Hello friends, Ritu is her name. I’ve been given AIR 739 in CSE 2022. This was my sixth try; it was also my second mains and second interview. Before I talk about the sources, I’d like to tell you a little bit about my trip so far.
I started preparing after leaving in 2017. I failed my prelims in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Then, I changed a few things about how I was getting ready, and in 2019, I took the mains exam and the interview. Not on the final list, though.
Again, I failed the preliminary exams in 2020 and 2021, but I passed both the civil service and forest service preliminary exams in 2022.
My prelims marks are not available right now, but my coaching’s answers say that they are between 115 and 118. With the difficulty of this test getting harder and harder, I tried out, changed, learned, and improved a lot of different strategies.
Tests for the Prelims: Vision IAS and Forum IAS a. What to do? The first round took 50 minutes, and the second round took 20 minutes. Made sure 30 mins are left for OMR b. I put notes about the answers in Evernote. Below is a PFA screenshot:
c. The key to prelims is to study and stay cool. d. Now, given how hard the 2023 prelims are, it’s very important to read the news and know what’s going on.
MAINS BOOKLIST FOR ESSAY BY Ritu (UPSC TOPPER) Rank 739
Collected quotes on a wide range of topics, such as freedom, women’s rights, etc.
Read the copies of Toppers
Multi-Dimensional Approach: Social, political, economic, psychological, IR etc.
Used events from the present: a. Example: Just because you have a choice doesn’t mean that any of them are right. (Compare how the leaders of Ukraine and Afghanistan handle crises.)
Here’s how they add up: o Recommendations from committees o Information for social fairness o Search Terms for IR
Here’s how they add up: o Recommendations from committees o Data for Economy
GS4 IAS notes only.
Toppers copies for the case study method.
Sociology: 1. I took my own notes using the books listed below.
MAINS STRATEGY Solved Vision IAS General Studies and Sociology Test Series: a. What could have been done better? More studying and writing out answers before studying for prelims.
Putting notes together in Evernote:
In the end, there is only one thing that will help you on your journey, and that is “to be true to yourself.” (How you study, what you study, and how much time you put into it). The whole point of learning about UPSC is to make you a more knowledgeable person. So, have fun and good luck to everyone.
