UPSC with Monika

For me, Preliminary stage was the biggest hurdle. I had developed the fear of prelims due to initial failures I had faced in first few attempts.

What helped me increase my score from 65 to 135 –

1. Analysis of 25 years PYQs
2. Strategy of attempting the paper in 3 iterations – first sure shot, second 50% probability and lastly hunch based questions.
3. Number of Questions to be attempted. My optimal count was ~90-92 questions. Find your own optimal count but it has to be more than 75-80 questions.
4. Focusing on Static more than Current.
5. Attempting atleast 4-5 Full Length Mock Tests in offline mode for exam-like simulation.
6. Finding your strength like Polity and Economy were my strong subjects, hence my focus was to enhance my accuracy.
7. Reading newspaper everyday for ~45 mins only to absorb whats happening around the nation and the world.

Sources for Paper-I preparation –

• Polity – Laxmikanth and PT365
• Economy – PT365, NCERT Class 11th and 12th, Economic Survey and Budget.
• Geography – NCERT Class 11th and 12th, GC Leong
• Environment – ShankarIAS book, PT365, PMFIAS for mapping
• Modern History – Short Notes from Spectrum
• Ancient and Medieval History – Old NCERTs, Missing topics from Tamil Nadu Book
• Art and Culture – Nitin Singhania Handwritten Notes
• Mapping – Extensive use of Google Earth and YouTube for retention

Test Series that I had joined –

1. ForumIAS SFG (Level 1 & 2) and PTS
2. VisionIAS Prelims Test Series and Abhyaas

I used to analyse all mock tests thoroughly (SFG used to take place everyday from December to April), I noted down my mistakes in my static notes and used to revise them 2-3 times before next mock.