About:

Rank in CSE-2016	81
Number of attempts (include present one)	4
Medium (English/Hindi)	English
Optional Subject

Prelims Strategy:

The changing pattern of prelims every year has become a concern for many aspirants. The 2017 paper is testimony to that. In such scenario, scoring high marks in prelims has become quite challenging. I had focused equally on fundamentals of static portions (polity, economics, geo & environment etc.) along with current issues. This year UPSC tested the knowledge depth and as a result preparation should be molded accordingly.

Preferred books:

• NCERTs (11th & 12th std.)
• Laxmikanth Polity
  
• Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania
  
• Spectrum for modern history
  
• Environment book by Shankar IAS

Views about importance of Test series:

Practice of mock tests and previous year papers will perfect the art of elimination leading to good accuracy and higher scores.

What to focus on for Mains Prep?

• Practice- During my first mains, I didn’t practice answer writing and my mains score were too low. I rectified my mistake by writing answers, joining test series for essay, gs and optional and practicing previous year papers. Mock tests help a lot in improving score in both prelims and mains.
• Structure and Presentation of answer- I wrote in a combination of paragraph and points. I followed the usual structure- introduction, body and conclusion. Whether the question asks discuss, examine or critically analyze, my strategy was to always try to show both aspects of the answer and simultaneously cover various dimensions.
  
• Thinking and writing in broad and holistic manner helps in improving scores. I also focused on interlinking theory and current issues by substantiating points with current facts, examples along with proper references like constitution articles in paper 2, economic survey in paper 3 etc.
  
• Also, some innovation through quotes, diagrams in essay, gs as well as optional papers will enhance the presentation of answer. I tried to incorporate this strategy by looking at toppers answer scripts and practicing a lot.

Tips for students:

• Syllabus- Study the entire syllabus carefully and try to cover each and every topic. I took out hard copies of entire syllabus and went through it multiple times.
• Time Management- for GS and optional, I tried to devote almost equal time throughout my preparation. Regarding Newspapers, I didn’t spend more than two hours daily and followed Indian express religiously plus the editorial section of the Hindu.
• Note making- I made notes of those topics which I had to study from multiple sources for gs and optional. I didn’t make notes for static portions from laxmikanth, sriram economics or spectrum etc. Similarly for newspapers, I collected case studies, facts along with the name of experts to be used in answers.  
• The case studies are the most scoring in ethics paper. As a result, one should not leave them for the end.
• Kautilya had said “A single wheel cannot move a chariot”. The underlying principle is the division of work and increase in efficiency through group effort. This thing helped me a lot for learning a lot of information through discussions and improving my speed and quality of answer writing.

Point to be noted:

• Learn Definition of every topic listed in the syllabus- It should be simple two line definition.
• Gather quotes to be used for substantiating the answer.
  
•  Current Example relevant to the topic. Try working on those lines to collect examples from newspapers.
• Personal Example/ Example from the lives of administrators, philosophers, religious personalities etc.
  
• Sanskrit shloka/ lines like Vasudhaiva kutambakam for ethics in International Relations.
  
• Solutions- Use UN conventions, Government laws and schemes, Case studies, and 2nd ARC recommendations.