Transcription
So I started with 9th to 12th NCERTTS and that to very briefly. I just skimmed through them so that I can get a basic understanding. So I would suggest go for syllabus reading first before you start into any preparation.
So what I used to do was firstly, uh switch off my phone and keep it in another room because it was a big distraction. If you are doing it efficiently, 7-8 hours is more than enough, but you have to be truthful and honest to yourself. Do not go for anything extra that you might want to read. Just re-revise, revise, revise, revise all the static resources that you might have read before this.
So I enrolled in that advanced batch. I uh focused on uh the not the basics of course because I was already done with it. I focused on the advanced things of mains and and I incorporated many of the value addition from this course in my uh answers as well. So I solely relied on pre PT and Maze.
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Hello everyone. Today we will be in conversation with Ria, who has secured all India rank 22 in this year's UPSC examination with sociology as an option paper. This was her third attempt. In her previous attempt, she got through the examination and she is currently an IRT probationary officer. So we will be having a conversation with her. We will be discussing all her strengths, all her challenges which she faced during her preparation journey, which is certainly going to help all of you who are watching this video in maybe making your strategy for examination. Some things which worked for her, of course, it is going to work for you as well. So without much of wasting time, a very warm welcome to you, Ria.
Thank you so much and a lot of congratulations on this new journey of yours.
Thank you.
So firstly, how was your response after seeing your name in the list and again getting a rank of 22?
I think the first was disbelief because uh I was checking my friends and my name on the list and when I was checking my name till S A I N, I couldn't find my name. So I thought this attempt is gone. But when I clicked, I I found it on 22nd. But it was disbelief because there were many fake PDFs circulating. So I had to check it for about three to four times and then I yelled and called my parents and my brother. So I think now it is more of relief and happiness, of course.
Great. Great. So again, this whole idea of preparing for the examination, it is certainly a question with lot of youths in India, right? How exactly and why one should choose civil services as their career? So what made you choose this career for your uh in the long term?
Uh initially, actually, it was a push that was given by my father. Uh he was always intent upon me taking this examination, but I uh strictly told him that please do not pressurize me because this is beyond my capabilities totally because I hardly studied for like two to three hours in college, that too on two to three hours weekly. So to study so much and to clear this exam looked something that was beyond me. Uh but later on, as I realized, uh I think uh there were many things that attracted me towards this examination. Firstly, uh was the public interface that this job offers, the leadership opportunities that too at such a young age, and the diversity of opportunities that it offers. And s I think u if I am able to bring a certain change on the ground, then I think u my aim for being a civil servant will be successful. Yes.
Very, very motivational. So uh once again, of course, the initial push was from your father. So for again, I would like to tell you to the aspirants, that is it something a push is required for this examination or is it something which should naturally come to you that again, I want to appear for this examination? What exactly works for you?
Yes sir. Uh sir, I think a push of course might help in better conditioning of a student or an aspirant. In my case, it was my father. But uh I strictly told him that please do not pressurize me because this is not something that was my calling back then. I hadn't given it a thought at all. And after that, actually, my father stopped talking to me about this particular thing. He said, okay, you can pursue whatever you want. So I would like to say to all the aspirants that of course, the society uh does regard civil services as one of the most prestigious institutions, but the calling should be from within yourself. Only when I decided that I actually want to pursue this, did I get into this field of preparation. Uh because it is a very long journey uh for most people because um it at least takes one year for the entire exam cycle and at least one and a half years preparation before this, and that is if you're very lucky to and if you're good enough to get it through the first attempt. So it is a very long journey. It should be your and your calling only, not any external pressures. And um do not be misguided by the royal entry videos and all the paraphernalia that you see. See uh the work that the civil servants are actually doing, and if it is something that interests you, then definitely go for it.
Now that we know your initial story, now let's start. You got the guided again, I want to become a civil servant. Then during your college days, you started to prepare for the examination or was it after college?
Actually, it was during the end of my college that I actually decided. So I did not sit for placements. Uh I decided that I will start preparation for examination, but that was during the end of my fourth year. U after that, I took a year drop for preparation, and since then I uh after one year drop, I prepared, appeared for my first prelims, and since then I've been in the.
So as you told, it's your first attempt. So again, we are going to get through your journey very systematically. So you after college started to dedicate to prepare for this examination. So what, how did you initially started to prepare? What kind of challenges did you faced and what worked for you in the first attempt, maybe in the preparation wise?
Okay. Uh so what I did initially uh was uh hear a lot of topper talk videos because I was absolutely clueless as to what to do, and it was lockdown period, so I couldn't go to any coachings and offline centers. So I looked at topper talks and strategy videos, and I uh figured out that there were certain commonalities between all of them. There were certain commonality of the resources as well as the strategy. I uh tried to analyze that and incorporated that. Uh secondly, sir, I started with NCRTs because I am from a science background. I did not have a humanities background. So I started with 9th to 12th NCERTTS and that too very briefly. I just skimmed through them so that I can get a basic understanding before jumping onto the complex books. So I used to finish one NCERTT per day because uh I did not focus on learning anything from the NCERTTs back then. I just skimmed through and to get a basic idea. Thirdly, would be syllabus. That is one mistake that I made. I did not focus too much on the syllabus initially. I just wanted to read through and read through many other books. Uh but that is something that did not work and that took me a little more time to finish. So I would suggest go for syllabus reading first before you start into any preparation. And I think uh the other thing that might have worked was uh me reading the newspaper daily. So these were the three things or four things that might have worked.
Okay. Right. So you discussed that again uh for the resources part, you went through different toppers talk and different toppers told about a lot of resources, and that is one problem which every aspirant faced during the initial phase of immigration. Is there a lot of content, a lot of books, a lot of NCERTTs, and again, you told the importance of NCERTTs and syllabus mapping. Then what did you stick to one set of books, and was it fixed or what was it changing throughout your journey? What, what made you to stick to a certain resources for this examination for all the subjects?
Yes sir. Uh so sir, as you said, there are any number of resources, but what I figured out was that most of the toppers advised all the aspirants to stick to the basic resources, and I did that only. The basic books for prelims, at least for Lakshmi Kant for polity, spectrum for modern Indian history, and for geography, NCERTTs. And for current affairs, I only stuck to vision monthly magazines as well as PD365 and mains 365. So my resources almost throughout were same, and I revised them multiple times. Um, I don't think that it is beneficial to run behind thousand resources. I know we must get FOMO because there are people going behind many other books, but if you stick to the basics and revise them multiple times and analyze them through PQs, I think that should be sufficient.
Again, you discussed that again, you referred vision is materials for current affairs, PT65, vision is magazines on current affairs. How important is it to read newspapers apart from because there are a lot of content in YouTube, there are a lot of content in terms of materials of current affairs where again, there are ready-made notes, but how important newspaper reading is for an aspirant in this, in this examination?
Yes sir. Uh sir, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't say that if you do not read the newspaper daily, you won't be able to clear the exam because there are many examples who have. But personally for me, it worked wonders. Initially, it gave me a, I think it gave me a head start to a certain certain extent. It allowed me to see what the actual syllabus is and get a basic understanding of issues around me. So I used to read one newspaper daily. Uh it took me about 40 to 45 minutes because I uh attempted selective reading. I did not focus on the political news and editorials that might have been too complex to write in mains or pre. And apart from that, sir, um newspaper reading of course was extremely beneficial, especially in the personality test part. Um, and uh I at that time, I referred not just to Hindu, but I referred to the e-explained series of uh Indian Express also. So I think it was beneficial for me. Many times the topics are multiple times repeated in newspapers every day. So they get stuck in your brain. So in mains also, there was a question wherein I hadn't read about it anywhere, but I had read about it two or three times in the newspaper, and I was able to jot it down there. Yes sir.
Okay. So now we know the strategy which you followed, the books which you followed. So now in the first attempt, usually the first attempt for every student, there are three stages for examination: the prelims, the mains, and the personality test. So a lot of confusion that again, we should study first for prelims, then for mains, or then for personality test, or it is was something which you did simultaneously for all the three stages? Initially, what were the challenges which you had in your mind that again, I need to prepare for all three years simultaneously, or again, we should go in a systematic manner? What worked for you and what did you followed?
Uh so sir, yes, of course, there are this challenge is faced by almost all the aspirants as to how to manage, especially pre and mains both. So I went for an integrated strategy for pre and mains, initially at least for about 9 months, and just about 3 months before the pre, uh because this was my first pre, I had to dedicate, I dedicatedly gave around three, three and a half months for prelims. So back about at that time, I stuck only to prelims resources, but otherwise, it was an integrated strategy. And um for, I think I realized this a little late, but uh an integrated strategy can work wonders. Uh what I did in my later stages was that whenever I I was studying anything that was pre-related, that people thought was only for pre, I used to take another a different color pen uh and mark mark all the things that might be required for mains then and there itself. For example, people say Lakshmi Kant is not useful for mains, but I wouldn't agree because when I was reading for pre also, I would take another color pen and mark all the quotes that are written, all the articles that are written, all the fundamental duties, etc., that all the cases that I might be able to use in mains. And then between the time for pre and mains, I used to only have a cursory glance through those colored points. Apart from that also, whenever you're reading monthly magazines or when you're reading material for uh science and tech and environment, specifically for prelims, what you do is uh make a different document. I used to make a Google Docs that uh prelims knowledge in environment for mains. So all the schemes that I might have read in environment, all the reports that I might have seen um I might have read about in prelims, I used to just jot them down in that document and verbatim use those in mains. So that gave me an edge. So I think an integrated strategy, but two to three months before pre, just focus on pre. So it was overall a two, 12 year, 12 months strategy for preparation before the first examination.
So as you discussed initially, that in your college days, it was 2 hours a week, and now during the preparation phase, of course, it would not be 2 hours a week. So how maybe you made yourself or you made your mind that again, yes, this this examination requires long-term sitting, and what was your study plan in a day, usually in your first attempt?
Yes sir. Uh so I think as the attempts uh went down, my number of hours decreased because I had prepared accordingly. But uh in my first attempt, yes, of course, I did try to sit for around 7 to 8 hours every day. That was an average. I couldn't ever go beyond 10 hours even before my mains or pre because my mind gets saturated and I can't work efficiently. But 7 to 8 hours is what I personally aimed for. And initially, it was very difficult, of course, because uh for a person like me who wasn't studying at all in college, to studying for so many hours was a challenge. So what I used to do was firstly, uh switch off my phone and keep it in another room because it was a big distraction. Even if it was in my room, I just felt the urge to check it once. I switched it off, kept it in another room. Secondly, sir, I sat in sessions. Sessions, initially, if you're finding it difficult to sit for long hours, just to make it a habit, sit for 30-35 minutes for one session, then 5 to 10 minutes, take a break, come back, 30-35 minutes, take a clock or anything to map it, use Forest app, anything that you want, but do that so that the number of sittings and the number of hours increases, and later on, you won't find it very difficult. And uh yes, that was my this thing and my daily routine. Uh I used to wake up at around 7:30 or 8, depending on what time I slept. Then 45 minutes, I would get ready. 40 minutes, I would read the newspaper. Then I had breakfast, then I sat down to study. One session was for around 45 minutes, not more than that. Then 5-10 minutes, I just went around the house, irritated my brother, talk to my parents, whatever. After that, uh for, I did around 3-4 sessions till my uh lunch. Lunch, then after that, I took an afternoon nap. After that, I studied again, similarly in sessions. Then I went for workout without fail for around 1, 1.5 hours. Um, I came back, had dinner, and then sessions again till about 12, 12 or 12:30. That was my basic routine, ideal routine. Of course, it deviated many times when I didn't feel like studying, but this was an ideal routine.
Great. Great. So there is also a perception around this examination that if you're preparing for UPSC, you need to cut off yourself from the entire world. You need to lock yourself in a room and study for long hours. Is it a reality because you are the one who have successfully succeeded clearing examination twice? So what, how is it a general perception or is it a reality that you need to cut off yourself from the entire world?
Uh I think definitely it is a perception. And many people have asked me this question that do we need to study 16 hours, 17 hours? I do not think that you need it. If you are doing it efficiently, 7-8 hours is more than enough, but you have to be truthful and honest to yourself. You have to dedicatedly study for 7-8 hours, and it's not as easy as you think it is. 7-8 hours might seem less for people who assume that a UPSC topper might study for 15 hours, but if you're doing it well without any distractions, then it's not that easy. Uh secondly, sir, when it comes to cutting off, I definitely um pulled back from many social circles because I was, I was an extrovert. I used to always like being around people. So it was a little isolating at first, but um I tried to take breaks, monthly breaks, weekly breaks, daily breaks. So if I'm taking a break and it is planned and it is not going beyond the time limit that I have set for myself, then it's absolutely no issue. I was on social media also. I did not post, but I used to watch videos or I used to sometimes chat with my friends. That was okay, but uh make sure that these breaks are not taking the best of you. Um, and u they are planned and they are for a small amount of time. So about 1 month, I used to go around and meet my friends, and um I used to work out daily. So you can take out times for other things also, provided that 7 to 8 hours are dedicatedly um are dedicated to studies.
Now, there's also a feeling among students preparing for examination that uh there are few days where you feel lot of motivated, motivation around preparing for examination, but there are few days where there are lows in few days. How did you manage that low days of yours?
Yes sir, that is definitely true. I think initially, um, all of us are pushed by motivation, and everyone is highly motivated, especially I think after reading Lakshmi Kant. But after that, of course, uh the process is so long, and there are so many highs and lows that motivation definitely goes down. What I did was not rely on motivation too much. I relied a little more on discipline. Initially, of course, the push was given by motivation, and you will need external and internal motivation through the process. But if you rely on motivation on a daily basis, then uh you're digging a grave for yourself. Rely on discipline. That even if I'm not motivated, I will wake up at this time, I will study. I will read the newspaper. So I had made a disciplined schedule every day. And that discipline does not only entail your academics. If you are working out or if you're taking some time to rest, that also counts as a part of your discipline. That if you're taking out one and a half hours for the gym or for running every day, even if you do not feel like it, you will go. So discipline works both ways in academics and non-academics. When this works, so discipline more than motivation will take you through this process.
Now, there is one this one thing which is very least talked about, but again, very important. People go through stress, or students go through stress in this whole preparation phase of the examination. So how did you managed your stress days in this preparation journey?
Uh so I was an extremely anxious and stressed person, especially in my first attempt. But because I had put this, because I had this holier than thou attitude, that so I had put so much extra pressure on myself that on the day of prelims, I succumbed to that pressure. I marked, I wasn't able to mark my OMR properly. My hands were trembling, and I knew that my fate was sealed. This attempt has been, is gone. After that, I realized that stress was, stress and fear of failure was actually hampering me much more than enabling me. So after that, of course, I took time to process. I cried my heart out. For many days, I wasn't able to study. But later on, I think I tried to learn the art of surrendering. Surrendering to the process, surrendering to the universe. My dad and mom always used to say, initially I thought, but after that, I tried. I used to listen to shandam a lot. I used to listen to many other songs like Namu, and I used to watch Mahadev serial also. So I just surrendered after that. And secondly, sir, uh my friend also suggested, treat failure as an option in this exam because we see failure as an end of the world. I failed in my first prelims. Of course, people, most people, most aspirants do fail at at least one or two stages in this examination. But the moment we stop fearing failure and treat just as another part of the process, I think it will be helpful. And thirdly, sir, I think other things like meditation, yoga, and anything, my reflective journaling, whatever that is, whatever it helps, it will help your mental health a lot. Please do it. And uh lastly, I would say, go for some physical exercise, please. Um, in the end, it is a game of neurotransmitters, as ma'am was also saying. It will help elevate your mood. It will help you give a sense of accomplishment even when you're not doing well in your studies. And it will help boost your happy hormones. So please do that.
Now we are going to have prelims very near. It's really about right. So a lot of self-doubt is also coming in the mind of aspirants, whether I should skip this attempt, whether I should try this attempt or not. What is one thing which should be in mind of an aspirant that again, yes, if I have studied well, I am going to give this attempt? So what message would you like to convey to our students who are going to appear for this year examination of UPSC?
Yes sir. Uh so firstly, I think of course, it's absolutely natural and normal to feel overwhelmed at this stage. So if you are having jitters, if you are feeling anxious, it's all right. There's nothing wrong with you. Every aspirant, all the 8.5 lakhs, how many ever are appearing, will feel the same. So do not fret over it. Secondly, if you're able to hold your nerves through this process, I think you've made it through half of the battle because most people uh most people pull out of the battle just at this stage, at this crucial juncture, because they are so overwhelmed. So thirdly, sir, I think don't doubt yourself now. Do not go for many mock tests. Do not go for anything extra that you might want to read. Just re-revise, revise, revise, revise all the static resources that you might have read before this, and only rely on pyqs because it's only a few days to prelims now. And if you're able to hold your nerves and if you stick to the basics, trust me, if you find the exam difficult, everyone else will, and you will sail through.
Thank you. So now I would shift our conversation to a little bit on academic side. So starting for prelims means again for the two stages, UPSC is going to ask objective questions. UPSC is going to ask you subjective questions in the examination. So how did you planned for these two stages specifically in your first attempt?
Uh so initially, uh in my first attempt, I started a little more with pre and the basic resources that is polity, economy, and history. After that, when I did have start having a little uh more knowledge about these things, then I jumped into mains preparation. So for uh mains, again, I think do not jump into answer writing would be my one advice because many people before completing the syllabus itself, they start writing answers, and then they are demoralized. But in mains, interconnections are very important across GS papers. So once you're done with your entire syllabus of GS, at least one reading, then you start writing your answers. And for that, PQS will be your guide. So PYQ's will help you analyze the theme, especially in mains, and accordingly, you can prepare your short notes or value addition, and then start writing answers. That's how it is.
Right. So again, for prelims, objective questions through previous questions, and certainly that for mains as well, right? So now there's come the third part, that is your optional, that what should be the strategy of choosing an option paper number one, and what is the idle time to start preparing for an option paper, given the time you have one year, and again, you are going to appear for examination, what is the cut-off time that this is the high time I should start preparing for an option as well?
Yes sir. So coming to the first part of the question, uh that what should be the criteria for choosing optional. Firstly, I think of course, it depends on the interest. If you do have an interest in the subject, please go ahead for with it. Secondly, um is the syllabus. Please do not jump into any optional preparation without looking at at least the syllabus of four to five subjects that you might think you might go for. So analyze the syllabus thoroughly, and then see if it suits you. And third would be the length of the optional, of course, because practicality is another uh main concern. Uh I chose sociology because it was a very small optional, and the first time I read it, I completed it within about 2 months, which is less for an optional. So um that was it. And for uh science background students, I think sociology does farewell. Uh I had chosen sociology also because firstly, the uh syllabus was much near to whatever we see around us, all the real-life events, and be it caste, gender, politics, everything is covered in sociology, and everything we see around us every day. And secondly, because I had it as an elective in my as a humanities elective in my engineering, so I had a certain background of it, a very small background. So interest, of course, and practicality, which includes the duration or the length of the um course, and u the resources that are available. This should be the main concern uh with regards to how much time should be allocated and by when should you be done. I think uh once before pre, you should be done with your optional. I'm not saying you won't be able to clear it without that, but it will just make it very difficult for you if you do it for the first time between pre and mains. Uh what I did was about by u I started sociology about around November, and by December, November and December, I dedicatedly um devoted to sociology. So I think once you should be done with sociology and uh with your optional, and it would be beneficial if you do a bit of GS first before jumping into optional, but try doing it once before pre.
Now, one other hurdle comes at this point of time that again, you are preparing for prelims, you're preparing for four papers of your mains. Now there comes optional. So balancing between these three in the first 9 months preparation, how did you balance that?
Uh so I started with GS. That was an integrated mains and uh pre. That gave me a brief outline of all the syllabus. And I spent around six months doing all of this, doing um GS. After that, I shifted to optional because now I was a little more confident with regards to my GS preparation. Then I shifted to optional. I study in block. So I study one subject at one time, and then I move to other subject. But there might be people who might find it boring. So for that, what you can do is, while you're studying GS also, during the initial phases, you can devote 60 to 70% of your time to GS and 30 to 40% of your time to your optional simultaneously, if you want to do it simultaneously. Otherwise, please reserve about two to three months for your optional for your first reading.
So do we also need to write a test series for our optional before prelims also?
Uh sir, I did because I uh did have one year to myself. So I did uh because in my first year itself, uh I enrolled for one test series. But even if you do not, at least go through the p, if you do not get the time, at least go through the pyqs once and try making a broad outline of the answers. If you're not able to practice answer writing before pre, so test series would help. If you're not able to enroll for a test series, then go for pyqs and theme analysis.
Now, as you told earlier, that again, 9 months, there was there for your prelims, mains, and was optional, and the last 3 months, the gear shifted altogether to prelims. So what was the change in strategy in the last 3 months before prelims examination?
Uh sir, I stopped firstly, of course, reading the uh the pointers or the syllabus pointers which were sole exclusive to means. Um, and again, I shifted completely to the objective side of the questions. I started revising the prelims books again, like Lakshmi Khan, spectrum, all the basic prelim books, and relied a lot on pqs. So PQs, uh I made, I started making notes also, uh with regards to PQs. Uh do not just sit and solve them because that becomes very easy. But what you can do is, for PYQ, starting from about 2013, for every keyword that you find in any question, that includes in the question as well as the options, u make certain notes. Make notes just for two to three lines for every keyword. That will be enough because they are repeated many a times, if not as options, then as questions. So PYQ notemaking during that three, three and a half month, as well as uh reading the uh reading the basic resources again and again, and of course, a bit of current affairs. So that is how we went for this.
So now tell me again, as you discussed, there was a lot of stress in your first attempt. Now again, we are having films. So what would be your advice for students in the last few days that again, there's a lot of pressure, there's a lot of overwhelming situations, how to handle these 10 days before examination?
Yes sir. Uh so firstly, I think meditation, if you can go for it, meditation or yoga or whatever other thing there is uh for mental health, that is extremely beneficial. Uh secondly, uh I think if you do have a hobby, if you if you can go outside, if you can uh exercise, it even if it is for half an hour or 1 hour, just go outside. Even if you do not want to exercise, just walk. That will help you hold your nerves. And thirdly, again, so stick to the resources. There will be a lot of FOMO. There will be a lot of people telling you, you need to do this, you need to do that. Trust yourself. Trust the preparation that you have been doing for so many months. Just stick to the resources and focus on PQS, the basics. Yes.
Many students also neglect paper. Yes. Right. How important and what is idle time that one should give for CSAT before prelims examination?
Uh yes sir. Uh so definitely CSAT should not be ignored because it is extremely heartbreaking if you lose out on uh prelims because of CSAT. So what I did was, uh firstly, I went through the five years, five-year question papers and I solved them in real time uh in the two, two and a half hours that we do get for CSAT. So I solved those papers and then I analyzed what were my strengths and weaknesses, and if I was scoring much above the cutoff, much above the cutoff, not just 67 or 70 marks, uh and I thankfully was scoring above that. But um, so firstly, just go and analyze those five-year papers. Solve them, don't just analyze them, solve them. It will help you analyze your strengths and weaknesses, whether it is uh reasoning, maths, or English. Uh secondly, if you do find it difficult, that if you're finding it difficult to cross that uh border, then what you can do is, uh refer to any YouTube series or anything. For example, uh I did refer to a free YouTube series called Educat, if I'm not wrong. Then there, they were just solving the questions along with it, with us, and um sir, uh just gave us the basic concepts, so that helped me a lot in CSAT. So please do not ignore. And thirdly, uh I would say that of course, focus on your weaknesses when it comes to uh CSAT, but also also focus on your strengths. For example, there are many students who might find mathematics very difficult, but their um English skills or reasoning skills are adequate. So do not just spend all your time fretting over maths. Also focus on practicing English and reasoning. Uh so that, that helps you sail through. So, and for CSAT, I think you should start at least four to five months, if you are a little weak in CSAT, because that will give you more confidence.
Now, the next question is a question which many of the students would like to ask your response on this. We have prepared one year for the examination. We have given the attempt, but we did not cross that attempt. That how exactly one feels in this particular stage where again, you have very dedicated prepared for examination, but again, you some or other reason, you could not qualify the examination. What is the kind of feeling once come, which comes to your mind once you have failed in your first attempt?
Yes sir. Uh so that of course happened with me. I, I at least thought that I had prepared very well, and I had gone through the mains, main's syllabus also along with prelims, and I had also gone for the uh optional syllabus before I gave my first attempt, and I thought I was well prepared for pre. But when I could not qualify, uh of course, I was devastated, and I, a lot of self-doubt creeps in, and um, there will be people who will tell you. So firstly, don't get disheartened if you don't clear pre or any stage. There are many who have failed prelims multiple times and went on to achieve top five ranks. So I think you should treat them as an example. Uh secondly, I wouldn't say uh to just suppress your emotions. Uh please uh just feel whatever you're feeling is absolutely natural, and you should, if you do feel like crying, please cry it out. If you feel devastated, please talk to someone, and it's absolutely natural to cry uh if you've not failed, and for self-doubt to creep in. But uh after a few days, when it has finally sunk in that you couldn't qualify, uh treat this as a learning opportunity. That is what I did. I analyzed and I realized actually that uh stress and this fear of failure was holding me back. So I tried to do things that would uh help me get over this fear of failure. For example, if you want, my fear of failure actually was that even if I wasn't prepared absolutely well, I wouldn't even give a mock test because I would say, I would feel that if I do not get good marks in this, I would feel demotivated. So if you are at this stage and you also feel the same, do the opposite. Just go and give a mock test number. Just go there, and that will help you overcome this fear of failure. So of course, devastating feeling, but treat it as a learning lesson. There are so many examples of people who have made it after multiple uh failures, and failure is a part and parcel of this exam, not only of this exam and of this life also. So I think treat it as a learning opportunity.
I think you have cleared one big myth between the students that they are getting 30 marks, 20 marks in the mock test, how they are going to qualify the examination, right? So that is something which is common to every aspirant. Initially, you will get low marks, and that should not bother you because you need to trust yourself, that how you're going to do, what learnings you're going to take out of it, and again, how you're going to improvise in your journey, right? So what was your strategy of buckling up that again, we have learned your first year strategy. So what was your revised strategy in the second attempt?
Uh so in my second attempt, actually, after I was done with my crying, so since I had prepared for my mains once, in my first, before my first attempt itself, what I did was, I enrolled in the mains advanced batch of vision itself. It was just about two, two and a half months, I think, and it is mostly for people who have cleared pre and now are going to appear for mains. But I enrolled in it knowing that the competition would actually be with people who will be writing mains this time. So if I am able to compete with them, then the chances for me in the next attempt will increase substantially. So I enrolled in that advanced batch. I uh focused on uh the not the basics, of course, because I was already done with it. I focused on the advanced things of mains. And what I had planned in my mind was that when people who are writing mains will be writing mains in their respective centers, I will be writing the same tests at my house. And that was a very good strategy. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to implement it. I wasn't, um, yeah, I was, I couldn't implement it properly. Then no justification for it. But if you are able to do that, if you are able to dedicatedly prepare uh for mains after prelims and write those uh write the GS papers like the people who actually are writing mains are, then I think that will help you immensely. That would put you and that will give you an edge over all the other students who had failed pre and will be appearing for mains, because your mains will be done in 3 to 4 months, because that deadline that you have set for yourself. So I think that can help.
So how exactly this mains advanced course of vision helped you down the two and a half months of your mains preparation?
Yes sir. Uh so firstly, I think um, it was because I was competing uh with the people who were clear, appearing for mains, and I am sure many of them would have gone to qualify the exam also. So that pressure, actually, not the pressure, I would say the competition, actually, a healthy competition helped me get over my failure and focus on studying more because I was scared. Secondly, sir, I think uh the maze advanced batch helped me focus on the uh things that I had neglected before, because at that time, they felt too complicated for me. But then I realized that through the maze advanced batch, that they were fairly not very complicated. They were simplistic once you understand them. And and I incorporated many of the value addition from this course in my uh answers as well. So it helped me in my value addition and making notes also.
One other problem which certainly many people don't talk about is many students after they fail to qualify prelims, they get into a zone of again clearing, preparing only for prelims examination. They don't enter into mains domain, right? So what, how exactly do you suggest students that again, pimps, of course, because advance stage you did not cleared, and again, you have a fear whether next year I'm going to clear pms or not, and in that mode, people study only for pms, right? So what exactly should the strategy that we should focus more on mains in our second attempt, and of course, prelims would be the later part of the preparation?
Yes sir. Uh of course sir, that u is one, one of the biggest mistakes that many aspirants do make. But uh trust me, uh you're just digging your own grave if you're doing this. Uh because in the end, it will only mains will help you qualify mains and personality test. Prelims is just a stepping stone. Of course, if you do feel scared, it is natural. But you cannot dedicatedly prepare for prelims for a year. Uh what I would suggest is that if you are scared, then do this. Then even when you're preparing for mains, uh just uh spend about one or one and a half hours just analyzing PyQs of prelims, because that would give you the confidence. So if you, if I'm uh studying for mains during that time after my prelims failure, then for one, one and a half hours, what I can do is just go through the pqs and make notes as I said of the pqs. So that will keep you in loop for pre as well. And even when you're studying for pre, please make an integrated preparation strategy. Um, again, mark the things that you will be using for mains. So that is what you should do. Please uh do not waste the whole year. At least be done with your mains reading as well as your optional again, once. And if you do feel scared, then dedicatedly prepare for about three and a half months. No, I don't think it more than that is needed for prelims. So three and a half months solely would be sufficient.
As you initially told that you were one of the aspirant who saw a proper stock and again learned from their strategies. So again, I would like you as a topper now that what is the strategy which you used for the four GS papers of this examination, very briefly, you can tell us.
Uh so every GS paper, Yeah. 1, 2, 3, and 4. Yes. All right. Uh so GS1, I think you should take it with a pinch of salt because my GS1 is my weakest uh for me. So uh art and culture and uh for art and culture and ancient medieval, of course, refer to the basic resources like Nitan Singhani, etc. But what I, what mistake I made was not referring much to NCERTTs. Please for these subjects, do refer to NCERTTs because firstly, the unconventional questions now are being asked which are directly written in NCERTTs. Apart from that, what you can do is um make a lot of diagrams when it comes to geography and even art and culture, ancient medieval, make a lot of diagrams, make a lot of maps. Maps, for example, even if you're studying stupa architecture, then stupa architecture may just map India, so that would help, that would help in value addition. Uh so that helped me gain a better understanding. Uh secondly, sir, for GS2, I would say um rely on value additions like um supreme court cases, articles, many administrative examples. For example, I never quoted many basic articles. I thought that article one, article, even if it's the most basic article, just quote it, just write it in the bracket, it will help you fetch marks. Look for supreme court cases, prepare cases for all major articles, and mention them as and when it's possible. Look for many quotes. For example, I used to refer, me and my friend used to refer to uh justice Chandraud's quotes also, because constitution related, constitution is a feminist document, etc., etc. Just note it down whenever you read it in your um newspaper or anywhere else. Quote PIB. So these are the value additions that I'm talking about. And for uh governance part also, of course, refer to, I think I referred to vision value added material. And so apart from that, have a lot of administrative examples ready. If you can quote them in the answers, then that will help. Not just administrative examples, NOS, SGS, cooperatives, have good examples ready for all of them. For example, millet sisters, kudum, yeah, kudum shri, I think all of them, please uh refer to those. And for IR, I referred to vision. I picked two to three years of vision. And what I did was, for every um keyword, for example, every for India, China, or India, Russia, India, US, SARK, G20, for all of them, I had headings ready, like economic, political, um strategic, etc. And for that, I just mentioned keywords in my uh notes, and that I took from vision is uh magazines, two to.
Three years, not just one year, two to three years. I referred to it. Cursory glance, make notes from those. Uh, for GS3, I extensively used my prelims knowledge for mains. As I said, for science and tech, for environment, and for economy, I mostly relied on my prelims knowledge only for pre. I mentioned all of those things that I, all the schemes, all the data, everything that I had read about in my prelims for mains. And I also drew diagrams when it comes to, uh, GS3. For example, last year, I think there was a, there was a question on Chandrayaan. Uh, I drew two to three diagrams there. So that will help you gain an advantage.
Um, and GS4, I think, sir, uh, GS4 last year, I just had 99 marks. This time I had 129. What mistake I was making? It was overcomplicating. I used to think quoting too many ethical theories or quoting extremely complicated quotes would help me fetch marks. But that is not true when it comes to ethics. Uh, you just need simplistic answers, absolutely simple answers. Um, you can quote real-life examples. So, uh, for every keyword in ethics, I had six to seven examples ready and diverse examples, uh, to fortitude. Suppose I will have an example ready from my real life, or from my parents or teachers, anything. Second would be an administrative example, uh, any bureaucrat who might have shown this. Um, thirdly, uh, was any example from maybe Indian national movement or an international personality. Fourth was a quote. If, uh, there is anything that I can utilize from environment also, I used to try doing that. Apart from that, a religious example also, from any religion, from any, uh, religious book, if you can quote an example, please, uh, do mention it. For, so for every ethical keyword, I had six to seven examples ready, and according to whatever was asked in the question, I used to just write those. So I think that helped me a lot, and I used quotes also to a large extent.
And this time, I think there's an, an, there's a change in the trend with regards to GS4. Uh, last year, they used to ask only ethical, uh, questions. But this time, what they did was they picked up topics, broad topics from GS and asked ethical dimensions of it. For example, I think there was a question on AI, there was a question on criminal reforms. So these are the questions that we prepare for GS1, 2, 3, but they were asked as ethical, uh, they were asked with regards to their ethical dimensions in GS4. So I would advise all the aspirants that whatever broad topics you're studying in GS1, 2, 3, prepare an ethical dimension also for it, because, uh, I think UPSC has started asking similar questions.
Now, one more question that, uh, current affairs, you of course, newspaper reading has no substitute. You told that, how exactly do, do you use the Vision IAS monthly magazines and PT 365, Mains 65 in your preparation journey? Uh, yes, sir. So for current affairs, I only refer to, uh, the newspaper, of course, and the monthly magazines. I, uh, used to try and do about 10 pages of monthly magazine every day. Sometimes I did five, sometimes I did 12, but that is what I tried, uh, so that I can, uh, I do not have to sit down at once and do the entire magazine. Um, so that is what I did. And for PT 365 and Mains 365, actually, in my later stages, in my third attempt, I could not, I did not have the time to refer to monthly magazines. So I solely relied on pre PT and Mains 365. And I not only relied, uh, on PT 365 for prelims, but again, as I used to incorporate my prelims knowledge for mains, I did the same for mains also. Uh, I just noted down the things that could be used from PT 365, any good case studies also, and used them in my mains answers.
Right. So now I will ask your experience after clearing preliminary examination. That we are left with two and a half months roughly these days between prelims and mains. How, what was your strategy in this two and a half months between prelims and mains for the mains examination? Uh, yes, sir. So first, uh, after pre, take about four to five days break. Uh, but after that, please get down to study because if you wait for the prelims result, then you're already out of the race. It takes around 15, 20 days now. Um, that is still less, but if you do wait for the result, you're out of the race. In any case, you have to prepare for mains. So, uh, be strong and start preparing after five days. Um, what I did was, initially for about one and a half months, I used to spend around 70 to 60% of time on social, uh, that is my optional, and 30 to 40% time on GS. Later on, after one and a half months, it became 60% GS, 40% social. So that was my strategy. Yes.
Okay. Great. So again, people also, uh, you have to write two language papers, English and one compulsory language. How did, when did you start preparing for these two papers? Okay. Uh, so firstly, you analyze what your strengths and weaknesses are. Uh, if you feel that English is not an issue with, for you, then you do not need to, uh, wholeheartedly prepare for it. If you feel that Hindi might be an issue for you, then, um, of course, do give it some time. Uh, honestly speaking, I did not. Uh, I just spent the, uh, time after my, uh, after I think my GS4 paper, uh, for Hindi. Uh, I had gotten a book from, uh, from the market. You buy any, you can buy any book, and I just, uh, went through the main muhavare and, and some certain words. And my friend suggested key preamble, they can be used verbatim, um, and major other terms, anything like G20, so that it can be used in your, um, in your, uh, language paper, in or in the essay in the language paper. So I did not spend too much time, but if you do find it difficult, then.
First mains, again, you got through the first mains, of course. What are the strategies which you took after mains for your personality test? Uh, yes, sir. And again, what was the break duration? Yes, sir. The break duration, I think, extended a lot. I had initially thought that after mains, I would take a break for about 15 days and get back to preparation, but I did not. I think inertia crept in, and I couldn't get back to mains. Actually, I had in my second attempt, I had my forest mains, and I was supposed to start studying for it after about a week, but I gave up. I don't know what happened. I wasn't able to study. I did not write forest. So, ideally, you should start after 15 days, uh, till the result for personality test comes, because that will give you an advantage over the others. Because once personality test results come, of course, you'll be dedicatedly preparing for personality test. Uh, second is, so my strategy for personality test, um, I focused on two major things, uh, current affairs and DAFF. And for DAFF, all the keywords, right from where you're born, where you reside, uh, the places where your 10th and 12th schooling was. Mine was all from different regions because my father is in the defense background. So my 10th was from Pune, my 12th was from Jaipur. I was staying in Delhi, my college was in Ghaziabad, I was in Noida, and my permanent residence is in UP. So I had to prepare for all of these places, and I extensively did prepare for all of these places. So for places in your DAFF, what you do is just divide economic, social, political, etc., and then make questions, answer, write those questions. Apart from that, all the other keywords like hobbies, etc. All of the hobbies, leadership positions, I had them very well prepared. U, every keyword on my DAFF was thoroughly prepared. For example, um, my college, college name is, uh, JP Institute of Information Technology. So I had prepared, uh, JP revolution also. I had prepared 19, I had prepared emergency period because there might be certain word correlation in the exam. So you have to be thoroughly prepared with your DAFF also with your graduation subject. I did study for EC to a certain extent. I did not, of course, the numericals and all the basics, their applications of EC, etc. I did go through that. And current affairs was the other part of my preparation for that. Form an opinion on every, uh, broad topic that is going on, uh, around you that you read in the newspaper. Read one newspaper or two, whatever pleases you. I used to read one and explained series of Indian Express. Um, form an informed opinion on all the topics and form a moderate opinion. Do not go to an extreme. Uh, of course, you do not have to be completely diplomatic in all the answers. You can be truthful, but just present it in a way that it does not, it is not displeasing. It is a moderate opinion. So that is what I did for, um, my personality test, DAFF, and current affairs, only two things.
So again, last question from my side. What is the message you would like to give to students who are going to give prelims examination this month? Uh, I think just have trust in yourself. You have prepared well. Um, no matter what the world says, no matter how tough, uh, this period is going to be, you can make through it. You will make through it. Um, you are much stronger than this exam. And if you do find it difficult, uh, on the exam day, if you're finding the paper difficult, everyone else is finding it difficult. So hold your nerves. Please just do not give up until it's the end. So that is what I would like to say. Have faith in yourself and all the very best. Thank you, Ria, for joining us today. And again, Vision IAS, she's very proud to be a part of your journey of clearing this examination. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, sir, for having me. Thank you, viewers. And again, certainly this conversation which Ria had with us today was the most realistic one. Again, we discussed the major challenges, the practical issues which every aspirant faced, which she also went through. So certainly, please use the challenges which she faced and how she overcame it in your preparation journey. And certainly, everyone is a future aspirant. It just takes a good, uh, disciplined attempt to clear the examination. So all the very best and thank you so much for joining us today. [Music]