Source: swarajyamag.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UPSC aspirants are often confused about preparation of General \nStudies (GS) subjects. The four general studies papers in UPSC Mains \ncover a wide area of subjects and topics, from History to Economics and \nGeography to Science and Technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since such broad range of \ntopics is covered in four papers, it becomes increasingly difficult for \naspirants to strategies their Mains GS preparation, balancing it with \nEssay and Optional Subject. There are few key points to remember when it\n comes to Mains preparation, and one should start from the UPSC \nnotification itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the notification, UPSC itself says that \nthe papers will test \u2018depth of understanding\u2019 and not merely information\n and memory. It further states that the questions will be such that the \ncandidates will be able to answer them without any \u2018specialised study\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\n also emphasises \u2018basic understanding of all relevant issues\u2019. The \nstress is on \u2018concise, effective and exact expression\u2019. It also asks the\n candidates to present their ideas in an \u2018orderly fashion\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The takeaway from the notification are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One\n doesn\u2019t require specialised study, but deep understanding. Therefore, \none shouldn\u2019t run after several different kinds of materials and instead\n focus on few. NCERT, here, becomes the anchor of the preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Candidates\n should read NCERT from class VI very carefully as they contain deep \nissues in simple language, exactly the way UPSC wants the answers to be.\n While reading NCERT, candidates should focus on how a topic is dealt \nwith and what all information is given. Answer writing practice should \ngo simultaneously with NCERTs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Candidates shouldn\u2019t feel under \nconfident about their English speaking or writing skills. Of course, a \nminimum level of vocabulary, grammar and articulation is required. But \nthat can be achieved by reading the newspapers sincerely and carefully. \nIn any case, language skills, without substantive answers will not work \nin the exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Candidates should download a good dictionary \napplication on their mobile phones and keep saving any new words they \nlearn in the newspaper. These words can be once revised while walking, \njogging etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be able to arrange ideas and present them in an \norderly fashion, candidates should start from their reading style \nitself. For example, after reading a topic from NCERT, the candidates \nshould write a summary- introduction, body and conclusion by themselves,\n taking notice of the way the topic was arranged in the textbook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\n GS topics include both static and dynamic part (current affairs). While\n some subjects are heavy in the former, others are in the latter. \nHistory, Geography, Art and Culture are predominantly static subjects. \nThey require a thorough understanding and revision of the material (your\n notes, NCERTs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, Science and Technology, \nEconomics, International Relations, Social Issues, Urbanisation and \nDevelopment etc are current-affairs heavy subjects. Reading heavy books \non these subjects would not yield best results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, candidates should read NCERTs for a basic understanding and then focus on reading and compiling current affairs material in concise-orderly fashion to score well in these subjects. Click here to read about notes-making tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Environment\n and Ecology, Internal Security are two subjects which are not \nstatic-heavy, yet the issues more or less remain the same. Therefore, if\n one prepares these well once, revision and appending with current \naffairs would work well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GS Paper 2 is a perfect blend of static \nand dynamic. On one hand, the candidate is required to deeply understand\n and (in parts) learn the constitution and polity, on the other, \nquestions on current affairs dominate the paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last but not the \nleast, Mains preparation cannot occur without consistent answer-writing \npractice. Reading without practising answer-writing will not get you \ngood marks. In case there is shortage of time, after reading a topic, at\n least making a flow chart in head about the answer is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\n candidates should always remember that UPSC doesn\u2019t require \n\u2018specialised knowledge\u2019. Therefore, however surprising a question might \nbe, they shouldn\u2019t feel intimidated. To twist a famous saying, a \ncandidate can never know what he knows unless he starts writing the \nanswer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, never be afraid of a question. Read it carefully. Try \nto locate it in the syllabus very quickly. This will open some doors for\n you. Make bullet points of what all you want to cover in the answer and\n start writing. All that remains is monitoring your speed, time and word\n limit, which will improve with practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Source: swarajyamag.com UPSC aspirants are often confused about preparation of General Studies (GS) subjects. The four general studies papers in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[351],"tags":[819,820,860,558,862,773,169,861,482],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-upsc","tag-aspirants","tag-civil","tag-general","tag-ias","tag-papers","tag-score","tag-services","tag-studies","tag-upsc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":710,"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions\/710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurukulgalaxy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}