Below is the analysis of Civil Services Mains Examination 2011 General Studies papers:
- Lesser number of options
- More number of questions
- Mix of different sections in one question
- 5-markers were compulsory
- No minimum number of questions or marks from any topic
- Emphasis on ecological issues
Mix and Match
As in 2010 there were questions from different sections under a single major question. For instance, question no. 1 consisted of four sub-questions, two on Polity, one on nutrition, and one on health. Fortunately question no 2 exclusively focused on modern Indian History.
This implies that IAS aspirants cannot afford to leave out any topic as the questions will be asked from different sections.
As in 2010 there were questions from different sections under a single major question. For instance, question no. 1 consisted of four sub-questions, two on Polity, one on nutrition, and one on health. Fortunately question no 2 exclusively focused on modern Indian History.
This implies that IAS aspirants cannot afford to leave out any topic as the questions will be asked from different sections.
Lesser Number of Options
This is another reason why the GS Mains paper is getting harder progressively. Earlier a candidate had to attempt 3 out of 5 questions or had the liberty of at least one option in all questions except the 2-markers.
But now the 5-mark questions are compulsory which is again a slight disadvantage as not attempting even three or four 5-markers can make a big difference to your final GS score.
Emphasis on Ecological Issues
As in the 2011 Prelims paper, the Mains General Studies paper had a high focus on ecological aspects as well. For instance a question was asked about “evolution of Green Benches in the higher judiciary” that combined polity and environment.
Similarly a question on the melting of the Arctic ice was asked in paper 2. It is advisable to cover the environmental aspects in detail when preparing for Geography. This was you can cover two topics simultaneously while preparing for the General Studies paper.
As in the 2011 Prelims paper, the Mains General Studies paper had a high focus on ecological aspects as well. For instance a question was asked about “evolution of Green Benches in the higher judiciary” that combined polity and environment.
Similarly a question on the melting of the Arctic ice was asked in paper 2. It is advisable to cover the environmental aspects in detail when preparing for Geography. This was you can cover two topics simultaneously while preparing for the General Studies paper.
More Number of Questions
This trend is visible in the optionals as well not just the GS paper. Earlier there used to be 30 mark questions but now they have been replaced by 20 mark questions. Also while the 2-markers have been retained there is addition of 5-markers which cannot be neglected without compromising on the final score.
The 10 mark questions seem to have replaced by 12 mark ones with 150 word limit instead of 125 words for the 10-markers.
Get prepared for some heavy writing in the GS papers. But more than writing what consumes increased time with the addition of more questions is the thinking required for each question.
It takes more time to think for three 20 mark questions than it does for two 30 markers even though the total marks are the same in both instances.
This trend is visible in the optionals as well not just the GS paper. Earlier there used to be 30 mark questions but now they have been replaced by 20 mark questions. Also while the 2-markers have been retained there is addition of 5-markers which cannot be neglected without compromising on the final score.
The 10 mark questions seem to have replaced by 12 mark ones with 150 word limit instead of 125 words for the 10-markers.
Get prepared for some heavy writing in the GS papers. But more than writing what consumes increased time with the addition of more questions is the thinking required for each question.
It takes more time to think for three 20 mark questions than it does for two 30 markers even though the total marks are the same in both instances.
Statistics was Easy
I’ve mentioned this in my earlier analysis that statistics follows a see-saw pattern. One year the questions seem very difficult, the next quite easy. Fortunately this year Statistics was quite comfortable to attempt provided you had enough time in hand.
If you didn’t already know it, I always advise to attempt Statistics in the end as you might waste precious time if you get stuck on one question should you attempt it first. Of course, statistics requires constant practice to tackle the questions correctly and quickly. But if you can, these are some sure marks that can make up for low score in the first paper.
I’ve mentioned this in my earlier analysis that statistics follows a see-saw pattern. One year the questions seem very difficult, the next quite easy. Fortunately this year Statistics was quite comfortable to attempt provided you had enough time in hand.
If you didn’t already know it, I always advise to attempt Statistics in the end as you might waste precious time if you get stuck on one question should you attempt it first. Of course, statistics requires constant practice to tackle the questions correctly and quickly. But if you can, these are some sure marks that can make up for low score in the first paper.
Overall Difficulty of the 2011 GS Paper was Moderate
Yes, although it can’t be termed an easy paper, it was not too difficult either. Science and Technology was divided into numerous 5-markers that were pretty straightforward provided you were aware of the current developments in S&T.
The questions on modern History were also of moderate difficulty and were not difficult to understand unlike the History questions in 2009 and 2010.
It seems UPSC was aware that many first timers are attempting this year’s Mains due to the changes in the Prelims pattern and accordingly kept the GS paper to manageable difficulty levels.
Yes, although it can’t be termed an easy paper, it was not too difficult either. Science and Technology was divided into numerous 5-markers that were pretty straightforward provided you were aware of the current developments in S&T.
The questions on modern History were also of moderate difficulty and were not difficult to understand unlike the History questions in 2009 and 2010.
It seems UPSC was aware that many first timers are attempting this year’s Mains due to the changes in the Prelims pattern and accordingly kept the GS paper to manageable difficulty levels.
How to get 140 marks in Essay in Civil Services Exam Part 1
1. R K NARAYAN’S NOVELS (SWAMI & FRIENDS,THE ENGLISH TEACHER,THE GUIDE,THE DARK ROOM,THE BACHELOR OF ARTS,WAITING FOR MAHATMA,THE PAINTER OF SIGNS etc)2. WAITING FOR GODOT ----- by SAMUEL BECKETT
3. T S ELIOT ----- SELECTED POEMS
4. THE GOLDEN TREASURY
5. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ( MACBETH,KING LEAR,TEMPEST … ETC)
6. ENGLISH AUGUST ------ by UPAMANYU CHATTERJEE
7. GEORGE ORWELL ----- THE ANIMAL FARM,1984
8. BERTRAND RUSSELL ----- SCEPTICAL ESSAYS, PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAYS, HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
9. THE DISCOVERY OF INDIA --- JAWAHARLAL NEHRU
10. THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS ---- ARUNDHATI ROY
11. MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN ---- SALMAN RUSHDIE
12. PLAYS OF HAROLD PINTER or at least know about his works.
13. ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE ---- by GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ
14. NOVELS OF CHARLES DICKENS like GREAT EXPECTATIONS, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, HARD TIMES etc
15. Search TOP 100 NOVELS OF ALL TIME in Google & read some 5-10 novels of any author “WHOM YOU LIKE” …
• Now I will turn to SHORT-TERM PREPARATION which everybody wants:-
2. SHORT-TERM PREPARATION:-
• For this you need 4-6 months in hand. Plz read:-
1. The Hindu articles & analysis (At least read some 500-1000 Articles from Hindu & in one FILE keep the best 100-150 Articles & Revise them.)
2. The Times of India Editorials (Sunday Edition. The SUNDAY TIMES & “NOT” the DELHI TIMES!!! )
3. The Oxford Book of Essays edited by John Gross( Read some good Essays) (Selective reading)
4. The Penguin Book of Essays(Read some good Essays) (Selective reading)
5. The Book of Essays by Spectrum & quotations given at the back. Remember 200-300 good Quotations which you can use in any Essay & use them liberally.
6. Oxford Book of Twentieth Century Quotations
7. Oxford or Rupa Book of Quotations
8. Competition Success Review Book of Essays (2 Vols for Juniors & 2 Vols for Seniors). CSR publishes GOOD Essays in Essay Competitions. So you can pick points from them …
9. Read sometimes The Economic Times Editorials (Left hand side only. The 3rd editorial on the left lower corner helps in Essay. Also “The Debate” (for, against & neutral) that comes in Tuesday )
10. Make 2-3 diaries full by QUOTATIONS, DIFFICULT WORDS & their meaning, Who said what etc.
• Try to write in simple, effective & in an expressive manner. Every sentence of your essay must have a FORCE which should shake the examiner …If you have mastery over FLOWERY language, then go for it. Or else write in a simple, straightforward & concise manner.
• I write in a flowery language with LOTS OF QUOTATIONS & difficult words.
2. SHORT-TERM PREPARATION:-
• For this you need 4-6 months in hand. Plz read:-
1. The Hindu articles & analysis (At least read some 500-1000 Articles from Hindu & in one FILE keep the best 100-150 Articles & Revise them.)
2. The Times of India Editorials (Sunday Edition. The SUNDAY TIMES & “NOT” the DELHI TIMES!!! )
3. The Oxford Book of Essays edited by John Gross( Read some good Essays) (Selective reading)
4. The Penguin Book of Essays(Read some good Essays) (Selective reading)
5. The Book of Essays by Spectrum & quotations given at the back. Remember 200-300 good Quotations which you can use in any Essay & use them liberally.
6. Oxford Book of Twentieth Century Quotations
7. Oxford or Rupa Book of Quotations
8. Competition Success Review Book of Essays (2 Vols for Juniors & 2 Vols for Seniors). CSR publishes GOOD Essays in Essay Competitions. So you can pick points from them …
9. Read sometimes The Economic Times Editorials (Left hand side only. The 3rd editorial on the left lower corner helps in Essay. Also “The Debate” (for, against & neutral) that comes in Tuesday )
10. Make 2-3 diaries full by QUOTATIONS, DIFFICULT WORDS & their meaning, Who said what etc.
• Try to write in simple, effective & in an expressive manner. Every sentence of your essay must have a FORCE which should shake the examiner …If you have mastery over FLOWERY language, then go for it. Or else write in a simple, straightforward & concise manner.
• I write in a flowery language with LOTS OF QUOTATIONS & difficult words.
Essay preparation for Civil Services Exam can be of two types:-
1. LONG-TERM PREPARATION
2. SHORT-TERM PREPARATION
I will first write about long-term preparation. It can be done by those aspirants who have 1 yr or 2 yr or 3 years in their hands i.e. before Mains exam …
1. LONG-TERM PREPARATION
(The Path Less Trodden):-
• These things should be done when you are doing your GRADUATION these days or u have enough time say 10 months at least to go for Extra-Curricular reading :-
• For long-term preparation be regular with any two national newspapers. I would recommend THE HINDU & THE TIMES OF INDIA. The Hindu gives you simple & effective writing style while TOI gives u stylish English & increases your vocabulary. Both are needed to write a good Essay.
• Read 2-3 hours everyday. Specially focus on the Editorials & other Analytical & Critical articles. Say in Hindu focus on Magazine, Book Review, Literary Review, Business Review, Open Page, 2 page OP-ED Page etc & in The Times of India focus on its Editorial Page. Whenever you encounter a DIFFICULT PHRASE, EDIOM, PART OF SPEECH etc just see the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary or Chambers Dictionary & in a Diary note down that word, its meaning, its usage in sentence etc. This MUST be done within 1-2 minutes. Don’t keep it pending.
• Or else one word is lost from your vocabulary. By doing this your VOCABULARY will increase & you will know HOW TO USE THAT WORD IN A DIFFERENT CONTEXT. This is a gradual & continuous process and it will take 12-18 months to make your vocabulary very strong & have command over the language & expressive power.
• In addition to newspapers read as many articles from GOOD MAGAZINES as possible. The following magazines can be referred to.
a. FRONTLINE ( Must )
b. THE ECONOMIC & POLITICAL WEEKLY ( Must )
c. MAINSTREAM (Optional)
d. WORLD FOCUS (Optional)
e. THE ECONOMIST (Optional)
f. TIME or LIFE ( If you have access to a good library)
• I am not saying that you should try to finish all these magazines in one month. But try to read as many HIGH QUALITY ARTICLES as possible. This will increase the RANGE & VARIETY of your thinking & will make you knowledgeable about the happenings around the world & different streams of thought. (For Example: - What is “Stream of Consciousness”? What is “Theatre of Absurd”? What is “Objective Correlative” in T S Eliot’s poems? What is The Revival Movement? Etc)
• Jot down POWERFUL & EFFECTIVE sentences that you come across in a Diary. Any Quotations or Important Sentences said by Intellectuals like Amartya Sen, Manmohan Singh, Noam Chomsky, Edward Said, Bertrand Russell, Arundhati Roy etc should be noted down.
• Revise your Diary in free time many times so that you can remember these quotations, important words, sentences etc & use them at relevant places in your Essay in Mains Exam.
• Apart from these things read a lot of NOVELS, POEMS, PLAYS, SHORT STORIES etc
• I am giving a list of some of the books that I read. You can pick up some of them …
1. LONG-TERM PREPARATION
2. SHORT-TERM PREPARATION
I will first write about long-term preparation. It can be done by those aspirants who have 1 yr or 2 yr or 3 years in their hands i.e. before Mains exam …
1. LONG-TERM PREPARATION
(The Path Less Trodden):-
• These things should be done when you are doing your GRADUATION these days or u have enough time say 10 months at least to go for Extra-Curricular reading :-
• For long-term preparation be regular with any two national newspapers. I would recommend THE HINDU & THE TIMES OF INDIA. The Hindu gives you simple & effective writing style while TOI gives u stylish English & increases your vocabulary. Both are needed to write a good Essay.
• Read 2-3 hours everyday. Specially focus on the Editorials & other Analytical & Critical articles. Say in Hindu focus on Magazine, Book Review, Literary Review, Business Review, Open Page, 2 page OP-ED Page etc & in The Times of India focus on its Editorial Page. Whenever you encounter a DIFFICULT PHRASE, EDIOM, PART OF SPEECH etc just see the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary or Chambers Dictionary & in a Diary note down that word, its meaning, its usage in sentence etc. This MUST be done within 1-2 minutes. Don’t keep it pending.
• Or else one word is lost from your vocabulary. By doing this your VOCABULARY will increase & you will know HOW TO USE THAT WORD IN A DIFFERENT CONTEXT. This is a gradual & continuous process and it will take 12-18 months to make your vocabulary very strong & have command over the language & expressive power.
• In addition to newspapers read as many articles from GOOD MAGAZINES as possible. The following magazines can be referred to.
a. FRONTLINE ( Must )
b. THE ECONOMIC & POLITICAL WEEKLY ( Must )
c. MAINSTREAM (Optional)
d. WORLD FOCUS (Optional)
e. THE ECONOMIST (Optional)
f. TIME or LIFE ( If you have access to a good library)
• I am not saying that you should try to finish all these magazines in one month. But try to read as many HIGH QUALITY ARTICLES as possible. This will increase the RANGE & VARIETY of your thinking & will make you knowledgeable about the happenings around the world & different streams of thought. (For Example: - What is “Stream of Consciousness”? What is “Theatre of Absurd”? What is “Objective Correlative” in T S Eliot’s poems? What is The Revival Movement? Etc)
• Jot down POWERFUL & EFFECTIVE sentences that you come across in a Diary. Any Quotations or Important Sentences said by Intellectuals like Amartya Sen, Manmohan Singh, Noam Chomsky, Edward Said, Bertrand Russell, Arundhati Roy etc should be noted down.
• Revise your Diary in free time many times so that you can remember these quotations, important words, sentences etc & use them at relevant places in your Essay in Mains Exam.
• Apart from these things read a lot of NOVELS, POEMS, PLAYS, SHORT STORIES etc
• I am giving a list of some of the books that I read. You can pick up some of them …
