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GS strategy, notes and papers

Seeing the overwhelming response that I received for my blog on how to tackle PSIR as optional, a motivation kicked in to help aspirants with the hydra-headed monster called the General Studies. Another reason for sharing guidance on GS is my marks that I have been awarded this year-

GS1 - 118

GS 2- 119

GS 3- 92 

GS 4- 117

Total- 446


My GS marks in CSE2019 was 415 and in CSE2020 , it was 393. So this attempt has seen a significant improvement in GS compared to the last two attempts.So why and how did this improvement happen? 


Some pointers to keep in mind- 

  • I would highly recommend Anudeep Sir’s book on writing GS and essay. It is quite detailed, lucid and helpful. Do give it a read. I have benefited a lot from it!
  • Try to get hold of the syllabus as much as possible (because 100% isn’t possible). Now how to do that?
    • UPSC previous year questions are your guiding light (for pre as well as for mains).
    • Take up a topic, say internal security in GS3, look at the PYQ and then see if you have the requisite notes on the topic or not. Are you able to answer those questions or not. If not read more on them.
    • Try to solve the static questions of CSE mains papers of atleast last 5 years. And you would be amazed at the amount of repetition that UPSC does. If those questions are already prepared , then you’ve already gained an upper hand on those questions vis-a-vis other candidates.
  • Arrange your notes in intro-body-conclusion format. This is an exercise I had done for my optional and really proved beneficial. I had thought of doing the same for my GS as well but didn’t find time. Had planned to do the same this year but God has been kind enough on me to give me moksh from the vicious cycle :)
  • Another point that that related to the above mentioned point is how to write introductions and conclusions.
    • Introducing- do any one of the three-
      • quote a data/fact(most preferred for me)
      • define the term
      • Provide a current event because of which the question has been asked
    • Concluding-Do any one of the four-
      • Providing a futuristic solution
      • Linking the topic to any scheme of the government which would help in realising objectives of the what is asked in the question. 
      • Link it with SDG/Fundamental Rights/ fundamental Duties/ DPSP. This was my most preferred conclusion. It shows you are a person with a constitutional vision in mind.
      • Using lines like (sabka sath sabka vikas, ek bharat shreshtha bharat). Always remember though, these should be accompanied by their English translations as well.
  • Identifying subparts of the question. This is the most important skill that is needed in a candidate. If you can identify the subparts of the question, write proper intro and conclusion, then most likely you would be awarded above average marks for that question. Because then you have fulfilled the demand of the question to the maximum extent possible.
  • Completing the paper- I have mentioned this in my blog on PSIR as well that for me, leaving the mains paper incomplete is a sin! It is sine qua non for fetching decent marks in GS papers and there can be absolutely no justification for leaving the paper incomplete.
  • Combining above two points- If you can write answers with proper intro-body-conclusion, write relevant and complete the papers in time, then it is highly likely that you would receive the interview call. I’ve done so and have appeared for interview in all my three attempts!
  • Writing in paragraph vs in points- Now this is highly subjective issue and I will only say that it is your own choice. I used to write in points. But where the situation demanded, particularly in some case studies of Ethics paper, i did not shy away from writing in paragraphs as well.  
  • Which pen to use- I have used Pilot V7 RT in all my three mains and more than satisfied with its performance. Would highly recommend!
  • Reading the copies of some toppers and understanding how they write-
    • Divya Mishra ma’am- She was one of the top scorers in GS in CSE2020. Striking thing about her copies was the extensive use of examples. She used to substantiate her points by making use of examples. This is something I followed in all my GS papers , particularly in GS4. Like her, I did not write the example along with the point. The example used to be written below the point so that the checker sees it clearly that I have used an example to substantiate the point. Now how do we get the examples from? This is where newspapers help. So never ignore them! Mains365 too is a good source for current affairs and collecting examples.
    • Jagriti Awasthi ma’am and Laxman Tiwari sir- A common aspect of both their copies is, that they write many number of points, say 7-8 points per subpart. Now seeing so many points, the checker is somewhat convinced to award more marks to such candidates vis-a-vis those who write only around 4-5 points per subpart. What you can do here is, write the most important points already in the beginning and then you can increase the number of points writing some generic ones. I did this and think it helps!
  • Use of flowcharts/diagrams- This too is a trend. But I did not follow it. Jagat bhaiya(Rank 32 CSE2020) once told me , “content is the king.” And I couldn’t agree more. There is a trend wherein people are into beautification of their answers through heavy use of diagrams and flowcharts without realising that what is finally suffering is their content. So don’t over do it. If required make a diagram, say in art and culture or geography, but if not, focus on the content that you are delivering. 
  • Order of attempting the questions- In my earlier two attempts I used to attempt starting from the very first question itself and moving on till Q20. But this time I was pointed out by a friend that in the latter part of the paper, say the last 3-4 questions, due to paucity of time I am not fulfilling the demand of the question and somewhat damaging those questions. Now since those questions were 15M, the damage was huge. I was being awarded 3/15 for such questions . Now if we come to think of it , even if we damage the 10M, the worse we could get is 3/10 and the max is 5/10. But this range varies hugely in the 15M. If you write a good answer you would be awarded 8/10 and in case of a bad answer you would be down at 3/15. So you see the damage is really huge on the 15M side as compared to 10M questions. So this time I decided to attempt the 20M first and the 10M in the end. It did play to my advantage. Bu there’s a huge downside to it- the 15M take up a lot of time. So this year in almost all the papers i was left with one hour to complete all the 10M and it used to be a  panic attack at the end. But as I have explained earlier, the damage done in 10M is quite low as compared to the 15M. So user discretion is advised before adopting this approach. 
  • Writing lots of tests- this is one of the most important aspects of mains preparation . Our inertia of not writing papers leads us to prepare passively by only gaining knowledge but not learning it to apply it . In my first attempt I had written 43 tests for mains( GS+essay+optional). In second attempt I wrote 26 papers and this year I had written 19 papers. Now even though the number of papers reduced in my these two attempts but I had done structuring of a lot of answers. Now what is structuring?
    • For the tests that I couldn’t attempt but had joined their test series, i would only write what intro and conclusion i would write for them and some points that I would write in the body. And then see their solutions so as to match whether i have correctly interpreted the question or not. This is a hugely beneficial exercise and would recommend this to all lazy people out there. Paper nahi likh rahe ho to kam se kam itna to kar he lo bhai🙏
  •  Benefits of writing tests-
    • Would learn to manage time and complete the paper
    • Would learn to tackle unconventional and unprepared questions 
    • Would learn and cover diverse topics in GS that are difficult to cover through books
    • Good coverage of current affairs.
  • Books to read-
    • Now I am a voracious reader of non-UPSC books :p . So i would never advise you to read lots of books for UPSC preparation.
    • Laxmikant, spectrum and shankarIAS, coupled with NCERTs are more than enough! To cover rest of the topics, internet and test series is more than sufficient. 
    • Read less, practice more! That’s the mantra!

Having given a detailed approach to GS papers, I would now provide some useful links to my evernote. 








Link to my GS answer copies- https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mC5a00aMkNdWJN3i_eGb-J6d-zJmafZs



A passing reference to two important aspects of mains-



Bahut mehnat karwa di aap logon ne. But koi baat nahi. Use this blog to your maximum advantage. And all the best!


 

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Comments

  1. Prabhat SinghJune 23, 2022 at 5:58 AM

    Grt job 😊

    ReplyDelete
  2. AdityaJune 24, 2022 at 3:31 AM

    Grateful for your help and support Sir

    ReplyDelete
  3. bloggerJune 25, 2022 at 4:25 PM

    Thankyou so so much sir. This is one of the most helpful blog for every aspirant. Wishing you all the grace and blessings :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. gauravJuly 3, 2022 at 12:32 AM

    Sir, Thank you very much for these great articles. God bless you, sir! Jai Hind.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AshishJuly 20, 2022 at 9:14 AM

    As you said write 7-8 point per subheadings is it possible in ethics answer? Because we also have to write examples

    ReplyDelete
  6. SJuly 22, 2022 at 7:14 AM

    highly appreciate your effort sir.. just for sake of our benefit...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Utkarsh Pratap SinghJuly 23, 2022 at 4:38 AM

    Sir, can you please also include current aafair note making. Still confused how to compile them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UTKARSH MISHRAAugust 23, 2022 at 7:10 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. devanshiAugust 31, 2022 at 6:47 AM

    THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR

    ReplyDelete
  10. SuhasSeptember 25, 2022 at 3:45 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. VPBhaiyajiNovember 1, 2022 at 4:00 PM

    Hoohaa... You is the man

    ReplyDelete
  12. SANYADecember 24, 2022 at 9:55 PM

    Sir! not able to open your IR notes....access is required

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ram Mohammad Singh AzadFebruary 15, 2023 at 9:57 PM

    Love u sir

    ReplyDelete
  14. GeographiaIASSeptember 13, 2023 at 10:31 PM

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    ReplyDelete
  15. Tanya SahotaDecember 24, 2023 at 11:52 AM

    Thanking you is not enough Sir ....but still Thank u so much Sir for making it so comprehensive and exhaustive .

    ReplyDelete
  16. Digital SonamFebruary 7, 2024 at 4:11 AM

    Thank you for post this article
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