UPSC and Beyond: Toppers' insights

We made it! All of us!! 🤘

We are delighted to share with you that our friend Tejas Patil has secured AIR 23 in CSE-IFoS 2020 ! We congratulate him and wish him all the best for future endeavors 👍 (5 of us-Mrunalee Joshi,Parth Kashyap,Pratik Juikar,Sanket Waghe,Tejas Patil- studied together )

📣 Important Announcement 📣 Following many requests, we have now started the discussion option for the upcoming posts on this channel. You can comment, ask doubts or provide suggestions by using the comment link available under each post. (Spammers will be removed. Kindly be civil and make maximum use of it for your preparation.) All the best 👍👍

Political Science & International Relations (PSIR) - Strategy by PARTH KASHYAP (AIR 174) and SANKET WAGHE (AIR 266) ◆ Follow the booklist posted earlier as per your preparation level and requirement. Also, ensure that proper and personalised guidance from a mentor is taken. ◆ Make short notes. The notes must be crispy enough to cover the entire topic/ subtopic of the syllabus within 1-2 pages and give you the overall perspective. ◆ Preparation should be within the scope of the Syllabus and Previous Year Questions ONLY! Remember, all questions strictly adhere to the syllabus. So, apply these filters while reading the mentioned resources. ◆ Scholars/ Thinkers/ Books form the core part of optional. An optimum number of 3/4 scholars for every topic must be part of short notes. Also, read book reviews from Indian Express/The Hindu and connect them to the appropriate syllabus point. Content-specific scholars should also be cultivated. For example, Amb. Bhaswati Mukherjee (Europe), Ex-foreign Secy Vijay Gokhale (China/South East Asia) ◆ Make 2/3 introductions and conclusions ready for every topic in the syllabus. Also, core elements of any theoretical topic should be conceptually understood. For example - - Conceptual clarity about why Hobbes think that Human Nature is selfish. - Feminism and its view on exploitation because of sex and that needs to be overthrown ◆ Answer Writing: Write to the point (i.e. What is asked of you and not what you do know!). Flow should be maintained. Use flowery but straightforward language. Construct short sentences. Maintain logical, sequential and empirical consistency. Articulate the content as per the demand of the question For example - Paragraph for Part A Point format can be used for Part B (wherever required) ◆ The selection of questions is critical. Select the question before starting to write the answer. Criteria should be familiarity and comfort with the topic. Within the set of one 20 marker and two 15 markers, go for a combination like: 20 marker good + 15 marker good + 15 marker average ◆ Connect theory of Part 1 ( Political theory, Comparative politics etc.) with Part 2 (IGP, International relations) For example - Separation of powers (Montesquieu), Freedom of Speech (J S Mill), Intra Party Democracy (Elitist Theory) etc. Similarly, US vs China (Thucydides Trap/ Balance of Power/ Polarity) Pakistan/ Afghanistan (Kautilyas' Mandala Siddhanta) etc. ◆ Finally, practice more and more answer writing with a time limit to improve presentation, avoid panic, grammatical mistakes etc. P. S: This approach is intended only for the requirement of Mains appearing candidates this year. A detailed plan for comprehensive preparation will be shared soon. All the best 👍👍 #PSIR #strategy #SanketWaghe #ParthKashyap https://t.me/upscandbeyond1510

[Part 2 of 2] ◆ General Suggestions 1. Having a bird’s eye view/holistic perspective, a good plan and a realistic self-assessment is needed in such cases. 2. Be detached from the subject and study very professionally. It means only according to the weightage and cost-benefit ratio. 3. There will be instances in between when you think I will give next Mains full vigour than preparing for this Mains. It is natural, but persistence is the key. Moderate stress helps. 4. Take care of other things. Sound sleep, a good state of mind, decent health is to be taken care of. All the best 👍👍 #strategy #mains #ParthKashyap

[Part 1 of 2] Acing the FIRST Mains -A first timer’s perspective - by PARTH KASHYAP (AIR 174, 1st attempt) To be in the UPSC CSE holy pdf (final selection list), it is the Mains where you have to fight the actual battle. It may happen that you are not fully prepared beforehand to go for an all-out war because it is your 1st attempt and/or 1st Mains. Hence, a guerrilla warfare strategy may be helpful. You should build and use your weapons strategically, plan and execute them in the adverse situation and still hope to emerge victoriously. Here is an approach for such friends - ◆ Planning and approach 1. Make sure you aim for a complete attempt, all 1750 marks, even for questions where you know very little or have superficial knowledge. 2. In the end, there is a high possibility that you will get similar marks in groups of subjects like - (GS1+2+3) & (Optional) & (GS4+essay). This can give you a rough idea on how you may divide your time-paying more attention to Optional and Essay/Ethics. 3. Think about what material you will need on the D-Day, between 2 papers, a day before, a week before and so on. Plan in a reverse manner. 4. Toppers’ answer copies help us to understand how one should approach a question. Use them very judiciously and wisely. It is better to learn from others than trying out everything by ourselves-in the first attempt at Mains. ◆ Notes 1. Resource mapping is essential. List all the (minimum) resources you are going to refer to. It will help you to make an effective plan. 2. Develop approaches for every subject/topic. It means you should know how to generate points on a topic/subject if questions come on the same. Here is an example- Question on poverty can be tackled by thinking on lines of- 1. Life cycle approach 2. Points of Multidimensional Poverty index 3. Vicious circle of poverty approach. Another one- On an International relations question, dimensions can be- 1. Geopolitical-geoeconomic-geostrategic. 2. Bilateral-regional-global. Like this, you can generate some points on a given question. 3. If you are running out of time, borrow notes from toppers. There are plenty of Telegram channels from where you can get short notes. Have a look on multiple channels but stick to one or max 2 to whom you can relate. Remember the goal of this is to effectively use time-so don’t waste time in searching multiple toppers notes. ◆ Tests and answer writing 1. Writing practice is essential. You can write tests on the date predefined by you rather than aiming for completion of your syllabus. The syllabus doesn’t end, but time does. Your answers would enhance on D-day. Tests are there to give direction on your preparation and are not final assessments. Hence don’t get disheartened by seeing low marks. Learn how you should approach the questions where you have less information/knowledge. This helps to give you the practice to deal with questions you don’t have confidence about. This will happen in mains too. 2. Write within the time limit. Writing for the sake of experience may be good for the initial days but not suitable as a policy. One of the reasons UPSC Mains is difficult is because of the limited time given. Hence prepare on the same lines. ◆ Subject-specific. 1. Don’t neglect the Essay. Make sure you write regular essays and get them checked. You can reap maximum returns here as compared to any other GS. 2. Ethics can be an equalizer for 1st timers and veterans. Original thoughts, realistic views and a good style + examples can fetch you excellent marks. [Continued..] #strategy #mains #ParthKashyap

Ethics Test Paper(VISION IAS) of Parth Kashyap-AIR 174.