway, but you can just go through, I think, previous year papers. Hindi, if you, I think, if you speak Hindi, if you are from, um, the Hindi heartland sort of area, you wouldn't have a problem with the states down south. I think regional languages are also available, or, uh, say, the Northeast regional languages are available. So, I think the compulsory papers are chosen in a language where you are already comfortable with, apart from English. And English also is, I think, is not a very difficult sort of paper. So, if you just go through previous year papers, the essay, any way you write in the general studies, so that also, I think, will work out well.
I think I personally, uh, overall did rely, uh, more on self-study. But I think if you were taking coaching and you're taking coaching, you should take it seriously. I feel. So, one thing that coaching institutes may provide is a consolidated, uh, material that is available to you. So, for example, ethics, um, uh, I think Brijendra sir and, uh, I think the notes, your Vajiram notes did help me. The, the class notes, uh, especially for ethics. The internal security, yellow book helped me for my internal security paper. So, I think you need to, uh, understand what you're prioritizing in terms of time management. You are specifically asking. So, if, for example, you're going for, uh, two and a half hours, okay? So, if, for example, you're going for two and a half hours, that itself, you should not consider, uh, as that portion done. That is one thing that you need to remember. Just because you've heard a teacher say something to you for two and a half hours, that doesn't mean that it's done. You have the base which is ready, which you need to go home and revise. So, if you're going through a class, if you're going to a coaching class, make sure that on that day itself, you come back home, you go through it, and the next time when, for example, you're coming to class, you have that ready with you. And I think all of you would be maintaining, uh, separate registers for separate subjects. So, go through that. And apart from that, make your own targets as well. So, sometimes what happens is, um, there are classes on alternate days for different subjects. But I think, for me, what also helped us keeping one subject, uh, at, like, apart from the revision that you're doing, whatever you've done in the past as well, make certain targets for your own self in terms of, "This is one basic book I'm covering." So, NCERT, if say, geography 11th class NCERT, or you're covering Laxmikanth, you're covering, make sure that you have a target for completing that book in a specific point of time. And it wouldn't hurt if you come to class the next day and you already know it. It'll only help you. So, you don't need to wait for the class to happen to read that book. That is something that I wanted to say. That don't completely rely on only what is given to you. You need to put in those hours for self-study and revising of your notes. If you are sticking to a coaching class material, apart from the basic, it depends. I think interview is something that you can't predict. Sometimes you think that this is something that will be asked, it isn't. Sometimes the interview is completely non-DAF based. So, it's completely current affair based. So, it depends from time to time. But you still have to prepare for it. So, if you have gone through a certain degree, you need to prepare for it, just in case it is answered, because you don't know, but you have to be safe. So, for example, history was my graduation subject, it was also my optional subject, and there were questions regarding it in the interview. Um, in
terms of remembering, uh, there's no, there's no, uh, shortcut. Like, you have to revise. You have to, there are certain things that you need to, like, this is especially in prelims. I think what is asked is, who is contemporary of this person? Who was contempt? These are not things that you will directly, uh, remember. Kalidas was a, but you need to understand chronology roughly. You need to understand this person wrote about this. This is probably the time when he was there. So, those sort of interconnections, I think, are important when you're studying. So, that sort of effort you have to make yourself. But certain things you definitely have to, uh, remember.
See, for example, the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. I was talking to you about. So, one way is, uh, you can just remember. What I tried to do was, why I, uh, jotted them down on the Google Map. So, I used to just look at it and then ask, past sketchup. This is probably nearby. This is near the border. That's why this happens. So, little bit, you can also try to remember. If you're not good at remembering stuff. Year isbarto, there were not many questions. Uh, but last year, there was a lot of emphasis on agriculture on freelance. Uh, that's why what I did was, I tried to make a, this is, I'm only saying for prelims. Uh, what I try to do is, apart from the geography, Indian, Indian geography, I think, which has emphasis on agriculture, that chapter is important. That did help me in eliminating a few questions. So, stick to NCERTs first and foremost. Don't neglect NCERTs. A couple of questions I could answer on agriculture from just a basic reading of the NCERT. Secondly, something I tried to do which didn't help because UPSC again is very unpredictable and there was not a single question from agriculture in the next paper. So, I tried to go through, um, me and one of my friends, we tried to go through statistics of, uh, official government statistics, roughly broadly in terms of, uh, major export, agricultural item, highest production, highest area. So, that is one, a few pages of document we tried to make. But that, I think, was based on previous year analysis. So, it may change again tomorrow. So, that was as part of my previous analysis preparation when I tried to make a certain, certain notes for agriculture. That sometimes can also be done through the test series answers. Test series questions because coaching institutes often do that for you. So, the answers of those testimonies can also be a source where you understand previous year questions. For means, uh, I think there's one Indian Express May Explain the page. Agriculture pages also comes. That can also be helpful. So, the newspaper again for agriculture, I had separate notes also and I used to keep adding from my newspaper.
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Yeah, I think it's important to, uh, stick to one source and add from other sources. So, whatever source you're taking, say, for example, uh, uh, I think I'll tell you about myself. So, my main source were the notes that I had made and I used to keep adding. Uh, for example, for ethics, I had Vajram notes which were my source. I used to keep adding in terms of examples and quotes from other, uh, other sources. In terms of the newspaper, for, um, internal security, my main source was the yellow book. I used to keep on adding examples from other sources. So, stick to one source which you think is, is what, what is best, what works for you. Say, for example, if economics notes from class ri, you think would be good enough for you for the mains or the main provide the main skeleton for the mains, stick to them. And any sort of other newspaper article you get which you think or another example you think which would be necessary or you're going through the current affair magazine towards the end, either highlight it in the current affair magazine and keep it with you because a certain amount would be required or just add it in the notes if that is possible if it's not big.
So, um, I think rather than completely relying, what worked for me before the mains, I didn't have to wait for the yearly compilations to come in to start my preparation because sometimes it takes time for them to come in. I used to start preparing and when those yearly compilations used to come, I used to just go through the index, look at only the important parts and add them in my notes. So, it's important to stick to a basic source and then keep adding whatever is necessary. But it is necessary to make the notes of MCI. It depends. I think I possibly didn't make them, but I read them multiple times. I was sort of comfortable with them. If you think, uh, it works for you, it's good enough. I made. So, for example, if I'm going through the agriculture section, so just at the end of the last page where there was a blank page, I just wrote down a cotton, uh, percentage in terms of area, percentage in terms of world production. So, it was just these, like this big notes that I made on half a page at the end of the book. So, when I'm revising just before the premiums, two days before the premiums, I don't read the entire, uh, chapter. I just look through the facts that are necessary for the prelims preparation and the rest of them, I didn't. So, I think it depends from person to person. I am, I think you're just, you'll probably believe me because I'm standing here and according this, something else works out for different people. There's no sure shot, uh, thing. What is required is, um, is studying and smart studying to a certain extent and relying on certain source. What those sources are, how you make your notes, that depends from person to person and everyone has their own strategy.
One second. Yeah. And I think that's something that people, uh, often miss out on in terms of how to better write answers. Uh, apart from just reading, reading and writing are two different ball games altogether. So, once you've gone through the material, as I said, go through previous year papers. Start writing. Starting writing is very important. Just don't wait, I'm still not good enough. Once you've completed the syllabus, try to look at question papers and just start writing and you'll gradually get better. How will you get better? You won't just get better by keeping on writing and not evaluating yourself. Evaluate yourself. If you're joining a test series, do that. Apart from the test series also, what you can do is, um, if you're in in a group of similar minded people, you can peer review your answers. Thirdly, what you can do is, you can go through toppers' answer sheets and that, I think, is also quite important. Sometimes you don't know what's going wrong and how can you figure out what you're not going wrong is when you, uh, look at people who've got good marks and, uh, say, for example, four people have got really good marks in ethics. You can look at all four of their answer copies and see what works out for you best. There is something that they must have probably done better. So, even if you can take two things and try to make them your own, try to inculcate, incorporate them in your answer writing over a period of time, I think it will get better. Uh, certain model answers you can also probably make. Often coaching institutes offer those model answers. So, all of that, I think, a combination of everything works.
You have tried questions of your own also, like framing questions of your own. Okay, if a topic is going like inflation as of now, then, so do you used to write answers for that also? I think I didn't consider myself qualified enough in terms of like writing answers to questions that I myself made. I used to write previous question papers and the test series question papers. But in terms of, say, if something is going on in the news, I'll make notes for that. So, I'll write why, what way forward of that in my notes, but like not necessarily an answer writing format. Sorry, can you be a little louder? I have studied. Uh, I didn't go through all the yellow books, but I looked at, uh, some of them. I used to add stuff from it and mainly, I think, certain books in terms of say, the internal security one, certain ethics ones, I used.
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I personally didn't go through both of these books for art and culture. I just, I stuck to the 11th class NCERT. Also, I had my background in that. I didn't think and I think in terms of cost-benefit, it's a really fine book. So, I used to make, say, separate notes of Jainism, Buddhism. So, those, I think, little sections you can go through. But I personally felt that it was a really bulky book. For economics, I stuck to, uh, the notes that I had. Some people use other coaching, any sort of coaching material. I think anything works, but I didn't personally use.
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Yeah, I think it's sometimes you keep on questioning yourself, yes, is this enough? Is this enough? I think as long as you're sticking to the basics, you're sticking to NCERTs, you're not wasting time, you don't feel key, this is something that I could have done better. I think most important at the end of the day is to know if you have done near 100%. So, if you feel that you're doing that, at the same time, you have a strategy in place, you're not just hard working for nothing, like you're not just, uh, just say, for example, going through one random book and not preparing your strategy. If you're sticking to the basic books, if you're doing your practice, if you're not wasting time, I think over a period of time, uh, you will get results. I don't think so, but it depends if you have, if you don't have a background in say, social sciences, if you find 11th class NCERTs are too much for you, then go back, go back a few years. If that is working out for you, then good enough. I think most important is the understanding of the subject and if you're not getting an understanding from the later books, go back to the earlier books. I think it's a good idea. Yeah.
I think time is something you struggle with throughout this preparation and no one has figured that out till now. So, like, it's a prioritization that you have to do. But that prioritization, everyone has to figure out on their own. What is more important for them? What are their weak areas? What are their strong areas? So, those things, I think, I can't give to you. What I can only give you is what, what worked out for me. Maybe it works out for you, maybe it does. That's all I can say. But those for newspaper, uh, for newspaper, I think I personally had a habit of reading the newspaper. So, towards the end, I used to take very little time. I used to just skim through only. I read the bits that were important. But if, for example, if I'm making notes, say, of a topic, it would take more time because I'm not just making notes of the newspaper. I'm making notes of the entire topic. So, I would also search other things. So, I didn't treat it as only newspaper reading at that time. I thought I was, it was a sort of integrated preparation. So, if they, as I said, say, a cyber crime thing is in the news, I would make wholesome one-page notes or two-page notes of cyber crime in which I'm also searching for other examples. So, it would take more time. But, see, like, if you're just reading the paper and also one hour maybe, or if you're, uh, or half an hour, one hour, it depends. But like, don't stick to my words. Don't like, so it depends. Like, sometimes it took really long, sometimes it took me like 20 minutes, 15 minutes because there was nothing of importance in the paper.
Mathematics, I'm not sure what your, are you talking about CSAT? Uh, I don't think that is the sort of mathematics which necessarily comes in the CSAT preparation. So, uh, I personally don't think it's important. If you're really bad with your basics and you think certain chapters you need to go through, I would not be able to comment on that. But I personally didn't need them. And, uh, I think coaching preparation can help. But certain basic things you can obviously go through LCM, HCF, other things. Okay.
Uh, in terms of again, highs and lows, there are definite highs and lows in the entire preparation. And, uh, the highs, you don't have to worry about because that's good enough. You, you, you'll study more. For the lows, you need to like, uh, pick yourself up. And sometimes you have people who will pick you up and you should be grateful for that. Sometimes you won't have people to pick you up. So, as hard as it is, you need to push yourself. Remind yourself why you're doing it in the first place. If, um, you also need to under, like, identify the reasons why you think, uh, such a stage might have happened in terms of say, a failure. So, rather than just being sad about it, you need to accept it first and then understand probably what went wrong in your preparation maybe and then try to act on it rather than just being sad. Uh, at the same time, I feel it is a very competitive examination. End of the day, there are very few seats, there is a lot of competition. So, um, I think that we need to talk about, uh, the lows a much, a lot more than we often talk about because I've seen people around me, I myself, there are a lot of lows. And I think a supportive environment is required in terms of, in every context, giving help to each other. This sort of competition, we need to, um, sort of, uh, understand and try to fight. And at the same time, you need, like, if you feel that this is not your calling and sometimes people talk about not having a plan B and it being a very good thing. I personally don't completely agree to that. I feel, um, if you really want to give this examination, if you think it's your calling, you should definitely do it. Keep on doing it. Identify your problem areas, keep on going for it. But if you think, uh, you would be better off somewhere else, if you think you know that this is the time you've given a lot of time and effort in your preparation, you feel it's still not working out, I feel, uh, it is okay also to, uh, accept that. And I, I know people who have completed all of their attempts. There was nothing, uh, probably wrong in their hard work or, um, they, it was not as if they didn't try hard enough, but sometimes there are other factors that play also. So, there's a need of acceptance in understanding that whatever is happening is happening for the good. And as long as you're working hard enough, as long as you're putting your 100% and you don't have any regrets in terms of how much you did, I think, uh, everything happens for a certain reason.
Sorry, revision plan. Okay. Uh, so, I, uh, I didn't have in terms of, uh, a very clear cut. This time, I, every, every one month I'll do it. Every two months I'll do it. But I try to, for example, if I have read a topic, in the next few days, I'd like to go back to it. Some people, what they do is, they go back to it that very same day itself. If I had that time and if I, if I felt, I used to sometimes if I read something in the morning, I used to ask myself, do I remember it? And if I feel I could remember it, I would, I would say, push that revision to some other day. But if I, if I felt that, you know, I'm gradually, um, not like, I'm, I don't remember it anymore or slight bits of it, I remember, I'd go back to it that day itself. But within three, four days, I'd like to go back to that topic. And over a long period of time, I feel the third revision would happen, say, a month later or something like that. I didn't have like very clear-cut ones. But, uh, it depended on how I was doing at that time. I used to like keep asking myself, this is something that I did do, but do I even remember it? So, those questions, I think, were guiding, were guiding ways into in terms of how I went about my division. But there were no clear-cut plans of that sort.
One second. Huh. Like on the one side, uh, in terms of weightage, I can't say, but, uh, current affairs is important. But also, like, unless and, so, for example, something like economics. Economics, unless and until, like, the the nature of questions that are coming, it's more based on a conceptual understanding of the subject rather than something which happened in the news. So, current affairs, there's too much to cover. I feel your basics should be intact. After that, uh, whatever source, one source you're using for current affairs, stick to that. So, your yearly compilation or if you're using your monthlies, just stick to that. Don't fret about it because there'll always be something you won't know. Be okay with the fact. And there are, there's always something the person sitting next to you also won't know. So, everyone's in the same page. Just don't think yet, that person is doing more, I need to do that. As long as you're doing your best and sticking to the basics, sticking to the basic books, at least, I think you're good to go. Yeah.
So, how to increase the spiriting space in that and how to make that, the question is understood to me. Yeah. So, ethics paper time, time management is a definite issue. Um, even this time also, I barely managed to complete my paper. Last time, because I was writing in Hindi, a lot of questions I left. So, the only solution is practice. Like, I can't give you anything else. Even in terms of understanding the question, uh, go through previous question papers. Try to attempt them. In terms of answer writing, ethics paper, very important because, uh, quick answer writing and in terms of understanding whether you want to attempt the case studies first, whether you want to attend the first paper first, only, only like practicing will help you with that. Nothing else. Uh, I think, uh, you've just started your preparation. Next year, we'll be giving prelims. Three months before the prelims, I would, uh, I would suggest if you're giving for the first time, at least three months before the prelims, stop, uh, preparing for means. So, right now, I think you'll be going through your basic books, uh, and sorry, basic, uh, other preparation. Towards, uh, so, whenever you start your ethics and you finish your ethics, I think after say, five, six months, you should start answering of all sorts and like continue, continue with that. Before, before three months of your prelims.
One second. Huh. I think it's the same. Go through our previous paper. See how they're handling those keywords. Practice. There's no more like other way about it. And help, like, ask your teachers from ethics. Approach them. That is the keyword. Source of social issues. Uh, there's no one source for social issues because, uh, the topics are such. It's, as we read, as, uh, say, I think population, women, communalism, this, that. So, I, uh, made my own notes. Some people also go through 11th class sociology. I personally didn't go through that. But I think in terms of current affairs also, there are separate sections for all of these issues. You can use examples, uh, certain historical background also helps. So, for that, I think also, uh, you would be, if you're attending coaching classes here, certain notes will be provided. So, you can stick to that. As essay, well, I already said, you need to start writing. Reading other people's essays, toppers' answer sheets are available. So, go through them. See what they did different. There's a certain flow. Apart from just examples and so, sometimes what people do is, they populate the entire essay with the quotes, with examples, with everything. That also doesn't work. There needs to be a certain flow. You need to understand what the topic is. And the nature of the topics is changing so much. This time, essay was a big challenge for many people because they want clear-cut answers. More and more philosophical questions are coming. So, um, just try to try to understand what the, uh, what the topic is trying to say and approach it from as many different dimensions as possible. And at the same time, uh, not just dimensions will also help. So, sometimes, uh, what what people do is, and like, I also have done it in the past and I think it's a good idea also. He approached any topic which is given from a political angle, from a social angle, from an international angle, this angle, that angle. That is good. That is, but that's only one aspect of it. And that also, certain mechanical thing comes into it. And the nature of questions and the nature of topics that are coming are not suited for that sort of understanding also. So, um, rather than sticking to a template which you sometimes go with, if in essay, this is what I'll do, try to understand what the topic is saying and develop different dimensions according to that. And then again, practice. Practice is something what will help you.
Apart from looking at toppers' answer sheets, how you understood the syllabus? Because if we see the syllabus, we find that there are certain keywords we don't understand. How you decoded the syllabus? Uh, I don't think there's a necessary decoding of the syllabus which is required. There are clear-cut words which are present. UPSC preparation, I think, there are material available. There is material available on anything. You have your teachers as well. You can explain to you stuff. But like, there's no decoding required. But say, for example, parliament is mentioned or parliamentary systems are mentioned, uh, I think there is, there is one term which talks about judiciary. Certain, like, any, any sort of term like that, there's no decoding which is required. You just need to look at various aspects, the problems, say, that are plaguing the judiciary or plaguing the parliament, how to solve them. And these are the probable questions which in which you can come. And the decoding can also be done through analyzing previous year papers. You have 15, 20 of papers available with you. And invariably, often similar terms mentioned in the syllabus are often used in the, uh, previous year papers as well. So, an analysis of previous year papers will help you decode that as well.
Can you tell your, like, strategy in terms of timeline? By what time we should at least complete? Okay. So, I think, what, what month is it right now? It's June, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. So, you have seven months, uh, here. And then, um, okay. I think, um, again, this depends from person to person. But, um, if you're dividing, um, I wouldn't be able to say this for sure because I didn't plan this in, in this way. And, uh, seven months, like, uh, it stretched out a little, a little bit for me, especially after my graduation. And I had my background in history also. So, my optional required a little bit a different, uh, sort of work. But I think towards the end of this year, by December, uh, you should be done with the both, uh, to a certain extent, at least, uh, one reading or one, in fact, more, I think, revision also of both, of a certain extent. January or December, January. And, uh, ideally, by that time, you should also start answering of some sort. The second revision will also happen during that time. It's not as if you'll be, you, everything will be in your head. But, uh, some sort of answer writing preparation is required before you give your prelims also. I personally feel that. So, start your answer writing preparation then. And also start a revision of the previous year of whatever you've done. Sorry, till that time. So, a revision of that sort, I think, uh, that is a rough sort of idea that I can give you. I haven't thought about it, but I'll, uh, still chalk out something and let you know later. I think because I sort of decided towards the latter of my, latter end of my graduation that I want to take this. I took that time to get a familiarity of the syllabus and then start my preparation. So, yeah, that familiarity was provided to me in the third year of graduation, after which I properly started my studies, devoting like a lot of time to it.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you.