Tips by Anay Rank 5 (IAS 2010)

Answer-writing tips:

the same holds for all the
papers: GS 1 &2 and optionals…

keep in mind the following
points:

1. answer has to include all
points from different perspectives…as many as u can think of…political, legal,
administrative, economic, social, etc…as I said, writing 10 points, 2 lines
each is better than writing just 5 points, 4 lines each…I wrote answers points
wise almost always…1 2 3…next answer * * *…next answer - - - -…it all depends
on wht u r comfortable with..if u like writing in paras…no prob…but write frm
all different perspectives…

2. diagrams: always draw
diagrams in optionals…GS u wudnt have time and neither do questions require
diagrams…but in optionals like pub ad and psychology…diagrams shud be
drawn…flowcharts, etc will also do…If I didn’t have a diagram with me, then I
used to write the topic and circle it, then arrows pointing to all different
points,etc…draw with pencil, but always draw freehand…no scale,etc…no time…if
still running short, draw with pen…no prob

3. underlining: very very
important…I never used to underline earlier…but this time I did…underline with
pen as u write…no need of pencil, different colour pen, etc…there’s no
time..but try to underline the key words…

4. key words: always write key
words first…for every topic in the syllabus, prepare a list of 5-6 key
words…they shud form a part of the intro…eg brainstorming: it is a group creativity technique
which involves freewheeling, divergent thinking, delayedjudgment and focussed on quantity rather than quality…then
explain each key word pne by one… this way u wudnt have to think about
introduction, etc and examiner will get all the relevant points right in the
beginning…

5. word limit: for GS I used
to exceed word limit but only because I knew I wud finish the paper even if I did
so…so if 30 words, I used to write 50…if 100 words: 130, if 200 words: 250…and
so on..for optionals 20 markers: I used to write 260-280 words (word limit
indicated is 200)…for 60 markers usually 6 pages…(600-650 words)…but keep in
mind the time…

6: language: has to be very simple...dnt show ur vocabulary...do not use words for which an average person wud need to use a dictionary...also assume the examiner doesnt knw nething about the topic and if u use a jargon...always explain it in one line immediately...
easy way is: assume u r writing an answer for a 12 yr old kid...

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newspaper reading gets easy with practice..in the beginning it might take
time but as u progress..u wud be able to finish 3 newspapers (if u r
reading 3)in under 2 hrs...just keep in mind wht is relevant and wht is
not...

as asked..i will go thru 26th may ET, delhi edition on
epaper.timesofindia.com and get back to u on whts relevant and wht is
not...just give me smtime to read and prepare the reply...

scrap 1:

ET is of 30 pages today…so here’s whats relevant whts not…

Page 30; irrelevant…book turns 50,etc nobody’s gng to ask

Page 29; no topic important..only banana topic I just
glanced thru…coz India
is the biggest banana producer in the world…this kind of thing might be imp to
write in some answer on trade,etc..but directly it will never be asked…I wudnt
cut the article, but wud remember the banana story…

Pages 26-28: irrelevant

Page 25: not relevant..its abt companies..u dnt need to read
such articles until they have some national impact…such as bharti-mtn deal..etc

Page 24: irrelevant…but I wud just look for wht are
high-beta stocks..its given in the article wht it is..write it somewhere if u
think u wudnt remember it later…

So, 7 pages took less than5 minutes as I have only glanced
thru the headings and read only 3-4 lines in 2 articles…

Page 23: articles
irrelevant but ET in the classroom is very good almost always…today it talks
abt nomination which I dnt think is relevant for the cse exam.. but most of the
times it talks abt things very relevant..so always watch out for et in the
classroom

Page 22:
articles irrelevant but REER, cut it…very important…such definitions can always
be asked for 2-3 markers in GS 2 paper…

Page 21: I am
usually apprehensive of articles by krugman in hindu which r only US specific…but
here the interview with stiglitz talks abt Greece, EU, US,etc…so it gives a
better understanding of the world economic situation…so I wud have cut it…

Provides a
different perspective…

Pg 20: Et
has the best editorial…so let me devote a scrap to it…

scrap 5: page 20:

1. reforming
political funding: excellent article..very imp for both Gs and pub ad…such
articles give value edition to answers..also PM has spoken abt it…u can
directly quote PM in the exam…

2. dnt join Chinese
checkers; this is why ET is good…the analysis is good..u learn abt
undervaluation, renminbi, anti-dumping and finally India, china, us vis a vis anti
dumping cases,etc

scrap6: page 20(contd)
3. defence
FDI: good article…can use such info in pub ad, essay as well as GS as an
example…transfer of technology, etc also important…so I wud have cut it..its
abt using such examples and making ur
answer different…
other articles r wither too specific or contain info tht is useless...so only 3 articles in today's Et editorial...

scrap 7:
page 19: irrelevant...even though article on FRBM might seem relevant but its only a proposal...u have to guard against such articles...these r just speculations..nothing concrete..leave it out..
page 18: irrelevant...specific info abt telecom..nobody's gng to ask...
page 17: irrelevant...
page 16:irrelevant...no need to read articles on specific case studies...waste of time...

scrap 8:
page 14 and 15: irrelevant
page 13: irrelevant...y?coz us-china story is for today...tomorrow smthing else...its nothing concrete...just daily news...not imp for the exam..
pages 4 to 12: irrelevant..info abt specific companies or industries...not imp for the exam...
so u can leave out large part of the paper by just reading the headline..its not abt cutting the whole paper..just 8-10 articles on an avg/day frm 3 papers...tht wud suffice...

page 3: all articles irrelevant...this might happen..tht
might happen...speculation..only when it happens then article
imp...afghan-pak also irrelevant...every1 knows present afghan govt
doesnt like pakistanis...so nothing new here...
page2: not
imp...ansari,bhatkal, rathore...these r specific articles..questions r
not asked specifically...wht happened in tht case,etc..so useless
huawei
case one shud knw...if u dnt know, read the article and cut it..if u already
knw...article not imp coz it doesnt provide nething new..so duplication
has to be avoided...dnt cut too many articles on the same issue unless
some concrete development has occurred...

scrap 10:page1:
nothing important: all articles r too specific in nature...markets: only today's condition...wont be asked wht happened on tht day to the markets..etc..

so there wud be 6-7 articles frm Et today...but small ones except stiglitz...on most days u wud just get 2-3...but wud be big ones..
with practice..it wud take 30-35 mins to read today's ET...

kindly ask for clarification...

________________________________-


@blowing...for GS mains: the exam pattern at present is such
tht current affairs is the most imp aspect...so newspaper reading is the
key...i read 3 newspapers: ToI, ET and the hindu...u neednt read the whole
newspaper..only those articles which r imp from exam point of view...i kept
cuttings and revised them a week before the exam...and
1 CSE oriented magazine...i read civil services chronicle...
i divided the newspaper articles into natl issues, intl issues, economy, security and defense, climate and misc(eg S&T)...papers frm may 24th to october 1st week wud do...i was able to answer 60-70% GS mains based on paper reading...


@blowing (scrap2): the
books which r required : dd basu's indian constitution, bipin chandra's
struggle
for independence, economic
survey and spectrum for statistics (small one)...thts it..just go thru
previous 5 yrs' question papers of GS mains to get an idea abt the kind
of questions asked...

i dont think there's any need for material on GS mains apart frm wht i have pointed out...for pub ad...just the books which i told u...and answer-writing practice is the key in pub ad...i will surely tell u abt some key aspects of answer writing...just remind me of it by leaving a scrap...i have to go somewhere now...

pub ad; its a very good optional coz almost 70 % of it
will be covered if u have prepared GS well...there r only 3 books which u need
to refer: prasad and prasad for administrative thinkers, fadia and fadia
(theories and concepts) for paper 1 and fadia and fadia (indian admin) for
paper 2 and yup, 2 topics frm nicholas henry: budget and public policy
making...thts it..dnt even listen to neone who says mohit bhattacharya, ferrel
heady, IJPA journals, etc..all crap...

i suggest u go to srirams in delhi..meet pawan
sir...he's the best for pub ad..trust me...all those who r famous: sunil gupta,
mohanty,vajiram,etc r too bad in terms of guidance and personal
attention...bhed-bakri ki tarah they take every1 and paisa
banao...answer-writing is very very imp for pub ad...and tht u can practice
after taking the prelims...u have to practice answer-writing alongside building up knowledge and content...4 months
between the prelims and mains is enough time for answer writing practice...

1st and foremost, start reading newspapers...for mains, frm prelims- oct 1st week newspapers r very important...keep cuttings and go thru them as regularly as u can...and surely just before the exam...apart frm tht, for optionals, take printout of the syllabus and go thru each and every topic one by one...u shud aim to finish optionals by sept end...
books- economic survey, dd basu and spectrum for statistics...bipin chandra if u have time...