My strategy for UPSC Prelims
I cleared the prelims exam twice. I cleared without attending any classes, and by studying on weekends while I was working full time. This year again prelims 2014 Again most probably i will clear but I learnt a few things along the way that I wish someone told me earlier! So sharing coz many has asked me abt how to start this journey !
Tip 1. Do not read books from cover to cover.
When I had just started preparing for the UPSC exams, I would pick up a book and start reading it from the first page. I would read till like the 30th page, get bored, and then put the book aside for a while. When I picked it up later, I would forget what I read earlier. This went on for a while till I realized there was no progress.
Instead, here is what I suggest you do– read a book with a specific purpose. Before you pick up the book, you should have an answer to this question– “what do I expect to learn from this book today?”. This will help you navigate the book better. Go straight to the pages that will give you what you need, read selectively, write notes and stash the book away till you need it for a different topic!
For example, don’t just pick up Spectrum Modern India and start reading it from the preface till the last page (that’s exactly what I tried to do the first time). Instead, first figure out a list of topics that you need to cover in modern Indian history. Then pick up your book to tackle a specific topic, like “Causes and Consequences of the 1857 Revolt”. That way, you spend your time more purposefully. You will be able to better track what you have read and what you have yet to cover.
CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
Tip 2. Laxmikanth’s Indian Polity is an exception.
All rules have exceptions. Laxmikanth is one book that you could read from cover to cover. This book is organized as per the requirements of the prelims exam, and has helped me answer 16 questions in 2012 and 8-10 questions in 2013*.
But two important things to note here: read this book repeatedly, and pay attention to detail.
UPSC likes to ask us “edge case” questions and questions that we could easily mark wrong if we read the book only superficially. For example, 2013 Prelims had a question on whether the Attorney General can be a member of a Parliamentary Committee. It is difficult to remember this if you only read Laxmikanth once. Another question was on whether nominated members of the Rajya Sabha can vote in Vice Presidential elections. The one-time-reader is susceptible to marking this incorrectly unless attention was paid to the detail that nominated members cannot vote in Presidential elections, but can vote in VP elections.
*Note: I am recommending Laxmikanth just because that is the book that I used for Polity. If you have an equivalent book by another author, that should do as well. I also read DD Basu, but found that a) it was more analytical/dense, b) not as well organized as Laxmikanth (it is good for Mains, though).
Tip 3. Economy questions are the easiest to get right
Economy may be daunting to some, but the questions are based on your conceptual understanding of macroeconomics. If you have this conceptual clarity, you can answer every single question accurately, without having to memorize boatloads of data! So invest time in understanding the concepts and analyzing how all the parts fit together.
What to study in economy?
1*. GDP (factor cost/production method, market price/expenditure method, income method. Don’t just read definitions, analyze! When do we use one method vs. another? How will each method give us a different value?)
2. GNP (compare with GDP. When are the two different?)
3. NNP/NDP (why deduct depreciation?)
4*. Inflation (demand pull and cost push. Structural. Headline and core. CPI and WPI. Phillips curve, stagflation and skewflation. Why has inflation remained persistently high in India?)
5*. Monetary tools to combat inflation (there is always a question from this area) – CRR, SLR, Repo, open market operations, government securities and treasury bills.
6. Nominal vs real GDP/GNP/Net National Income etc. (i.e., current prices vs constant prices.)
6a. Base year selection (why does this matter? Why did we recently update to 2004-05 and are now planning to update to 2011-12? Aren’t we eroding the value of “constant” prices if we keeping changing the base year frequently?)
6b. GDP deflator. Just the definition here.
7*. MSME industries- also just the definition and current thresholds
8*. Budget process (you may have this covered in Polity already. Look at FRBMA goals also)
9*. Deficits in the budget- fiscal, primary, revenue, primary revenue, effective revenue
9a. Deficit financing (monetizing vs borrowing)
10. Balance of Payments- current account and capital account.
11*. Current Account Deficit. Financing it with capital inflows.
12. FDI, FII, ECBs.
13. Capital account convertibility
14. Currency- fixed vs floating. LERMS (Liberalized Exchange Rate Management System).
15. Why is the rupee in a free fall? How is this good/bad for India? Why are some countries competitively devaluing their currencies (“currency war”)? NEER and REER if you have the time.
16*. Demographic Transition Theory (another area which frequently shows up in the exam)
17. Banking: all the stuff under #5 above + base rate, priority sector lending, NPAs, SARFAESI Act. No need to go into excessive detail. Read any conceptual stuff that shows up in the newspapers.
18*. National Manufacturing Policy (asked in both Prelims and Mains last year). Maybe also look at the National Minerals Policy this year.
19. Savings and investment rates (both expressed as % of GDP). First understanding how they are different. India has a higher investment rate than savings rate. How is that possible?
20*. Taxation- may be important this year due to GST. (direct and indirect. progressive and regressive. Pigovian. VAT, GST)
21*. RGESS may show up this year. Keep on the lookout for such current-affairs related topics.
22*. Inclusive growth. Maybe focus on gender inclusion.
23. Agricultural subsidies, PDS, Food Security.
Now, whenever you pick up any book on Economy, instead of reading it cover to cover, you can use this list to study according to Tip 1 above. I would recommend Ramesh Singh’s book, just because it is organized better than other Economy books.
After reading all the above concepts, understand how things link up. How are growth–inflation–fiscal deficit–poverty–rupee value–current account deficit etc. all related? If RBI increases the CRR, for example, what effect would it have on all of these?
There were around 10 questions from Economy in both 2012 and 2013!
Note: I have left out several things you find in Economy books, like Planning, details on Indian Agriculture and Industry etc. I do not think these are as important, but you can cover them if you like Economy, or if you have a lot of time in your hands.
CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
Tip 4. Tackle History smartly
I did not read Ancient history. I feel like it is too vast with a ton of facts to memorize, plus only 1-2 questions ever show up. So the return on investment is low.
Rather, focus on Modern India and study it thoroughly. By thoroughly, I do not mean picking up a History book and reading it cover to cover. Instead, split the syllabus into chunks and read+revise each chunk smartly.
What to study in History?
Political developments: starting from the Regulating Act of 1773 to Indian Independence Act of 1947. Pay attention to detail because this is another area where “edge-case” type questions are asked. Sample questions– when did Communal Electorates begin? When was the Central Assembly made bicameral? And you can have multiple options questions like– Which of the following were introduced in the Minto-Morley reforms? You will be given some 5-6 options, and given permutations of those to pick from.
1857 to Pre-congress: there are some facts here about early political organizations etc.
Pre-Gandhian INC: Bengal Partition and Swadeshi movement, Moderate vs. Extremist Debate
Early Gandhian: Champaran, Ahmedabad Mill Strike, Kheda
Gandhian INC: this is the biggest chunk. Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, Round Table Conferences, Quit India Movement etc.
Non-INC / “parallel threads” in the Freedom struggle: revolutionary movements, tribal and Peasant uprisings, Ambedkar, INA etc.
Pay special attention to the participation of women and Indians abroad.
Also go through social reforms that were happening in parallel, cover all religions.
How to study History?
Don’t just read through Spectrum like a novel. Read purposefully. Make a one-page note for each event, where you note Causes-Consequences-Important Personalities. At the end, you will have around 40 pages of these which will make revision more efficient. Revise often.
Studying Indian History this way should help you answer another 8-10 questions.
Tip 5. Focus on the basics for Geography
Study physical geography well, because it is conceptual and therefore will not fail you during the exam. You should be able to get at least 5 physical geo questions on the exam if you study the “Fundamentals of Physical Geography” NCERT XI textbook thoroughly.
Cover latitudes and longtitudes, layers of the atmosphere, pressure belts, types of rainfall (convection, orographic, frontal), monsoons, ocean currents, jet streams, different types of rainfall etc. Pretty basic stuff.
I know geography can be covered more thoroughly than that, but I hate memorizing stuff so I didn’t go any deeper into things like names of dams, tributaries etc.
Tip 6. Study the above areas in depth, and the rest in breadth
The rest of the areas in Paper 1, like environment, culture, social issues etc. do not have a predictable base from which questions are asked. So you have to cast a wider net here. Don’t stress out too much about these, just stay curious and read whatever you can lay your hands on. Like wikipedia articles, coaching centre notes, blogs etc.
For environment, Vajiram’s booklet was nice and concise. I also searched online for endangered and critically endangered species in India. Then I looked up to see what the basic criteria are for classifying species as “endangered” or “vulnerable”. I also searched for some government initiatives, like Project Tiger, Project Snow Leopard etc. There were some 4 questions I could attempt based on this.
Tip 7: Guess smartly, but not indiscriminately
After you have attempted all of your “sure shot” questions in Paper 1, you will have plenty of time left in your hands! Spend this time to go back to other questions.
Now, follow this process to smart guess:
1. Read the question carefully. More importantly, study the options carefully.
2. Can you confidently eliminate any of the options based on your preparation?
2. Can you eliminate any options based on common sense?
3. If you have eliminated at least 2 options, only then should you guess between the remaining two. Otherwise, leave the question. This restraint is essential, unless you want to end up with a negative score.
See this example from Prelims 2013:
Question: Due to improper/indiscriminate disposal of old and used computers or their parts, which of the following are released into the environment as e-waste?
1. Beryllium
2. Cadmium
3. Chromium
4. Heptachlor
5. Mercury
6. Lead
7. Plutonium
Options:
a) 1,3,4,6 and 7
b) 1,2,3,5 and 6
c) 2,4,5 and 7
d) 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7
Now I didn’t read up about this, so I had no clue. BUT common-sense suggests that Plutonium, which is a heavy, unstable and radioactive element, cannot be released. So if I eliminate option 7, I am left with only one possible answer, which is b!
There are always 2 or 3 such questions, so be on the lookout.
CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
Tip 8: How many questions should you attempt in Paper 1?
Obviously, you must first attempt all the questions that you are sure about. If you focus on Polity, Economy, History and Geography as mentioned above, you will be able to attempt at least 40 questions. That should give you around 60-80 marks, based on your accuracy. Now the challenge is to take this up to 100+ marks.
In your second round, go back and attempt all the questions where you can reasonably eliminate at least 2 options. You should be able to get another 40 questions that way. Accounting for negative marking, this should get you well above 100 marks.
At the very end, I generally mark a few questions where I have a good “gut feeling” too, but do this at your own risk!
CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
Tip 9: One simple rule for Paper 2: PRACTICE!
You won’t believe how many people end up running out of time because they get stuck on one math question, or read a passage for too long trying to figure out one ambiguous question. All your timing woes can be avoided if you practice enough.
I suggest you set this as a baseline: practice as many tests as you need to, until you are able to consistently score above 150 in CSAT.
What books should you read? I got the TMH manual for CSAT in 2011, it was pretty good. It had some 8 tests in the end, which were pretty good. It looks like TMH’s latest edition is much fatter and much pricier! I haven’t tried any other manuals, but look through all of them and make your own call.
Important Links for Free material Download
1. Study Material of various all links >> Click Here
2. NCERT
3. Delhi Coaching material >> Click Here
4. CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
5. Important Current Affair Compilation >> Click Here
6. Book Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
I cleared the prelims exam twice. I cleared without attending any classes, and by studying on weekends while I was working full time. This year again prelims 2014 Again most probably i will clear but I learnt a few things along the way that I wish someone told me earlier! So sharing coz many has asked me abt how to start this journey !
Tip 1. Do not read books from cover to cover.
When I had just started preparing for the UPSC exams, I would pick up a book and start reading it from the first page. I would read till like the 30th page, get bored, and then put the book aside for a while. When I picked it up later, I would forget what I read earlier. This went on for a while till I realized there was no progress.
Instead, here is what I suggest you do– read a book with a specific purpose. Before you pick up the book, you should have an answer to this question– “what do I expect to learn from this book today?”. This will help you navigate the book better. Go straight to the pages that will give you what you need, read selectively, write notes and stash the book away till you need it for a different topic!
For example, don’t just pick up Spectrum Modern India and start reading it from the preface till the last page (that’s exactly what I tried to do the first time). Instead, first figure out a list of topics that you need to cover in modern Indian history. Then pick up your book to tackle a specific topic, like “Causes and Consequences of the 1857 Revolt”. That way, you spend your time more purposefully. You will be able to better track what you have read and what you have yet to cover.
CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
Tip 2. Laxmikanth’s Indian Polity is an exception.
All rules have exceptions. Laxmikanth is one book that you could read from cover to cover. This book is organized as per the requirements of the prelims exam, and has helped me answer 16 questions in 2012 and 8-10 questions in 2013*.
But two important things to note here: read this book repeatedly, and pay attention to detail.
UPSC likes to ask us “edge case” questions and questions that we could easily mark wrong if we read the book only superficially. For example, 2013 Prelims had a question on whether the Attorney General can be a member of a Parliamentary Committee. It is difficult to remember this if you only read Laxmikanth once. Another question was on whether nominated members of the Rajya Sabha can vote in Vice Presidential elections. The one-time-reader is susceptible to marking this incorrectly unless attention was paid to the detail that nominated members cannot vote in Presidential elections, but can vote in VP elections.
*Note: I am recommending Laxmikanth just because that is the book that I used for Polity. If you have an equivalent book by another author, that should do as well. I also read DD Basu, but found that a) it was more analytical/dense, b) not as well organized as Laxmikanth (it is good for Mains, though).
Tip 3. Economy questions are the easiest to get right
Economy may be daunting to some, but the questions are based on your conceptual understanding of macroeconomics. If you have this conceptual clarity, you can answer every single question accurately, without having to memorize boatloads of data! So invest time in understanding the concepts and analyzing how all the parts fit together.
What to study in economy?
1*. GDP (factor cost/production method, market price/expenditure method, income method. Don’t just read definitions, analyze! When do we use one method vs. another? How will each method give us a different value?)
2. GNP (compare with GDP. When are the two different?)
3. NNP/NDP (why deduct depreciation?)
4*. Inflation (demand pull and cost push. Structural. Headline and core. CPI and WPI. Phillips curve, stagflation and skewflation. Why has inflation remained persistently high in India?)
5*. Monetary tools to combat inflation (there is always a question from this area) – CRR, SLR, Repo, open market operations, government securities and treasury bills.
6. Nominal vs real GDP/GNP/Net National Income etc. (i.e., current prices vs constant prices.)
6a. Base year selection (why does this matter? Why did we recently update to 2004-05 and are now planning to update to 2011-12? Aren’t we eroding the value of “constant” prices if we keeping changing the base year frequently?)
6b. GDP deflator. Just the definition here.
7*. MSME industries- also just the definition and current thresholds
8*. Budget process (you may have this covered in Polity already. Look at FRBMA goals also)
9*. Deficits in the budget- fiscal, primary, revenue, primary revenue, effective revenue
9a. Deficit financing (monetizing vs borrowing)
10. Balance of Payments- current account and capital account.
11*. Current Account Deficit. Financing it with capital inflows.
12. FDI, FII, ECBs.
13. Capital account convertibility
14. Currency- fixed vs floating. LERMS (Liberalized Exchange Rate Management System).
15. Why is the rupee in a free fall? How is this good/bad for India? Why are some countries competitively devaluing their currencies (“currency war”)? NEER and REER if you have the time.
16*. Demographic Transition Theory (another area which frequently shows up in the exam)
17. Banking: all the stuff under #5 above + base rate, priority sector lending, NPAs, SARFAESI Act. No need to go into excessive detail. Read any conceptual stuff that shows up in the newspapers.
18*. National Manufacturing Policy (asked in both Prelims and Mains last year). Maybe also look at the National Minerals Policy this year.
19. Savings and investment rates (both expressed as % of GDP). First understanding how they are different. India has a higher investment rate than savings rate. How is that possible?
20*. Taxation- may be important this year due to GST. (direct and indirect. progressive and regressive. Pigovian. VAT, GST)
21*. RGESS may show up this year. Keep on the lookout for such current-affairs related topics.
22*. Inclusive growth. Maybe focus on gender inclusion.
23. Agricultural subsidies, PDS, Food Security.
Now, whenever you pick up any book on Economy, instead of reading it cover to cover, you can use this list to study according to Tip 1 above. I would recommend Ramesh Singh’s book, just because it is organized better than other Economy books.
After reading all the above concepts, understand how things link up. How are growth–inflation–fiscal deficit–poverty–rupee value–current account deficit etc. all related? If RBI increases the CRR, for example, what effect would it have on all of these?
There were around 10 questions from Economy in both 2012 and 2013!
Note: I have left out several things you find in Economy books, like Planning, details on Indian Agriculture and Industry etc. I do not think these are as important, but you can cover them if you like Economy, or if you have a lot of time in your hands.
CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
Tip 4. Tackle History smartly
I did not read Ancient history. I feel like it is too vast with a ton of facts to memorize, plus only 1-2 questions ever show up. So the return on investment is low.
Rather, focus on Modern India and study it thoroughly. By thoroughly, I do not mean picking up a History book and reading it cover to cover. Instead, split the syllabus into chunks and read+revise each chunk smartly.
What to study in History?
Political developments: starting from the Regulating Act of 1773 to Indian Independence Act of 1947. Pay attention to detail because this is another area where “edge-case” type questions are asked. Sample questions– when did Communal Electorates begin? When was the Central Assembly made bicameral? And you can have multiple options questions like– Which of the following were introduced in the Minto-Morley reforms? You will be given some 5-6 options, and given permutations of those to pick from.
1857 to Pre-congress: there are some facts here about early political organizations etc.
Pre-Gandhian INC: Bengal Partition and Swadeshi movement, Moderate vs. Extremist Debate
Early Gandhian: Champaran, Ahmedabad Mill Strike, Kheda
Gandhian INC: this is the biggest chunk. Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, Round Table Conferences, Quit India Movement etc.
Non-INC / “parallel threads” in the Freedom struggle: revolutionary movements, tribal and Peasant uprisings, Ambedkar, INA etc.
Pay special attention to the participation of women and Indians abroad.
Also go through social reforms that were happening in parallel, cover all religions.
How to study History?
Don’t just read through Spectrum like a novel. Read purposefully. Make a one-page note for each event, where you note Causes-Consequences-Important Personalities. At the end, you will have around 40 pages of these which will make revision more efficient. Revise often.
Studying Indian History this way should help you answer another 8-10 questions.
Tip 5. Focus on the basics for Geography
Study physical geography well, because it is conceptual and therefore will not fail you during the exam. You should be able to get at least 5 physical geo questions on the exam if you study the “Fundamentals of Physical Geography” NCERT XI textbook thoroughly.
Cover latitudes and longtitudes, layers of the atmosphere, pressure belts, types of rainfall (convection, orographic, frontal), monsoons, ocean currents, jet streams, different types of rainfall etc. Pretty basic stuff.
I know geography can be covered more thoroughly than that, but I hate memorizing stuff so I didn’t go any deeper into things like names of dams, tributaries etc.
Tip 6. Study the above areas in depth, and the rest in breadth
The rest of the areas in Paper 1, like environment, culture, social issues etc. do not have a predictable base from which questions are asked. So you have to cast a wider net here. Don’t stress out too much about these, just stay curious and read whatever you can lay your hands on. Like wikipedia articles, coaching centre notes, blogs etc.
For environment, Vajiram’s booklet was nice and concise. I also searched online for endangered and critically endangered species in India. Then I looked up to see what the basic criteria are for classifying species as “endangered” or “vulnerable”. I also searched for some government initiatives, like Project Tiger, Project Snow Leopard etc. There were some 4 questions I could attempt based on this.
Tip 7: Guess smartly, but not indiscriminately
After you have attempted all of your “sure shot” questions in Paper 1, you will have plenty of time left in your hands! Spend this time to go back to other questions.
Now, follow this process to smart guess:
1. Read the question carefully. More importantly, study the options carefully.
2. Can you confidently eliminate any of the options based on your preparation?
2. Can you eliminate any options based on common sense?
3. If you have eliminated at least 2 options, only then should you guess between the remaining two. Otherwise, leave the question. This restraint is essential, unless you want to end up with a negative score.
See this example from Prelims 2013:
Question: Due to improper/indiscriminate disposal of old and used computers or their parts, which of the following are released into the environment as e-waste?
1. Beryllium
2. Cadmium
3. Chromium
4. Heptachlor
5. Mercury
6. Lead
7. Plutonium
Options:
a) 1,3,4,6 and 7
b) 1,2,3,5 and 6
c) 2,4,5 and 7
d) 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7
Now I didn’t read up about this, so I had no clue. BUT common-sense suggests that Plutonium, which is a heavy, unstable and radioactive element, cannot be released. So if I eliminate option 7, I am left with only one possible answer, which is b!
There are always 2 or 3 such questions, so be on the lookout.
CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
Tip 8: How many questions should you attempt in Paper 1?
Obviously, you must first attempt all the questions that you are sure about. If you focus on Polity, Economy, History and Geography as mentioned above, you will be able to attempt at least 40 questions. That should give you around 60-80 marks, based on your accuracy. Now the challenge is to take this up to 100+ marks.
In your second round, go back and attempt all the questions where you can reasonably eliminate at least 2 options. You should be able to get another 40 questions that way. Accounting for negative marking, this should get you well above 100 marks.
At the very end, I generally mark a few questions where I have a good “gut feeling” too, but do this at your own risk!
CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
Tip 9: One simple rule for Paper 2: PRACTICE!
You won’t believe how many people end up running out of time because they get stuck on one math question, or read a passage for too long trying to figure out one ambiguous question. All your timing woes can be avoided if you practice enough.
I suggest you set this as a baseline: practice as many tests as you need to, until you are able to consistently score above 150 in CSAT.
What books should you read? I got the TMH manual for CSAT in 2011, it was pretty good. It had some 8 tests in the end, which were pretty good. It looks like TMH’s latest edition is much fatter and much pricier! I haven’t tried any other manuals, but look through all of them and make your own call.
Important Links for Free material Download
1. Study Material of various all links >> Click Here
2. NCERT
3. Delhi Coaching material >> Click Here
4. CSAT BookList Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here
5. Important Current Affair Compilation >> Click Here
6. Book Suggested By Toppers >> Click Here