Many people hesitate to even consider attempting CSE because of the vast syllabus and the amount of time required for its preparation. However, Prashant Kishore makes it seem quite easy by cracking the exam twice. He even says that it is possible to prepare for CSE in just one year.
In 2018, he cracked the exam with AIR 274 and was allotted Indian Audit & Account Service. He appeared again next year for CSE 2019 and secured AIR 61. This time, he was allotted IAS and AGMUT cadre. Currently, he is posted as Assistant Commissioner in Aizwal, Mizoram.
We present his strategy to prepare the exam in one year, which can be helpful to lots of aspirants.
PRE-PREPARATION
Born in East Champaran, Bihar, Mr. Kishore’s father is also a civil servant and has been most influential in his life. After graduating in commerce from Delhi’s Ramjas College in 2017, Mr. Kishore enrolled himself in Delhi School of Economics for Masters. At the same time, he also started the preparation for UPSC.
According to him, before starting the CSE preparation, every aspirant should take at least 2-3 months’ time for exploration and understanding the pattern of the exam.
While speaking on a media platform, he said, “I watched maximum number of toppers’ videos and read their blogs. In my view, this exercise should not be neglected because it gives you a clear idea and you can acquaint yourself with it.”
FOUR-PART PREPARATION
Serious and strict preparation should start by July if you want to appear in the prelims of next year, he says, adding that targets and timeline should be divided first before dividing the preparation.
1. July To September: This period is very crucial. All the targets should be achieved to maintain the momentum of preparation. In these three months, one should finish the reading of all the NCERTs from class 6 to class 12 of the subjects required for UPSC CSE like Polity, Geography, History. Simultaneously, you should start reading newspapers and chose your optional. Choosing a correct optional can ensure your rank and the service you will get, so choose it wisely. By the end of September, along with all the NCERTs, 30-40% of at least one paper of optional should be finished.
2. October To December: After solid reading of NCERT, it is time to advance. Limitation of sources is required and the focus should be to read one book per subject. Also, in these three months the syllabus of one paper for optional should be finished. While doing this, spend time to read the past year questions. And since the foundation is laid, so you can start writing one answer daily. If you are not taking any coaching, then it is a must to go through the answers of toppers. What I did was to write the answers of the same questions and compared it to the answers of toppers. Their answer sheets are available on various coaching websites and their personal blogs.
3. January and February: This time should be used to consolidate all the notes of general studies papers and revise as many times as you can. By the end of February, 50% of the second paper of optional should also be done. By the end, 70% syllabus of your optional should be done along with the revision. The rest portion of optional is advised to be left, as that portion is mostly dynamic and should be dealt with after the prelims results. Although, this is my understanding, others can vary.
4. March to May: Since the Pre is near, so these three months should be focused on that because without clearing it, one can’t get the opportunity to even write the Mains. In these 90 days, every aspirant should at least give 30-35 test series. Also, solve previous question papers of 5-7 years and even if you can’t solve them, you should study the papers. This will help you avoid mistakes if similar questions come in the paper.In conclusion, Mr. Kishore says that that since the timeline of CSE is one year itself, it can be cracked with preparation of one year only. The strategy that he has shared helped him in cracking the exam twice and he is hopeful that it will help others, too.
