Class Notes 4 You

Test series for UPSC CSE Prelims: Subject wise or full length ? ● I wrote around 40 - 45 prelims mock tests of different institutes available freely on the internet. Multiple mocks help reduce the bias generated by practising single institute mock papers. ● Subject wise mocks are good to assess your core subject strength. 1-2 subject wise mocks per subject is sufficient for revising one subject properly. ● But most of the elimination techniques, logical guesswork and overall feel for prelims could only be developed by solving full length mocks. ● Try to write the full length mocks simulating the exam-like environment, even if you are in your room. Sit continuously for 2 hours at a stretch, if possible in the morning hours, I even wrote many full length mocks wearing masks. ~ 10 Subject wise mocks of Vision IAS ~15 Full length mocks FLTs from Vision IAS 8 Forum IAS Stimulator tests 3 4 full length mocks from InsightsIAS ● Last but not at all the least, please go through the last 10 year...

  CURRENT AFFAIRS sources and approach for UPSC CSE  1. Indian Express (I didn't make detailed notes) 2. VISION Monthly Magazine (last 1.5 years) 3. Raus DNS videos (selectively for polity and economy issues I face difficulty in understanding) 4. Compilation of reports (Shankar IAS magazine) How to read current affairs for UPSC ● I have seen people spend hours reading multiple newspapers and then reading detailed explanations and watching explanation videos. ● This is a perfect example of information overflowing. And I am very sorry to say but too many coaching centres/websites in the market are responsible for creating this craze for current affairs. ● The amount of time you are putting into current affairs is not going to help you. You must have realised this after seeing this year's prelims paper. UPSC is either asking very prominent current affairs or some very obscure facts that nobody is aware of. Better keep your sources limited and revise them repeatedly. ● UPSC syllab...

  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims  ● Current affairs magazines were my only source for this portion. For complex topics e.g. RFID, Bitcoin, 5G, orbits, RT PCR etc. I took help of random youtube videos to get my concepts clear. ● If you have enough time, consult two different institutes' magazines of science and tech for better coverage. I studied Vision and Raus compass. ● For basics of biotechnology, the last four chapters of class 12 NCERT biology books are recommended. However, I don't read it because of my biology background. ~ UPSC CSE Topper. 

ENVIRONMENT booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims 1. PMFIAS Environment ● I had both Shankar IAS and PMF IAS environment books. I found Shankar's style of presentation very uninteresting. Therefore shifted to PMFIAS. I found it more handy, better representation and good to revise. ● Rest is your choice. 2. National Parks, Biosphere Reserves, Wildlife sanctuary, Ramsar sites, Tiger Reserves  of India ● State wise prepared separately. Practicing on the blank India map helps in remembering exact location. ● Other than wildlife sanctuaries, I tried to remember the rest of the protected area of each and every state. ● Special attention to be given for protected areas located in North eastern states. ● Combine your knowledge on geography here too in terms of physiography, river system, vegetation, climate etc.  ~ UPSC CSE Topper. 

  ECONOMY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims ● Economy is the subject which took me the maximum time to find a proper book. ● I started with Ramesh Singh, left it within two months. I felt it was too big and too dry to comprehend. Picked up Sanjeev Verma next. Though the writing was good, I felt the gap in my understanding still remains. ● I spent a lot of time understanding the concepts of basic economics. Once done, rest becomes easy. For anyone who doesn't have a background, please pay special attention to this subject. 1. NCERT Class 12 Macroeconomics ● Quite helpful for building the basics. Ignore the numericals. In six chapters , the major points of the macro issues are discussed.  ● Take help of any YouTube lecture if you feel difficulty to understand. Be as specific as you can while searching, e.g. not the budget but terms like revenue deficit, remittances etc. 2. Shankar Ganesh ● A very small but useful book. Read the definition, know the terms and do research...

POLITY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims 1. Indian constitution at work . Class 11 NCERT ● This is an excellent awe inspiring read to know about our democratic structure and the need of having a constitution. I will recommend everyone embarking on the service of the nation to read it at least once. Hardly takes 2 3 days to complete. 2. M. Laxmikanth ● Laxmiknth is one of the few books that seriously needs countless times of revisions . ● Ideally you should read it line by line but still, highlight the portions you tend to forget easily. Try to identify the TRAPS hidden between the lines. I get those identified by making mistakes in prelims mock tests . (Vision and Insights both Prelims mocks do wonderfully horrifying jobs of trapping students in the examples) 3. Bare Acts of constitution for Fundamental Rights + DPSPs + Fundamental Duties, ● Very important to remember the exact wordings used in these cases. Ideally, one should read and remember the article numbers also by hea...

GEOGRAPHY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims 1. NCERT Class 11 and 12 ● Total 4 books are there, two books on physical geography are of utmost importance. Prepare it thoroughly, study each of the maps and diagrams given. ● Made short notes of 10-12 pages from Human geography and Economic Geography. 2. PMFIAS Geography ● Keep India physical geography NCERT as the base and add extra points from this source as value addition. Freely available on the net. ● Especially chapters like physiography, river, vegetarian etc. 3. Mapping ● Geography through maps la-excellence coaching youtube videos (last 4 years) ● Dristi IAS places on news videos, excellent animation and description 4. Random animation videos ● Very helpful to understand core geographical concepts eg cyclone, la nina etc. Amit Sebgupta's youtube channel is one of them.  5. GC Leong   • All the climatic regions  last 10 12 chapters. ~ UPSC CSE Topper.

ART and CULTURE booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims 1. NCERT Fine Arts class 11:  A good point to start and develop interest about the rich tradition of art forms in India 2. Nitin Singhania:  Too exhaustive at times. You can check from which chapters questions have been asked in previous years (given at the end of each chapter) and focus more on those topics e.g. architecture, music, dance, paintings, puppetry etc. 3. I used to mark important places/ items and 2 or 3 most important facts to remember on black India maps. Helped me in revising quickly and also a good practice for the mains answer. 4. Mark places on news on India maps from each month of current affairs magazine. Look for important geographic/economic features of that place too. 5. Adding extra points from prelims mock in the books itself work well for art and culture too.  ~ UPSC CSE Topper. 

HISTORY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims: 1. Tamil Nadu class 11 for Ancient and Medieval , an excellent source for reading south indian dynasties, Vijayanagar Kingdom etc. Covered major points of art and culture too. 2. NCERT Class 7 to 12 for new terminologies, better to make short notes separately, give importance to the captions below images, prepare a list of medieval history terms and their meanings. 3. Spectrum for Modern History- • The most comprehensive book for reading modern history. For me it was one of the indispensable books that one needed to read multiple times. I didn't make notes as I found it crisp and concise. • Summary at the end of each chapter and all the appendices given are extremely important for quick revision. While following the chronological order, it is advised to keep in mind the governor general of that timeframe eg INC established during Lord Duffrin etc. • Don't make the mistake of starting from the very first chapter every time yo...

Booklist for UPSC History:- Class 6 to 12 Ncert Spectrum for Modern History PYQ World History:- Refer Notes PYQ Geography :- Class 6 to 12 Ncert Atlas Google PYQ G.C Leong Book. International Relations: - Newspaper PYQ Google Vision Magazine IR Section last 2 Years Social Issues:- PYQ Google Vision Magazine Social Issues Section Last 5 Years Disaster Management:- NDMA Website PYQ Google  Internal Security:- Vision Magazine Security Section Last 5 Years Google PYQ Economy :- Class 11th And 12th Ncert Vision Magazine Economy Section 1.5 Years Sri Ram IAS Economy Book PYQ Polity :- Vision Magazine Polity Section M.Lakshsmikant Polity Book Indian Constitution at Work Ncert PYQ  Environment :- Vision Magazine Environment Section Shankar IAS Environment Book PYQ Down To Earth Website Ethics :- G.Subba Rao Book or Atul Garg Notes Vision Magazine Ethics Section PYQ Science and Technology:- Vision Magazine Science and Technology Section PYQ Newspaper Class 6 to 10 Science Ncert Summar...

I never made separate notes. I didn't have the time, either. It's a personal choice whether you want to /have enough time to make notes or not.    Difficulty/Importance of any fact is very subjective and the same goes with the highlighted portions. Identify the areas you tend to forget and highlight them accordingly. This will only come with repeated revisions.    Personally, I don't believe in the usefulness of READYMADE NOTES. I don't think they will be of much use in upsc untill you personalise them according to your capability and  demand.    Your aim for note making should be reducing your efforts, stand out from others in  content and presentation and not reinventing the wheel.  ~ UPSC CSE Topper.

Chaitanya Reddy AIR-161 UPSC CSE 2021 Complete STRATEGY with Anthropology Optional  Hello everyone,  I am Bokka Chaitanya Reddy, secured AIR 161 in CSE 2021. 6 years of journey, 6 attempts, 3 mains, and 1 personality Test - It was a long journey of ups and downs, trial and errors, mistakes and corrective actions, and most importantly a journey of patience and persistence. Also a risky task of managing preparation along with job (as Assistant Engineer under Telangana Irrigation dept from past 6 years) I am here to share my long journey, especially my mistakes, and my learnings so that it helps the aspirants, more specifically boosts the confidence of multiple attempters. In my preparation journey, I have relied heavily on toppers' copies, their notes, talks, etc. So this, I feel, is a part of the giving back mechanism.  My Preparation Journey: Few imp points: 1). The 3 important guides: PYQP - helps understand what topics we need to focus on based on the cost-benefit rati...

How to read spectrum ? Disclaimer: This suggestion is for beginners or those who haven’t figured out yet and are struggling with this book.This is applicable for both prelims and mains.Also,this is a personal opinion and only a suggestion,you are free to choose whichever way yields maximum output for you. 1. Start with Chapter :” Beginning of Modern Nationalism in India” all the way till chapter:“Independence with Partition”.This will cover maximum portion between 1885 to 1947 which is the most important aspect of Modern History syllabus. 2.Then read the following chapters: •Economic Impact of British Rule in India •Development of Indian Press •Development of Education  •Peasant Movement 1885-1947 •Movement of working class •Survey of British policies in India The above chapters are also important as questions are invariably asked from this section too. 3. The chapter “ Constitutional,Administrative and Judicial Developments ”, here constitutional part can be read either from spec...

Role of coaching in my journey Surbhi Goyal AIR 78 UPSC CSE 2021  In short: I did self study throughout my journey and relied on coaching’s test series for all stages. At length: GS - 1. I had joined Vajiram and Ravi classes in 2018, but after attending their classes for a week, I realised it won’t help me much as these things can be studied on our own better. Their pace was slow and subject distribution random. I like studying one subject at a time, so I stopped attending them soon after. I did self study for my entire journey. 2. Vision IAS - 2.1 I joined Vision prelims test series for all my attempts. I found them helpful as compared to others in the market and comparatively closer to actual examination.  2.2 I also joined their mains test series (sectional + full length) for my 3rd attempt in October, after I didn’t clear prelims in 2nd attempt.  2.3 I joined their essay test series after I cleared prelims in 3rd attempt. It had 3 tests. I liked the questions and eval...

UPSC CSE 2021 TOPPERS Marks Analysis  Credit: Asif Sir

Decoding the Directive Words to Clear UPSC Exam  What is a Directive Word? Directive words/Task words are the words or phrases which tell you what to do. The foremost step to write an answer is that knowing the nature or in-depth meaning of these directive words. Reading and understanding the question with heartsease is very important to dismantle the taboos. Imbibe the essence of the directive words and dismantle the question. Brainstorm, plan to organize and start writing. Knowing the Directive Words and Understanding the Question There are lots of task words that tell you what to do. Some of them are ‘Critically evaluate, Discuss, Evaluate, Elucidate, Justify, Analyze, Do you agree etc. Unpacking the directive words enables us to write flawlessly. Analyze Analyze is digging deeper than examine but into every aspect of the question. It is very necessary to dismantle the questions into parts and explain. One has to demonstrate how principles, theory or ideas works, apply theory to...

A brief introduction about myself An engineer by graduation and anthropologist/history buff by passion. Rank 58 UPSC 2020, IAS Telangana. Hey everyone, Myself Faizan Ahmed, I belong to Kota, Rajasthan. I completed my schooling from St. Paul's School Mala Road Kota and then did my undergrad from University College of Engineering, Rajasthan Technical University, Kota in mechanical engineering. I graduated in 2018. This was my second attempt at UPSC in which I cleared the exam with an all India rank 58. In my first attempt, I could not even clear the prelims. My optional subject was anthropology and I am currently pursuing postgrad in the same from IGNOU. I have represented my university at zonal level in table tennis. I love quizzing. When I am not studying, I can be found playing football, badminton, video games, reading non-fiction books and travelling to different places.  I am an IAS officer of 2021 batch and have been allocated Telangana cadre.  I will be honest with you, I...

Akshay Mahadik(AIR 212)- CSE Preparation 🤩: Hello Guys! I am Akshay Mahadik. I have secured AIR 212 in CSE 2021. It was my second attempt. I will try my best to give you my insights about Civil services examination! What made me fail in my first Prelims 2020? 1. I couldn't stay calm in real examination. So I ended up making silly mistakes.  For eg. 1.There was question on aim of bureaucracy. I committed a mistake of not reading all the options. 2.Question on Expansionary Monetary Policy- "Not correct" statements were asked. I committed mistake of marking correct statements.  These 2 questions cost me 1.5 years of my life. 2. Less focussing on static part and over emphasis on current affairs. I used to give 60/70% of my preparation time to current affairs. 3. Too much Sources. I used to keep 3/4 sources for one subject. I ended up recalling nothing in real exam. Gyaan- Prelims is all about being mentally stable in real exam hall and being conscious. It helps you to be awa...

UPSC CSE 2021 Medical Notice 

 List of Exams conducted by UPSC  Civil Services Examination Engineering Services Examination Combined Medical Services Examination Combined Defence Services Examination National Defence Academy Examination Naval Academy Examination Special Class Railway Apprentice Indian Forest Service Examination Indian Economic Service(IES)/Indian Statistical Service(ISS) Examination Combined Geoscientist and Geologist(CGG) Examination Central Armed Police Forces(Assistant Commandant)(CAPF) Examination