If you are an UPSC CSE aspirant, what better way to look for tips to improve your preparation than from someone who has already cleared the exam with a good rank and is now in the prestigious IAS.
IAS officer Manuj Jindal, who is currently posted as the CEO, Zila Parishad in Jalna, Maharashtra, has shared some valuable tips to understand this exam and prepare a strategy, in a series of tweets on social media platform, Twitter.
UNDERSTANDING THE KEY COMPONENTS
Mr. Jindal starts of by tweeting about a preparation plan for CSE in order to be ready by 2024. According to him, if you start today – September 12 – and be dedicated in your preparation, then you will be all set to achieve your goal.
He then explains the main components and how to focus on each separately – i.e. Pre, Mains and Interview. For Pre, he suggests practicing MCQs and focussing on Economics, Polity, Environment and Current Affairs. For Mains, he says the focus should be on answer writing practice, essay writing, Ethics and the optional paper.
“For Interview, the candidate should focus on DAF and personality development.”
HOW TO START THE PREPARATION
In another tweet in his long thread, he writes about planning for the Mains. “Download and print a copy. Read & repeat until you know it inside out.”
His next step involves picking one topic or subject from the syllabus and starting to read it.
He gives an example: “Start with polity & finish it in a set amount of time. Try to read 30-35 pages daily and understand the concept. However, don’t make notes during the first read, and start with NCERT.”
ON SELECTING OPTIONAL
On selecting the optional, he writes that there are three major points to look into before choosing. “What you like, what you have studied earlier, and the material available in the market.” According to him, optional should be finished in maximum 6 months.
He also advises to read newspapers daily for maximum 45 minutes. “Aspirants should also read one current affairs magazine but should start only after finishing one subject.” He also strongly advises to buy only one book at a time and not overload materials.
FOLLOW A STRICT TIMELINE
In his concluding tweets, he gives timelines for studying all the subjects. “If any aspirant starts from today (12 September), then by the end of December, he should have finished one subject (Polity or Economics), 40% of optional, while reading newspapers daily. After finishing the syllabus, the aspirants should also give 15 days for revision.”
In the same way, from December to March, one should finish another subject along with another 40% of the optional, while following the 15-day routine for practice.
And, by July 2023, one has to start answer writing, essay, and ethics. The thread also includes timelines and plans till January 2024, before the start of Prelims.
