Strategy for Civil services perliminary examination 2011-Paper I (GS)

PT 2011 - Paper I is similar to GS paper of earlier PT examinations.But nature of questions is now somewhat changed and mere knowing facts would not be sufficient.Now integrated approach would be necessary in which preparation for GS should be for PT, Main GS, Essay and some extent to interview simultaneously.Main focus of the preparation should be Main examination and not PT.If one is well prepared for main examination then he/she would clear PT easily. Now we have more than 7 months for PT and gap between PT and Main examination is less than 5 months so preparing exclusively for PT from today would not be a wise decision. Here is the syllabus for PT Paper I

• Current events of national and international importance
• History of India and Indian national movement
• Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
• Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.
• Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
• General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that do not require subject specialization
• General science.

Now I shall discuss each section separately. Portions that are common to PT and Main examination should be given more emphasis and should be prepared in a manner that you don't have to do that portion again for main examination.


Current events of national and international importance:

This is the most important section of GS in current scheme of examination .It is must for GS PT, Main , Essay and Interview . Given its weightage this portion will be needing extra attention and time accordingly.Materials for this are-

• One general national newspaper ( Hindu, TOI, Indian Express etc any one of these)
• One business national newspaper (ET,FE, BL any one of these)
• One competition magazine
  

• Frontline, Yojna

OUT of these newspapers are most important and I would write a separate post on this.

History of India and Indian national movement:


This is a static portion of GS and should be prepared for Main and PT simultaneously. History from ancient times to up to 1850's would cover about half of the marks and rest half would be from 1850's to 1947.Important events from post independence can also be asked so that also needs to be prepared.Portions of National Movement must be understood clearly. Linkage, origin, region, action of government etc. of every event must be known.Even in PT now analytical questions are being asked so each and every aspect of history with logic of each events to be prepared. Analytical and opinion based questions also need to be prepared thoroughly.
Some useful materials are-

• NCERT books of class 11 and 12 of Indian History
• Bipan Chandra -India's struggle for Independence
• Sumit Sarkar-Modern India

Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world:

This is a scoring portion of GS in PT and main both. As in Main only Indian Geography is in syllabus so Indian Geography must be prepared more thoroughly.Current affairs related to Geography is very important and should be recorded separately from newspapers and magazines. World Geography should be prepared such that all basic principles and their applications of geography world over be related easily. Map questions also be prepared from PT's point of view.

Material are-

• a good atlas
• a map of India and World each
• NCERT books of 11 and 12
• physical and human geography-Goh Cheng Leong
• a globe
• India year book for reference only
• previous years GS PT questions for PT
• latest data from newspapers and internet

Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.:

This is very dynamic section . Newspapers are best source for this.Especially editorials and op-ed pages can be of very help. Search for every debate on issue of governance Rights etc. For public policy any public administration book can be consulted. Important resources are:

• Editorials and op-ed of newspapers
• Indian Polity of TMH by Laxmikanth
• Bare acts-P M Bakshi
• NCERT Political science books of class 11 and 12
• Frontline

Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc. :

This portion is again current affairs based.Newspapers are very important for this portions.Debate on LokSabha TV can also be of some use. One has to very aware of all these issues with all social implications.Inclusion need to done very thoroughly.
Materials include..

• Evolution of Indian Economy- I C Dhingra
• Economic Times
• Economic Survey
• Frontline
• Yojna and kurukshetra
• Indian Economy of TMH by Ramesh Singh
• Some Govt. sites such as RBI, NABARD,Planning Commission can be very useful

General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that do not require subject specialization:


Some portion of this part is common with Geography. Basic environmental issues are covered in Geography portion.Current developments in this field are very important. Newspapers will be the best source of information.Every international aspect also to be covered.

Materials include :

• Website of Environment Ministry
• Frontline

• Yojna and kurukshetra
• India Year Book

General science:

This is similar to previous version of PT.But lately even in PT questions from current development are also being asked. To score good in this portion conceptual understanding is necessary and fundamentals of science must be strong.
Materials includes:

• NCERT science books from class 6 to 10
• Thursday S and T column of The Hindu

As general science is not asked in main examination one need not to spend a lot of time in this portion. If whole science syllabus can not be completed then some parts such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry etc whichever easier for you can be done. One can safely skip one or two portion of General Science in PT as here one only need to qualify.



To start preparation for CSE a complete planning is must. A idea about how much time one can afford to devote to a particular portion should be known beforehand.I would write about CS(P)-2011 Paper II in next post. All comments welcome.

How to tackle new pattern of civil services examination

As all of us know that CSE is undergoing a transition phase in which not only whole PT process to be changed but also nature of questions in main examination have changed significantly.I started my preparation from 2009 and that was the year when UPSC started to experimenting with main pattern. With my experience of writing 2009 main, 2010 PT and 2010 main I want to share these changes as I observed. I am no expert on CSE but want to share my experience and hope that it would help. My aim of this post is to analyze proposed changes in CSE.



Whats 'new' in this new pattern?

First of all we should know whats exactly new in this pattern and how it is different from previous pattern.Optionals in PT have been done away with . So apart from GS paper a CSAT paper to be common for all. Also relative weightage of GS have been increased to 50 % as compared to 33% earlier. As GS paper is known to all so this would be deciding factor for clearing PT 2011. As despite the claims of being CSAT ' expert' by many coaching classes no one knows more about CSAT than UPSC made public. So even if CSAT paper happens to be very easy cut off for that paper will be very low as aspirants would not attempt any question they are not 100% sure.So here ' new' thing is increased importance of GS for clearing PT 2011. And GS is now changed. You can not score good marks in GS PT by just mugging facts without understanding the fundamentals of the concepts. Gone are the days when 60 days classes by a coaching institute for prelims was sufficient .Current affairs and development issues are now gaining importance. A serious study of at least one newspaper is now must.

CSAT is a new addition in PT and this is causing maximum anxiety among aspirants. Basic syllabus made available by UPSC suggest that it would be like any other aptitude test for management and banking entrance examination . But final shape of paper could only be known when UPSC come up with model question papers.It is advisable that aspirants should not panic about CSAT and start with basic numeracy and reasoning books. Those not comfortable with English grammar can also start reading basic grammar books. As stated earlier cut off for CSAT is bound to low and score in GS would be deciding factor so more emphasis should be given on basics of GS.


Coaching classes and prepartion for CSE

With new pattern of CSE in offing , many 'experts' of CSAT have emerged overnight. It is irony that UPSC is changing pattern on pretext of reducing grip of coaching classes on CSE but this is only going to help coaching classes. Here are some reasons why coaching classes would continue to attract a significant numbers of aspirants in years to come.

1. opaque nature of functioning of UPSC is the biggest reason for dominance of coaching classes as they claim of having 'insider' knowledge of UPSC.
2. Nature and pattern of examination is so lengthy that it is very difficult to manage 2 optional subjects , GS, Essay and interview phase on one's own.
   
3. In this examination stakes are so high. People put their career on holds for at least 2 years and make this as a question of life and death . So they can not take any chances and try to attend as many coaching classes as possible in hope to be befitted by them.
4. Advertisement blitzkrieg and unethical claims by coaching classes. Coaching classes never tell what course a successful candidate attended. If one even attended a mock interview they will claim full credit for success of candidate.

Coaching classes are not indispensable for cracking CSE. But if one has resources in terms of time and money should go for coaching classes.But aim of coaching classes should be to extract maximum value for money . Coaching classes attending should not be the sole purpose for this. One should prepare to win not just for sake of preparation due to pressure from family and friends.Always have a critical mind on the matter taught in class. If a teacher tells that one can safely skip some topics and still manage to attempt all 5 questions in main examination never fall for that. Whole syllabus must be covered .





I would write about what approach should be followed for preparation of CSE in next posts. All comments are welcome.