Hi,
This is my 5th attempt and in my 4th attempt I missed the cutoff by 2 marks (got into reserve list). Writing has been my problem throughout this process, which reflected in my poor GS as well as optional scores.
My Anthropology Journey
My name is Mourya Bharadwaj. I secured AIR 28 this year with anthropology. This is my 5th attempt and 5th mains and I gave all my mains with anthropology optional. I’ll share my score cards which gives an overview of my journey.
1st Attempt
Couldn’t clear mains. Less than 60 marks from mains cutoff
Prepared optional between pre and mains
No proper answer writing practice
2nd Attempt
Barely cleared mains. +5 from cutoff. Missed final list by 50 marks
Average scores in GS and optional and a poor interview killed my chances
3rd Attempt
Missed mains cutoff by 15 marks
Average GS scores
Anthro is a disaster. Never could understand the reason for low scores till date. Mark list came 1 year after mains.
Result made me rethink my UPSC decision. Quit preparing full time and took up a job in jan 2020, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.
4th Attempt
Missed final list by 2 marks. Got into reserve list subsequently and allocated IP&TAFS, which I didn’t join.
Anthro P2 is major culprit. Despite an easy paper and good exam day performance , result turned out to be unexpected.
5th Attempt
Finally entered list with Flying Colors…😂😀
Anthropology , which tortured me for last 3 years, finally helped me secure a good rank that gets me my desired service.
Lessons learnt from my Journey
Exam is bit uncertain. Failures are part of journey.
Learn from your mistakes and not repeat them.
Writing skills are important. Unless one is good at answer writing and time management during exam, he is bound to be stuck in this process.
Optional is key in securing a good rank.
A strong back up/Plan B gives peace of mind if attempt count is higher.(>=3 attempts)
Anthropology Strategy
Anthropology don’t have single source
I never read cover to cover and all sources are read based on syllabus. Read selectively
I prepared topic wise as per syllabus
PYQs should be thoroughly prepared. Your preparation for a particular topic is complete only when you answer PYQ with all value additions on paper.
Make use of toppers notes uploaded online. I took help of notes of Sachin Gupta, Mandar Patki, Bhuvnesh Patil.
Refer to toppers answer scripts to see their style of writing. I found Laxmi ma’am, Yogesh Patil, Koya Sree Harsha sir answer scripts very helpful.
Since , i took 5 attempts I had the time and luxury to read so many sources. New aspirants need not panic. Please refer to Anudeep Durishetty sir/Koya Sreeharsha Sir’s blogs for list of sources. They are more exhaustive and easy to follow.
It’s possible to clear the exam by reading from limited sources. One should focus on smartly presenting whatever he knows. Please refer to Mr Yogesh Patil, Koya Sree Harsha sir’s copies to understand how good presentation skills can fetch good marks.
Practice writing Full Length Tests in time bound conditions before going to exam. They help in choosing questions, time management and increase confidence.
Make sure your final notes is very crisp so that you can revise in gap between GS and optional paper.
PS: If any one is giving mains 2022,please be smart and don’t start reading all the sources I mentioned. Consolidate your learnings and focus more on answer writing and value addition.
Physical Anthropology
PNath
IGNOU text books
epg pathshala pdfs
Ember & ember
Vivek bhasme
Answer writing pointers
Diagrams are very important
Try linking with socio-cultural part [Bio-cultural approach]
Very scoring section. Try to attempt good number of questions in exam
Collect contemporary studies and examples eg: human genome project
Socio-cultural anthropology
Muniratnam notes < very comprehensive>
Madan & Majumdar text book for examples
Ember & Ember for examples and case studies
Vivek bhasme
Theories : vajiram & Ravi class notes by sir + Makhan Jha
Answer writing pointers
Use Thinkers & examples extensively
Quote thinker, book and year along with definition to make answer look anthropological.
Try linking with paper 2 topics.
Indian Anthropology
Nadeem Hasnain
vajiram & Ravi class notes by sir
Muniratnam notes
Vivek bhasme
Referred online extensively for case studies on village studies chapter.
Mr. Mandar patki’s notes is very good to collect examples , case studies etc
Answer writing pointers
Trend is to use scholars frequently along with definitions.
Contemporary relevance is a must in conclusion.
Collect studies for topics on caste, village , GT//LT, sanskritisation etc
Tribal Anthropology
Nadeem hasnain
Muniratnam notes
Mai Bhi Bharat series <watched during leisure time>
XAXA report
MoTA annual report
Vivek Bhasme
Online sources, toppers notes for case studies
Answer writing pointers
Case studies are must
Quote the scholars and their studies to bring authenticity
In conclusion, try to mention how anthropology as a discipline helps in solving the problems
Archaeology
vajiram & Ravi class notes by sir
Muniratnam < very good resource>
Akshay Jain’s Demystifying Anthropology is good book for diagrams.
Answer writing pointers
Use diagrams extensively
Use India map /world map for distribution
Mention sites along with researchers.
In archeology, try to use scholar views. Eg: DK bhattacharya’s views on Palaeolithic art. For IVC, try to add some scholar (Gordon childe, wheeler) view on trade or art or town planning, causes of origin/extinction etc
Explain all aspects in a particular culture eg: Tools, technology, economy, social organisation, Any art etc
Be aware of debates like problems of Indian Palaeolithic, existence of upper Palaeolithic in India, origin of IVC etc
In conclusion, always explain this cultural phase gave rise to the next cultural phase
For GS:
Test series subscribed:
ForumIAS AWFG (daily 1 hr answer writing with no evaluation)
Civilsdaily Full length tests (4)
Other institutions mock papers available on internet
GS1,2,3
I planned to write 3 rounds of FLTs
Round 1
I used to assign 10-15 days for each paper, used to study static section. <Sources will be mentioned separately)
In these 10-15 days, would write AWFG tests of that particular paper once in 2 days.
Each paper has 7 questions (4x10 marks & 3x15 marks). I would make sure that I complete the paper in 1 hr strictly .
After end of 10-15 days, I used to write a FLT on tha entire paper.
Avoided reading too much on topics with less weightage such as World history, post-independence. Only read them superficially, so that I wont miss out on easy questions from them
For current affairs, i used to study Indian express & follow civilsdaily current affairs . I used to note down / copy the key points, stats, examples etc in OneNote app under sections like polity, governance, economy etc. My notes used to get build up over the period of time. Attaching a screenshot below of my onenote to give reference
Round 2
Assign 5-7 days for revision of each paper
Study Mains 365 of each paper thoroughly .
Consolidate current affairs read from news papers during round 1 + mains 365. Make small short notes for stats, examples etc Attaching sample screenshot below
Revise static portion read in earlier round
Give FLT
Round 3
Mostly 7-10 days before exam.
Used to give 2-3 days for each paper. Revise all the notes thoroughly.
Write 1 FLT for that particular paper, incorporating feedback from earlier copies, including stats, value additions etc
GS 4
Used to write 1 test every 10 days after revising syllabus
Collect examples topic wise and tried to apply them in exam hall.
Wrote around 5 FLTS in between pre and mains.
Optional < Anthropology >
Test series subscribed
L2A full length tests (Don’t put any hopes of getting evaluated copy back at least for 1-2 months)
Dr. Vivekananda from Hyderabad immensely helped in fine tuning my answers and improving my presentation skills
Optional is a nightmare for me.
My scores across attempts (263,281,210,240,297) shows my inconsistency, despite seriously studying in all 5 attempts. I lost getting good service in 2020, due to poor anthro score.
I hate that subject, but had to deal with it.
So, I focused on writing practice and emulating previous years toppers answer writing style , by thoroughly going through their answer copies. They include Koya sreeharsha sir, Yogesh Patil, Laxmi Ma’am’s copies available on internet.
Targeted 3 rounds of FLTs between pre and mains. 2 rounds between pre and GS paper. 1 round between GS paper and optional paper.
Round 1
Consolidation of notes topic wise.
Preparation should be in Q&A format. List PYQs and other possible questions under each topic of syllabus and make sure i have good notes for them
Daily answer writing on alternate days. 5 PYQs from each topic I used to write in time bound conditions
Value addition from toppers notes (Mr. Mandar Patki’s notes was immensely helpful)
Any required internet research like case studies for tribal anthropology, thinkers views for social anthropology, current trends for archeology, applications for physical anthropology.
Took almost 20 days for each paper
Round 2
Revision of round 1 notes and gave a FLT
Round 3 (between GS exam and anthro exam during mains)
Allocated 2-3 days for each paper revision and write 1 FLT to adjust time management.
Key points
Focus should be extensively on understanding, consolidation in earlier round
Focus should be on mugging things and applying them in exam hall during final revisions
Try to meet schedules. Make realistic and practical schedules and stick to it
Progressively reduce the time taken for revision of each paper.
Take test series feed back seriously and correct your mistakes in subsequent rounds of tests.
Try to complete tests on time. Don’t cheat yourself in mock tests by writing beyond stipulated time period, you will get roundly screwed in final mains exam.
Dont get stuck with single paper. If its taking longer than scheduled time, give the FLT with whatever you have prepared and move on to next paper. You can cover up in later stages of revision
Aiming for perfection is a disaster in this preparation. Try to meet your targets in whatever way you can.
Target should be to reach your peak performance by the time of mains. Last 40 days will be critical.
Book List
The below resources are what I have followed during my mains preparation.
Aspirants can follow any source which they are comfortable.
Please note that I also have taken 1 year GS coaching from Vajiram & Ravi in 2017 during my first attempt. It helped shaping my basics on General studies.
Newspaper: I followed The Hindu in my earlier attempts, but switched to Indian Express post 2020. You can follow any one news paper + one institution daily current affairs.
Coaching
Post the results, there are several institutions claiming me as their student. I have also attended toppers talks and interviews with multiple institutions. This post is an attempt to create awareness, so that aspirants shouldn’t be mislead.
Most of the talks with various institutions I gave are for the benefit of student community. These institutions gave me a platform to interact with large number of students and I want the lessons I learnt in this long journey to reach maximum people. There is no personal motive or neither am I endorsing those institutions.
Majority of institutions (especially in Hyderabad), I took their help only during interview. Sometimes that interaction would have lasted only 30min to 1 hour.
I have mentioned below all the coaching institutions I availed and how they helped me in this journey. I’m not mentioning the interview part because there are too many mocks I have given.
It’s a long journey for me, so I tried and tested different institutions in different years. Many people have cracked this attempt without coaching also. So availing coaching is solely an individual decision.
Basic coaching
Vajiram & Ravi (2016 oct - 2017 June)— 1 year general studies — immensely helpful in forming my basics.
Prelims
Practiced test series of various institutions like vision, insights etc
Mains (GS)
GS Score (2017) — not helpful
Insights mains test series(w/o evaluation)(2018) — good to practice writing
ChromeIAS(2019,2020) — helpful in developing an approach towards answer writing and essay.
CivilsDaily (2020,2021) — helpful in improving my GS scores significantly in last 2 attempts.
ForumIAS -AWFG (2021) — helpful for practice and speed improvement, but no evaluation.
Dr. Vivekananda from Hyderabad corrected few GS copies and gave valuable inputs.
Anthropology
Coaching
Vajiram & Ravi (2017) — There used to be a ma’am and sir.
Sir’s lectures on Theories, Archeology and Indian anthropology are very good.. He is a genuine anthropologist. But I think he stopped teaching there.
Ma’am section is an absolute time waste. I had to redo entire anthropology between pre and mains. I regret wasting my time and money on her lectures.
Test series
Sosin Ma’am (2017, 2018) — Decent. Helped me learn basics of answer writing for paper 1.
L2A (2019, 2021) — good test series for practice. But complaints on evaluation speed.
Dr. Vivekananda (2021) of Hyderabad gave me good suggestions to improve answer writing