1. Could you please give a broad timeline of your preparation?, including
a) When you started with & completed Mains Topics? Ans: GS: Dec 2020-Feb 2021
b) Was Optional Preparation Simultaneous? Ans: Completed GS before Pre and Optional(PSIR) after pre.
c) Your Revision strategy. Daily? Weekly? Ans: Completed the First reading of all subjects in one go. Followed it by revision
d) When did you start giving Mocks for Pre? Ans: I joined SFG for Pre.
e) When did you write 1st answer? Ans: Joined AWFG for Mains.
f) Time set aside for Prelims-only Preparation (and how were Mocks incorporated in this phase) Ans: 3 months for Pre only preparation. Focused on SFG only for Pre.
2. Your specific strategy for Current Affairs:
a) In how much depth did you read Newspaper (Only Op-Ed/Science Tech?, or all of it?) Ans: No newspaper for Pre and Mains. Followed Youtube videos for daily newspaper analysis. For interview read IE in-depth and made notes.
b) When did you read CA Magzines? Did you read them bit-by-bit everyday, or all in one sitting? Ans: Monthly. Completed in one go.
3. How did your general Day Schedule look like?
a) Did Newspaper first, or Static Subject? Ans: I completed one subject in one go.
b) Did 1 subject per day? Or,GS & Optional Simultaneously everyday? Ans: Did 1 subject per day.
In the previous attempts i was working as Assistant Commandant, so never got enough time to prepare.
1. Could you please give a broad timeline of your preparation?, including
a) When you started with & completed Mains Topics? Ans: GS: Dec 2020-Feb 2021
b) Was Optional Preparation Simultaneous? Ans: Completed GS before Pre and Optional(PSIR) after pre.
c) Your Revision strategy. Daily? Weekly? Ans: Completed the First reading of all subjects in one go. Followed it by revision
d) When did you start giving Mocks for Pre? Ans: I joined SFG for Pre.
e) When did you write 1st answer? Ans: Joined AWFG for Mains.
f) Time set aside for Prelims-only Preparation (and how were Mocks incorporated in this phase) Ans: 3 months for Pre only preparation. Focused on SFG only for Pre.
2. Your specific strategy for Current Affairs:
a) In how much depth did you read Newspaper (Only Op-Ed/Science Tech?, or all of it?) Ans: No newspaper for Pre and Mains. Followed Youtube videos for daily newspaper analysis. For interview read IE in-depth and made notes.
b) When did you read CA Magzines? Did you read them bit-by-bit everyday, or all in one sitting? Ans: Monthly. Completed in one go.
3. How did your general Day Schedule look like?
a) Did Newspaper first, or Static Subject? Ans: I completed one subject in one go.
b) Did 1 subject per day? Or,GS & Optional Simultaneously everyday? Ans: Did 1 subject per day.Was this your first attempt? If not, could you please tell what went wrong in the previous ones?
Xplore Rau's Focus/Compass.@morsmodre I am struggling with the same problem regarding VisionIAS monthly magazines. Can't finish any due to unnecessary lengthiness. But every topper(mostly) recommends them so can't risk not reading it.
For mains Current affairs I joined ForumIAS' Current affairs class. It's excellent. Concise notes, Value added and dipin sir will help you to remember the content in class itself.
1.) I am a beginner, starting with reading Laxmikant etc when according to you should I join a mains test series?
I have doubts whether I'll be able to write good answers later and I should join it early. Could please help and give me some perspective for that.
2.) Should I start prelims only preparation from March or should start it from Jan?
(Assuming u will be appearing in CSE 2023.)
Hello,
I am confused between opting for the Dipin Sir CA course (which is fab content wise) or the MK Yadav QEP that helps provide frameworks to people to come up with answers quickly and comprehensively.
Also, could anyone please help me understand the difference between watching the DIpin Sir CA videos or just reading through his class notes?
Thanks!
Go for Dipin sir's CA classes.
1. They are more insightful and rich in quality.
2. They have better cross-linkages. The content could be used across Essay, Ethics, and Optionals (humanities) if you know how to use them.
On the other hand, merely getting frameworks for different topics wouldn't be of much help in my opinion.
+1
Thanks all. Really appreciate the help.@Rashmirathi @AzadHindFauz @CSLWARRIOR
The only doubt that remains is if there is enough time for me to cover the video classes too? I saw a few class notes and I felt that I could cover them quicker than the classes.
U can complete them easily....last mains there was less time...still completed comfortably. U should watch video classes.
@sjerngal @AzadHindFauz @CSLWARRIOR Apart from revising my notes, what else can I do to improve in GS1,2 & 3 further?? Should I join Forum CA classes? Last year tried to read Mains 365 once but due to paucity of time, couldn't revise it properly and remembered very few points.
By joining Forum CA classes will I be able to use more examples in my answer?
Overall what should be my strategy this year for GS 1,2&3?
Key is to revise multiple times. There is no magic bullet in any course. People got selected by following different strategies. Make ur own strategy and imo no topper can give u THE strategy.
If u feel like (and afford) joining a CA class go for it.
@RashmirathiThanks for the reply,i think i should've been more clear, what i meant was should i join the CA classes before the result of prelims is declared,bcoz i am not sure if there'll be another batch or not after the results.
Last year there was only one batch. But u can join and watch recorded videos after pre result.
How to prepare for the science and technology part of the GS3 paper??
Should I skip it and depend only on prelims preparation and newspaper readings or should I prepare some specific important topics like AI, Blockchain, etc from monthly magazine/Mains 365?
Apart from buzz words, prepare specific topics like role of AI in agriculture, space tech in agri, role of AI in healthcare, drone tech, et al.
Also prepare few scientists including scientists from Ancient India.
Hello everyone,
Congratulations on the selection!
This is with respect to prelims current affairs - I am finding it difficult to follow daily CA (quiz+newspaper), monthly magazines and yearly compilations at the same time. At the end the mock questions will also be there. It will be too much to revise.
What should I drop? (if at all it is advisable)
If you have been doing newspapers and monthly magazines religiously, there is no point of doing yearly compilations.
I would suggest you to make 1-2 pages notes of the monthly magazines that you read, so that by the end of the year you<30 pages of condensed notes to revise.
And anyway, I believe that the utility of yearly compilations is decreasing over the years.
I, personally, used to make questions for myself from newspapers and monthly magazines and would revise the same before prelims. There were roughly ~150 questions for each month.
Attaching a sample of the same-
WoW. Innovation in revision methodology.
