Takeaway points from Mains-2013

xxbee

thanks to all above @kammo @Neyawn @Partho and others The remaining seniors who experienced the exam please guide the beginners like me with enlightening the future.

Waiting for more reviews.

Aurelio

My Takeaway from this Mains :

1. Try to cover almost all topics as all the questions are compulsory. Even in Topics like Culture try to cover some popular things like Sangam Lit, Temple Architectures, Classical Dances , some important Folk dances etc. I followed this strategy and i was able to attempt two out of three questions of Culture

2. Prepare well for Governance Reforms like Civil Service Reforms , Legislative reforms , tax reforms , RTI , Citizen Charter etc. You well definitely get help in GS , Optional and Essay Paper.

3. IMO straight away start writing answers in points form and write to the point as there is no scope to write conventional answer beginning with a Introduction. I made the above mistake in Paper -II and left around 50 marks but in Paper -II)

4. Don't go with any pre conceived idea about the Paper. I had in my mind the experience of PubAd Paper -I of 2012 . When i opened this year's paper i could not understand in first look even some easy question and wasted initial 10 mins in that.

5. Keep Your cool and never let anything put you down.
I had planned my strategy in the beginning of October .... and then I had Dengue followed by a Liver infection then again Fever followed by stolen Mobile . To add insult to injury my Laptop and external hard disk was also stolen ( i used to make my notes in Laptop and keep the backup in external hard disk).

I had to keep these things behind and restarted preparations after Diwali .... and feel satisfied now of my attempt no matter what the result is

efgritesh

I think most of it has already been said but just to remind my two cents

1. Dont try to read from all possible sources, just one good news paper should be enough for you to be able to recall and reproduce it.

2. Dont try to cover every thing under the sun, you may not be able to make use of it in exam due to lack of time.

3. Write only what is being asked, no need to set context as that will not allow one to complete paper.

4. A lot needs to be improved on writing skills and speed.

Having said that I feel that the paper is so generic that we may already be knowing most of the things without much prepration as was the case this time, and one may get interview call in all possibility if he can possibly do justice with the knowledge he already has.

finally, All this may not be relevant for 2014 mains thats the beauty of it!!

vikky_baba

My takeaway points.

1. do the entire syllabus and you should know a little bit of everything , well that doesn't mean that entire syllabus to be covered like that. Prepare in depth for whatever you can but don't leave any topic. Even the sequence of questions asked in the paper was ditto with the sequence of the topics mentioned in the syllabus.

2. Make micro notes of all topics and sub topics. Will help you in the end.

3. Women , local governance , food security , Left wing extremism , Environment , health and education to be prepared extensively.

4. Economic Survey and Hindu for paper 2 and 3 . Read conventional books only once or twice for these papers.

5. Recalling and reproducing is an art and is difficult to master specially when there is paucity of time . Try mastering it.

6. Hard work is really important but Intelligence and a sharp memory cannot be discounted. At times I feel the Exam is more about your smartness rather than your ability to work hard.

7. Googling will really help you with your preparation.

8. Please download useful apps like the hindu app , ET app on your cell phone and make wise use of these apps.

Vibin

I was 3 days away from home to know how candidates [my friends , etc] had performed . There was a mixed bag reaction from everyone . However , what excites me is that whoever I had a chat had a decent grip on GS and their optional as well .

My close friends , who where having their last attempt , did their best [I guess] and was given plenty of advices and suggestions for me , on my next attempt .

First-timers , as usual panicked in their initial papers but had gained momentum for the rest. So GS paper1 was floundered , I could say from their views . But overall I could see plenty could get Interview call .

From my point of view , UPSC made everyone to write . So valuation could get tougher apparently of reduced quality from many X_X .. And the ones who had done enough justice to their preparation could be in the cut ..

So 2014 candidates , its one again stressed Practice , practice and practice

>-

vin23

My point may seem stupid but still i would recommend everyone to memorize the syllabus word by word and prepare accordingly .

handshake

Hi, this was my second attempt but my first shot at mains as I had absented myself from last year's mains.

Instead of detailing a specific strategy I should like to list what I consider essential for clearing mains - that is, you can be sure of not clearing the exam if you skip any item on this list!

1. Notes from newspaper - concise, relevant, and regularly revised. No coaching jugaad will work here.
2. Regular Answer writing practice - preferably a test series for optional. Speed with good handwriting is a killer combination.
3. Early start - Consider you have mains in August itself.
4. No nonsense on the internet - spend limited time on this forum, and other similar websites. You, a pen, and paper is what is required to clear the exam. Stick to that combination largely.
5. NCERT - must.
6. Kill procrastination right now - Now or never attitude.
7. Set small plans - five year wallahs don't work - maybe weekly or daily, and stick to them.

I followed none of the above and will be writing 2014 mains. I had only 50% of the syllabus completed with no revision. But next year I'll be in top 100.

Hope this helps, and lastly, Don't Panic!

chinu_meena11

This was my 1st attempt and key takeaways according to me are:

1. Coaching for GS is not necessary, instead regular newspaper reading and making notes from it is more important. Going through standard textbooks and NCERTs will suffice. Seems UPSC wants to bring a level playing field and discourage coaching.

2.Coaching may help more in optionals, but who knows UPSC might even scrap optionals too. UPSC is becoming Unpredictable Public Service Commission @-)

3.Language papers were set in a way that neither English medium candidates had an upper hand nor Hindi medium candidates (This is based on my experience of Hindi compulsory paper, might vary for other languages). Both were screwed in the language they were not comfortable in ~X(

4. Answer writing and Test Series might help. And since Online forums and websites offer many such options, no need to spend huge amounts of money on Test Series too. instead invest that money in good study material.

5. Speed of thinking fast and writing fast both matter. Without the other you are at an disadvantage. Seems UPSC wants candidates who can think fast and act fast

6. Read as much as you can while relating to as much as you can. Have a Holistic approach towards everything. damn ! i'm still in exam hangover 8-|

Aspirantcse

I am a mere passive participant in this forumm...means i dont generally comment and i prefer to see what others comment....but the quality of analysis and insights i see here is amazing...and i am compelled to acknowledge it

running_2win

@all

the analysis being done here is really an eye-opener for us who didnt write mains this time.
Please seniors keep posting what you learnt from this Mains...
Special Thanks to all seniors who spare some time to share their experiences, kudos to you...