Hi Folks,
I am Radhika. I secured AIR 18 in UPSC CSE 2020. This was my second attempt. In my first attempt I got IRPS. Below is my strategy for UPSC CSE. I‘ve tried my best to list it down to the last detail that I could remember, but, still if something’s left out or some doubts remain- feel free to reach out.
Hope it helps !
Timeline : july 2018 to sept 2021( for 2 attempts)
Started the coaching in july 2018 (KSG Indore) and preparation for next year prelims (CSE 2019) simultaneously. Coaching went till april but I skipped going to classes after feb because I had finished my syllabus by that time. This timeline contains time of around 11 months before I wrote prelims, 3 months of mains duration and post that till interview in feb.
Booklist :
Although, there can be different set of books that can be referred to, i've mentioned only what i have referred to. My advice would be to go through multiple topper blogs about their strategies and then frame the same for oneself.
- Polity : NCERT(for building base)+Laxmikanth(majorly for pre)+ Class notes(pre+mains)
• Read the Intro to constitution NCERT and then give a mock based solely on polity NCERT questions to get an idea about the kind of questions that are asked in upsc. After the 1st reading and 1 mock, give the book a second read. You'll have a very good understanding about the kind of questions that can be asked. Moreover, you'll develop the knack of ‘looking through the UPSC lens’.
• Start with laxmikanth after this. Try to read in a comparative perspective. For ex. Read President with Governor, PM with CM , parliament and state legislature etc. This will make you understand the intricate changes between them. UPSC loves these kinds of comparative analysis questions to trick the students with.
• When you finish a chapter of laxmikanth, try to look for prelims and mains questions on it. For ex when you are done with fundamental rights try to write questions on it. Various websites offer these kinds of questions along with model answers on their platform. So I used to go topic wise in every subject. This helped me gauge my preparedness topic wise, both for pre as well as mains. For pre, there is a book by Vinay kumar GB(InsightsIAS) which has prelims based questions of laxmikanth chapter wise. Read chapters from the book and solve mock questions simultaneously.
• Once you are done with 2 or 3 readings of laxmikanth, try to consolidate it in form of short notes (not compulsory, though!). The short notes made polity revision a 6 hour affair for me to revise. I'll attach my own sample short notes of polity.
• I did all this during my prelims prep. During mains I tried to write a complete GS test series and apart from that I solved another test series at home just to get some more variety of questions.
• All of this will make you very comfortable in the subject. Adopt this strategy for every subject. Read basic NCERT->solve mock->read reference book->solve mock and write mains based questions-->revise-->repeat.
• Might seem too much and kind of a big deal, but, it really isn't. The process is so much fun !
• A video I made related to how to prepare notes for polity. Attaching the link for your reference.
o https://youtu.be/35-0WBWfbrg
- Economy : Sanjeev Verma+ class notes+ Eco survey and budget highlights
• Macro economics NCERT to be read first and a mock test based on economics ncert question can be solved( any coaching’s mock test which is ncert based). This gives one an idea as to what needs to be read and how. Also one’s prep can be checked with these 100 questions.
• Sanjeev verma+ classnotes (alternatively one can refer to mrunal videos and their notes. They are equally good and had been recommended by almost every topper. Do not watch youtube videos, the're amost 4 years old. Try getting hold of unacademy latest lectures. )
• for mains related fodder, you might have a tough time finding it in one book or at one place. I downloaded UPSC Micro syllabus and tried to search topic wise in economy section and then made notes on separate A4 sheets for mains. No book on economy has proper fodder needed for mains. So at best you can search topic wise online and make your own notes in 1 page for each topic.
• Economic survey has to be read. If you can manage to read it completely, it would be very good approach for mains. Still, if you cant, I will tell you what I did. Read the summary from a good resource and watch analysis videos on youtube. Many good coaching make such videos and upload them. ( vision ias survey summary and their videos on youtube)
• for economy current affairs- I referred to daily Newspaper and monthly compilation.
- Environment : Shankar IAS
• Read Shankar IAS thoroughly and then solve a couple of mocks based purely on env. This will help you in getting additional info that is not there in Shankar.
• Focus more on last 2 sections of Shankar IAS, i.e. conventions, treaties and legislations part.
• Please refer to PMFIAS notes on Environment. They are better updated than shankar.
• Location based questions-National parks, wildlife sanctuaries, Ramsar sites ,tiger reserves : try to locate them on India map ( reference attached below) and try to gather some factual data about them like type of vegetation, flora and fauna, endemic species etc. Look for sample maps in My drive link that I have shared below.
• Special focus on international and national institutions should be given. Also, conventions related to environment and biodiversity needs to be prepared.
- Geography : NCERT ALL 4 (CLASS 11 AND 12TH), GC Leong
• I read NCERT from class 6th because I did not understand 11th class ncert when I tried to read it . So you can take a call based on your level of understanding.
• During reading NCERT I referred to various online sources like PMFIAS videos on youtube, amit sengupta’s videos on youtube to understand concepts better.
• Post this I tried to read GC leong.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSXq8CRKAtQ&list=PL1vNLZF5gfwd7JBNWMaUNLHbDjJlknrt2 --Amit sen Gupta
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnmGtQPtZ7c --PMFIAS
• For mapping : No single Source. I looked at micro syllabus and tried to understand what all i need to study in mapping part. Goggled it and made my own Atlas. Screenshots attached below. (Eg : Rivers, Passes, mountains, world geo continent wise, locations in news etc.)
• Refer to Tushar Gupta IPS quora on how to do maps for upsc. He has uploaded his maps there. They are a very good reference point. Please utilize them to your benefit.
- History : 3 old NCERT's+ 3 new Themes NCERTs + Bipanchandra’s India’s struggle for independence/ spectrum
• Read the ancient, medieval and modern history’s old NCERT’s( you can download them or buy them). simultaneously, try to see questions from previous year to know where and what to focus at. solve a test paper purely based on history. Will make you understand how to approach the book.
• Read new NCERT’s also( Themes books). UPSC has been asking question in pre from it since last 2 years.
• I read Bipan chandra’s book for modern history. Alternatively you can read spectrum also. Refer any one of these two. Spectrum has better format for answer writing . I quite dint like the book in first attempt, so I skipped. But I have read it after my interview and I believe that It is better in terms of segregating mains answers heading wise.
• For world history : one can either read Arjun Deb if there is time. It’s a fairly small book. However, if you don’t have time then read any coaching’s compilation. (I read GS Score’s compilation ). Also see Shreyans Kumat (AIR 4) short notes on world and post independence history. You will have an idea about how to make short notes.
• Post independence history : Comes only in mains. So i read Vision’s compilation on it because I did not have much time to devote. Wrote a couple of questions from some websites on this topic and did value addition from these model answers.
- Science and Technology
Relied on monthly current affairs compilation. Also, whenever something came in newspaper( eg- CRISPER CAS 9) i googled and read more about it. Thoda bhagwan bharose tha ye part. Coz return on investment kam hai bhut !!
- Current Affairs : TH/ IE + Daily current affairs compilation from any good source(I did Insights for first three months to understand how to pick the news) + monthly magazine
• Read the newspaper daily without a miss. It is indispensable. Some people still might clear prelims with just monthly compilation but let me warn you, it’s a gamble. Do not go for it. Reading newspapers will help to understand the timeline and chronology. Also, what kind of an officer will you make if you don’t have a habit of reading something as basic as newspapers!
• I did not make notes out of newspapers because it takes a lot of time. Rather I read daily news analysis from insights to see how they are looking at a particular news. From the UPSC lens. This made me learn what to pick from a news and where to put the focus on.
• Eg : do we need anti torture legislation? Some article would argue why we need it and some for why we don't. Make notes like that. Another ex: do we need independent fiscal council?
• Read the monthly magazine at the end of the month. Read it in one go. Don’t take days to complete one magazine. This will defeat the whole purpose. Build the habit of finishing it in one day with a sitting of 8-10 hours.
• On Sundays the newspaper can be skipped because there are no editorials. I used to read 'down to earth' and 'EPW' articles on Sunday. only selectively though. This will help you get very good mains pointers especially for environment and economics.
• Now a days there’s an initiative on Youtube- ICAN by Insights. Its excellent for mains. It is by a topper who herself wrote 5 mains. So in terms of quality it is unparalled. Do follow it for your mains fodder daily. Even if it is not being done, do watch a couple.
- Ethics –
I did not read any book on ethics because I personally believe that ethics cant be taught by a book in a month. You learn It all your life. So, I picked up keywords from syllabus and made my own definitions on it. Collected examples of IAS, IPS, IRS Officers, other civil servants, noble laureate etc. you can use these in your answers as well as in essay paper.
Please go through copies of Gunjan Dwivedi ma’am(AIR 9) for ethics. Very nicely written. I took a lot of ideas from her copies.
This is what I did. After this I brainstormed previous year questions from 2013-2019. I also watched vision ias analysis videos where they discussed these questions. ( watch vision ias videos which discuss 1-20 questions and not the 5 year strategy one). This helped me in value addition and made me understand which areas to focus on. Also, please watch Michael Sandel’s series “Justice” on YouTube. It’s brilliant !
- OPTIONAL-
I chose anthropology as my optional despite having mechanical engineering as my background. The simple reason for me was that I dint want to study more of mechanical. And I knew that a humanities subject would be better for me because that will help me in other gs subjects as well. So, now the fight was to select one among the many options like sociology, anthropology, PSIR etc. Personally, I felt that anthro is small, mostly static and very good content is available for it. So, I went ahead with it and dint give too much of thought. Also, I knew that I am anyways reading so many new subjects. So, might as well read one more. The idea is that whatever optional you choose, please own it and make sure you do it.
Some tips to choose optional-
• A subject whose material is easily available.
• Sufficient guidance in market is available for you to access.
• Do now believe in what myths people have. Like PUBAD is being punished these days or some other subject is way too much rewarded. It doesn’t happen that way. UPSC is a fair exam.
• Read GS for a couple of months and try to find which subject you like the most. If optional similar to it is present, then go for it.
• Lastly, don’t overthink. Just choose a subject and OWN IT. Take responsibility for it and do it with all your heart. I literally tossed a coin to make a choice between anthro and socio. I owned the decision of that toss and it did pay off well.
• Sources-
1. Books- Nadeem Hasnain, P nath, Braintree material. Please read Sachin Gupta Sir’s Strategy
▪ ANTHROPOLOGY STRATEGY (Marks 339, CSE-2017): By Sachin Gupta Rank - 3 UPSC CSE-2017, Part-1 - INSIGHTSIAS (insightsonindia.com)
2. Please refer to test papers of- Sachin Gupta sir, Laxmi Nagappan ma’am, Harsh Koya sir, Yogesh Patil sir. These are gold standard. Please refer to them!
3. Prepare two page notes for each sub topic that came in last 10 years. Prepare structure, content and mug it up.
4. Join a test series and please write tests. Do not skip it !
5. I have attached my mock papers also in the document. Please feel free to refer them in case you feel the need to.
Some online sources I referred to :
• I did not refer to them daily but whenever I got time or when I specifically looked for a topic and these pages popped up. You will also understand these sources during the course of your preparation. So don’t get bogged down by looking at the list.
• Daily editorial app : shows good editorials of various newspapers at one place. Very good app.
• Insights daily current affairs section : compiles news from newspaper and PIB.
• Down to earth, EPW.
• The Print’s “cut the clutter” : so much fun to watch and informative at the same time. Used to watch it either before going to sleep or during breaks.
• RSTV’s “the big picture” and “India’s world” ( fun fact : Frank Rousan Paraira is just awesome host ! ). watched Big Picture debates almost daily.
• PRS India - very good source for govt bills and legislations. Whenever you want to prepare any bill, go through this site and read the analysis. ( eg- Transgender persons rights bill)
• ORF : it gives really good articles. Not able to read with continuity though. But tried to read as and when I had time or the article had a catchy title.
• Justice : what’s the right thing to do – it’s a Harvard ethics lecture series by Michel Sandel. Must watch for ethics paper in mains. Also you can watch satyamev jayate on youtube. It will give you many real stories that can be used as anecdotes to open your essays in mains examination.
• Pradhan Mantri series : by ABP . A Good series to watch when you get bored and don’t want to read anything.
• In the meantime, you can just watch stand-up comedy and have some fun !
Daily Bare minimum :
I had a daily bare minimum which I followed religiously. This bare minimum had to be done daily and I used to plan my rest of the day after getting done with these tasks. Here’s the
list :
• The hindu newspaper.
• Current affairs from Insights.
• 5 locations from maps to be learned daily.
• 1 hour answer writing- 5 questions a day- from any website. Based on topic that I read the previous day. writing 5 mains answers daily was my routine from September to December. ( before sept, i had read fair part of syllabus so i started to write and stopped it post Dec because i shifted to prelims mode)
• 15 minutes of art and culture daily-1 topic at a time from nitin singhania( I couldn’t do it for more than 2 months. Got really frustrated with art and culture). I only read a couple of chapter from Nitin singhania. See this to understand what chapters to read- https://youtu.be/xemjYp4y2PQ at around 50 min he talks about how to read art and culture.
As can be observed, this bare minimum list had those things which I personally felt uncomfortable with. So I knew that I wont be able to do them at one go and that they need to be digested in small doses daily. Art and culture and geography mappings are really a pain in preparations and i've always had a love hate relationship with these 2 sections. They cant be mugged up in a couple of days. So I thought of this idea and it helped me in the long run. All of this combined used to take around 4 hours of my day. For the rest of the day I used to plan 3 hour sessions for each GS subject.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to make use of news:
Take the case of COVID 19 news. We do feel that same news is coming day after day and feel like why to read newspaper right now. Below are some of the things that you can pick up-
• Migrant exodus which shows our vulnerability
• Read about Mumbai case study and its handling of COVID-19
• The Indore case And the opposite bhilwara model
• Kerala and it’s way of handling a crisis and how is it different from the rest of the country. Role of PRI's, their importance etc.
• How religion has a role in spreading a pandemic -fallout’s of religion in crisis times.
• Why India needs to spend so much more on its healthcare infrastructure.
• How vulnerable the world has become and also how volatile ! Just a tiny virus has the capacity to humble the entire mankind.
• Examples of civil servants going out of their way in doing their duties. These will give you so many examples for your ethics paper and some great stories for your essay paper. This is how you’ll have to think .
P.S.- I am attaching sample notes link below for your reference.
References-
My sample notes-
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=17hwmDeIcmKhtIB3nY4XAX9tHt64UuNPM
My optional test copies
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ik9bpgXYZQZ2-
dCzJMRHEuTcVjDSwgkl?usp=sharing
My GS test papers –
Test copies - Radhika Gupta(AIR 18) - Google Drive
For latest/ Updated PSIR PYQs Book - Click
Last, but not the least- UPSC is a marathon. It might take a toll on your health and mental space. It does involve pain, happiness and almost every emotion in between. And so, you need to remember your purpose. You need to remember ‘your why’ of this UPSC stint. If you keep reminding yourself of that, the pain will become smaller and enjoyable. This journey is extremely beautiful, irrespective of the results. You will come out as a transformed individual, for sure. So take this preparation as an investment on yourself, on building your personality and as a path to changing your thought process for better. It shall then become a very happening journey.
“Your purpose has to be stronger than your pain. Only then will the purpose survive and pain subside.”
Warm Regards.
Radhika Gupta I.A.S.
AIR 18– UPSC CSE 2020
IRPS – UPSC CSE 2019
radhika.g771@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment