A wise man once told me – Remember failure is a great\nteacher. But if you don’t learn the lesson, life will repeat the lesson for\nyou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are about 2 months from the Prelims Examination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The screening exam that is supposed to separate the chaff\nfrom the grain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is only partly<\/em> true. For not everyone who does\nnot make it through prelims is chaff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because Prelims is not only<\/em> hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also about And laser beam focus till the Prelims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And timeliness. And making good use of resources at your\ndisposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So this is for those of you who have not written Mains\nbefore, here are a few things that people get wrong in Prelims ( but you\nshouldn’t )<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me share something with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I met Ady the other day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ady said – “I can attempt as many as 90 questions, but\nI get too many answers wrong. Like 40 or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ( Ady scored something like 70 marks in a test where most\ncandidates would score 110 in the same paper. )<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I have an accuracy problem, Sir” he said, “otherwise\njust like top scoring<\/em> candidates, I am also able to attempt 90\nquestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Perfect”, I said. Let us verify this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I called Shekhar, who had scored 110 in the same\npaper.” Lets discuss some of the questions.” I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all peer learning is the founding priciple of\nForumIAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three of us discussed some of the questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Question 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Incheon Strategy deals with _______<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ady says – Sir I marked “b” I think I read it\nsomewhere. But it turned out to be wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shekhar , who scored 110 says – Sir I never heard of it – I\ndidn’t mark it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alright, next question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The London Process is associated with ___?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ady jumps to answer the question. Sir I marked D. I thought\nLondon has been the financial capital of the world – so I marked it. I thought\n…<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Sir, I had never heard of it, so I didnt mark it”\nsaid, the guy who scored nearly 40 marks more than the guy who had marked it<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may not understand it fully, but if you see the\ndifference between Ady and Shekhar – is that what Ady thinks is an accuracy\nproblem, is actually a knowledge problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ( There were ten other questions, which Shekhar knew <\/em>and\nmarked , getting them right and Ady didnt know and marked, getting them wrong –\ntalk of accuracy )<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ady had an idea about only 40-50 questions , but he would\nmark upto 90 questions . He would get 30-40 questions wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shekhar on the other hand had some idea of ( knowing clearly\n+ intelligent guessing ) of over 70-80 questions. He would mark 90 questions –\nbut would not touch a question he had no clue of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The big problem with Ady was – when he misdiagnoses the\nproblem of less coverage – as a problem of accuracy, he takes the wrong\nmedicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To improve his “accuracy”, he would practice more\nand more papers – perhaps buy 4-5 more test papers from the market and practice\nthem – a solution that would never solve the problem at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accuracy is about getting as many questions right as\npossible among the questions you have marked..<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here is the secret to accuracy – the more you revise,\nthe more accurate you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if you have an accuracy problem in any test – I beg of\nyou – dont buy a new test series or test paper. Read the basic book once again\ninstead and see if you can improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But Sir, If i attempt only 50-60 questions, I will not\nclear Prelims anyway” protested Ady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Thats, right, I said. But if you mark only 50-60\nquestions and see your friends marking 70-80 questions in a test series, and\nthey also score well, you would soon realise that they also know<\/em> more\nthan you. Once you realise that knowledge gap , you will take the first step to\nacknowledging that you know lesser – and that is because you revise lesser –\nand you will be on your way to reading more. Reading better.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n One wrong misdiagnosis, and your end up solving a problem\nthat does not exist in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But shouldn’t I make intelligent guesses?” asked\nAdy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The keyword is intelligent<\/em>” Your\nguesses have to have some foundation. It must be founded on allied\/\nrelevant knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you, the reader, were in my shoes, you would be equally\npained to see that candidates often think that one liner questions such as<\/p>\n\n\n\n X, <\/em>revently in news is a<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n a) ABC<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n b) CBA<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n c) DEF<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n d) XYZ<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n is often marked by candidates , even if they have not heard\nof X at all , just because (a) the question was a one liner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a question is one-liner, it does not mean it is an easy\nquestion. It is usually a factual question. A fact is different from an\nopinion. You either know or dont know. You cannot have an opinion about a fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here is the old rant for Prelims preparation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Truth must be told, even repeated, even if it is obvious or\ntrue. Or both. Past years papers give you the true glimpse of how to\nprepare for the exam. This is especially true for Prelims – and you must solve\nthese papers for two reasons<\/p>\n\n\n\n a) Firstly,<\/em> about 10-15 questions are repeated from\npast years papers directly or from the same topics from which questions have\nbeen asked before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n b) Secondly, <\/em>previous years papers help you identify\nthe focus area while you dive into the vast ocean of Prelims syllabus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Focusing on some areas is essential to ensure that you dont\nget easy<\/em> questions wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes. The best way to prepare for the Prelims is to follow\nany ONE primary paid test series, and if you feel the need to – any ONE test\nseries from the market, Thats all. If you have a good peer group – each one of\nyou will be able to pull each other. And nothing beats the internal\ncompetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Test series with at least a few thousand students is a\ngood way to begin. And as far as possible, join an offline test series – where\nyou get to fill up an OMR sheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can tell you that I work with a lot of candidates from\nForumIAS community who have not been able to clear Prelims for 2-3 years, and\nwe have worked to ensure that they clear the Prelims. Year after year. And\nsometime in the January of 2018, when I used am OMR software to check some of\ntheir copies – as opposed to manual – I realized a few things to my horror<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, a large number of candidates, because of their\nprevious failure do not invest time, energy or money in prelims\npreparation\/test series for the sheer fear of failing again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Curiously, they would practice test papers from the market,\nNOT on OMR sheets, and do not know that they fill up the OMR wrong – either the\nroll number, or the name or at least a few questions – annually in the exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They could probably be doing this year after year in UPSC,\nwithout realizing that they may not be marking the OMR right. And they have no\nway of knowing it because the marks come after a year, by which time their next\nyears preparation is half way through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sounds unbelievable? I spent an entire night fixing up\npeople’s OMR data because they simply were not well versed in the practice of\nfilling up OMRs, and wrote one of ForumIAS’s open Tests! (It was SFG – 1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be wise, practice on OMR sheets – at least in the last 2\nmonths, and possibly join a Test Series which puts you against a good group of\ncandidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, listen to Abhishek Surana, who\nrecommends <\/a>practicing filling up OMR’s ( because thats what you get marks\nfor ). You should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has a Rank 2 in Indian Forest Service Examination 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone wants to get things done yesterday. When you are\ntrying to solve a problem – such as memorizing Ramsar convention sites – it\nwill take a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then 4-5 revisions, after which you will be good enough\nto recall a question from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if you are neither willing to give it the few hours in\nthe initial, and the few minutes it deserves for revising it – for the lack of\npatience, you cannot finish off a few things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So learn to close things. And by this I mean, learn to mark\nthings as done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, we make an extra effort at solving a problem just\nso that once we have solved that problem, we will never have to spend any more\neffort again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UPSC conducted CS examination takes you through a\nlearning curve. You dont have to be perfect, you just have to progress towards\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I for one, am always wrong to some degree, and the goal is\nto be less wrong every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (And I still<\/em> have a couple of people who have read my\narticles, send me books and\/as souvenirs<\/em><\/strong> after they have\nsecured their life goals.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n So It is better to commit mistakes, and be wrong, than fake\nperfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and dont make\nthose mistakes again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And make Progress on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So Mark my words. In fact save it somewhere. And here\nit is<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all want to be perfect. And probably conquer the\nUniverse. [2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or perhaps clear the Prelims with a perfect preparation.\nSome of us have perfect<\/em> plans too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost every candidate writing the paper wants to perfectly\ncover the syllabus before writing Tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But sadly, you will never be perfectly ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So a good way to proceed is to just make the jump, perfect\nor not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And let me tell you an immutable law this Universe has for\nall objects in this world – absolutely noone \/ nothing is perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imperfection is beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perfection is death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So even if you are not not perfectly there, but if you are\nworking towards your goal, you are on the right track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, all it takes is to keep walking, no matter how\nmany pebbles you got stuck in your shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n #6 Manage your time well. Before the exam, and during the\nexam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UPSC Prelims preparation is a time management problem too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the night of 2nd June, if the UPSC announces that\n“due to unavoidable circumstances, the Prelims examination is postponed to\nJune 10th” What do you think its implications will be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can assure you that if this were to happen, the cut off\nwould rise by ten marks at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is because a lot of people will have planned for June 3\nfor Prelims. And a majority of the serious crowd will have studied *almost*\neverything by the evening of June 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Except that they would be a little behind<\/em> schedule,\nand would need at least 3-4 days to consolidate<\/em> and revise<\/em>\neverything they have read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they are brilliant people, except that they annually\nmiss the Prelims preparation+ revision deadline- because they overshot the time\nit ends up taking. For example, you dont count moodswings when you make Prelims\nplans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So make no mistake. You will never<\/em> have more time in\nApril or May than you have right now. The weather will be hot, humid and\nsleepy. Your productivity may fall too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Benjamin Franklin once said Do not leave until tomorrow what\nyou can do today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You gotta listen to him. The man invented electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So whatever you have to do, you gotta do it today, now,\nright away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no tomorrow<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And give it all<\/em> you have – even it means sleeping\nwith the rising sun and studying with the moon by your side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because sometimes, thats all<\/em> the company you will\nhave in this solitary battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ( You’ll also have ME, if that helps \ud83d\ude42 )<\/p>\n\n\n\n And whatever is worth<\/em> doing, is worth doing well<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Always remember, There’s nothing of any importance in\nlife – except how well you do the task you are assigned. Absolutely Nothing.\nOnly that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever you become, will come from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s the only measure of human value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The code of competence is the only system of morality that’s\non a gold standard.[1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only difference between ordinary and extraordinary is\nthat little extra. So leave no stone unturned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And you”ll move<\/em> mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This, I promise<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until next time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2764<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neyawn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n P.S. If you liked what I write, you can reach me at\nneyawn@forumias.academy , and while I may not reply to each of you, I read\nevery email you “ll send me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n P.P.S. This one is for you @dragonborn \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal and do not\nrepresent the views of <\/em>ForumIAS.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n [1] Ayn Rand, When Atlas Shrugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2] What constitutes one’s Universe is subject to\ninterpretation.Some people, for instance, also believe that the earth is flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [3] The Title “In Defense of Common Sense” is\ntaken from the essay – A Defence of Common Sense by philosopher G. E. Moore\nwritten in 1925. In it, he attempts to refute absolute skepticism (or nihilism)\nby arguing that at least some of our established beliefs – facts – about the\nworld are absolutely certain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A wise man once told me – Remember failure is a great teacher. But if you don’t learn the lesson, life will repeat the lesson for you. We are about 2 months from the Prelims Examination. The screening exam that is supposed to separate the chaff from the grain. This is only partly true. For… Continue reading In Defense of Common Sense : Preparing for Prelims & Mistakes not to make<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,33,36,28],"tags":[67,170],"class_list":["post-17193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-featured","category-prelims","category-preparation-strategy","tag-neyawn","tag-prelims-2018","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/facebook-image.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":1700773878,"cached_date":1702828728},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}smart work,<\/del> consistency,\nmental strength, unwavering commitment to a single purpose, the right\nguidance, strategy, a good peer group, and being extremely competitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n#0 Do not misdiagnose what is not going right so far (\nOnly for people who have tried and failed before )<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#1 Solve the past years’ papers.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#2 Join a decent Test Series. And make your friends\njoin it too.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#3 Have Patience.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#4 Focus on Progress, not on perfection.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#5 Perfect is the enemy<\/em> of good.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n