- Prologue
- Act I: Mindset of the Enemy
- Prelims GS
- Prelims Optional
- Mains: 90s Era
- General studies (mains) of 90s Era
- Optional papers: 90s era
- Literature optionals: 90era
- The Back-breakingTM era (2010 onwards)
- BackbreakingTM era: Prelims
- BackbreakingTM era: Mains (General Studies)
- Adaptation
Prologue
- There are lot of tips scattered in various articles, but for a new person it is sometimes hard to follow what is going on here.
- So this is my attempt to combine and consolidate everything onto five part series on prelims cum mains cum interview approach for General Studies for UPSC Civil Service Exam.
- If you’re following this site for many months, you will find repetition of ideas and tips in this article, so apologies in advance for any boredom caused.
War on Terrorism UPSC, consists of three battles
1. Prelims (CSAT) | Multi choice questions (MCQs) |
2. Mains | Descriptive-essay type questions |
3. interview | — |
This strategy is divided into five articles, click on the appropriate links:
Topics discussed | Article link |
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Discussed in this article itself. |
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Click ME |
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Click ME |
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Click ME |
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Click ME |
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Click ME |
Act I: Mindset of the Enemy
We can classify Bollywood movies into eras- tragedy ridden 50, musical 70s and so on.
Similarly UPSC question papers too have gone through evolution.
To keep it simple, I would classify this into two phases
90s era | Back breakingTM era | ||
Timeline | Everything upto 2009 | 2010, 2011, 2012…continued | |
Prelims | Main areas |
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Weapons |
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Mains | Main areas |
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Weapons |
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Mostly Newspapers, your own notes. |
So how was the 90s era?
- Most people did not have internet or computer. Internet was prohibitively expensive. Even cybercafés were hard to find. There was hardly any information on internet, about how to prepare for this exam.
- And whether information/booklist was available was mostly jingoistic and impractical in nature. (will be discussed in Act II “List of Not recommended Books”)
- Those who could afford to goto Delhi for coaching, had distinct advantage over others. Because they knew what to prepare, from where to prepare and what to skip. (Nowadays situation has drastically changed).
in those days, Prelims had two papers
- General Studies (150 marks)
- Optional Subject (300 marks)
There existed a proportional representation system rule. Crudely speaking it means
- Suppose 2 lakh students appeared in prelims and 20,000 had History optional. (10%)
- And UPSC wanted only pass 10,000 students for next stage –mains exam. In that case, UPSC would need to reserve 1000 seats for candidates with history optional. (10%)
Prelims GS
By and large the structure for prelims was like following
- There would be about 20 questions on History. You had to Mugup old NCERT + any coaching notes regarding location of Harappa sites and other boring trivial things.
- There would be 30-40 questions on Geography (including places in news): so you had to prepare old NCERTs + competitive magazines + TheHindu accordingly.
- About 40 questions on science: NCERT + GS manual.
- Prelims GS questions used to be current affairs heavy : Almost 40 questions on persons/places in news, books-authors, sports, awards, science-tech etc. so competitive magazines (chronicle wizard etc) and coaching class material on current affairs compilation were precious.
- Remaining was filled up with polity, aptitude etc questions to make a paper with total 150 questions.
Prelims Optional
Let’s consider the case of Public Administration. The topicwise breakup was pretty much identical every year. Basically you had to mugup following books religiously and you would clear the prelims (even without coaching or great command over GS).
- M.Laxmikanth’s book on Public Administration
- Prasad and Prasad
- Mohit Bhattacharya
- Sharma n Sadana (or Avasthi or Fadia)
But in those years, if you lived in a small town, there was no internet and nobody to tell you those books were important. So you had to join a coaching class in Delhi, just to figure out the damn booklist (or worst- fail in first attempt and learn from mistakes).
- Overall, The nature of prelims questions was such that you’d need to mugup lot of data on solar planets, PSLV missions, metal-alloys, location of Harappan sites, winners of lawn tennis, Shanti-Swaroop Bhatnagar awardees and other boring things like that.
- Same for your optional subjects. (for Public Administration you had to mugup quotes-who said what, books and authors, timelines etc.
- Because of the proportional representation rule, in the preliminary exam you were only competing with the people from your optional subject group.
- And thus Senior player had distinct advantage over first timers. Because optionals were worth 300 mark, and he had rock solid command over facts because of revision.
- The victory rule was straight arithmetic:
- If Someone revised above cited Public Administration books for 15-20 times (I’m not kidding) then he was riding a Tata Sumo @90 kmph.
- If a newguy had barely read them 5 times, so he was riding a desi Atlas bicycle (used by postmen,).
- Now imagine what would happen if these two clashed?
- Same was the situation in General studies paper.
And as I told earlier, there was no internet or awareness outside Delhi. So most of the “small-town, self-preparation-no coaching and no relative in civil service” type candidates would fail in their first attempt, because
- they did not have idea on what to prepare, what to skip.
- They could not memorize as much as a senior player did, because of timelimit.
So they’d fail in first attempt, learn from their mistakes, and clear prelims in second attempt (i.e. when they too become senior players). But then they might fail in mains exam for the same reason (lack of right direction), so they’d again rectify mistakes in third attempt and with God and goodluck willing, they’d get selected. Ofcourse there were exceptional cases, but by and large, this was the situation and hence there exists a perception in the society that
- You cannot clear IAS exam on first trial.
- You cannot clear IAS exam without going to Delhi for Coaching.
But that was the 90s. Things have changed now. Many toppers have defied above rules. Cleared the UPSC on first attempt: Shah Faisal, Karthik Iyer, Neeraj Singh, Mohd.Safi to name a few.
Anyways let us continue discussion on 90s era- moving to the Mains
Mains: 90s Era
General studies (mains) of 90s Era
Questions often rephrased and repeated, so if a coaching class sir dictated the answers for previous papers / or provided notes, then all you had to do was religiously mug it up and reproduce the same in your answer sheets.
History
- 3 books of Spectrum: Modern History, Freedom fighters and Culture
- Bipin Chandra
In those years, UPSC would ask 2 markers on freedom fighters (total 10-12 marks) every year. So you had to mupup 150+freedom fighters from Spectrum’s book + coaching material if any. Again, senior player had distinct advantage because he would have gone through the same data atleast 5 times. He can easily recall freedom fighters compared to a new guy.
Indian Geography
- Again questions were repeated and rephrased for example
- “explain monsoon mechanism in India” and “why xyz part receives less monsoon” etc.
- So a coaching class sir would just need to consolidate good stuff given in Spectrum book/Majid Hussain /Dr.Khullar’s book and provide question answers for old papers. That’d be his “coaching class readymade material” and you did not even need a book, just mugup those class notes, and you’d get full marks.
Polity
- Sometimes directly lifted statements on DD Basu, other times merely rephrasing old question.
- Again same as above, coaching notes would save the time and effort.
International affairs, Economy
- You had to just mugup V******’s material and whatever was dictated in the class.
- Statistics was also pretty easy and conventional.
- There were clichéd questions on computers every year like write a note on RAM or email.
- Same for science-tech.
- And whatever Misc. current affairs was left, you could rely on Wizard’s special book on mains current affairs + Hindu.
Optional papers: 90s era
I’ve already talked about that in the Public Administration strategy article. Anyways the success formula was
- Re-mugup the same books you used for prelims.
- Get some fodder material from Yojana Kurukshetra. (or Readymade notes of H******** S**** etc.) and use it elaborate or spice up the answers with so called ‘case studies’.
- Questions were static, direct from the SRBs, repeated, rephrased. coaching sir would dictate the answers, Class notes would save the day.
- Similar things for History, geography, psychology etc.
Literature optionals: 90s era
- In the GS and Public Administration, UPSC atleast showed the decency to rephrase the question while repeating it next year.
- but for literature was so totally clichéd, even Saas Bahu serials look genuine.
- If you just studied the last 10 years paper, you could set your own guess-paper for the fourth year and upsc’s actual paper would 90% similar to your guess paper!
- For Pali or Maithali litt. All you had to do was join a coaching class or get some Arts professor to dictate you the answers of last 10 years’ papers. That’s all, mug it up and you’d get more that 300/600 marks (+ scaling system favored litt.optionals)
In short, first timer/no-coaching type player had almost 0% chance of getting decent marks in mains.
And among the senior players, if Senior Player A and Senior player B. Both had revised notes for 20 times. Who would be successful?
Well, questions like I said rephrased repeated every year. Mains Questions are of two types: analytical or direct.
- For analytical questions (Critically analyse India’s policy towards Afghanistan), you had ready-made notes dictated by coaching class sir, you just needed to recall and write the points. And Suppose Mr.A solely relied on that note while Mr.B upgraded his note further with fodder material from library book or retired professor or newspapers, then Mr.B would get more marks. Therefore quality of notes =important.
- For direct questions (like powers of the Pres of India or explain the budget making process)….in that case whoever could write more points (Mr.A or B) would get more marks. Therefore memorization skill=important.
The Back-breakingTM era (2010 onwards)
- So far we saw that in 90s era, A small town candidate without coaching or tips from seniors/toppers/IAS relatives, could rarely succeed.
- And By small town I mean every place except Delhi. (Same way for IIT entrance exam, everyplace except Kota, Rajsthan, is a small town.)
- Anyways, suddenly UPSC wakes up and realizes the problems faced by first timers and small towners.
- So UPSC starts taking certain reformative measures in the exam process to prevent coaching classes and senior players for gaining much advantage.
- This is phenomenon is referred as BackbreakingTM move of UPSC.
- The exams conducted in 2010, 2011, and 2012 are examples of that move. Now let’s try to understand what was changed during this era?
BackbreakingTM era: Prelims
- UPSC removed Optional subjects were from preliminary exam (2011 and onwards) it introduced a new thing called Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT). It had two papers GS+Aptitude. Both papers have same marks. So there goes the advantages associated with proportional representation, 300 marks of optional subject MCQ paper.
- Even in Aptitude, from 2012 It reduced questions from conventional Maths: to prevent Engineers/IIT/MBA types from gaining advantage.
- UPSC introduced new topics in the syllabus such as environment and biodiversity, rights issue.
- In GS prelims, it stopped asking trivial current affairs stuff (person/places in news, awards etc.) for example I’m copy pasting certain questions from 90s era
Which of the following organization won the CSIR award for S&T innovation for rural Development, 2006?
- CLRI
- NDDB
- IARI
- NDRI
Which city has been the venue of Asian Games for maximum number of times from 1951 to 2006?
- Delhi
- Tokyo
- Bangkok
- Beijing
Match the following
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To solve such questions you had to constantly follow current affairs magazines (or the readymade current affairs notes of coaching class). But Nowadays such questions don’t appear much in prelims exam.
- UPSC changed the nature of questions from History and Science. For example here are few from 1999’s paper
Q1. Match Following
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Q2. Volcanic eruptions donot occur in
- Baltic Sea
- Black Sea
- Caspian Sea
- Caribbean Sea
Thankfully UPSC stopped asking such questions nowadays. So you don’t have to mugup a lot of data like in the 90s.
For Prelims, Nowadays most of the questions are 4 Statement True or False (4TF) type. So you’re given one term/phenomenon and 2 or 3 or 4 statements. Your task is to identify the correct statements. Ofcourse it does require memorization, but they more aimed at checking your basic understanding of a topic rather than your mugup skills (like in above questions from the 90s) for example here are some questions from 2012’s paper
Q1. Mahatma Gandhi undertook fast unto death in 1932, mainly because :
- Round table conference failed to satisfy Indian political aspirations
- Congress and muslims league had differences of opinion
- Ramsay macdonald announced the communal award
- None of the statements (a), (b) and (c) given above is correct in this context.
Q2. Consider these factors
- Rotation of the earth
- Air pressure of wind
- Density of ocean water
- Revolution of the earth
Which of the above factors influence the ocean currents?
- 1 & 2 only
- 1, 2 & 3
- 1 & 4
- 2, 3 & 4
To get more idea on this, read following analysis of 2012’s CSAT (preliminary) paper CLICK ME
BackbreakingTM era: Mains (General Studies)
For mains exan, UPSC stopped asking conventional direct stuff from History, Geography Instead emphasis was given to public health, environment, sci-tech, yearbook and current affairs from newspapers.
To get more idea on this, read following analysis of 2012’s General Studies (Mains) paper click ME
Adaptation
And while writing all ^this, I donot mean even an ounce of disrespect to any senior player or his success. No one becomes senior player by his conscious choice, everyone wants to clear UPSC in first attempt- But things don’t turn out that way for many, So, he is a victim of circumstances created by the (supervillain) UPSC. And life and society is very cruel to him, as you’ll see in Act IV and V.
Initially UPSC had the upper hand in this war. When UPSC significantly changed the question style in 2010’s preliminary paper, most senior players were shocked and caught unguarded. But UPSC can’t trick them everytime. They’re fighting for their life and career. In 2011, 2012 they changed their preparation strategy accordingly and adapted to this uncertain environment. So question papers are not as ‘shocker’ for them as UPSC expects.
Similarly coaching classes have been trying to adapt. UPSC keeps an eye on all the study material released by prominent coaching classes of delhi, to make sure no questions are asked from such material. So coaching classes too have came up with new ideas, for example
- Nowadays ‘good stuff/ ultra-important topics ’ are not given in their printed study material but mostly dictated during the lecture. (Because printed material usually get pirated by Xerox centres of Delhi hahaha)
- They intentionally released their current affairs material very late (just 15-20 days before the exam) to prevent UPSC from changing the papers.
This is like a game of chess, you have to constantly keep moving your pawns and adapt to the moves made by the enemy, same way UPSC too keeps coming up with new ideas and new back breakingTM moves every year.
- In the end, competition is tough and exam is not friendly to anyside, anymore, whether you’re a coaching/no-coaching/first timer/senior player…you too should adapt and study hard else you’ll get massacred like an innocent bystander in the action movies.
This concludes Act I (Part 1 of 5). Here are the links to the Remaining articles of UPSC strategy:
sir my father was involved in criminal case and it was with drawn whether i am eligibility for upsc exam
ur father was involved and not u…So u can give UPSC exam
hello sir i want info regarding that…whether we get only one answer sheet or two answer sheet for main examination to write up our questions ?
Sir
I have never seen such helpful site(infact such a helpful person). Thanks for your dedication to help & motivate someone to get success in life & ABOVE ALL FREE OF COST.
what is best optionaql subject to choose in mains , which is easy to study
dear sir can u explain these all ias strategy in hindi………….agar koi hindi ki site ho bataiye………
Mrunal sir,
I have last attempt in 2014..which im seriously preparing,but i dont know why i am loosing confidence that i may not clear even in this attempt please help me out .NCERT ,lakshmikant..im going through.But im not clear about aptitude books…Some advice is carre launcher,some say CAT aptitude,I wan ur opinion for LR,RC and aptitude areas.
the level of aptitude questions in upsc is not upto the CAT ,so you dont have to prepare from those books(they will kill your confidence), any state psc book will be enough (my own experience)
and
dont worry.. you will clear this time, you have my word on that
thanQ sir.
Sir, I have completed B.tech(ECE) in 2012.Now i’m working & can not resign from job.
Which optional sub. should I choose with geography(as i think it will help in pre. also).
Till 10th standard my medium was hindi and after that I countinued my study in english. So,its difficult for me to learn science in hindi & other sub. in english.
So please suggest me language & optionals.
I am planning to take history for mains. How to prepare for history, please guide?
Dear Brother/sister,
I am working in a PSU in HYDERABAD and 27yrs old. I left with only three chances. I would like to get a suggestion from this forum that how many hours it needs to study/day to crack our friend, CIVILS.
I can devote 5 hrs/day (as i am working)and 12 Hrs on sunday towards preparation. Will that yield the fruit to me? And i am an electrical Engineer who has little knowledge on history, econ0my etc. So i have to start from the scrap.
I checked my self by studying geography NCERT (6-12th) and Polity by LAxmiKanth. It took me arnd 2 months to complete.
If started with dedication,can my preparation of 5hrs/day stands before the aspirants who are on the target for around 10-15hrs/day ?
Your suggestion will greatly help me.
PSU is great…
dont resign..
thats wat i feel…
I too am an electrical engg…
Don’t you have the option of study leave ?
dear sir kya me laste year ke exam dene ke turant baad pre de sakta hu ya fir last year mi margseet ki jaruurat hoti he form bharne me
Dear Sir,
I am working in PSB and want to crack UPSC 2014. I have appeared in UPSC in 2010 first time with History as optional but led down in Pre,Now as every thing has changed. I was away from studies for more than 2-3 years. My GS part is Nill. Some how I managed with News papers.
Requet you to please advice me to proceed further for Misson 2014.
Regards
Chandan
Sir,
I had done coaching and build up my base form my home city itsef (70%). Joining a coaching again, will be fruitful? or else shud I move ahead with self studies and practise set.
Please guide me .
Regards
Adi
self study is good,many people are doing tat, coaching is pure waste of money
The number of the Judges in the Supreme Court of India can be increased by which among the following?
a. If there is a representation from the supreme court regarding the number of pending cases and need to increase number of judges
b. By Amendment of Constitution of India
c. By an act of parliament
d. By a Presidential Notification….
hey friends tell me the answer
answer b, by amendment of constitution of india
hello mrunal sir, which paper and what in this ? importent in upsc cse exam? please tell me sir.
Respected Mrunal sir, I have done my Mechanical engineering from Mumbai University. But the thing is i am very weak in studies and also low-confidence. Even while in engineering i have had 3 year drops during my engineering course. Should i still opt for UPSC because 3 year drops while engineering is the worst impression someone can have about me? What would you advise?
hii–sir….
I m student of b.tech from E&c trade(3rd year).I want to became an IAS officer. no any extra aim like gate…
tell me about sir preparation of ias exam in hindi language because i m live in village.tell me about sir interview………….
Hello Mrunal Sir,
Which are the best institutions providing the best notes and study material through correspondence for IAS and IFS(forest) exams?
Regards
hi mrunal and others…
in 2013 MAINS ONLY ONE OPTIONAL is there.
WILL THEY REMOVE OPTIONALS IN 2014?
my friend called from delhi and gave the news THAT SINCE ONLY 3 MONTHS GAP FROM 2014 PRELIMS(AUG) TO MAINS(DEC), i know it might be
a typical delhi rumour as told by mrunal but its always hitting my brain whether to prepare optional or not because optional like anthropology does not have full utilization in gs.
SHOULD WE PREPARE OPTIONAL OR NOT ??
THANK YOU GUYS
hello mrunal sir,
I am preparing for upsc without classes.
so i have some doubts…
1) while reading economics I got confused whether to remember the statistics given there or not?
2) i can surely tell without remembering statistics “#### was more than ****”… is that alright or I MUST remember the stats??
3) similar while reading history, do i need to remember day and month (as I find it easy to remember year!)?
please mrunal sir if you can reply… plz plz plz…
hi mrunal need ur valuable opinion….
in 2013 MAINS ONLY ONE OPTIONAL is there.
WILL THEY REMOVE OPTIONALS IN 2014?
my friend called from delhi and gave the news THAT SINCE ONLY 3 MONTHS GAP FROM 2014 PRELIMS(AUG) TO MAINS(DEC), i know it might be
a typical delhi rumour as told by mrunal but its always hitting my brain whether to prepare optional or not because optional like anthropology does not have full utilization in gs.
SHOULD WE PREPARE OPTIONAL OR NOT ??
THANK YOU GUYS
Sir,
i have passed my engineering with fair marks. now m i’m aiming at civil services 2015 and dedicated to clear it in first attempt.. i’m from science background but i want to choose Economics and Geography as my optional subjects. to be honest i dont have any idea about these subjects. please guide me through the journey sir. please provide me with books abd tell me if my decision is right/wrong
now u have to choose only 1 subject for mains only
Mrunal sir,
I have last attempt in 2014..which im seriously preparing, .NCERT ,lakshmikant..im going through.But im not clear about aptitude books…Some advice is carre launcher,some say CAT aptitude,I wan ur opinion for LR,RC and aptitude areas.
Hi , m not mrunal but giving few suggestions .. :)
just go through RS aggarwals’ books (not all chapters only selected)
and dont go for any coaching centres’ material … just prepare for mains it will automatically helps u in preparing GS-prelims .
You will definitely go thru this time :)
ThanQ Neeraj,for your suggestions.I will definetly check RS agarwal’s…
thank q Neha!!
and sir please provide me with knowledge, whether these days we have to choose one optional subject for the mains or two?? ihave read so many articles that i’m confused. please give me exact information about mains.
just 1 optional subject with 2 paper
Dear Mrunal Sir and Forum members,
Please tell me about online mode of coaching. A UPSC website is offering the following mentioned below, with charge of just Rs 500 for five months.
1. All the relevant and required materials of subjects mention in the GS syllabus like:
100% IAS Exam Syllabus Covered with MCQs.
History of India and Indian National Movement.
Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development -Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation
General Science.
Current Affairs.
2. Home assignment: where Multiple Choice Questions of the learned chapters will be given for self evaluation.
3. Important current affairs materials for civil services preliminary examination will be provided
4. Online Tests will be conducted after the end of each subject.
5. At the end of your course, five comprehensive test will be conducted to evaluate your performance.
Please respond to my query.
Thanks and regards,
Hi Mrunal,
I would like take Civil Engineering as optional subject for CSE2014. Please suggest me any coaching institute which offers material/guidance for this subject.
Thanks.
Statements: Some fire are smoke.
All matchsticks are fire.
No matchstick is a flower.
Conclusions: I. Some smoke, if they are matchstick, may also be fire.
II. All flower being fire is a possibility.
I am finding it difficult to decide about the conclusion of type-1(e.i. Some smoke, if they are matchstick, may also be fire.) using this method…
Please Mr. Mrunal help as soon as possible, My exam OF IBPS-PO is just near.
Thanx in advance..
sir,
i’m an ias aspirant and planning to give my civil services 2015. but still am yet confused between the optinal subjects. i’m confused between geography and economics. my background was engineering so please help me sir in choosing the subject..
Hello Mrunal.. can you please guide me towards the preparation of DSSSB DASS EXAMINATION.
Thank you.
If you get any info regarding that pls do share .
Good work dude
Awesomeness is here
sir,i am studing in Ist year BSc(agri).i dont know the subjects for IAS preparation.please send the subjects of ias which are related to BSC (AGRI)
sir i am new person of tis field……….. i eager to face csat exam….. how to start for preparation?????????????then which books i need????????pls reply me………..