Toppers' Talk | Shah Margi Chirag | AIR 4 | UPSC CSE 2024

She cracked one of the toughest examinations in the country, and now she will serve the nation with utmost dedication and integrity. The journey is truly inspiring for all of us, especially for the youth who have dreams of making a difference in society. We are very grateful to have her here today to share her experiences, her wisdom, as well as her insights. Please join me in giving a huge round of applause for this magnificent person. Please sir, to participate. Margie, I would like to give you a brief about Miss Mavi, that she has studied from St. Xavier's School, Gujarat Board, and she has done her engineering from Delhi Engineering College in Computer Science. And she has started her preparation in 2019. If I talk about her hobbies, she loves to read Western fiction books. Also, she loves to learn languages, which is Spanish. And her journey is filled with all ups and downs, leading with all kinds of different experiences, but her goal to serve the society keeps her going. So, without taking much of your time, may I request Margie Ma'am to kindly come forward and grace the stage? Thank you.

First of all, good morning everyone. I need some more energy. Thank you. My voice is not bad, but yours is not here. So please, okay. First of all, Ma'am has almost given my introduction. So, I started my preparation in 2020, and I cleared this examination in my fifth attempt. In the 2020 and 2021 attempts, I could not clear Prelims. In the 2022 attempt, I cleared Prelims but could not clear Mains. In the 2023 attempt, I cleared Mains but not the interview. And finally, it took me five attempts to secure an All India Rank and find my name in that holy PDF that you all would be aiming for. So, now, not taking much of your time, let's focus on the strategy. Before I discuss that, I want to give you a disclaimer that whatever resources I am sharing and whatever experiences I am telling, they are completely personal. This is not a quick guide book that you will get an All India Rank like this. I am not sure of it because it took me five attempts. Right? And secondly, all of the recommendations or suggestions that I give you, take them with a pinch of salt. Because everyone's strengths and weaknesses are different. Everyone's skills and capabilities are different. So, accordingly, follow your routine, your schedule, your resources.

Now, firstly, there was one question that I was asked, which was your biggest hurdle? Which stage did you find the most challenging? So, my answer to that was, whatever stage until it was cleared, because Prelims were not cleared in the beginning. And statistically, that is the hardest stage because that's where the maximum people get filtered out. So, for two attempts, Prelims was my biggest fear. Then, in 2022, I was able to secure my name in the Mains qualified list in both CSE as well as Forest. So, my cut-off cleared for both. But when Mains did not clear, and I remember telling my friend in 2022 after giving my Mains and writing those nine papers, "Oh, I cannot do this. This is so much tougher than Prelims." And those two hours are bliss in front of this. Then, when I qualified Mains in my 2023 attempt, I got to the interview stage. And for the first time, facing the honorable Chairperson and the esteemed panel members in the UPSC Bhavan, that is a whole different experience, right? And then to go in front of them and express yourself, to be able to put your personality forward, was very, very difficult. So, at that point, I thought the interview is the toughest stage because Mains you have written. There, no one is judging you immediately. You have written what you had to write in the paper. And then they are going to evaluate at some point. But in the interview, you have to frame and articulate your answer in the five seconds that they give you in between the pauses. And you have to ensure that you give a balanced opinion. You maintain a calm demeanor. You also say no to the answers you don't know. And you cannot bluff. So, that was the most difficult stage for me. Then, this time, when I have secured a rank and fortunately and very gratefully, now I am on the other side. I will feel the journey and the challenges are only about to begin. Meaning, this was not even the trailer of what we were thinking about, right? So, to all of you, I will only give one message: keep on focusing on your efforts. The difficulty level will always increase at every stage. And the stage that is not getting cleared at any point will seem the most difficult. But once you cross to the other side, you will face bigger challenges and better challenges. Okay? So, you will do good in life only if you keep focusing on your efforts.

Now, let's discuss my strategy stage-wise. Okay? Let's first focus on Prelims. Now that it is very close, almost a month is left. So, I will share my booklist, my resources, and then the strategy in general. So, my booklist for the major subjects: for Modern India, it was Spectrum. For Polity, it was Laxmikanth. For Ancient, it was the three themes books that we have, the new NCERTs. I read the old ones, but now that the questions are evolving, you need the new NCERTs. For Medieval, also, the NCERTs will cover. For Art and Culture, I referred to "Introduction to Fine Arts" Class 11. And also for covering the kingdoms of South India, I referred to Tamil Nadu NCERT, which is a great source for empires like the Chola Empire and others. Now, when we come to Geography, I read the NCERTs from 6th to 12th, focused on the 11th because of the physiography. I think that is covered in Class 11th. Okay, so, wherever we were discussing the resources, right? So, we discussed History, Ancient, Art and Culture, and Polity. Now, for Art and Culture, I also referred to Nitin Singhania. I would recommend selective use of that book, not cover to cover, because cover to cover is very bulky. So, use it selectively. And the questions on architecture are pertaining to the first two chapters. I think they are very prominent and very important. Secondly, for Geography, I said 6th to 12th NCERT. 6th to 10th is very basic. So, try to make notes of it after one or two times of reading because that will suffice. And then you can move on to the 11th and 12th. Now, Geography is also being integrated with questions from Environment. So, plan your resources accordingly. For Environment, I referred to Shara IAS's book. But now, again, the nature of questions has evolved a lot. So, that book will be a little obsolete. You can refer to PMF IAS's book as well. It has good resources.

There we go to Science and Tech. Now, Science and Tech generally does not have a single source. And I also covered it majorly from current affairs. Current affairs forms the key. Yes, for the basic questions of Science, you could refer to the NCERTs from 6th to 10th. They will suffice enough. And yes, the Class 12th NCERT which focuses on Biotechnology. Especially there are four chapters in the end, 9th and 11th, 12th, if I am not wrong. If I am wrong, please rectify it. But there are four chapters in Biotechnology and its applications. So, you can refer to that. They will be helpful, especially in answering questions about genes and DNA and RNA. All of those concepts are covered in those NCERTs. Now, what all is left? Current affairs, major one. Now, before moving to current affairs, I say, please do not ignore static. Everybody has their own strengths, I understand. But the importance of static is always there in the Prelims paper. And the breadth and width of current affairs is so huge that it is almost impossible to cover all the current affairs and to address all the questions in the exam about current affairs. Right? So, please focus on static. That is the strategy that I followed in the attempts that I cleared. I might have revised Laxmikanth at least more than 10 times. Right? And this is not to brag, but just to show that Laxmikanth always has something new to offer every time you read it. Every other time you read it, you have left something in it. Like the appointment of High Court judges and Supreme Court judges. One is done by the President, and another by the Parliament. They increase in the number of judges, right? So, those minor details, you will find new things every time you read it. And the way the questions are evolving, because even the examiners know and the paper setters know that people are reading Laxmikanth. But how deeply you have read it, that will be the challenge every time, right? So, please read all those resources very, very thoroughly.

Now, for current affairs, in the first two attempts, I read PD 365. After that, I took some current affairs classes from an institute. But my major takeaway from that was, please stick to one resource. Now, current affairs will create a lot of confusion. And the amount of resources that are available in the market is increasing every day. You have, first of all, you have magazines from all the institutes. Then you have newspapers now having their UPSC essentials section different. So, you will feel that you have read all of this from here, but you have missed reading from here. Stick to one resource, maximum two resources. If you try to do more than that, you will not be able to revise, and you will not be able to remember what you have read. Now, if there is confusion in the examination hall about whether this option will come or not, then that content read is useless. If you are not able to understand that content, if you are not able to memorize it and use it in your examination to answer the question, then the relevance of it is almost nil.

Secondly, the resources I talked about, they will always be complemented by test series. Okay? Whenever you solve mock questions, only then will you understand whether you have read what you were supposed to read in Spectrum or not. You might have read the names of the people who started the tribal movements. You might have missed the reasons for some. And in the question, they are not asking the name but the reason. So, when you solve questions, you will understand what to focus on in the book. So, always try to attempt mocks and then to solve those mocks. Because if a question is wrong, now which question is wrong, and how to correct it? Which option was correct, and what did you do wrong? If you don't know that either, then there is no point in solving that mock, right? So, whenever you are solving any mock, whenever you are solving any paper, half-length, full-length, 50 questions, 25 questions, make sure that you solve them after you have given the mock. Okay?

Now, I referred to, I also gave the Abhyas test that some of you might be giving recently. What Abhyas test does is, it prepares you for the four hours, similar to the examination day. Like some people have a habit that they study at night, right? They study until 3 or 4 o'clock, then they sleep. So, at 9 o'clock, your brain is not active. Those are not the very active hours of your brain. So, what these Abhyas tests do, they simulate that atmosphere, they create that pressure, and they also give centers similar to the centers you get in UPSC. So, that you can get a complete feel of what you are going to feel on that examination day. Secondly, it also gives you an idea of how exhausted you will be by the time you reach the CSAT paper. Because from 9 to 11, you are focusing on GS. Your brain is very, very active and it's almost exhausted after you have given the examination. Right? But you don't have to ignore GS, sorry, CSAT. Those two hours, after you have had your lunch, they are very difficult. You are lethargic. You are a little sleepy. For the people who don't eat in the breaks, you are a little hungry as well, right? So, you cannot allow your brain to function a little less. Because the way we are seeing, the way the pattern of CSAT is evolving, you cannot at all ignore CSAT at any cost. Especially the papers in 2023 and 2024. The way those papers were framed, I think UPSC used a filter not just for GS but for CSAT as well, that in both stages, we will test and refine the students a lot, right?

Now, now that I have given you my booklist for GS, I will share that in CSAT, I did not follow any specific booklist. What I did, I did a lot of questions. On a daily basis, I used to solve five questions of CSAT. On Friday, probably Saturday, I used to solve at least 40 questions of CSAT. And apart from that, I sorted the papers from 2010 to 2020, until I gave my first attempt. And in CSAT, I have fortunately and luckily not failed. I have always gotten decent marks of above 90. And also, why it is so, because I did not ignore any section. There are three sections generally: RC, LR, and Quant. Now, Quant is very difficult. Quant is very difficult, especially for the people who are not from a science background or from a technical background. From a humanities background, I understand it gets a little difficult. So, for you, there is RC, and there is LR. Now, LR is generally at a, I would say, moderate level of difficulty. What I would recommend is that you strengthen those two sections, any two sections out of three. And manage one. Because the type of questions that are coming in these two years, at least, you cannot afford to ignore any section, or to rely on just one or two sections. Because RCs are also becoming a little ambiguous. And predicting accuracy in them, that you will get 25 correct out of 27, is almost impossible. At least for me, it was. So, I could not rely on any single section to pass the CSAT paper, right? I focused on all three sections, strengthened two, and managed one.

Now, the mindset in those two hours is also very, very important. And okay, how many of you will be first-timers? Second? Anybody in the third? Okay. Great. So, in the first attempt, there isn't that much pressure, generally. Because you are very young. You are giving the examination for the first time. You are going to get a feel of it. You are not very, very aware of what challenges can come. But when it goes to the second, third, fourth, fifth attempt, I gave Prelims in my fifth attempt. So, the pressure continuously keeps on rising. Because in the first attempt, everybody thinks that the child is young. Maybe it won't clear even the first time because UPSC is very difficult. It doesn't clear for everyone, right? You will get that benefit of doubt for the second attempt. In the third attempt, that pressure starts to build, and it builds medically. In those two hours, you don't have to consider yourself as a first, second, third attempt, fourth attempt. You have to consider yourself as an aspirant who has gained significant knowledge, who has prepared very, very well, given their 100% of their efforts, and now is very calm and confident in the knowledge that he possesses. Whether it is your first attempt or your fifth attempt.

So, in my first attempt, I recall, I was sitting on a bench in a school, and there was a person in front of me. So, after the GS paper was over, he looked at me, he asked me, "Which attempt?" I said, "First." He said, "Of first?" And this condescending tone was because he thought, "It doesn't clear for anyone in the first attempt." And looking at my age, he also thought, "She is very young, how did she clear it?" Now, that could have discouraged me in my CSAT paper. What I thought was, I am sitting with the same people, some of whom might probably be in the service. And yet, we are at the same level in this hall right now. So, for all the first-timers, do not take that pressure that officers who are already in the service are also giving it. Some repeaters are giving it. Some interview appearers are giving it. Going with a fresh mind. And for all those who are giving it in the second attempt or third attempt or fourth attempt, you have an edge. Consider yourself that, "I have given this exam before. I know what the pressure is. And I am better equipped than other people to maintain a mindset in this examination."

Secondly, in those two hours, you don't have to analyze the level of the paper, whether the paper is moderate, tough, easy, what. In 2023, everyone evaluated that it was tough. I understand it was tough because of the change in the pattern of the options: only one, only two statements. In 2024, again, everyone felt that it is very easy. Yes, it was not very easy. It was just easier compared to 2023. So, when it became very easy, many people attempted more because they thought the cut-off will be higher, and that might have backfired on some people who might have drastically changed their strategy. If you are attempting 70 questions, 80 questions in your mocks, and you analyze the paper in the examination hall and you thought, "No, I'll do 90 because what if, what if the cut-off goes high and my accuracy is good, then how great it will be? I will clear Prelims." That does not happen. You have made your strategy based on something, based on an experience, based on knowledge. So, have belief in your strategy. If you have to change something, then you go to three questions plus or minus. Do not drastically change your way of attempting the paper or the way of determining the number of questions that you will attempt.

And thirdly, do not consider yourself to be short of knowledge. If you cannot attempt a certain question that appears easy on its face. It's possible that you have read repo rate, you have read President, Parliament very well, but at that time, you are not able to recall it. I don't think that the person next to me must know this because it's basic. It's not basic. Nothing is basic in the Prelims examination. Every question is as important as the another one. It is as easy or difficult as the another one. Because your difficulty level, more than the content of the question, depends on your mindset. So, if you are going with a confident mindset that if not this, then the next one, and if not this, then the one after that, you will do one question at a time, one answer at a time, very nicely. In my attempts, in the last attempt that I qualified, I had done approximately 30 to 32 questions which I was sure that these are definitely correct answers. Then, in approximately 40 questions, I took an educated guess where I was 50-50, whether this will happen or not, confusion between A and B, etc. And in the next 10 questions, I took a complete guess between three options, where I could eliminate one, but the other three were not eliminable. But because I had a strategy, I have given multiple mocks with this, that I will not go beyond 90. 90 was my limit. Not more than 90, no matter how easy the paper is. But between 85 to 90 was my limit. So, I took those guesses. My point of telling you this is that I stuck to that strategy even in 2023 and 2024 and 2022, the three times I could clear Prelims. So, in 2023, I attempted around 85 because that was difficult. In 2024, I attempted almost 88, 89 because that was comparatively easy. A comparatively easy paper, I did not think so. When I came out of the examination hall, I heard people talking, then I understood.

Okay, another takeaway from this: do not talk to people, majorly. Do not talk to people, especially the people that ask you, "What is your attempt?" "Have you read this? I think this will come. This topic is very important." They are not setting the paper. They are similar aspirants like you. Nobody knows what will come in the paper. If you go with this mindset that this will come, and suppose it doesn't, or if someone tells you this will come, and by chance it does, then you will forget it because you haven't read it at the last moment, maybe I don't remember. Do not do that. Try and avoid talking to unknown people who are only going to peak your anxieties. In one of my State Civil Services Mains, a person came to me and told me, "Please revise Gujarat Architecture. Definitely, one question will come from it." And I had not prepared very well on Gujarat, not that good, I would say. And I got tensed, "What will I do if it comes?" And then, as soon as the paper came, I saw it, and I was like, "It's not there. It's okay. I am okay. It's going to be okay." So, talk to yourself that, "I am going to be okay. This is an examination that I definitely want to clear, but nothing is the end of life, right?"

This was my basics of Prelims. Now, let's go on to Mains. In Mains, the easiest and the most difficult, both, is Essay. Essay gives you scope. Yes. Okay, Economy was missed. Correct. In Economy, first, I referred to Ramesh Singh. Then, in my 2023 and 2024 attempts, I referred to Nitin Singhania. Nitin Singhania is proving to be a very good source in Economy because it has pointers format, it has all the relevant information. It's a bit of information overload, but if you read selectively, then Economy will be covered. And obviously, you cannot miss the NCERTs. Like, NCERT 11th was my "Macaulay" one. I don't remember the standard, 11th or 12th, but that is the base. All concepts of repo rate, reverse repo, capital markets, balance of payments, all of this are derived from NCERT only. So, for any other resources that you do, please build them on NCERTs. NCERTs are a must. Okay?

Are there any other subjects left? Any questions on Prelims? Then we can go on to Mains. Yes. For that, what did you do? Okay? So, Polity, we did it just five days ago. When Polity, Polity, we did it just five days ago. And Polity, cover to cover, questions are not going to come. You know the basics. Believe in yourself that what you have read, you will remember. I can assure you that. So, in my 2024 attempt, like on 30th April, I remember messaging my mentor because I had just given an Abhyas test and I did not score very well. So, I messaged my mentor. I said, "Sir, will it happen this time?" Everyone's mindset is the same: "Will it happen this time?" "It will happen." Now, what you are asking is, what to do one day or two days before? Do the low-hanging fruits. Like in current affairs, you have IR, you have mapping, you can do that. In Geography, there are straits, lakes, mountains. Where do they fall? There are some winds. I think there are ocean currents. These are all low-hanging fruits. If they come in a match-the-following, you will get two marks just like that. So, try to do those low-hanging fruits. And secondly, the things that need quick remembrance. Like some things in Ancient History are not remembered. It has a lot of information overload. So, if you feel that it is a weak part and you will not remember it for a long time, then do it at the last moment, when it is very close to Prelims, you can do that. Now, in my opinion, in my case, it was like this: Polity, I was good at Modern India. History, I was good at Modern India. But I had to revise current affairs because I had done them only once, and I had to do everything. So, what I did, three days before Prelims, I took my current affairs notes, and in those days, I tried to cover two subjects. Before that also, I had revised once, because not just after the lecture, but before that too. So, it won't be done in that much time. So, you can do that. Pick up the low-hanging fruits, and the difficult things to remember, according to you, revise them in those two-three days. Yes, anybody else?

Okay. First, I will address your second question. Should you do it from different institutes? For the reason that the paper setting in one institute is one. It can have a significant, a particular mindset, right? So, when you do it from other institutes, your variety of questions increases. Diversity increases. So, to address that diversity, you can do it from two-three institutes, not more. And secondly, how many to do, that depends on the attempt. Like, in my first two attempts, I did a lot of test series, meaning I did a lot. I cannot say that number. I could not remember, but quite a lot. See, in my third attempt, what I did was, I did 50 questions every day. So, in the end, I think I only did 10, including Abhyas's three, with six CSATs and four more CSATs. So, I only solved 10 GS papers. Why? So few? Because with the time I had, I thought that if I attempt 15 or 20, I will not be able to solve them. And if I cannot solve them, then I don't even know what the answer is. So, there was no point in addressing that question, right? So, give as many tests as you can solve. And in the last class, focus on your notes or your test series, meaning what you did wrong. Note it down somewhere. My test papers used to be full of red marks. Because whatever information I got from those answers, I used to note it down right there. And then I used to revise before Prelims, like 10 days, 15 days. I used to check where the mistakes happened, especially in the static part. If there was a mistake, then it should not happen. That was my focus. So, you can do this. Solve the test series, make notes separately in the same paper, and you will be good to go. Yes, I am, yes. Like, it's very challenging. So, do you think that there is any extra effort that needs to be put into it for the science background students? Or are the NCERTs sufficient?

Okay. So, now this can be seen in two ways. You are from science. You have to study humanities. That is a challenge because you haven't studied it after 10th. But you are from science. You know hard work, right? You know the time you spent in your 11th and 12th preparing for some competitive examination. So, you put in those hours of hard work. You don't have the content, but you have the value and the habit that is needed in this examination. So, you don't need extra efforts. Because everything is a new subject, and in the beginning, it is very interesting also. Because when you are reading, why is it interesting, and why was it not interesting in our school? Two major reasons: one is remembering dates and where it happened, who did it. It's not like that. It's much deeper. You have to analyze the impacts, the consequences, the cause, social, economic, historical, political, all fit. So, try to engage with that subject. If you read it passively, it will seem challenging, uninteresting, that you studied science, there is all logic. Here there is no logic, it's memorization. But when you interconnect events, then you will understand the logic. And when you analyze it on a deeper level, with a holistic perspective, that will become interesting for you rather than challenging. Okay. Yes. Yes, it will be okay. But if you are attempting in 2028, try to read newspapers. Okay, static will cover. I think in the three years that you have, you will very well cover. But for current affairs, you need to have a little awareness. So, in 2022 or 2023, I think there was a question that was asked on something three or four years back. Now, if you have read newspapers, it will click that, "I read this thing here." I think that was the Miyawaki method. Miyawaki was very significant during 2020 and 2021, and the question was asked in 2022, if I am not wrong, 2022 or 2023. So, that thing had happened two years before. But if you have read it in the newspaper, I also remember a cutting from Indian Express where it came on the first page, at the bottom, Miyawaki. That is a forest issue. So, if you read newspapers, you will get an idea and awareness about it. That's it. One year will be enough. And secondly, current affairs is always integrated somehow. It's starting. So, even if you don't know the specific event that they are asking about, it's okay. You can build on your static knowledge, and you can take an educated guess. Yes.

Ma'am, what is the key factor which to clear the Prelims in the third attempt, and not in the first or second attempt? Yes, okay. So, I missed the Prelims by a very short margin. In the first attempt, I missed it by 7 to 8 marks. The second one, I missed by two marks. And one question was cancelled in that, right? So, but the differentiating factor, I believe, one was, I solved 50 questions every day from January 2022, from Monday to Friday for GS and Saturday for CSAT. Okay? So, I came across a lot of questions. Now, that helped me to cultivate a habit that whenever I am seeing unknown questions, how I take an educated guess in them, right? So, that habit is cultivated when you attempt a lot of questions, not in a single day, but you are evolving, basically, your strategy. Okay? So, that helps. You are giving which attempt? First? First? At this stage, try not to self-evaluate because we do not know the demand of the question and what the evaluator expects from us. Okay? So, once you develop that knowledge, once you have that habit, then you can self-evaluate. But I say, in the initial attempts that you have, I hope you clear in the first one itself. So, try not to self-evaluate. Get it evaluated by a good evaluator mentor. They will give you the evaluation. They will also build your notes when you are writing answers. So, I think self-evaluation comes in the third attempt, I guess, when you have a significant amount of knowledge, you understand what to write, but you are not able to write. That is a different thing. This is what you write? Yes. You have faculties here. I think they will be evaluating. Okay. Okay, okay. See, there are different channels on Telegram, and different platforms also that allow you to submit your answers, and then they will evaluate. Okay? So, you can submit the answers of your choice, and they will give you the evaluation. Those platforms will be shared with you, and you will know from your peers as well. It's not important, very, very important, to get it checked from your peers because if they are in the same stage, then what's the difference between them? Okay? You will say good things to each other, you will say good things to them. Everybody is giving a bubble. That's not what we want. Okay? So, you have these platforms. You can utilize those platforms and get them evaluated.

How many answers have you written so far? So, I give two or two every day. Meaning, around 20, 25, 26. No, no, no. How many questions have you written? Like, 50, 100, 20, 25? Five more. Okay, great. So, you have written a significant amount of answers. That is good. Now, what happens is, your writing skill evolves. My first 50 answers are very laughable. If anyone sees them, they wouldn't consider me capable of getting a rank. Because that's where you begin. In the beginning, all answers seem bad. And even if today you tell me to write a test and then evaluate it later, three or four hours later, I will still have points to add. So, perfect answers can never be achieved. Okay? You will never achieve that level of satisfaction. Not possible. And that shows that you are willing to improve. That is not a bad thing that you are not satisfied with your answers. Because that is what will push you to add value to your answers. So, don't be satisfied. Would be content that at this moment, with my knowledge and skill, I am writing well. But I will repeat. Okay?

So for Polity, I had made them. I had made very good notes. Like there are Constitutional and Non-Constitutional bodies. So I made them in a chapter format. So I think 12-13 chapters are dealt with that. Then Parliament, I had almost five pages of notes. I had notes for the President. What did Parliament do then? It bracketed Parliament and State Legislature together. Those became two chapters. You have President and Governor. Supreme Court, High Court. Similarly, do the similarities between the State and Central structure together. Emergency notes can be made in a tabular format. Central State Relations, Inter-State Relations is a necessary topic. So try not to avoid that, and the first 11 chapters of Laxmikant, I think everyone reads those. Okay? One tip I would like to give you on that is, do not always start revising from the first chapter. Because then the first 11 chapters are brilliant, amazing. And the last chapters, you don't know. So start from the beginning the second time when you are doing it. Start from the back so that you are dealing with all the chapters well. It's not that only Fundamental Rights, DPSP, and Preamble are coming. Then in Polity questions, who knows what will come. Don't do that. So first of all, it should not be humiliating. Why? Because it's not the final exam. You are practicing. So when a person practices cricket, they don't hit 50 runs initially, right? If they had already hit 50 runs, they wouldn't be able to hit it now, right? There are many officers who have become officers, and even after that, perhaps they cannot clear the prelims. That is not a subject of humiliation. Secondly, why are the marks low? That needs to be analyzed. That what you have memorized, you are not remembering. That questions are not coming from the resources you have read. Or you remember it, but you are making silly mistakes at that moment. Okay? That analysis is important, and that will be the differentiator, rather than just focusing on the marks. Whatever mock you give is not for how much you score. It is for analyzing which subject is your strength. Which is your weakness? Which is your strength in the form of static or current affairs. Okay? So whatever examination or whatever marks you give, try to analyze in how many short shots. Okay, what I did while attempting the test was, I divided my answer sheet into four sections. Sure shot, educated guess, guess, and not attempted. Okay? Now, if your accuracy is not coming in sure shot, then that is a problem. If accuracy is not coming in educated guess, then see what factors you use while taking that guess and what factors are not working. Thirdly, when you are taking a guess, analyze which factors you are making that guess on, and if your guesses are not going well, then try to minimize those, what we say, guesses. That you are eliminating from three options and try to shift some of them into the range of educated guesses. Expand your knowledge. Right? And analyze not attempted in such a way that which subjects you are unable to attempt. For example, for me, it used to be the ancient and medieval part. Especially the medieval part, I was not very well versed with it. So I could not attempt those questions. But I knew that I don't know this part. So when those questions come in the main examination, I know that I will look at it at the very end. Because generally, I am not very built up with knowledge on that. And you are reading for the first time, or you have read before. Okay, for everybody who has not read the NCERTs and who is going to read it once, for the first time. Do not highlight anything in the first time or the second time because by the fifth time, your entire book will be yellow, and you don't know what to do with that book. Yes, then you will start a new book again because this book has become yellow. Right? So the first, second time when you are reading, try and just read. If you need, underline with a pencil. Okay? And in the third, fourth time when you are reading, highlight it. So you will know what important aspects are there to be highlighted and what is to be left off. But for that, you first have to read line by line. Yes, ma'am, did you make notes for history? Like it's very vast, so how to cover it shortly in notes? Okay, I did make notes for history, especially for modern India, because there are certain points which are to be memorized, and if you have written down the memorizable points in your notes, then you won't have to search for them at that moment, like in this line, this was important, or in this line, this was an important name. Like I remember in a mock, it was asked that "No God, No Caste, No Man" and something like that, that was a quote, and it was said by whom. And the answer was written, perhaps Sahid Nayak, but if I remember correctly. But because I had read it twice and I had not highlighted that thing, or I did not know that thing, I skipped over that part. So as you give more mocks, you will understand what are the important points that need to be written in your notes. Secondly, only note those points that you can't remember. Right? If you write everything, then the second structure is in your hand. That has no point. Okay? Only write those things that you cannot remember and try to revise them multiple times. And whatever new content you are getting in your test series for history, try to incorporate it within those notes itself. Make blocks somewhere, do that. That will help you. Yes, anybody else? At that moment, what does it mean to analyze the test series answers that you mentioned? Should they be revised, or should PYQs be done? Okay, PYQs. I cannot emphasize enough on the importance of PYQs. PYQs should be the basis of giving all the mocks because all the mocks and PYQs are actually given by UPSC. If UPSC is giving you any direction beforehand, and it has been giving it to you for so many years, it would almost be foolish not to see those questions. I did it in the last two attempts, 23 and 24. How to do PYQs? It's not just question and answer, and that's it. What are the four options? A little bit of information, a little bit of knowledge about all four options, and accordingly, when you see this option in any other question, then you know the background of it. You can eliminate it or you can select it based on the knowledge you have. So do PYQs very, very thoroughly. Okay? At this point, I will also address the question of reading a newspaper. I read the newspaper in 28 and 29. Before that, I had never even touched the newspaper, at least for the four subjects that we need to focus on right now. What does a newspaper do? It builds awareness about what is happening in the world? What is happening in the country? For some people who are coming from a tech background, we have absolutely no connection. Right? So read newspapers in the initial attempts. Making notes from the newspaper, personally for me, was difficult. I don't say whether you should make notes from the newspaper or not. I couldn't make them because I couldn't revise them. So I just read the newspaper for building that awareness. I used to take less time. Sometimes, because newspapers are very lengthy, it would take you three to four hours also. Please try to minimize the time to a maximum of one hour. And before prelims, if you are not referring to the newspaper for your current affairs, you can, you can, I am not saying you should, or you must, you can stop reading the newspaper and focus on your static and current affairs resources that you have relied on for your revision. Okay? So in CSAT, as I said, you can do PYQs. Apart from that, there are books coming from even SSC CGL. Okay? So they also provide a good math background. But what I recommend is that whatever mocks you are giving from institutes, give CSAT mocks as well. Do not skip them. The more questions you practice, then even if you don't know the formula, you will get a knack for it. That by applying something from the options, some formula, you can analyze. Even if you don't know the formula directly. That can be done. Okay? And apart from that, besides mocks and PYQs, try to memorize the small formulas that are there, which are sure shot if they come somewhere, then you can, like calendar, or blood relations, or these are all easier topics if you do them. Those are the low-hanging fruits. We don't miss on low-hanging fruits. Yes. Ma'am, for CSAT, as you told, like in 23 and in that, the CSAT questions were drastically different. So approaching in a traditional way, I was like very, like CSAT questions, then I changed my strategy, but then I saw that those questions have like big, like they have started asking. So how much should the strategy be traditional and how much like the Okay, so traditionally, what do you mean? I first to know that. I mean, like as you said, blood relations, the clothes, and the calendar, and all those questions were barely, barely any questions asked. So that is what I am asking. In 23, absolutely not. Almost like very. Right? Okay, so 23 and 24, you have seen that the pattern and the whole thing of those questions. Now, a traditional approach is necessary because if it comes from relatives, then everyone can do it. That is, it's like if in Polity, they ask you which right is for Article 14 to 19? And you are like, I have studied every right in detail, but I don't remember the numbers 14 to 19. You cannot miss that. So these topics that I mentioned, those are the bare minimum. Now, as the pattern evolves, certainly you need to change your approach, change your strategy, and whatever you are studying. But do not miss out on the easier questions. So these are the ones that are easy and that the non-tech, tech background ones also can handle. Revising monthly magazines at the last moment is a bit difficult. If you haven't made any notes from them, then. Have you made them? If you have made them, then just do the monthly magazines. Because reading 365 is another new material that you will have to read, then revise, and revise. It will take a lot of time. If you have made your own notes, have faith in your notes. Yes, this is the point for everybody. Have faith in your notes. Whatever notes you have written, they are good. You have applied your mind while making those notes. So do not consider whether my notes are good or not. I don't know. I will rely on somebody else's notes or toppers' notes. Everyone makes their notes according to their understanding. And you have also made your notes according to your understanding. So please stick to your own notes and have faith in them. Okay? Yes. Okay? So are you asking just for prelims or for all the three stages? Okay. For prelims, the significant change was to practice every day, then giving mocks during the prelims. That was one significant change. Secondly, having a calm mind and demeanor. That was another change, and thirdly, to be confident in whatever I present. So, I had a ritual with my friend, where in we, I am not recommending this. Okay? To all those who don't practice this, please don't, please do not take it as advice that everyone should follow. Discover. Yes. So the ritual was that in the evening at 6:00 PM, one day before prelims, we would put down our notes, we would close our eyes, and we would say that we have studied all that we could. Now we won't be able to study anything more, and what we have studied is enough to answer the questions that we need to clear the cut-off. What we know will come, what we don't know will not come. Okay? Yes. Now, see, everyone has studied. Okay? Now, one day before and on that day, the game is of a mindset. So what is the problem in building a mindset that we know everything? Don't be overconfident. This is not what I am preaching. What I am preaching is to instill confidence in yourself. If you have confidence in yourself, then others will also feel, yes, he is calm, I believe. He has done it. He knows everything. That will give you more confidence. Right? So have that demeanor. Okay? So my motive was actually to serve society and also the diversity that this service provides. I do not think, according to my limited knowledge, that any other service apart from the All India Services that we have, then Central Services that we have. I don't think any other career path could give me this opportunity to interact with so many people from so many different sections. And to be able to make even a small change or impact in their lives. If we compare, I wouldn't say compare, but it is very different, right? And I come from that background. Now, I have had talks with my friends, some of whom wouldn't even believe that there is no internet everywhere in India or not everyone has a mobile phone. Their solution to anything would be technology. But technology is not that widespread. There is a huge disparity. So understanding that disparity is at this examination, and this service, like these career paths, helped me understand that. And then once I saw that disparity, I was like, I do not want to remain ignorant in this. And I actually want to make that change where what the IT people believe turns into a reality. So there are a lot of intimidating realities about the profession as well, and there are a lot of challenges that are involved. So when you were motivating yourself to stick to that motive that you had, how did you handle that thought that maybe I might not be able to do what I want to do because of the challenges that are there? Because once you have failed, once a surprise, that might become dominating on your mind that this is, this might not be something that it might be able to. How to fight those thoughts? Okay. So I lead this question can be handled in two ways. One is the challenges that I will face after becoming a civil servant. Right? Now, which career path is not challenging? Every career path is challenging in its own different ways. What is your motivation to do that? That decides your decision or the path. Now. Secondly, see, we are all learning in our lives. Okay? So today I might feel that I am not very equipped to deal with those challenges. But there are institutions that are going to train me. There are people that I am going to meet with, who are going to share their own experiences, their wisdom. And apart from that, as an individual, if I want to make a change, I have to face the challenges. That is the reality I need to accept. And the reality that there are challenges. There are challenges everywhere. Until we acknowledge or accept those challenges, how will we deal with them? And if we run away from those challenges, who is going to improve that? Right? So, in every situation, in every career, there are going to be different challenges. You decide which challenges you want to deal with. So, I decided I wanted to deal with this. And I will be equipped. I will evolve myself. I will improve myself. So then I am better equipped at any stage to deal with the challenges. Secondly, the point that you said that those thoughts do not immediately occur. I think I was too focused on my efforts and I was too focused on my shortcomings as to why I can't clear the examination. So those thoughts did not come that after entering the service, there are so many challenges, so why should I do it or how should I do it? First, prove that you are worthy of that service. After that, you will address its challenges. Right? So first, I had to prove that I had the capability to enter into such a prestigious service. Then after that, I have to deal with those challenges or think about that. We also acknowledge ourselves, but there are many negative entities around. So what did you do for them? Meaning, for the attempt that I finally cleared this one, I did not tell anybody that I was giving the exam. That work, okay, giving me a single digit rank. So, see, you have to identify the well-wishers, and not everybody is a well-wisher. And a lot of people might not be comfortable with the very fact that you are preparing for this examination, such a good examination, such a prestigious examination. That is also a big deal in itself. But do not hide yourself up with that. And secondly, the people who you feel are giving you negative vibrations, try to distance yourself from them. And thirdly, try to develop a thinking skill. Many people find it tough. It's not tough seeing that after Ctrl+F, your name is not found. Tough is telling 500 people that yes, my name will not come. Right? You know yourself that the result of the hunt has not come. Okay? You will give the next attempt. You have to convince everyone that I will clear the examination by giving the next attempt. That belief, with every attempt, slowly erodes. And if you are a great student, you think, how is it not happening for you? Because it is tough, and it is very, very different from school and college. So negative things will always be there. Develop that fixed thing. And if you can do this, that you don't tell anyone, then it's great. You see. Then come and tell me if this strategy works. Okay? Anybody else? We also have to move to Mains. Just, just. Yes, if anyone wants to ask a very specific question regarding Prelims, like when to give mocks or how, what is the thought process, because it's completely different, right? So you can ask that too. Please, please raise your hand, whoever wants to ask a question. And most of them have like, we had this. We can move to Mains. Okay? And any other question that you feel like asking about Prelims, you note it down, you can ask later. Okay? Okay. So for Mains, the first paper is Essay. Often neglected because of not having complete resources or book lists. Now, Essay does not have a specific book list or resources. At least that was not something I followed. My Essay in 2022 was very mechanical. The approach in answers was also imitative in the Essay, and that turned out to be disastrous. What you have to do is to develop your own style of writing. Now, everybody says, develop your own style of writing. Create a flow. Your essays should be effective, concise. That is the direction UPSC also gives you. But what is the meaning of that? When you see those toppers' copies, you don't have to see what they are writing. You have to see how they are writing. How, in the sense, when they are exploring different dimensions, how are they bringing continuity? How are they bringing coherence? How can you incorporate that in your answers, in your essays? Secondly, the essay will come with practice. You will develop your own flow with practice. And especially from people with tech backgrounds, we are writing pointers. We write pointers. And these are facts. No analysis, nothing. These are facts. You have to understand. Then it becomes very difficult to analyze a single line from multiple dimensions in 1000 words in an essay. So please practice. Practice will definitely not make you perfect, but at least it will lead you to that way. And secondly, in an essay, try to utilize the examples or your observed social realities that you see around yourself every day. We see many things. Like Luv-Kush was a recent film, right? Most of you might have watched it. Mine was that. So take away from that. Right? Take some takeaway from it, what its character was, analyze it a little, how you will incorporate it in an essay on women empowerment, or an essay on gender equity, or an essay on men's issues, how you will tweet it, how you will incorporate it. If you write some new examples like this in your essays, then that shows that you are an observer, you are connected to reality, and you know how to integrate things. You know how to interrelate. That is very important. Secondly, try to use some phrases, some good phrases in your essays that make your statements look very catchy, attractive, and that, you know, will catch the eye of the evaluator. So, my score in Essay was 84 in 22, 97 in 23. I am moving much better in 24 because I wrote approximately 8 to 10 essays. And I used, I actively made up my mind to use these phrases and these examples. And I actively tried that my example should be something different. Not the cliché examples that we have. I won't name them because you all know them. Try to divert a little from that and incorporate your own unique examples. Having said that, the second paper is GS One. Now, in GS One, society and environment's weightage is increasing now. For society, Smriti Shah ma'am's lectures are there. And they have very good notes. So, if somebody is not from a sociology optional background, you can refer to those notes. They are very good, concise also, and they give you the right keywords. And use of keywords is very important in all the papers. Because it shows that you have knowledge of the subject. You are going to become a generalist. But you need to have subject knowledge of at least the subjects that you read and study. So, try to incorporate keywords. Secondly, dealing with history and geography questions might be difficult for you, but try to again focus on the basics and the concepts. If you have studied physiography well in prelims, you will be able to integrate that knowledge in your Mains answers. Thirdly, try to incorporate diagrams. In geography, you can also do mapping. In history, if a timeline, some flowchart can be made, then you can do that. In society, you can create that hub-and-spoke model if you are trying to write some factors. These will break the monotony of your answers. Because I used to write in point format in most of my questions. And I understand that the evaluator might think, what is it that in every place, going to two-three sub-points, putting five-six points, every question is the same? That is not very interesting and engaging for the evaluator. So try to understand the evaluator's perspective as well. That they want something different in every question. Not in every question, but in every paper. Right? So try to do that. Now, secondly, in GS One, I did not have any specific separate resources, which I can recommend to you. For geography, NCERT. For history, Modern Spectrum, all that was the same. For society, as I told, Smriti ma'am's notes were good enough. I was from a sociology background, so I did not refer to my notes because I thought I don't need it. But for all those who are not from a sociology background, you can refer to those notes. Okay. I think we have dealt with GS One adequately. If anybody has a question. Yes, world history and post-independence, I was not able to do very well. I was not able to cover that very, very, very well. But there are some notes. You will find many notes that are very concise on Telegram. You will get some notes. So you can refer to those notes. One or two questions will come from that. I think in the last two years, there have been fewer. Yes. So you can easily cover that from there. Yes, any other question for GS One? Specifically, then we will move to GS Two. Okay. Disclaimer for Mains for all papers: Please try to complete the paper. Please maintain a speed that you can manage your time very well. My strategy for attempting the Mains paper was 15 markers first, and then the 10 markers. 11 or 9 minutes. I don't remember for the 15 markers, and seven minutes for the 10 markers. I tried my level best to follow it to the letter. I can say that in 22 or 23, and in 24, I was able to complete all the papers except in 24, I was not able to complete 150 marks in GS One. But apart from that, I was able to complete my entire paper in all the attempts. All the Mains attempts. And in 22, if you guys know that the paper was significantly lengthy, right? That paper also I was able to complete because my goal was to complete. First, the good thing should be to complete the paper. Quality will vary here and there. See, excellent answers, you can write six, seven, probably eight if you are brilliant. After that, manageable answers, and then there will be one or two questions where you have no idea about what the question is asking. Right? And that is true. In 22, there was a question, if I remember, that IMF gives what color coding warning? No idea. Apply logic a little bit, that it could be orange, red, yellow. Because we have seen it in newspapers. Write something about it from logic. So even in questions that you do not know about, try to apply a little logic. Try to remember where and what you have read. And from that, try to beat around the bush a little. Because if you write anything, you will get one and a half marks out of ten. And that is very, very important for qualifying. If you miss by a single mark or two marks. Now, coming to GS Two. For GS Two, my resources are very limited. Laxmikant ji for Polity, and Polity, meaning social, sorry, my Polity keywords. For Governance, Vision's value-added material comes. You might know. So, NGOs, civil society, pressure groups, health, education, all these, you can do it from the value-added material because there are no integrated notes for the governance part. You can address that. Governance is very important to have good examples of good NGOs, what actions they are taking, or individuals who are contributing significantly to some sector, some area. In health and education, you need to have some data points, like what is the enrollment rate, what is the pass rate, disparity between women, how much is it? In women's health, reproductive health, all of that. If you have data points, that will be very good, and you will get those data points from a lot of documents like NFHS-5, or the Economic Survey. That talks about the economic situation, focusing on women also. So that will help you. In Polity, I missed one thing, which is to write as many articles as you can. That doesn't mean you have to put an article in every statement. But wherever you are writing a relevant statement or point, try to incorporate that article there also. It will create a good impression on the evaluator. That you don't just know this thing, you also know the relevant article. That will create a good impression. Okay? And for International Relations, I entirely focused on current affairs. I did International Relations only from current affairs notes and Mains classes. And in that, what I tried to incorporate was mapping wherever it was relevant. Secondly, to use a lot of International Relations keywords. Let's say there was a keyword called minimaxing. Minimizing the conflicts and maximizing the convergences. Okay? Then strategic partnership is one keyword. So, keywords like these, incorporate them in your answers. That will make your answer again more specific and will appear that you have deeper knowledge of this subject. And thirdly, if you can quote some dignitaries like the Honorable Foreign Minister, Honorable Prime Minister, that will also give you an edge. Because that will show that you are aware of the current affairs, what is going on in the current global situation, the contemporary situation, and you are able to interrelate that with the question that you are being asked. Okay? So, that is my process for GS Two. Any questions for GS Two? So, I will not be the best person to say this because I did not read the reports. I might have read someone's notes from here and there, or when I saw answers from toppers' copies, then I would have copied that statement from there, like, okay, this they have written according to the report. Okay, one more thing, now that they reminded me, that when you are writing very forward, when you are writing a conclusion, if you are mentioning a committee or their suggestion in the conclusion, that is a good way to go. That will make a good conclusion. Okay, any more questions? Okay. Now coming to GS Three. GS Three has been a little less rewarding compared to the other GS. There could be many reasons. I feel that it needs a lot of data. It needs a lot of facts, and it is very difficult to have facts of all the aspects that GS Three covers. Because the diversity of subjects in GS Three is immense. So, my booklist again, I did not have a very specific book list. For agriculture, I relied on current affairs. For its data points, I relied on the Economic Survey and the Budget. For internal security, I think Ashok Dalal is a book. Yes, you can go for that. I read it once or twice, and then I wrote my tests, and I value-added to my knowledge through that. Then we have Science and Technology, again from current affairs. What else do we have? Disaster Management. Disaster Management, I think NDA guidelines, if you read now, that will be enough for every other type of disaster. And if you have examples of the recent disasters that have taken place, and you can quote them, that would be good. Along with that, if specific states have taken some specific measures, like Odisha has taken very good measures for cyclone management. So, if you quote that, that will give you a boost in your marks. At the 0.5% one, sorry, five marks, one mark, that will give you a boost. So, you can do that. Apart from that, environment. In environment, you can quote INDCs, Panchamrit goals. You can quote the statements by the leaders in the UNICEF, sorry, my math, not UNICEF, UNCCC summit, my math. So you can quote all that. That will again give you an edge. And all these things, they are value additions. Like basically, ocean acidification is happening, global warming is happening. Everybody knows. And those points are very, very expected. If you give them something which they think is okay, this is good, then you will have an edge of five or one mark. Okay? So try to make your answers different, a little bit, with good examples and good initiatives. Okay, what other subject in GS Three? We tell to the agriculture economy. Okay? Economy, you need to have your concepts right, which you will already have from prelims, and then you incorporate data points from the Economic Survey and Budget. For economy, especially Economic Survey and Budget is very, very important. We often fail to understand the importance of these documents. But they are important in the sense that you have the background of the reality we are living in. When you say that the GDP has increased by this much percentage, or the savings and investments have increased by this much percentage, that makes the evaluator understand that you have specific knowledge of this subject. Again, it helps in improving the score. I think we have dealt with the subjects covered in GS Three. Okay, okay. Coming to GS Four. GS Four is a very rewarding paper, as you all know. It's an optional. These three can determine your selection also, determine your rank to a large extent. So focus on these papers. Why? Because these papers give you a scope to express yourself. In GS, there is not much scope. Like if you are asked a question about the UDAAN scheme, then you can only write about the UDAAN scheme. You cannot give your own opinions. You will form arguments and give facts on the basis of what has been written by experts and given by experts. So, GS-4 gives you ample amount of scope for expression. How you express is seen in those papers, is seen in that pressure situation because that does not give you a lot of time to think. So, in case studies, you have ways to innovate your solutions, your answers. Show that empathy and compassion that you talk about in Section A. When you are writing solutions to the dilemmas that are asked in case studies, what their motive is, is to check.

If you have the same level of empathy and compassion that you say is necessary in a civil servant while you are giving a solution. Right?

Second thing I want to mention is that, uh, the resources for my ethics were very limited. Uh, there is one book that I referred, and apart from that, I, uh, wrote a lot of answers. And I memorized with the keywords that are necessary in ethics. Okay? Those keywords are very instrumental in the sense that I felt time was less when I was writing answers for ethics. Because I already memorized them and utilized them multiple times. Okay?

Thirdly, in ethics, please give equal time to case study and Section A. If a case study is giving you 125 marks, then Section A is also giving you 125 marks. Do not take two hours for the case study and then one hour for Section A, because writing 13 questions in one hour is near to impossible, and even if you are able to write, the quality will be compromised. So, try that you can minimize your time taken in the case study. And always keep an eye on your watch to see how much time has passed. Okay?

Uh, that will be, uh, for GS Four. GS Four, if you want to ask something specific, please ask. Please, please ask your question. In mind, can we prepare something syllabus-wise? Like, if something is asked on empathy, can we just write an introduction or a quote of a person directly? Definitely, definitely, you can do that. That will help you a lot. And I cannot emphasize again the importance of PYQs here. What I used to do was, I used to brainstorm the PYQs and then write them in point format, like which keywords would be relevant here. And an example, not elaborating in statements, but the example. What it does, or what the earlier preparation does, is it takes you less time to think in the examination. And you all have no time to think. You only have time to write. Before a question, you will not see what it is about. You just start writing the moment you see it. Right?

So, uh, you can prepare intro and conclusion. I did not say this thing because I did not do it. Like, I did not prepare intro and conclusion separately, but I wrote a lot of answers. I wrote nearly a thousand answers in this five-year long journey of GS and optional combined. And so, uh, I got a knack for how to prepare conclusions. There was an underlying theme in all my conclusions and introductions. So, you can definitely identify the themes from the PYQs, like what questions are being asked. You can write the quotes that you feel are relevant. But having said that, when we prepare intro and conclusions beforehand, we try to incorporate them in every question. Do not try to do that. Your intro and conclusion would be good according to the PYQ that was asked very specifically. But if the question demands something else, try to tweak that. Do not forcibly use anything that you prepared just because you prepared it. If it is not asked, do not write it in the answer. You have to answer the question according to what is asked.

Ma'am, I am unaware if there is any scope for adding anecdotes to ethics answers. Anecdotes, I think that would get a little difficult. You might have scope for that in Section A, specifically if you are asked questions like, "What does happiness mean to you?" or "What does integrity mean to you?" Now, you can start with the definition of integrity. Then, in the example, you can write a short anecdote or a short example, in very limited words, where it reflects integrity according to yourself. But, try to keep those anecdotes short because we also want to write content, and our answers should not be full of examples. So, you can add them, but they should be crisp.

Book you referred to for ethics? There are a lot of books that are available, and ma'am, I think, uh, we have something, Vision itself. Yes. So, you can refer to that book because, see, in ethics, what happens is, when you are writing definitions or when you are writing, let's say, the introduction of the basic content, like, "Why is it important to have integrity in a civil servant?" "Why is integrity important for a civil servant?" Almost all questions have almost similar answers in almost all books. What differentiates your answers in ethics is what examples you back it up with, and what personal opinion you share in the case studies. That is what matters the most, and that is what differentiates your answers from others. Otherwise, the basic answers or the basic definitions are the same in almost all the materials.

And is there something like the need for these analogies in, like, GS One? Uh, GS, Essay. Essay. Essay, you definitely need good anecdotes, and if you have good anecdotes, that will prove to be a cherry on the cake. I used to, uh, begin my essays with an anecdote. With an anecdote, and if the essay has two sides to it, I ensure that I address both those sides to the same anecdote. That ensures that you understood the statement properly and you are able to see the two sides to that statement. So, utilization of anecdotes will certainly help in this. And sometimes, we might not be able to recall or have come across a sort of chance that needs to be, you know, used as an anecdote. So, not very ethical, but is it, uh, going to fabricate an anecdote? It is not fabricating an anecdote. It is like telling a story. Okay. You can write your own story, right? You are not saying it, I am saying this for a particular person who does not exist. You are saying this is what I understood from your statement, and I would like to express it in this manner. That is not called fabricating an anecdote. Nobody has anecdotes for all the eight or the two that they need to write, right? You also need to write examples. Somewhere, you might need to incorporate something that you only have or you only know. That's okay.

Thank you. Thank you. Any more questions for GS Four? Yes.

Ma'am, do you have any particular structure? You have any structure like you previously told that while they are writing the answer, they structure GS One, that structure GS Two, Three, and for their structure, did you have anything like that? Okay. So, see, my structure was not pre-made in the sense that if a question on the President came, then I would write this and this. If it was on a partner, then I would write this. My structure was intro, body, conclusion. In that body, I would address all the subheadings. That was what I very actively kept in my mind, that if the question has three subheadings, or three subheadings can be formed from it, then I ensure that I write all those three subheadings. And my focus was also on multiple dimensions. If I can divide the answer to a question into social, economic, political, then I will. Because what that does, okay, I wrote my question. Another thing, with, like, after writing a subheading, then a point. Like, if we are writing an answer in ethics, I write "cognitive dissonance," then I will explain where it is happening, how it is happening, how it is affecting. So, what that does, when you write a keyword, then the evaluator immediately identifies that the person knows the keyword. That is good because that takes less of his time. That is easier for you to evaluate. When you have mentioned that keyword, when you write direct statements, then they have to find that keyword. That becomes a little difficult. So, if you can write those short phrases before explaining or elaborating on the point, that would be good. And also, uh, try to underline the important keywords and the articles that you mentioned, and something if you write in your examples which is noteworthy. Please underline that. Again, that would catch the eye of the evaluator. So, your efforts should not go to waste anywhere, right? So, try and underline. I know you have limited time. So, maybe you can reduce your time in changing the pens. If you can't, like, if you do that blue and black thing, if you minimize that and focus more on underlining, then that will serve you well. Okay?

So, my mentor was only one, Utkarsh Sir. He was my mentor throughout this journey of five years. And how does mentorship help? A mentor, the right mentor, knows your strengths and weaknesses. They can guide you very personally in the subjects that you are going wrong with. And they can also tell you where you are going right and you need to follow the same direction. So, when you have a mentor, apart from the academic help that they give, they also help you in your emotional turmoil and your ups and downs. And in this five-year long journey, obviously, I had a lot of them. So, anytime I felt low, what a mentor does is, he reduces that time where you feel, you know, you are a bit down. He gives you certain direction, like, "Do this, do that," or "Now, you need to calm down, you need to take a break, or you need to push forward on this subject or that subject." That is what a mentor does. He reduces your bad days or your bad time. So, having a right mentor, I believe personally, was very, very necessary. Did you have any other mentorship for Sociology? For my optional, I had a different mentor. Something about essays? That mentorship for essays? Yes, I did have a mentor for essays. So, his, I wrote an essay writing course, not mentorship per se, because mentorship, see, is a very wide topic. It is not just academic. The essay writing course that I did was academic. The mentor that I am talking about, Sir, he was there in all academic as well as non-academic questions that I had. So, I only had one mentor for GS Four. For Sociology, I had another mentor. Yeah. Okay?

Hello. Yes. So, I just heard you mention that the answer, I think it should not be full of examples. Quite interesting to note because I feel two schools of writing. One is, after a point, to mention and another school of thought which says that it has to be elaborated, maybe two or three examples have to be elaborated as how they are disseminated to this question. Okay. What sort of school of thought do you want? Okay. So, I think, uh, probably I could not express what I said correctly. What I meant was, our answer should not be full of examples in the sense that there should not be two examples that then take up your entire answer. After every point, I did try to mention an example, but very briefly, because you don't have a lot of space, as well as a lot of time to elaborate on the example. So, have such examples which don't need much elaboration. Secondly, if I wrote 10 points, I tried to inculcate examples in five points at least. That definitely shows how you relate your elaboration of that particular aspect or dimension of the question, I mean, answer with the reality, with the ground reality that some people have, you know, practiced. So, I did not mean by any sense that examples are not important. Examples are very important. And something, general suggestions, all tell worlds that you need to. Because I don't think the very, say, you are selected, but I could not, like, I faced a little problem with. It comes to. How do you handle them? Different, different types of table, touch from it. Table was as in what I mentioned that you should write for your elaboration. Yes. Okay. That way. Okay. So, see, most questions have the need for a balanced opinion, whether it is examine, whether it is evaluate, or analyze. What differentiates is the number of points you write under each subheading. When it is written "critically evaluate," what I used to do was, I would write three good points and then five challenges that are present, because it is critically evaluate. So, you need to identify the challenges with the very policy or the scheme or something else that the concept is talking about. Uh, secondly, the pen words are important when you are balancing your opinion in the conclusion. When it is "critically evaluate," you can also highlight that after the challenges, what way forward will you give, and after that, you write a more holistic conclusion. And if it is only "analyze," then you can write your way forward in the conclusion itself. So, these are the things, and I think more importantly, what matters is when you are writing that answer, how much depth is in it? How much balance is in it? In every answer, balance, 60-40, 50-70, 30, depends on the tables. So, that is what we need to focus upon. You did pay attention to the keywords, right? Is it something sort of thing you actually have to create different answers come to you? Actually, group? Yeah. See, if "critically examine," "evaluate," these are all the same, then there would be no point in writing three different keywords, right? How are "examine," "evaluate," "analyze" different? What I told was that when it comes to evaluation, you can write basic facts about it, successes, and facts about where it is lacking. What are its shortcomings? When you examine, you will also write where it can improve, right? When you analyze, you will analyze its impacts, its consequences, both positive and negative. So, that was what I focused upon, and it is not very high-level in the sense that it is not that if you misinterpret the keyword, then your entire question will be wrong. That is not true. But at the same time, if you want to address the question rightly, the way the evaluators needed to be addressed, then you suddenly have to focus on the keywords.

Ma'am, did you do daily answer writing practice so that, you know, you mentioned that in your last three attempts, all your papers were completed thoroughly. Saturday, but you practiced so much writing daily. Did you revise by writing? How did you do it? Okay. So, from 2021, almost every day I used to write answers. Apart from the time before Prelims, two months before Prelims, three months before Prelims. That time, I did not used to write answers, but I used to write daily five answers from Monday to Friday. Sometimes it gets skipped. I will not say that I wrote on all five days of every week. But it would be fair to say that. So, I won't. But I tried my best that I do daily answer writing. Apart from that, I also used to write, uh, during the Mains, I used to write seven questions in one hour. 80 marks, which is the need of the hour. So, during my Mains, I practiced that, due to which I was able to manage my time in the actual examination as well. Right? And daily answer writing, what it does is, it brings value addition to your answers day by day. If you write entire test series, some answers are excellent, some answers are moderate, and some answers are not actually good. They happen. So, you will be able to do that only when your entire test is evaluated. And then my focus, at least, used to be on, "Wow, I have written excellent answers." Which were my excellent answers, rather than focusing on which were my not-so-good answers. So, in daily answer writing, you get that evaluation very quickly. So, you can incorporate that evaluation into your improvement day by day. Okay?

Okay. Now, can we go to optional? I will not elaborate a lot on optional, I guess, because everybody might be having different options, right? My optional was Sociology. And in Sociology, I had done a foundation course. Uh, then I went on to write answers. And I had done a crash course during my Mains in 2022. But I think what matters most again in writing in your optional is writing answers. Optional also has a different, peculiar style of writing, and each optional has its own way. Uh, so, in optional also, I focused on writing answers in a short time, like, um, what do you say? Like, in a time-bound manner, I wrote answers. So that I do not face a time shortage during my examination. And secondly, uh, what changed, uh, between the 2023 and 2024 Mains? I, I believe, according to my personal understanding, would be my focus on PYQs. I wrote, uh, the model answers on PYQs and also referred to some material. And that was brilliant in helping me understand that in the actual examination, maybe I could use the same examples and the same points. So, uh, for all of your respective options, please try and analyze the PYQs very, very thoroughly. The themes are almost repeated, and if your optional is on a more static side, then PYQs will help you. Not. Any questions? Uh, not Sociology specific, but optional specific in general. Okay?

So, uh, first of all, I was from a technical background. I did not want to choose a technical subject. Uh, because it has a very vast syllabus, and secondly, Computer Engineering was not available in that list. Secondly, I thought, uh, I need to cultivate a social aptitude when I have to work with a lot of people from very different sections. If I have a holistic understanding, even at that level of society, that will help me in, you know, once I am in administration. But mostly, apart from these topics or subjects or factors, is that you need to be interested in your optional. Do not take your optional based on the very factor of what trends are coming, how many marks are being given. Those trends will change every year, and you don't know if your exam will be cleared in one year. So, do not focus on the trends being good, so let's take this. After three years, those trends will also change, right? Take an optional. Choose an optional that you can spend a lot of time with, which you can engage yourself in, and after you are done with your optional, you can observe it in the social realities around you. If you can relate those subjects, those concepts, to your surroundings, that means you have done your optional phenomenally, and you will do great in the examination as well. Okay?

So, um, I did, uh, refer to my foundation and my crash course notes, all of them. Um, I referred to Blue Head's Chapters 14, 15, one and two, very, very thoroughly, cover to cover, 14, 15 at least. That helps in methodology and the thinkers' part. Because the holistic approach of different thinkers is different, right? The very approach. So, that is, uh, what you gain from reading Chapter 15, and that will give you an overall idea about all the other topics as well. Uh, apart from that, the thing that I mentioned, the model answers of PYQs, that were very pivotal and very significant in helping me improve my answers. And third, most importantly, again, write a lot of tests. Attempt a lot of questions and answers. It will help you cover a diversity of subjects that you might not cover from your books or the resources from the book list that you traditionally have. So, write a lot of answers. Okay?

For Indian Sociologists? Actually, I referred to B.K. N. B.K. N. for Indian Sociologists. It is, it is great, and that is a good single source to cover Indian Sociologists. I observed that in most of the time, the questions regarding any of the sociological thinkers of Paper One, most of the questions, it always looks at things are getting repeated for the particular topic, like sociological thinking. Is it too deep? Did you also solve the same thing? Definitely. See, they have already given you a syllabus, so from those marks, historical material is here, class struggle, class conflict, they will ask, right? And if you have your notes prepared on that, then it will help you a lot. The point of doing PYQs is that at least basic questions like these, you can directly copy good points because you memorize them. So, try and make static notes on the subjects or the themes that you feel are repeated, like the thinkers in Paper One is mostly static. So, yes. You can do that. Okay.

Yes. Ma'am, I am three years into UPSC preparation. So, when should I start optional preparation? I am going to take Anthropology. Anthropology. Yes. Okay. I say, as soon as possible. Should I start right now? Yes, you can start right now. Because, see, the more time you spend with your optional, you will be able to study in deeper depth, right? And that depth will reflect in your answers once you start writing them. So, please, take your foundation, build your foundation, uh, of Anthropology, and make those notes very wisely and very well, that you can refer to them, and they actually help you when you are going to write your examination. Be very mindful of making good notes. Okay. Can we move on to the third stage? Okay. Yes.

Ma'am, how did you handle the pressure of questions that you know nothing about? There are always questions in Mains that you know literally zero things about, and even though you still do it, how did you do it? So, uh, see, in my 2022 attempt, there were a lot of questions. I mean, one in each paper, apart from, I think, one in each paper, that I did not know the exact things about. I had questions that I met it. So, I did not know the colorful warnings. But then you apply logic, and the, you know, the things that you might have read somewhere in the newspapers, you try to recall everything that you possibly can, and you try to write an answer at least in one page. That was the strategy. See, there are a lot of questions, I understand that you know completely nothing about. Uh, the question that I left in this, uh, GS One, I knew some things about, but I could not formulate the right answer to it. And I did not want to formulate a bad answer because that was again from Society. And so that was like, very humiliating, that I have a Society Sociology optional, and I cannot answer a question on Society. But it did not come. But apart from that, I thought that if I don't want to spend time on this, then I will make two or three of my answers better. That's what I did.

Did you have any option B? Yeah, I did. I did, actually. So, apart from UPSC, I was also giving the State Civil Services Examination. Both examinations are tough to crack. I, uh, cracked it in my third interview this time only in March. The results that came, I got Rank 55. Uh, so that was another thing that I was thinking about. And if not Plan B, like, if not State Civil Services, I might have done something else. Not in IT, but in UPSC itself, because I have been in this journey for five years, and the journey doesn't leave you. You can leave UPSC, but UPSC within does not go away. So, that I would have pursued something in this field.

What was your routine between Prelims and Mains? Because there is a very short period of time, there is a plethora of things to do. So. So, if your notes are consolidated priorly, or as I mentioned, that if you have your static part prepared, then it becomes a little easier. I wrote answers during that time. I wrote mocks, and I analyzed those mocks, like, whatever value addition I was getting from the evaluator, I would incorporate it into my further answers. Thirdly, uh, I focused this time a lot on essays. Essays took a lot of my time, but I am sure it could have shown in the marksheet as well. Okay? So, the plethora of things, it feels like that only when you are not studying. When you are studying, then one thing after another gets covered. So, that plethora becomes a little smaller, and then when you are able to pick points, like, "I will do this, and I will not do this," then it is an easier path to tread. That's it.

Any revision tips if you would like to give? Tips? Some, you know, the last two or three days, and continuously there will be many papers. After your language papers, there are five days, and after that, many things will come together. So, what did you do at that time? At that time, I had some data points and some lists of keywords. I just revised them. See, you cannot revise big points. So, what I did was, I flipped through my answers. The latest answers that I had written. I flipped through them. I will, uh, see the data points that have been written, that I have written from different notes. Then, if there are some different examples, then I had a note of examples separately for ethics. I had a note of keywords for ethics separately. So, make your own short notes of two to three pages separately, and then revise those before the paper. That can help. Okay?

Yes. Ma'am, when is the right time to start your answer writing practice for an optional subject, and as you said, you were writing like on a weekly basis, five to six answers. So, should we include our Sociology? Like, why is Sociology? So, should I include practicing those questions also on a weekly basis? Or whenever I am revising my optional, that time I should do it? Like that. Okay. So, have you, are you done with your foundation? Have you, like, done Paper One, Paper Two, once? Then, out with the right time to start your answer writing. Secondly, weekly or when you are revising, then it will depend a lot on the time that you have. And thirdly, if you are writing answers on alternate days also, that will be fine. Because it will not be the case that what you read yesterday will be asked today, right? So, when you revise and write, it will be a brilliant answer. But after four or five days, what is the, see, right? So, you will have to remember your knowledge for a much longer time. So, try and write it on an alternate day basis, or it, it does not have to be the case that you just revised it yesterday and you are writing it today. I think that you can manage. Okay. Yes.

Any other questions? Yes. Difference between GPSC and UPSC. Difference between GPSC and UPSC. Okay. Uh, so, as much as I have observed, GPSC needs more factual knowledge. UPSC needs more analytical skills. Second thing, in GPSC, there are also questions related to Gujarat, specifically related to Gujarat's history, art, and culture. You will have to study those extra. Thirdly, GPSC Mains, I believe, is slightly easier because 250 marks, 150 marks, 15 questions, 20 questions, 10 markers, 10 and 15 markers, right? So, but having said that, no exam is easy. Neither GPSC nor UPSC. You have to put in the efforts. In GPSC, maybe you maintain the quality that you wish to deliver in UPSC, and that will suddenly help you in your marks. Okay.

Anything else? Okay. Then we will move to the interview stage. I think that will be a very brief thing because by the time you reach there, you will be mature enough to understand what you need to do. But the interview demands exactly opposite things from Prelims and Mains. In the sense that Prelims and Mains, you do almost in isolation, where you are in your own library, in your own space, and you are preparing. But the interview needs you to open up, to analyze yourself, to do a short analysis for yourself, and to interact with your peer groups. So, my recommendation or suggestions for the interview stage would be: one, to surround yourself with the right group of peers, the ones who are going to add to your academic knowledge, help you in content enrichment, help you in better articulation and structuring of your answers. Avoid getting into any unacademic discussions while preparing for the interview. Because if your interview, like mine, is in the last months, which is April, you will feel like you have ample time. But you don't actually. Thirdly, thoroughly prepare your depth. Anything from your depth that you can answer very well will make a good impression on the honorable members and the honorable chairperson. So, these are the three things that you can follow in the interview. And apart from that, a pleasing personality, a smiling face, a confident person is always attractive. Their personality is always attractive. And it is not called an interview, but a personality test for the same reason, that they want to test you on your personality, your opinions, your arguments, and not on your factual knowledge. So, that was it from my side for the strategy. And apart from that, I will say that please be disciplined and please have belief in your efforts. If not today, tomorrow you will definitely succeed if you put your heart into it. You will definitely succeed. And UPSC is, UPSC is a journey that does not shape you only for this examination. It shapes you for life. So, even if some people are not today, if they have exhausted all their attempts and they are not able to, you know, they feel that they have given away the prime of their life, no, they have. Because the way they have been shaped into brilliant individuals, no other journey, according to my personal experience, can shape you in the manner that the UPSC journey does. Any, any, any, any, any, any, any, any, any, any, as a process, shapes you. So, be grateful that you are getting to be a part of it. And truly trust the process and be very honest with yourself.

Bye. Thank you. Thank you so much, Ma'am, for such an insightful session. I would like to take a moment to reflect on such an inspiring session and the valuable knowledge that Ma'am has shared with us today. It has been a journey of new learnings, good growth, as well as new possibilities that we are going to encounter in the future. All made possible because of our esteemed guests, and the enthusiasm of you all, as well as the effort of our organizing team. On behalf of Vision IAS Team, Ahmedabad, I would extend my heartfelt thank you. Thank you so much. Let's carry forward the lessons that we have learned today and continue to strive for excellence, as well as clear examinations, crack examinations with flying colors. Uh, thank you once again to all of you. Wish you a very, very best luck for your future endeavors and have a wonderful day ahead. Thank you, guys.