Topper's GS answer benchmarking - Getting into the head of UPSC examiners

veni_vedi_vici

I have 418 in GS. The key to answers in GS is linkage. How well can you compare and contrast one idea to another.

Let's take an example-- GS P1, Q1 (CSE 2014) about IVC inputs of planning and culture in modern urbanization.

Why do you think this question was asked in the first place? Yep, that's right! Smart Cities.

So link IVC and the modern civilization to the present day pet project of the government. Talk about Chandigarh grid planning. Issues of drainage and water logging and how that was addressed in IVC cities.

With regards cultural inputs, a distinct architectural features of houses in the IVC was that the kitchen and the lavatory were at diagonally opposite corners of the unit. Why do you think that is? Yes, hygiene. From there came the concept of keeping the two separate-- kitchen being a 'clean' place and the lavatory, 'dirty'. Ergo, those working in the kitchen would not be asked to work in the lavatories and those associated with the lavatories weren't allowed entry into the kitchen. Varna comes from the root 'varya' or 'to choose' (your profession). Those working in the kitchen were considered inferior to those involved elsewhere. Thus came the concept of high and low in society. So although there wasn't any caste system in the IVC, no Jati et al, but the seeds of modern day evils of caste system-- it's stringent vertical hierarchical structure-- were laid way back in that period.

Hope this helps.

I have 418 in GS. The key to answers in GS is linkage. How well can you compare and contrast one idea to another.

Let's take an example-- GS P1, Q1 (CSE 2014) about IVC inputs of planning and culture in modern urbanization.

Why do you think this question was asked in the first place? Yep, that's right! Smart Cities.

So link IVC and the modern civilization to the present day pet project of the government. Talk about Chandigarh grid planning. Issues of drainage and water logging and how that was addressed in IVC cities.

With regards cultural inputs, a distinct architectural features of houses in the IVC was that the kitchen and the lavatory were at diagonally opposite corners of the unit. Why do you think that is? Yes, hygiene. From there came the concept of keeping the two separate-- kitchen being a 'clean' place and the lavatory, 'dirty'. Ergo, those working in the kitchen would not be asked to work in the lavatories and those associated with the lavatories weren't allowed entry into the kitchen. Varna comes from the root 'varya' or 'to choose' (your profession). Those working in the kitchen were considered inferior to those involved elsewhere. Thus came the concept of high and low in society. So although there wasn't any caste system in the IVC, no Jati et al, but the seeds of modern day evils of caste system-- it's stringent vertical hierarchical structure-- were laid way back in that period.

Hope this helps.

few queries .

1. did ur answer vary depending on key words like 'critically analyse', 'discuss','examine' etc.

2. and did u prefer bullet points or para?

3.given plaucity of time, did u make.special effort for intro n conclusion

4. case study: did u mention different school of thoughts, premises involved... or did u directly jumped at various options available and their pros/cons.

thanks in advance

Target_2014_15

I have 418 in GS. The key to answers in GS is linkage. How well can you compare and contrast one idea to another.

Let's take an example-- GS P1, Q1 (CSE 2014) about IVC inputs of planning and culture in modern urbanization.

Why do you think this question was asked in the first place? Yep, that's right! Smart Cities.

So link IVC and the modern civilization to the present day pet project of the government. Talk about Chandigarh grid planning. Issues of drainage and water logging and how that was addressed in IVC cities.

With regards cultural inputs, a distinct architectural features of houses in the IVC was that the kitchen and the lavatory were at diagonally opposite corners of the unit. Why do you think that is? Yes, hygiene. From there came the concept of keeping the two separate-- kitchen being a 'clean' place and the lavatory, 'dirty'. Ergo, those working in the kitchen would not be asked to work in the lavatories and those associated with the lavatories weren't allowed entry into the kitchen. Varna comes from the root 'varya' or 'to choose' (your profession). Those working in the kitchen were considered inferior to those involved elsewhere. Thus came the concept of high and low in society. So although there wasn't any caste system in the IVC, no Jati et al, but the seeds of modern day evils of caste system-- it's stringent vertical hierarchical structure-- were laid way back in that period.

Hope this helps.

Wtf ! How did you even deduce such an answer ! Astounding man ! Mad Respect . Thanks for the inspiration .

Jose

I have 418 in GS. The key to answers in GS is linkage. How well can you compare and contrast one idea to another.

Let's take an example-- GS P1, Q1 (CSE 2014) about IVC inputs of planning and culture in modern urbanization.

Why do you think this question was asked in the first place? Yep, that's right! Smart Cities.

So link IVC and the modern civilization to the present day pet project of the government. Talk about Chandigarh grid planning. Issues of drainage and water logging and how that was addressed in IVC cities.

With regards cultural inputs, a distinct architectural features of houses in the IVC was that the kitchen and the lavatory were at diagonally opposite corners of the unit. Why do you think that is? Yes, hygiene. From there came the concept of keeping the two separate-- kitchen being a 'clean' place and the lavatory, 'dirty'. Ergo, those working in the kitchen would not be asked to work in the lavatories and those associated with the lavatories weren't allowed entry into the kitchen. Varna comes from the root 'varya' or 'to choose' (your profession). Those working in the kitchen were considered inferior to those involved elsewhere. Thus came the concept of high and low in society. So although there wasn't any caste system in the IVC, no Jati et al, but the seeds of modern day evils of caste system-- it's stringent vertical hierarchical structure-- were laid way back in that period.

Hope this helps.

Excellent @neanderthal ... i now know why i scored pathetically in few papers... Thanks for making me think in new perspective ..Cheers!

Oxus

People wid gud scoresscores, 110 and above ..please give some input..I have been struggling in that paper both last time and this yr ending in 77 .. Feeling clueless..

aranjan

I have 418 in GS. The key to answers in GS is linkage. How well can you compare and contrast one idea to another.

Let's take an example-- GS P1, Q1 (CSE 2014) about IVC inputs of planning and culture in modern urbanization.

Why do you think this question was asked in the first place? Yep, that's right! Smart Cities.

So link IVC and the modern civilization to the present day pet project of the government. Talk about Chandigarh grid planning. Issues of drainage and water logging and how that was addressed in IVC cities.

With regards cultural inputs, a distinct architectural features of houses in the IVC was that the kitchen and the lavatory were at diagonally opposite corners of the unit. Why do you think that is? Yes, hygiene. From there came the concept of keeping the two separate-- kitchen being a 'clean' place and the lavatory, 'dirty'. Ergo, those working in the kitchen would not be asked to work in the lavatories and those associated with the lavatories weren't allowed entry into the kitchen. Varna comes from the root 'varya' or 'to choose' (your profession). Those working in the kitchen were considered inferior to those involved elsewhere. Thus came the concept of high and low in society. So although there wasn't any caste system in the IVC, no Jati et al, but the seeds of modern day evils of caste system-- it's stringent vertical hierarchical structure-- were laid way back in that period.

Hope this helps.

This answer is excellent.
But question asks about the inputs already taken from indus valley civilization in planning Indian cities. So should not we focus on that also? For most of the modern cities the drainage system is pathetic. So can we really say if there was any input? Linking it to caste and purity is good but does it answer the question?

plz share ur marks details also. thanku

Etat

@mango_dolly - I saw a few answer scripts of GA and others on Vision IAS blog.

@Neanderthal - Thanks man. Really insightful.

Collector_9

I have 418 in GS. The key to answers in GS is linkage. How well can you compare and contrast one idea to another.

Let's take an example-- GS P1, Q1 (CSE 2014) about IVC inputs of planning and culture in modern urbanization.

Why do you think this question was asked in the first place? Yep, that's right! Smart Cities.

So link IVC and the modern civilization to the present day pet project of the government. Talk about Chandigarh grid planning. Issues of drainage and water logging and how that was addressed in IVC cities.

With regards cultural inputs, a distinct architectural features of houses in the IVC was that the kitchen and the lavatory were at diagonally opposite corners of the unit. Why do you think that is? Yes, hygiene. From there came the concept of keeping the two separate-- kitchen being a 'clean' place and the lavatory, 'dirty'. Ergo, those working in the kitchen would not be asked to work in the lavatories and those associated with the lavatories weren't allowed entry into the kitchen. Varna comes from the root 'varya' or 'to choose' (your profession). Those working in the kitchen were considered inferior to those involved elsewhere. Thus came the concept of high and low in society. So although there wasn't any caste system in the IVC, no Jati et al, but the seeds of modern day evils of caste system-- it's stringent vertical hierarchical structure-- were laid way back in that period.

Hope this helps.

sirji everybody suggests to use short sentences, but how to present a point in short. Like to present the point u gave in ur answer, I will surely need 2-3 lines to make a single point.
Help! Help! (

return_of_spartan

firstly thank f-ias and the soul who started this thread

thaks for all your inputs...
will share some...

my strategy was to first attempt all questions whatever it be...
next make sure you are cool(easy to say hard to follow,everybody knows nobody does) thats when you think and think and dig in to interrelate remote data...
start with your strong point and end with good point... let them know you are not fooling them
handwriting is the key ...i have seen ppl with no alphabets in head crack with good handwriting...
keep reading news paper watever season whatever day don hav breakfast till then...this should give you insight for introspection on which article you like and why ...every day ...so it gets imbibled when you write and open mouth in interview....and always have lots of data wrt women agriculture rural education poverty pollution tribes etc...
will continue gotta go watch BAHUBALI....bye hungry souls

Etat

@mango_dolly - I saw a few answer scripts of GA and others on Vision IAS blog.

@Neanderthal - Thanks man. Really insightful.

https://www.visionias.in/resources.php

Right-hand column, little down.

Phoebe

@Neanderthal Many congratulations for your amazing result and even better GS marks. And a big thank you for your continued guidance and advice. Whenever you can, please answer the following questions as well :

1. How do you address questions for which you are not at all prepared, i.e. you dont know the exact context or any relevant data ? please quote any example from the last mains, if you can recall.

2. How often did you make use of diagrams and flow charts? given the paucity of space, is making flow chart where a paragraph can suffice recommended? or does it come across as a gimmick?

3. For case studies in ethics, what 'innovative' solutions can we offer? in almost all case studies, i feel my answers become repetitive with similar ethical issues involved, and similar suggestoins offerred. does that happen with you too? how to resolve this? please share a case study if you can.

Lastly, please share the break up of your 418 marks so that we can set a benchmark in terms of numbers. if you have shared in any link, im sorry i missed it.

All the best for the future and please continue to advice us! Thanks in advance