UPSC Prelims Books and Study Materials Used ClearIAS.com: Can you elaborate on your preparation strategies/approach and study materials and books used for Prelims Paper 1 and Paper 2 (Please mention books/materials used for each subject)? • History : Spectrum- modern india, NCERT 6-12 • Geography: NCERT 6-12 • Polity : NCERT 6-12 • Economics: NCERT 6-12 • Science and Technology: NCERT 6-10, biology ncert-12 (atleast last 4 chapters), chemistry vol 2 (last 2 chapters) • Environment : NCERT 6-10 • Current Affairs: Hindu (either on daily basis or weekly basis), Yojana • General Studies Paper 2 (CSAT) : TMH (for practice) ClearIAS.com : Any tips/advices for UPSC Civil Services Prelims? Attempt 85-90%, use elimination method. UPSC Mains Books and Study Materials Used Essay: Books and Study-materials used for essay preparation No single strategy/specific books, write on Hindu editorials, practice answer writing in general. GS1: Books and online/offline materials for reference for each sub-subjects in GS Paper 1 like World History, Geography, Sociology etc. *.World history- Norman Lowe, L Mukherjee *.Geography- NCERT 6-12, GC leongpart 1 *.Sociology- NCERT 11-12, THE HINDU GS2: Books and online/offline materials for reference for each sub-subjects in GS Paper 2 like Constitution, Social Justice, International relations etc. *.Polity- Lakshmikant-4 th edition, Vajirams mains subjected (yellow book) *.IR- The Hindu *.Social justice- Vajirams mains subjected (yellow book) GS3: Books and online/offline materials for reference for each sub-subjects in GS Paper 3 like Indian Economy, Biodiversity, Science and Tech, Internal Security etc. *.Indian economy- NCERT’S, Sanjiv Verma, the Hindu, Arthapedia. *.S & T- NCERT’S 6-10, BIOLOGY- ncert 12, *.Internal security- google naxalism, basic concepts like crime, terrorism, how they are different, how did naxalism evolved over a period of time etc. GS4: Books and online/offline materials for reference for each sub-subjects in GS Paper 4 like Ethics, Attitude, Aptitude etc. Lexicon- chronicle publications, focus on practice papers, sample papers by upsc (5-6 questions were asked directly), solve previous year questions, stick 2 syllabus, for essays stick 2 word limit. Note: For many of the subjects/topics mentioned above Roman has prepared video tutorials, and is available in his YouTube channel, unacademy. UPSC Mains : General Doubts ClearIAS.com : What was the color of the pen you used for writing mains (Blue Ink/ Black Ink)? Also the company and brand name of the pen used: Black. Pilot v5. ClearIAS.com: What was your writing style in GS and optional? Bullet Points/ Essay style or a mix of both styles? Introduction -1 line , bullet points and key phrases, conclusion- 1 line, no essay style. ClearIAS.com : What are the government reports that aspirants should go through, before giving Mains Exam? Though going through the details of government reports is not a must, the summary of the below reports should help: 2nd ARC-Ethics and governance, economic survey, budget, India year booketc. ClearIAS.com : Did you use sub-heading/points/graphs in your essay paper? Brief introduction, no points/graphs/ heading, conclusion- 1-2 lines ClearIAS.com : What was your exam-hall strategy for mains: attempting all questions even at the cost of compromising quality or writing only quality answers compromising on the number of questions attempted? Attending all questions, 6-7 mints/question, Compromised on quality, introduction-1 line, various bullet points, ending point. Marks – Prelims, Mains and Interview Preliminary Exam (Just for Qualification) •General Studies Paper 1 :125.34 (Out of 200) •General Studies Paper 2 :183.33 (Out of 200) Mains: •Essay (Out of 250) :145 • GS1 (Out of 250) :97 • GS2 (Out of 250) :61 • GS3 (Out of 250) :108 • GS4 (Out of 250) :98 • Optional Paper 1 (Out of 250) :109 • Optional Paper 2 (Out of 250) :112 • Written Total (Out of 1750) :730 Interview: Marks for Personality Test(Out of 275): 154 Final Marks (Out of 2025):884