How To Prepare For UPSC-GS

How to prepare for General Studies:

The task I have set for myself is to de-mystify the UPSC examination, for the consumption of the candidates aspiring towards making it to those corridors of power that the civil services promise. My purpose is to provide mere guidelines for preparation. I must caution the reader, that much of effort and hard work will be put by him/her. I can merely shed some light on the path towards the ultimate goal.

The UPSC Preliminary Test (PT) General Studies paper is distinctly different from most standardized aptitude tests on account of its focus on general knowledge based questions. These questions require application of a strong knowledge base mixed with reasoning and analytical strategies. Mere cramming of information might not yield higher scores. Solving objective-type questions requires both the knowledge of the correct option and the ability to elimination of the wrong options. Thus, it might be possible to arrive at the correct answer, in spite of not knowing it to be such.

Analysis of the last 10 PT papers leads to certain insights, which will help in the preparation for the forthcoming exams. Given below are few salient points, which appear to feature in the previous examinations. By no means, should these observations be considered as gospel. They are mere pointers which will aid a candidate in channelizing his efforts during preparation and thus towards maximizing his score.

1. The questions are often not based on a single fact. There is a higher incidence of nested questions, which require you to look at 2 or 3 different facts and choose which all are correct.

2. Often, subtle clues are provided which if identified, make the question simple. The clues often involve the distortion of basic facts, or some far-fetched unverifiable claims etc. The trick is to eliminate such spurious information and arrive at the correct answer.

3. The questions, while loosely based on the topics mentioned, are largely based on certain prevailing trends- such as current events, historical importance in the current times or issues interconnected with current events. For example in 2008, around the time of the FIFA World Cup, a question featured four countries as options and the candidate had to choose the country not qualified for the world cup that year.

Likewise, around the same time a question could have been asked pertaining to the victors/venues o the first/previous world cup etc.

4. In case of history questions, apart from hardcore historical facts, questions are asked about events completing a century or 150 years etc. Thus, around 2007 questions pertaining to 1857 mutiny were asked. (150 years of the First war of mutiny were celebrated. A question about V. D. Savarkar's book 1857: First war of independence was asked around then.

Likewise, it can be established that historical events celebrating 50-100-150 year anniversaries become important in that context.

5. There is an increasing focus on Business trivia and general knowledge in that area. Often, we find names of business leaders, major corporations, their area of operations etc are asked.

6. There is a high number of questions on general trivia related to science and scientific discoveries. There are ample questions based on popular inventions and inventors, scientific discoveries, Nobel Prize winners and their area of research etc.

7. Questions on sports, sporting triumphs and long-standing records of sportsmen are often asked.

8. Questions on Indian Polity are largely connected to articles/amendments/political movements of a more recent origin. For example amendments in the last decade or articles in current news such as 102/ 104 etc have been asked in the last few years.

9. Questions on geography/geology/world resources are also based on political or current affairs context. Thus, around the time of India inking the deal with NSG, questions pertaining to uranium reserves, largest exporters etc were asked.

10. Questions on arts/entertainment often revolve around theatre/movie personalities in news, major achievements in the field, and appointments to various National Academies etc. In 2006, question was asked about the director of the Movie Paheli, which had recently been selected as the Indian entry to the Oscars.

11. Questions are also sourced from the India year book, which largely records major Indian achievements in the field of Agriculture, Governance, Developmental activities, resources etc.

12. Questions connected with World events and International personae are also important. During the U.K. elections, questions were asked pertaining to the Political Party of the previous Prime Ministers.

13. Questions on Mental Ability have increased in number and slightly, in the level of difficulty.
Thus, on observing the last few PT papers, I have come to a conclusion that strong emphasis on traditional book-based knowledge of History, Geography, Indian Polity, Science, Mathematics, Current Affairs etc, due effort must be made towards connecting the same with general knowledge trivia, historical events, etc.

Also, lateral knowledge about any person/event/place is important. Mere facts are not tested. The relevance of the facts in the current context needs to be highlighted. Thus, the nature of preparation must be such to accommodate all the above trends.

The preparation should thus be as broad-based as possible. Instead of specializing on a few topics, the candidate is expected to have a wide range of know-how about multitudes of topics. A candidate with a wide range of reading and the ability to connect diverse pieces of information stands a better chance in such a scenario.

A good strategy would be to have an inquisitive approach towards life, right from the beginning. Preparation for UPSC, right from childhood would mean mere reading of newspapers, magazines, trivia books, use of internet sites such as Wikipedia, askjeeves, etc. The candidate should merely look around currently available facts and in turn create a solid knowledge base. In such a case, there would be no need to prepare for the UPSC PT separately. I will dwell more on the strategies for preparation in the next discussion.

Having observed the nature of the UPSC Prelim Test Papers, we now focus on the preparation for the same. In this context, I will briefly touch upon the general strategies and reference material that helps during the preparation. These have worked for me in the past in achieving high scores in the 2006, 2008 and 2009 prelims.

Naturally, by no means, can this list of books and strategies be considered exhaustive. I strongly urge the candidate to analyze the previous years' question papers, look at the UPSC syllabus , consult other successful candidates and thus, come to his/her own conclusions. Extensive reading is always recommended. There is no dearth of information available and thus no end to what levels of preparation one might achieve. Use the reference material mentioned here, only after due consideration.