GENERAL STUDIES;
newspaper: THE HINDU as a matter of routine and some articles for psycho from TIMES OF INDIA,which i got to know through friends.
MAGZINES: YOJANA,KURUKSHETRA,CHRONICLE and ya bits from others in last days of preparation for extra points.i recommend just these three,if read propely,they hav lots of material.in chronicle,dont miss out constitutional watch and international affairs for latest points.(pratiyogita darpan magzine is gud for gs-pre as more facts r included in there)
books-
G.S.-NCERT-esp modern history,geography,
spectrum(current affairs+modern history+statistics+personalities of india),
pd-economics,
indian polity-lakshmikant,
indian struggle for indian independence-bipin chandra.
and ya wizard's social issues book is gud.
n also FM gold news esp at 9:00 evening(mondays usually hav rich discussion on currents by eminent people)
wel,friends these books may have been read by most n they still feel wanting in content of answers. i personally believe,its how u analyse while u study these books n magzines. hav a base book and mental picture of a topic and link new material to this base.this helps u. i did focussed on fine arguments given in it,sometimes one needs to read between lines. i feel one should approach these books again and again to learn something more which we may hav missed in earlier readings.
one guestbook entry asked me what is gud in vajiram,s notes besides IR.wel,again see fine points,fine arguments-these small things help score 2-3 marks per question and make a big difference in final total. i found the discussion in polity,economics,current n social issues n ya ,essay too very rich. i may agree that geography,sc n tech, mental ability, statistics,history 2 markers may require a sincere effort from ones own side too. esp.-geo n sc-tech for current n conceptual updation(eg: delayed monsoon last year),statistics for practice(graphs n tables),history 2 markers for wider coverage. a limited material studied wel is important than heap of books..
MAGZINES: YOJANA,KURUKSHETRA,CHRONICLE and ya bits from others in last days of preparation for extra points.i recommend just these three,if read propely,they hav lots of material.in chronicle,dont miss out constitutional watch and international affairs for latest points.(pratiyogita darpan magzine is gud for gs-pre as more facts r included in there)
books-
G.S.-NCERT-esp modern history,geography,
spectrum(current affairs+modern history+statistics+personalities of india),
pd-economics,
indian polity-lakshmikant,
indian struggle for indian independence-bipin chandra.
and ya wizard's social issues book is gud.
n also FM gold news esp at 9:00 evening(mondays usually hav rich discussion on currents by eminent people)
wel,friends these books may have been read by most n they still feel wanting in content of answers. i personally believe,its how u analyse while u study these books n magzines. hav a base book and mental picture of a topic and link new material to this base.this helps u. i did focussed on fine arguments given in it,sometimes one needs to read between lines. i feel one should approach these books again and again to learn something more which we may hav missed in earlier readings.
one guestbook entry asked me what is gud in vajiram,s notes besides IR.wel,again see fine points,fine arguments-these small things help score 2-3 marks per question and make a big difference in final total. i found the discussion in polity,economics,current n social issues n ya ,essay too very rich. i may agree that geography,sc n tech, mental ability, statistics,history 2 markers may require a sincere effort from ones own side too. esp.-geo n sc-tech for current n conceptual updation(eg: delayed monsoon last year),statistics for practice(graphs n tables),history 2 markers for wider coverage. a limited material studied wel is important than heap of books..
JUST AFTER PRELIMS
| the mains exams starts usually in second half of october, so one hardly gets 4-41/2 months for nine papers of mains.hence, the logic of starting mains preparation just after prelims gets over.initial few days should be used to build a clear strategy.mains gs is of 600 marks ,in comparison to optional which total to 1200 marks.also,gs is much unpredictable and less dependable for scoring marks than optional.thus strategy must be to make optional strong enough to fetch good marks and read gs well enough to get decent marks.as no one can be sure of guessing and preparing gs paper in advance.. | -read hindu newspaper editorials as model answer. -look for the way different point of views are developed , compared and balanced. -the words used are common ones,no flowery language in these articles. -sentences are short and well connected. so are paragraphs. -point to be developed is logically presented,analysed. -ending is usually very balanced. finding some middle path between the views expressed above.mostly ending is optimistic,though may be word of caution. -i always look upto these articles for improving my answer writing skills. - dont worry, if it takes your one- two hour for analysing the main editorial page. this,though may not be done everyday, can be done once a week,for some article u find exceptionally well written.remember, one is investing this time than wasting it.atleast i believe so. |
THE FOCUS OF PREPARATION:
-FRIENDS, to have a good total that can help u fetch rank in top 100, one cannot afford to ignore essay and interview.mostly we focus on gs n optionals,and comparatively ignore these areas. a difference of 30 marks in either or each of these can adversely affect the score and thius rank.
-among gs and optional,i feel optional questions are more or less predictable and syllabus limited so should be well prepared. gs being unpredictable is undependable for good score. i made my optional strong and did lots of value addition in it. for gs, i prepared basic material,currents related and general value additions which i can use easily in many topics.this part can never be completely prepared,many questions will be new and have to be managed with whatever we hav already studied.
-good score in gs depends lots on 2 markers,so try preparing them well esp.history,culture,polity,economics,sc and tech,currents etc.
-keep on analysis and interlinking as u study,as this will reflect in the answers too.
-among gs and optional,i feel optional questions are more or less predictable and syllabus limited so should be well prepared. gs being unpredictable is undependable for good score. i made my optional strong and did lots of value addition in it. for gs, i prepared basic material,currents related and general value additions which i can use easily in many topics.this part can never be completely prepared,many questions will be new and have to be managed with whatever we hav already studied.
-good score in gs depends lots on 2 markers,so try preparing them well esp.history,culture,polity,economics,sc and tech,currents etc.
-keep on analysis and interlinking as u study,as this will reflect in the answers too.
making notes?when?how many?
-firstly,if u hav habit of making notes n it helps u,then u may make extensive notes.
-i,personally preferred limited notes,because time is short n not all can be covered through notes.
-i wrote crux of my reading,impt argument or fact on the top of the magzine or on frontpage near index-for handy revision(in exam,we cannot write everything but only gist .so ,writing this much will suffice)
-notes in three notebooks ,each for gs,socio n psycho.wrote impt n new arguments,facts,details which i m liable to forget or which are very impt(eg:sthng about gender or caste,or about developing countries etc)
notes of mine were basically for value addition which i may revise a day before exam n enrich my answer.
-if i included some important basic concept in my notes,i preffered it to b in form of an flowchart for clarity of understanding being maintained at time of revision too.
-i,personally preferred limited notes,because time is short n not all can be covered through notes.
-i wrote crux of my reading,impt argument or fact on the top of the magzine or on frontpage near index-for handy revision(in exam,we cannot write everything but only gist .so ,writing this much will suffice)
-notes in three notebooks ,each for gs,socio n psycho.wrote impt n new arguments,facts,details which i m liable to forget or which are very impt(eg:sthng about gender or caste,or about developing countries etc)
notes of mine were basically for value addition which i may revise a day before exam n enrich my answer.
-if i included some important basic concept in my notes,i preffered it to b in form of an flowchart for clarity of understanding being maintained at time of revision too.
Daily Schedule;
-on an average i used to study 10 hrs.though could vary in range of 5-15 hrs(5 hrs when i take a break out with friends n 15 when when i get engrossed with some topic) more than time ,quality matters.
-I used to divide my day into 4 time slots;
8:00am-12:00, 12:00-4:00, 4:00-800pm and finally 8:00-12:00.
after every time slot I preffered to give five/ten minutes for analysis of what has been studied.is it good enough? if yes, i can relax a bit n have a pep talks with friends else have to sincerely concerate in next time slot.
at the end of the day,i would review the whole day study,was it satisfactory? if yes, i will go for peaceful sleep...(where is the tension?)
and ya,once a week, i allowed myself a day out with friends,movies,eating chat at meerut wala.this is a way to give mind a break. its the limitation of mind(learnt this in psychology classes-spaced learning).else after ten days of intense studies mind will automatically take the break.
-my day used to start with hindu at around 7;30 or 8:00,read it for 1-11/2 hrs.
-some breaks with friends,families or activites onee enjoy are important as it relaxes mind . when we start studying after this break,its with increased vigour n hence more productive.
-I used to divide my day into 4 time slots;
8:00am-12:00, 12:00-4:00, 4:00-800pm and finally 8:00-12:00.
after every time slot I preffered to give five/ten minutes for analysis of what has been studied.is it good enough? if yes, i can relax a bit n have a pep talks with friends else have to sincerely concerate in next time slot.
at the end of the day,i would review the whole day study,was it satisfactory? if yes, i will go for peaceful sleep...(where is the tension?)
and ya,once a week, i allowed myself a day out with friends,movies,eating chat at meerut wala.this is a way to give mind a break. its the limitation of mind(learnt this in psychology classes-spaced learning).else after ten days of intense studies mind will automatically take the break.
-my day used to start with hindu at around 7;30 or 8:00,read it for 1-11/2 hrs.
-some breaks with friends,families or activites onee enjoy are important as it relaxes mind . when we start studying after this break,its with increased vigour n hence more productive.
time distribution for gs n optionals;
-the initial time should be given for second optional as first optional has just been prepared for prelims.
-as time of mains near, try studing all three so that u maintain tough with all n dont get anxious over losing control on one specific thing.
-initial months for clearing concepts and later ones for studing currents in detail(by this time which issues r important for this year will be clear) and value additions.
-dont waste time in day dreaming,believing rumours(which r abundant in mukherjee nagar) and arguments or anxiety about the results(anyways our mere thinking wont change them).
-as time of mains near, try studing all three so that u maintain tough with all n dont get anxious over losing control on one specific thing.
-initial months for clearing concepts and later ones for studing currents in detail(by this time which issues r important for this year will be clear) and value additions.
-dont waste time in day dreaming,believing rumours(which r abundant in mukherjee nagar) and arguments or anxiety about the results(anyways our mere thinking wont change them).
total time for preparation and my experiences:
on the whole i gav approx two years.in this period also did job.
i didnt knew even basics about three stages when i started preparation in oct 2007 when i was also doing internship(morning 9-1pm).i did gs n socio from 2-5pm n then gs from 5-7:30. by 8:30 i was dead tired n just used to revise a bit or sleep straight away.
after march i started my self study,focus on gs(which was actually wrong,coz optional had more weightage)gave pre in may n then psycho coaching with june 2008 batch.results came in aug n i didnt qualify.
around oct when psycho coaching ended ,i started with only pre preparation,gav raj pre in jan,haryana pre in april . result of both came before upsc prelims n was positive. i then gav upsc prelims n was sure of qualifying it. so joined test series n essay classes straight away.i also did one month job in this time as it was not much demanding one(was in ENT dept n had no night duties) aug i gav raj n haryana mains n got to know requirement of stamina n value of answer writing.
after result of prelims joined vajiram refresher course for old students.by around oct 12th my prepn was over n satisfactory. 23 rd mains started .thereafter i joined job in jan(where i m still continuing), did self prepn for intw. in march when mains result came joined vaji ram n sankalp n my intw was in march end itself.
wel,my this part was not the ideal one as not clearing prelims in first attempt spoiled many plans of mine.basically, i feel that be one needs to giv a complete focussed effort of 1 year before exam,esp if both optionals r different from background n atleast 6 months if optional r related to background. exam's level demands much effort,else we may get struck at some stage.wel, its my thinking what i learned from my first attempt.
i didnt knew even basics about three stages when i started preparation in oct 2007 when i was also doing internship(morning 9-1pm).i did gs n socio from 2-5pm n then gs from 5-7:30. by 8:30 i was dead tired n just used to revise a bit or sleep straight away.
after march i started my self study,focus on gs(which was actually wrong,coz optional had more weightage)gave pre in may n then psycho coaching with june 2008 batch.results came in aug n i didnt qualify.
around oct when psycho coaching ended ,i started with only pre preparation,gav raj pre in jan,haryana pre in april . result of both came before upsc prelims n was positive. i then gav upsc prelims n was sure of qualifying it. so joined test series n essay classes straight away.i also did one month job in this time as it was not much demanding one(was in ENT dept n had no night duties) aug i gav raj n haryana mains n got to know requirement of stamina n value of answer writing.
after result of prelims joined vajiram refresher course for old students.by around oct 12th my prepn was over n satisfactory. 23 rd mains started .thereafter i joined job in jan(where i m still continuing), did self prepn for intw. in march when mains result came joined vaji ram n sankalp n my intw was in march end itself.
wel,my this part was not the ideal one as not clearing prelims in first attempt spoiled many plans of mine.basically, i feel that be one needs to giv a complete focussed effort of 1 year before exam,esp if both optionals r different from background n atleast 6 months if optional r related to background. exam's level demands much effort,else we may get struck at some stage.wel, its my thinking what i learned from my first attempt.
ANXIETY MANAGEMENT:
-basically,its human to b anxious before exam...but it can dangerously eat up our time n energy esp just before exam...what to do? here is what i did :-
-i had planned every time slot even for days before exam,so i was forced to focus on completing that topic than thinking anything else.
- i was in close communication with reliable friends,teachers n parents n had candid discussions whenever i was tensed.
-more importantly,used to enjoy what i was studing.was interested n curious while learning,rather than only thinking about appearing for toughest exam n what will b the results...thus developed a genuine interest .
-when u dont find a way out-hav faith in god n leave it to him.
-i had planned every time slot even for days before exam,so i was forced to focus on completing that topic than thinking anything else.
- i was in close communication with reliable friends,teachers n parents n had candid discussions whenever i was tensed.
-more importantly,used to enjoy what i was studing.was interested n curious while learning,rather than only thinking about appearing for toughest exam n what will b the results...thus developed a genuine interest .
-when u dont find a way out-hav faith in god n leave it to him.
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