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Divyansh Singh Rank 49 UPSC Biography
Hello everyone, Welcome to my post.
My name is Divyansh Singh. I secured 49th rank in CSE 2021. My optional is Chemistry.
Brief analysis of my marks
Essay: 111 marks
GS: 414 marks
Optional: 296 marks
Interview: 179 marks
In this post, I will primarily be focusing on the strategy I followed for Essay, GS, and Optional (Chemistry).
Divyansh Singh UPSC CSE BOOKLIST
Divyansh Singh Rank 49 UPSC Chemistry Optional Preparation Strategy
For chemistry, it is essential to focus these 3 areas:
- Content – notes, prepration sources, booklist etc
- Answer writing – how to approach questions? What to write? etc
- Practice – pyq’s, test series etc
I will discuss each part seperately.
Why should you choose chemistry as an optional?
In the meantime, let me also address a question that has been asked very frequently, why should you choose chemistry as an optional?
Pros
- Science optional – interesting to read as compared to GS/Humanities
- Static syllabus (constant each year)
- High scoring and reliable – toppers each year are scoring close to 300
Cons
- Bulky syllabus
- Limited sources and teachers in ORN
- Uncertain paper in recent years
My Recommendation:
You should pick chemistry only if you are comfortable with the subject or have atleast some exposure to it. Otherwise it will be very difficult to understand the subject in such a short span of time. Go through the PYQ’s to find out how familiar are you with the questions asked.
People who have a past degree in Chemistry such BSc or MSc should definitely pick Chemistry as their optional.
In conclusion, chemistry is a great optional. But at the same time, it will require some additional effort from your side. The effort is usually worth it as it is rewarded with better marks 😊
Divyansh Singh Rank 49 UPSC Booklist
My sources
Hello everyone,
From today onwards, I am planning to upload my short notes on Chemistry. I relied heavily on these notes for my chemistry preparation and revision just before the mains (in the one-week gap).
I referred to various sources while preparing these notes like DIAS and Brilliant notes, standard books, NCERT etc.
Since the syllabus is huge, it takes a lot of time to scan them manually. I will first start with Paper II (Organic Chemistry) and then move to Paper I (Physical and Inorganic Chemistry). I will try my best to upload one chapter daily
Disclaimer – These notes are by no means exhaustive. These are short notes and please treat them as such. They are not a substitute for the standard books and classroom notes.
Also, please pardon me for the mistakes I might have committed during the preparation of these notes. If you find any such mistake, do communicate to me and I will make the changes accordingly.
Thank you
Divyansh Singh Rank 49 UPSC Notes
Hello everyone,
I am uploading a few of my Chemistry Tests. But these are from last year (CSE 2020). For CSE 2021, I didn’t join any test series and thus I don’t have any copies with me.
In CSE 2020, I scored 276 in Chemistry. I followed almost the same writing style in both 2020 and 2021. These tests would give a good idea about how to approach the questions and what needs to be written. Any small changes I made, I will discuss it in the subsequent sessions.
Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing well.
First of all apologies from my side, I know, I have not been very active in the group. The schedule at LBSNAA is such that it leaves you with no time to do something else.
I am starting a new Q/A thread. If you have any queries, please add it in the comments. I will answer them as soon as I can.