Preparation Strategy for IAS Exam 2015
Things to Know
The IAS Exam is a three-tier exam consisting of Prelims (objective), Mains (written) and Interview (verbal).
The Prelims is only qualifying in nature and consists of 2 papers common to all candidates
The Mains is scoring and consists of 1750 marks
The Interview is also scoring and consists of 275 marks
Only those who clear the Prelims can appear for the Mains and only those who clear the Mains can appear for the Interview
The Need for a Strategy
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam or civil services exam is one of the toughest and most prestigious exams in India. It requires hours and months of focussed effort to crack but the effort is well worth it. For if you manage to clear the civil services exam, you will become a member of the prestigious Indian Civil Services which is one of the most rewarding careers in India.
This hub explains the best strategy to adopt to crack the Prelims and Mains in an integrated manner in view of the changed Prelims and Mains syllabus and pattern.
Important Dates to Remember for IAS 2015
Event
Date
Prelims Notification
16/05/2015
Last Date of Receipt of Applications
12/06/2015
Date of Prelims
23/08/2015
Commencement of Mains
18/12/2015 (5 days)
IAS Exam 2015 Schedule
Get the Right Books Before Starting Preparation
Before you start your IAS preparation, you should have all the essential books with you. I have listed the important books that you should read for Prelims and for Mains below. The list is updated regularly so you read only the most relevant books for civil services exam.
Books for IAS Prelims
Books for General Studies Mains
Remember, the Prelims consists of 2 papers common to all and General Studies (GS) consists of 4 papers (GS 1, GS 2, GS 3, GS 4) common to all candidates. So books referred above will be useful to you no matter which optional subject you select for the Mains exam.
Step 1 - Pick One Topic From Each Paper
The first step is to pick one topic from each paper of Prelims. Paper 1 consists of Economy, History, Science, Geography, Polity, History, Ecology, General Awareness and Current Affairs. While Paper 2 consists of Mental Ability, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Comprehension and Decision Making.
This approach helps you to prepare both the Papers simultaneously. This is important as in Prelims, there are individual cut-off marks for each paper so you cannot neglect any paper even if you come from a non-Science background.
You can pick any topic you like. For instance, you choose Ecology from Paper 1 and Decision Making from Paper 2. Cover both the topics thoroughly before you select the next two topics.
Have You Appeared for Prelims Before?
Yes
Will appear this year
Will appear next year
See results without voting
Step 2 - Cover the Mains Syllabus Simultaneously
The prelims is usually held in August. It will be held on August 23rd in 2015. The Mains will be held in December 2015. So you have 3 months between Prelims and Mains and in mains you need to prepare not just 4 GS papers but also one complete optional subject consisting of 2 papers.
Three months is grossly inadequate to cover such a wide syllabus. So the best strategy to adopt is to cover the common topics of Prelims and GS Mains simultaneously.
These common topics are:
Indian Polity
Geography and Ecology
Modern Indian History
Science and Technology
Decision Making
Indian Economy
However, you need to keep in mind the approach towards Prelims and Mains. For prelims, your scope is wider but with a comparatively shallow focus while for Mains you have limited scope but with in-depth coverage of the topic.
So let's say you're preparing Indian Polity. In Prelims, you will concentrate on the wording of all the Articles but in Mains, you need to go beyond just the wording and look at the inter-relationship between different Articles of the Constitution, their background, the amendments. judicial interpretation of the Articles and also quote relevant case studies from recent events.
Step 3 - Test Yourself
After you cover a particular topic, let's say Gandhian movements in Modern History, you should go through the past 5 years papers to test your topic preparation. If you cannot attempt some questions on the topic then you should go through the topic again to cover the areas you might have skipped.
This approach helps to attempt course correction immediately when the topic is still fresh in your mind instead of leaving it till the last few days when you should be revising instead of covering new topics.
IAS Preparation Tips
Step 4 - Keep Track of Current Affairs
It's important to remember that current affairs and general awareness should be prepared together with other conventional topics. Since at least 10-15 questions in Paper 1 are current affairs and general awareness based, you cannot skip these easy-to-score topics.
Read a good newspaper like The Hindu for not more than 60 minutes a day. You can skip the political and Page 3 gossip in newspapers. Similarly, you should read a good magazine like Pratyogita Darpan that has authentic information and facts.
Prepare Smartly
Not all topics in IAS exam have equal importance. Some are more important than others while some can be covered more quickly than others. You should aim to prepare the important topics that carry more marks first.
Some of these topics include: Maps, Current Affairs and General Awareness, Polity, Economy facts and figures, Modern History (as compared to Ancient and Medieval History), Decision Making (does not carry any negative penalty), Comprehension (very easy to score), Logical Reasoning.
Another tip is to make micro notes as you prepare. These notes will help you to revise quickly before the Prelims. Same goes for Mains. Since you cannot go through entire text books before the Prelims, it is always helpful to make your own topic notes on a flip page to revise 2o days before the exam.
The Need for a Strategy
The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam or civil services exam is one of the toughest and most prestigious exams in India. It requires hours and months of focussed effort to crack but the effort is well worth it. For if you manage to clear the civil services exam, you will become a member of the prestigious Indian Civil Services which is one of the most rewarding careers in India.
This hub explains the best strategy to adopt to crack the Prelims and Mains in an integrated manner in view of the changed Prelims and Mains syllabus and pattern.
Important Dates to Remember for IAS 2015
Event
Date
Prelims Notification
16/05/2015
Last Date of Receipt of Applications
12/06/2015
Date of Prelims
23/08/2015
Commencement of Mains
18/12/2015 (5 days)
IAS Exam 2015 Schedule
Get the Right Books Before Starting Preparation
Before you start your IAS preparation, you should have all the essential books with you. I have listed the important books that you should read for Prelims and for Mains below. The list is updated regularly so you read only the most relevant books for civil services exam.
Books for IAS Prelims
Books for General Studies Mains
Remember, the Prelims consists of 2 papers common to all and General Studies (GS) consists of 4 papers (GS 1, GS 2, GS 3, GS 4) common to all candidates. So books referred above will be useful to you no matter which optional subject you select for the Mains exam.
Step 1 - Pick One Topic From Each Paper
The first step is to pick one topic from each paper of Prelims. Paper 1 consists of Economy, History, Science, Geography, Polity, History, Ecology, General Awareness and Current Affairs. While Paper 2 consists of Mental Ability, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Comprehension and Decision Making.
This approach helps you to prepare both the Papers simultaneously. This is important as in Prelims, there are individual cut-off marks for each paper so you cannot neglect any paper even if you come from a non-Science background.
You can pick any topic you like. For instance, you choose Ecology from Paper 1 and Decision Making from Paper 2. Cover both the topics thoroughly before you select the next two topics.
Have You Appeared for Prelims Before?
Yes
Will appear this year
Will appear next year
See results without voting
Step 2 - Cover the Mains Syllabus Simultaneously
The prelims is usually held in August. It will be held on August 23rd in 2015. The Mains will be held in December 2015. So you have 3 months between Prelims and Mains and in mains you need to prepare not just 4 GS papers but also one complete optional subject consisting of 2 papers.
Three months is grossly inadequate to cover such a wide syllabus. So the best strategy to adopt is to cover the common topics of Prelims and GS Mains simultaneously.
These common topics are:
Indian Polity
Geography and Ecology
Modern Indian History
Science and Technology
Decision Making
Indian Economy
However, you need to keep in mind the approach towards Prelims and Mains. For prelims, your scope is wider but with a comparatively shallow focus while for Mains you have limited scope but with in-depth coverage of the topic.
So let's say you're preparing Indian Polity. In Prelims, you will concentrate on the wording of all the Articles but in Mains, you need to go beyond just the wording and look at the inter-relationship between different Articles of the Constitution, their background, the amendments. judicial interpretation of the Articles and also quote relevant case studies from recent events.
Step 3 - Test Yourself
After you cover a particular topic, let's say Gandhian movements in Modern History, you should go through the past 5 years papers to test your topic preparation. If you cannot attempt some questions on the topic then you should go through the topic again to cover the areas you might have skipped.
This approach helps to attempt course correction immediately when the topic is still fresh in your mind instead of leaving it till the last few days when you should be revising instead of covering new topics.
IAS Preparation Tips
Step 4 - Keep Track of Current Affairs
It's important to remember that current affairs and general awareness should be prepared together with other conventional topics. Since at least 10-15 questions in Paper 1 are current affairs and general awareness based, you cannot skip these easy-to-score topics.
Read a good newspaper like The Hindu for not more than 60 minutes a day. You can skip the political and Page 3 gossip in newspapers. Similarly, you should read a good magazine like Pratyogita Darpan that has authentic information and facts.
Prepare Smartly
Not all topics in IAS exam have equal importance. Some are more important than others while some can be covered more quickly than others. You should aim to prepare the important topics that carry more marks first.
Some of these topics include: Maps, Current Affairs and General Awareness, Polity, Economy facts and figures, Modern History (as compared to Ancient and Medieval History), Decision Making (does not carry any negative penalty), Comprehension (very easy to score), Logical Reasoning.
Another tip is to make micro notes as you prepare. These notes will help you to revise quickly before the Prelims. Same goes for Mains. Since you cannot go through entire text books before the Prelims, it is always helpful to make your own topic notes on a flip page to revise 2o days before the exam.
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