In this final
part of the UPSC Preliminary examination series, we shall discuss 1) General
issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change and 2)
General Science and also the CSAT PAPER 2 of the Preliminary examination.
UPSC in the
recent past has put a lot of emphasis on topics related to Environmental
Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change. A lot of questions in the prelims as
well as in the mains have been asked from these topics. Hence, a good
understanding of these topics is very essential to clear the Prelims as well as
the Mains examination. In the initial few years, when UPSC introduced these
topics, candidates were at a loss as to what has to be studied and how. But
over these years, a lot of study material has been created and also a good view
is formed about what UPSC seeks in candidates in terms of Environmental
Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change.
The most
important material in this regard is The Hindu where in every week they publish
Environment related news and articles under the page called “Environment” (http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/).
The Agriculture page also deserves good reading. (http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/).
One can read them from the website of The Hindu. Materials from National
Institute of Open Schooling are also widely followed for these topics. However,
for me, what also worked was the magazine called “Down to Earth”. It is
undoubtedly the best magazine in the Environment and Ecology sector. Not only
for UPSC preparation, but also otherwise this magazine is required to be read,
so that one becomes more sensible towards environmental issues. http://mrunal.org/environment can also
be followed for this topic.
For the General
Science part, anything under the sun may come in the examination. However, on
close inspection we find that along with the very basic scientific intricacies,
news about science making headlines in the recent past, often find themselves
in the question papers. Various awards in the scientific domain, like the Nobel
awards etc, used to be the favourites among question setters of UPSC but now
other awards, discoveries and inventions are also followed and picked up for
the questions. As a reading material, the science portion of The Hindu can be
religiously followed (http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/)
along with http://mrunal.org/snt.
Coming to the
PAPER 2 of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination, it is only a
qualifying paper i.e. one needs to just get a minimum mark to qualify and the
selection in Prelims will happen based on the marks obtained in the PAPER 1
only. The qualification criteria is 33%. If one has a good grasp of basic
English, Numerical Ability and Logical Reasoning, one can easily sail through
this paper.
The topics in PAPER 2 are:
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision-making and problem solving
- General mental ability
·
Basic numeracy (numbers and
their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data
interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. - Class X level)
If one is not
very comfortable with Numerical Ability and Logical Reasoning, one can study
these two books for practice: A Modern Approach To Verbal & Non-Verbal
Reasoning by R. S. Aggarwal and Analytical Reasoning by M. K. Pandey. However,
as I said earlier, if one has a good grasp of Maths of high school standard,
one can easily do the Numerical Ability part of the PAPER 2 of Prelims.
A good answer in Quora sums up the preparation required for the PAPER 2:
“The following deserve your
attention.
·
Solving comprehension questions every day is critical. Equally
important is analyzing your answers. By this time, we consider you have enhance
your comprehension skills by solving sample papers and reading a lot from
various sources.
·
For Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation and Basic Numeracy,
your basics should be 100% clear. Solve questions and analyze them to rectify
your weakness. But don’t waste too much time in dealing with questions on a
particular topic
·
Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability does requires a lot of
practice. By now you must have learnt the short cuts to solve reasoning and
analytical questions. As the exam is approaching, you can solve more of mock or
sample papers within a set time. Also analyzing your answers is important to
correct before the exam.”
Hence, I would
suggest that anyone preparing to appear in the Prelims, should practice an hour
a day for the PAPER 2, even though it is a qualifying paper. For people a bit
comfortable with PAPER 2 topics, they should at least prepare 5 hours a week,
because the more you practice the more it becomes easier to clear the PAPER 2.
The cutoffs for
Prelims PAPER 1 in 2015 were: General - 107.34, OBC - 106.00, SC - 94.00 and ST
- 91.34 out of a maximum of 200 marks. For Prelims PAPER 2 it was 33% as
discussed earlier.
One should try
to practice mock papers or practice papers at least one in a week under
controlled environment i.e. creating the exam environment for oneself, for a
period of 3-4 months prior to the Prelims. Mock Test series from any of the
good coaching institute in Delhi like Vajiram and Ravi, Sriram IAS, Vision IAS,
ALS etc can be taken. Many offer such Mock Tests online. The Test papers are
either emailed or uploaded on the website of the coaching institute which can
be then printed and attempted for 3 hours. Both for Paper 1 and Paper 2, the
mocks should be tried. If such Mock Papers are attempted every week, one can
gauge one’s improvement in preparation levels and the deficiency areas which
can then be improved upon. Attempting mocks is very important. One need not go
to Delhi for appearing in the Mocks. One can attempt them from the comfort of one’s
home. However, sometimes one should sit in a classroom or library and try to
attempt the Mocks for 3 hours. One should also attempt at least 5 years of old
question papers. Doing that would acquaint one with the level of difficulty of
the actual questions asked in the Prelims.
Talking to
people or listening to people who have already cleared the examination helps a
lot during preparation. Many videos are available in YouTube wherein the
toppers have shared their strategies for clearing the examination. I would like
to ask the serious candidates to listen to them and follow the relevant
guidance. There are also many like me who would like to reach out to the aspirants
and help them with their strategies. I want to assert that seniors who have
cleared the UPSC examination earlier also have been very helpful to me,
specially Shri Biswajit Pegu, IAS (also a school senior from Dhemaji) and Shri
Narayan Konwar, IAS, who guided me upto the Interview stages. One the day of my
Interview Biswajit da pepped me up over a call and boosted my confidence.
Aspirant should not fear approaching the seniors, as rarely I have found
someone who did not respond to my queries when I was preparing.
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