Late Comer in UPSC . Need some help

cleversnake1

hi. i have started preparation last week only. I am going through ncert books right now and studying from prelims point of view. As per schedule of CIVIL SERVICE EXAM 2014 , prelim is on 24 aug and mains in december. I need suggestion and help from seniors and other aspirants also that what strategy should i follow. ? How to prepare for mains in just 3 months ? I am late but want to give my best ..this is my first attempt..My optional is pub ad.

Shkk

Hi @cleversnake1 -
For prelims I've posted a video in another thread, here's the link to that comment, I hope it'll be useful -

http://forumias.com/discussion/comment/88065#Comment_88065

And regarding preparing for mains, first be sure that Pre is certain. I mean in a way that you are confident of a good show in CSAT and a decent performance in GS. But as I can make out, since you have started late, I would highly recommend you to focus only on Prelims. And on the very next day of the pre, begin preparing for the mains. A good command over subjects in Pre will come handy for mains as well. So make sure Prelims is prepared thoroughly.

Dilip_90

If you are clever enough, you would realize that there are two choices
1. Be a 2014 civil service ASSpirant. :@)
2. Be a 2015 civil service aspirant. :-bd
Choice is yours :-B

cleversnake1

@Shkk thanks man..
@Dilip_90 thanx for choices..once let me clear exam than i will give a thought on this..you may leave.

Vibin

http://forumias.com/discussion/381/new-to-forumias-please-read-this-rules-of-posting-in-the-forum#Item_3

http://forumias.com/discussion/513/list-of-essential-books-for-upsc-prelims-2013#Item_81

Kindly go through these first and post any further doubts you encounter .

Mr_Wayne

hi. i have started preparation last week only. I am going through ncert books right now and studying from prelims point of view. As per schedule of CIVIL SERVICE EXAM 2014 , prelim is on 24 aug and mains in december. I need suggestion and help from seniors and other aspirants also that what strategy should i follow. ? How to prepare for mains in just 3 months ? I am late but want to give my best ..this is my first attempt..My optional is pub ad.

Indeed Shkk video has a good strategy for clearing prelims. This is my 1st attempt, so my wisdom is limited. But due to paucity of time , it's better you just focus on prelims.

PS- Even i started my preparations 1 month back, so i'm just focusing on prelims too.

Pooja

@cleversnake1: the best thing is to focus completely on Prelims now ... because clearing the first hurdle itself is the going to be the toughest challenge .. it's possible to clear Prelims 2014 , if u give ur 100% efforts ... days left for Prelims is more than sufficient for preparation ... after 24 Aug , u start with ur mains preparation ..
As ur optional is Pub Ad , ur some part of the syllabus will b covered while preparing for gs2, gs3(disaster mgmt) and gs4 ..

if ur r fully devoted in studies , believe me pub ad can b covered easily in 20days .. have to b very smart while preparation ... refer previous yrs question papers , understand the type of question been asked in the exam .. paper analysis is most imp thing .. side by side u hv to do writing practise also that time ...


Presently , focus on Prelims , do regular practise of csat till the prelims exam and cover each and every part of the GS ... this will b more than sufficient to clear the first hurdle .. than plan the next hurdle ..

SKY IS THE LIMIT, just Trust urself ...

'If you can FLY with the Eagles ,
don't waste ur TIME swimming with Ducks

'All the very Best'

cleversnake1

@Vibin @Pooja @Dhanveer
thanx everyone..

geeta

Also GS 1 mains, is pretty much a repeat of prelims syllabus - history, geography, culture. And the other 3 GS are actually pretty random. So pretty doable

Bristleback

Hello guys,
It has been just a week that I started preparing for 'The Final Destination' (a term coined by me). Getting into IPS has been my dream since the days I could barely write single coherent sentence in English, let alone speak (due to studying in a vernacular school). Thus, phase 1 of my 'preparation' mainly consisted of mastering the King's language and subsequently having a stable backup career. This phase of my life is now over.

Currently, I am a second year student at an IIM and I shall have a lot of free time at my disposal due to 'awkward' selection of electives. I had thought of kick-starting my preparation in first year itself, but it wasnt possible due to academic workload. Nevertheless, I need some advice from you lot about my preparation and whether it is heading in the right direction.

I have gone though the books needed for Prelims and managed to get all of them in one week. I am currently in my intern-ship and as such, the company I am working for doesnt care much about interns. So I have an entire month free before the 4th term starts (which will again be mostly free ). Anyway, this is what I am studying -

Polity - 11th NCERT, M.Laxikanth, GKT Polity Module
Geography - 11th, 12th NCERT, GCL, GKT Geo module
Economy - Not much needed really, Micro and Macro was covered extensively in 1st year here. I shall read Eco Survey/CA and Ramesh Singh's book to brush up core concepts.
History - 12th NCERT, History Of Modern India - BC, India's Struggle For Independence - BC, ignoring Ancient for now (leaving it for last)
Culture - Facets Of Indian Culture, NIOS, NCERT books, A wonder that was India ( selective reading)
Environment - Bharucha, various Geo and Environment NCERT books (selective reading)
Science - TMH Manual, NIOS

I am confident that I can finish reading this in next 3 and a half months, revision included. I have started making notes for Geography and Polity. I'll upload sample notes of basic topics here to get them reviewed because I am unsure about what I am noting down/what I am not.

So folks, is there anything missing and needs to be included in the above list? Any general advice to a new-comer?

Cheers,
Bristleback

Vibin

Hey @Bristleback and other freshers , kindly read Click . There is a pdf been uploaded . All the best to all >-