Greetings to all, My focus would primarily be on Prelims and GS, as these are the areas where I think I can be of help. GS Score: 443(CSE’21) 400(CSE’20)
Prelims: Failed 1st and 2nd attempt Qualified Forest cutoff in 3rd and 4th attempt
Prelims Exam Preparation Strategy by Arpit Sangal UPSC Topper
Few pointers for the upcoming prelims exam Don’t read anything new: Just revise your notes. Mock Tests: Completely avoid. You can try some PYQ’s if you want. Don’t test your knowledge from them, use them just to build exam temperament. Use COMMON SENSE: UPSC rewards common sense along with knowledge. Many options can be eliminated even if you have no idea about the question. SLEEP : Have sound sleep on Friday night as anxiety might affect your sleep on Saturday. Don’t get anxious even if you are unable to sleep on Saturday night. One day sleep deprivation won’t affect your performance much. Breakfast: Avoid anything heavy, go for complex carbohydrates. YE 120 minutes( +CSAT): 1. Remove the entire past baggage of mock tests marks. UPSC paper is entirely different. 2. Make sure you manage your time. I messed up my second attempt because of time mismanagement 3. You will get saturated mentally minimum 3-4 times in the exam. Don’t get it overpower you. Take a deep breath and continue again. 4. It might happen that the first few questions in your set are highly difficult. Don’t let it rattle you. 5. Fill your OMR with utmost care. 6. Make sure you don’t make silly mistakes All the best- Seize the day
Maths Preparation Strategy by Arpit Sangal UPSC Topper
Maths Fundae
I would share things that I did in maths that should be done by everyone, also the thing I didn’t do which I should have done
One thing I didn’t do that everyone should MOCK TESTS : I wrote just 4-5 test in my entire UPSC journey
1. Why to write mock test? a) Teaches how to select which questions to attempt (Ex. I messed up 20-30 marks + time due to this) b) Simulation helps in building temperament c) Practice makes perfect when it comes to mathematics
2. Which tests to write a) IMS test series b) PYQ papers
3. Why I think I should have done this a) Technically had I done 2 questions more in each paper I would have scored above 300 b) Writing more mocks could have filled this gap
1. Sources Follow Atul Prakash Sir’s blog or Prakash Rajpurohit Sir’s blog- Pls avoid everything else-
2. Question bank Last 20 years PYQ’s (Note: Skip those questions which are based on old Syllabus)
3. Note Making a) Formula sheet of every topic b) Q&A of all unique PYQ’s- as MOST OF MATHS PAPER IS FROM PYQ’S
I think I got less marks not because of knowledge gap but because of lack of practice with entire question paper.
My maths marks reminds me of Firaq Gorakhpuri’s couplet-
**Humein toh apno ne loota, gairon mein kahan dum tha humari kashti wahan doobi paani jahan kam tha**
Notes making strategy for Arpit Sangal UPSC Topper
MAKE YOUR OWN NOTES and USE THESE NOTES JUST AS A REFERENCE
Reason for the above suggestion
1. Self-notes promote active learning – most learning happens while note making 2. You yourself are the best judge of what should be in your notes
How to use these Notes
1. Understanding Topics and Sub-topics in each paper : I had separate notes for all sub-topics 2. Value addition – Glance through a subtopic to see how in certain notes I have prepared a) Introduction b) Conclusion c) Data d) Diagrams 3. As a Knowledge source – Avoid this in general – but can be used in topics where a single source is difficult to find a) GS 1: Society b) GS 2: Governance c) GS 3: Agriculture, DM, Security
PS. Please give me sometime to add notes of GS 4
Answer Writing strategy by Arpit Sangal UPSC Topper
Time management and Writing speed in GS papers
▪ Writing 20 Answers in 3 Hours is a very tedious task and requires a lot of practice beforehand
▪ Suggestion ‣ Divide 3 hours into blocks of 30 mins each ‣ For every 30 mins – write three 15 marker or four 10 marker
▪ My strategy ‣ First 30 mins I wrote four 10 markers – wrote them carefully to create good first impression ‣ Then I moved to 15 markers and completed them- as it becomes difficult to write 15 markers during the last few minutes rush
▪ Practice to increase speed ‣ If you are doing daily answer writing- write at least three 15 marker or four 10 marker together ‣ Initially it might take more than 45 mins ‣ Gradually start reducing this time ‣ Implement this in tests once you have reduced this time to at least 35 mins ‣ Initially you will be able to write around 15-16 questions in 3 hours ‣ Make it a point to increase this number in subsequent tests
▪ Note making to increase speed ‣ Idea is to understand to which topic the question belongs to from the syllabus ‣ This will immediately create a linkage to your notes- reducing your recollection time ‣ Prepare certain data and diagrams beforehand in every topic which has more probability of being asked
▪ Multiple dimensions to increase speed – In questions where you are short of content ‣ Just glance through the entire GS syllabus once in your mind ‣ Write those topics as points which you can relate to the topic in question
Please Note: Completing the entire paper is a must to score a good rank. Also efforts should be done to fill almost all the pages of the answer sheet.
Don’t get anxious if your speed is slow currently – Keep on practising
‘Champions keep playing until they get it right
ESSAY Preparation Strategy by Arpit Sangal UPSC Topper
MY MARKS IN ESSAY ▪ CSE’20: 126 ▪ CSE’21: 130
SOURCES
▪ Anudeep Durishetty Sir’s book – Fundamentals of essay writing ‣ Single stop solution for all essay related queries ‣ Concise and Easy to understand ‣ It will hardly take 3-4 hours to read
▪ For starters you can watch: Art of essay writing videos on Youtube- Watch any video of Vision Ias or Kapil Sikka Sir or Manoj Jha Sir to get basic idea
UPSC EVALUATION METHODOLOGY FOR ESSAY
“Candidates are expected to keep closely to the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and to write concisely. Credit will be given for effective and exact expression.”
MY SUGGESTIONS
▪ Topic selection ‣ Choose only that topic which you understand completely – i.e Each and every word individually and entire topic as a whole ‣ There is no scope of misunderstanding ‣ It becomes more important in philosophical essays ‣ This year many brilliant essay writers that I personally know scored very less marks for which I think misunderstanding the topic was the reason
▪ General tone of essay ‣ Write the essay as a generalist and not as an academician ‣ Don’t fill it with technical jargons ‣ Optimistic and focus on constructive criticism ‣ Don’t write it as a GS paper
▪ Language ‣ Vocabulary should be simple ‣ Grammar should be correct
▪ Paragraph length ‣ Between 50-100 words ‣ If possible keep the length of all paragraphs almost same
▪ Arguments as the backbone of essay ‣ Focus more on arguments related to the topic ‣ Use examples or data to substantiate
▪ Multidimensionality is non-negotiable ‣ This way you can show the examiner your wider understanding of things.
▪ Reading Essay’s of aspirants who scored high marks ‣ This will give you a basic understanding of what is a good essay as far as UPSC is concerned ‣ Incorporate some good things from their essay. Incorporate only those things which is easier for you to incorporate ‣ Don’t go crazy after reading an essay that is far superior than your writing skills. For instance I went crazy after reading Vikram Grewal Sir’s essay. ‣ Do read Saureesh Sahai Sir’s essays(Essay Score was around 154) as his essay will show you the importance of arguments- Available on NEXT IAS website.
▪ Evaluating mock essays ‣ Use UPSC evaluation methodology for essay ‣ Do send your essay to friends/peers for evaluation even if they are not UPSC aspirant. Make sure to send them the UPSC evaluation methodolgy
▪ Keep in mind that UPSC is shifting its focus towards philosophical essays ‣ In CSE 2021 – all essays were philosophical in nature
Note: I can add many more suggestions but that will be just the repetition of Anudeep Sir’s book, so it’s better you go on and read his book.
Arpit Sangal UPSC Topper Answer Copy
Here are my answer copies – both non-evaluated and evaluated Please Note: ‣ My final attempt in CSE was better than these papers specially in GS3. ‣ Reason for that is : I consolidate examples,data and diagrams in last few days. Also I do intense revision during the last few days. ‣ Shankar IAS has a habit of giving comparitively less marks in test series. UPSC will give around 10-15 marks more for the same copies
Arpit Sangal UPSC Topper Booklist
SOURCES
1. Standard Sources 2. Internet 3. Prelims Notes: To fill your answer with facts
Standard Sources
GS 1 ▪ Indian Heritage and Culture ‣ Fine Arts NCERT ‣ Indian art and Culture(Nitin Singhania ) ▪ Modern History ‣ Spectrum – A Brief History of Modern India ▪ World History ‣ Vision IAS World History Notes ▪ Post Independence ‣ Vision IAS Post Independence Notes ▪ Geography ‣ NCERT-XI and XII ▪ Society ‣ Sociology NCERT – XII – both NCERT’s
GS 3 ▪ Economics ‣ Internet ▪ Agriculture ‣ Internet ▪ Security ‣ Ministry of Home Affairs(MoHA) website ▪ Environment ‣ Shankar IAS book ▪ S&T ‣ Internet ▪ Disaster Management ‣ NDMP, 2019
GS 4 ▪ Theory ‣ Lukmaan Ias – Ansari sir ▪ PYQ’s/Diagrams/Keywords ‣ Decode Ethics by Mudit Jain: Focus on only Solved PYQ’s
Internet use for Active learning
▪ Coaching centre articles on topics mentioned in Syllabus – Most Important source for my preparation- Example ‣ Civilsdaily, Insights, Drishti etc ▪ Government websites ▪ Newspaper articles for analysis – Use Google news ▪ After PYQ’s analysis pre-empt what UPSC can ask and prepare very short note of that using internet ▪ Caution: ‣ Stick only to the syllabus ‣ Don’t end up reading each and everything ‣ Know when to stop and shift to another topic.
Reason to disqualify in UPSC CSE Prelims Exam by Arpit Sangal UPSC Topper
For people who weren’t able to qualify the prelims this year:
▪ My second attempt was my serious attempt and I failed to qualify the prelims.
▪ How I felt? ‣ I felt demotivated as I thought that I deserved to get in as I was fully prepared. ‣ This made me dull and negative.
▪ What mistakes I did after failing? ‣ I started overexerting myself. ‣ I studied more than those who qualified prelims. ‣ Result – I got saturated, mentally and physically tired and psychologically weak. It took me 2-3 months to get out of that state.
▪ What mistakes you shouldn’t do? ‣ Don’t blame UPSC exam – it won’t increase your chances of clearing the exam and you will neglect your weaknesses ‣ Don’t jeopardise your mental, physical and psychological strength- this will reduce your chances of getting in later ‣ Don’t judge your capabilities and yourself as a person – as UPSC is just an exam.
▪ What should be done? ‣ Immediately spend some time with friends and family to re-energise yourself. ‣ Identify what you did right this year – strengthen it. ‣ Identify your weak areas – work on them
▪ Objective steps to be taken
Knowledge base: ‣ Understand UPSC focus areas by looking at PYQ’s section wise(Source: Drishti IAS book) ‣ Streamline sources: standard books + Internet(Useful primarily when you have analysed PYQ’s as otherwise you will get lost) ‣ Strengthen factual knowledge: Make short notes of standard books and UPSC’s favourite topics ‣ Strengthen wider understanding of things: Make interconnections between topics and understand everything in context- this will help in eliminations in prelims exam. ‣ Strengthen mains preparation: this will help you in prelims
Temperament in prelims: ‣ Time management: Practice mock test and develop a strategy ‣ Start using common sense while attempting prelims questions : this will give you ample time to develop this skill till next prelims ‣ Focus on health- physical, mental and psychological
Remember: Almost all aspirants who qualified CSE have gone through the emotions that you are currently going through. This is what you signed up for. UPSC is like a marathon, don’t let this setback stop you. Rise up again and keep going, as Confucius said-
OUR GREATEST GLORY IS NOT IN NEVER FALLING BUT RISING EVERYTIME WE FALL
