important update: this studyplan is useless for UPSC 2013 because they removed Stat and DI topic from mains. however this studyplan should help you in State PSC exams (if their GS paper II contains this topic).

1. Introduction to GS (Mains) II
2. Types of Questions in Stat Portion
3. Gather the (free) Study material for Statistics GS (Mains)
4. Buy the weapons
5. How to approach Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams?
6. Should I start with Stat Topic first?
7. Frequently asked no0b question (FANQ)
8. Official syllabus for UPSC 2012

Introduction to GS II

General Studies Mains Paper 2 is made up of five topics

1. India and World (Diplomatic and strategic)
2. India and World (Economic)
3. Science and Tech
4. International Affairs and Institutions
5. Stats, Graphs and Diagrams. (Stats)

Statistics is usually worth 20-30 marks.

Types of Questions in Stat Portion

Looking at the old papers of UPSC GS (Mains), we can see that Statistics portion contains following types of questions

**Although the official syllabus of UPSC (Given below), mentions only Statistics, Graphs and Data interpretation and yet, they ask Quantitative Aptitude based questions as well. For example in Mains 2011, they had asked a question from Time and Speed. Therefore you should prepare these “Aptitude” topics as well.You may also use the book by Spectrum Publication, titled “Statistical Analysis: Graphs and Diagrams ” On flipkart it sells for around Rs.180/- and covers all the topics of statistics for UPSC civil service exam.

Gather the (free) Study material for Statistics GS (Mains)

Download this ZIP file (click ME size 7MB)

^Above zip file contains relevent NCERTs for Statistics, Blank Graph papers.

Buy the weapons

Unless you want to be a Lord Curzon begging for compass, pencil and calculators from other candidates inside the examhall, buy and or borrow following Stationary items in advance.

A geometry box (school compass) containing Pencils, Eraser, Sharpner, Scales, Compass, etc. for drawing graphs and pie-charts

1. Carry two scales: 15cm transparent plastic and 30cm Steel.
   • 15 cm transparent plastic scale is for drawing the minute items in the graph paper.
   • 30 cm steel scale is handy for drawing extra margins, tables, diagrams in the answersheet, for all the Mains papers.
2. A Non-Programmable Scientific Calculator.

• UPSC rules allow Non-Programmable scientific calculator in the mains examination. (More on the Calculator-rule, Explained in a separate article, click me)
• These calculators are extremely useful because they’ve direct buttons for calculating mean, median,mode and standard deviation (+Permutation and Combination). Saves the precious time during the exam.
• You can buy such Non-Programmable scientific calculators from Flipkart.com, Cheapest of them sells for around Rs.200.

How to approach Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams?

1. Learn the Theory of Statistics and Graphs from from the PDF files given in above package and practice the questions and solved examples.  (Note: Blank graph papers are provided in the studymaterial itself for practicing the graph-drawing @home.)
2. Whatever formulas you come across, write them down on a separate paper, and stick on the wall next to your study-desk.
   1. Ofcourse, the million dollar question: If UPSC allows scientific calcies in mains, what’s the point in mugging up Stat formulas? Because you should write the formula in the answersheet, even if you calculate the answer directly, after all this is not MCQ but descriptive paper!
3. For Quantitative aptitude, use Mrunal’s Articles on Aptitude and whatever CSAT book you had purchased earlier.
4. Finally Solve as many quesitions as you can from last 25 years’ GS papers.
5. Upto year 1999, UPSC used to ask statistics in GS Mains Paper I, but from 2000, they shifted the topic to paper II. So go through the PDF files of both papers accordingly.

Should I start with Stat Topic first?

You may have heard from your senior friends and coaching “sirs” ,that

“You should start GS paper II with Statistics portion because it is “scoring”

• Well, most people do that and most people do get stuck for 40-45 minutes- drawing and erasing one stupid graph and 5 math sums (while making 4 silly mistakes)
• The precious time is thus lost, and they’ve to compromise with the answer quality and handwriting for the remaining non-math question of GS paper II, especially during the last one hour of the exam.
• You must understand that a topic or an optional subject is not “scoring” by itself, it is “scoring” only for those players who pump enough hours reading and practicing at home.
• Statistics being a math topic, requires Speed and accuracy, cannot be mastered by merely reading the theory, solved examples or mugging up the formulas.

Frequently asked no0b question (FANQ)

There are so many PDF files, do I’ve to prepare everything?

No you don’t need to, as long as you’re prepared to give to another attempt in UPSC.

Can I skip practing Graph-drawing @home?

Yes you can, and then get stuck in the actual exam because you took a wrong Scale for X and Y axies, hence your graph doesn’t “fit” on the given paper. Then erase it and start drawing another graph all over again and keep wasting your precious time.

Can I use a book for Statistics meant for Commerce, to prepare this topic?

There is no need to Ph.D for UPSC Paper. The PDFs provided in above zip I file are more than sufficient.

Official syllabus for UPSC 2012

General Studies Mains Paper 2

Topic #5. Statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams:

This part will test the candidate’s ability to draw conclusions from information presented in statistical, graphical or diagrammatical form and to interpret them.

Entire syllabus can be downloaded by Clicking Me.