{"id":61344,"date":"2020-05-24T13:00:09","date_gmt":"2020-05-24T07:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=61344"},"modified":"2020-06-06T11:59:17","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T06:29:17","slug":"learn-priority-based-preparation-method-for-ifos-by-anuj-aggarwal-rank-20-ifos-mgp-copies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/learn-priority-based-preparation-method-for-ifos-by-anuj-aggarwal-rank-20-ifos-mgp-copies\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn priority based preparation method for IFoS by Anuj Aggarwal Rank 20 IFoS + MGP copies"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Personality\/Profile<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Name<\/td>\nAnuj Aggarwal<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Place of Birth<\/td>\nPanchkula, Haryana<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Schooling<\/td>\n\u00b7\u00a0 10th<\/sup>– Bhavan Vidayalaya , Chandigarh \u2013 CGPA 9.6<\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0 12th<\/sup> – Bal Niketan School, Chandigarh \u2013 89.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

College<\/td>\nB.E(Hons) Computer Science & Engg , BITS Pilani, Rajasthan \u2013 CGPA 8.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Which attempt at the exam<\/td>\n2nd attempt at IFoS.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Work-experience if any<\/p>\n

 <\/td>\n

Software Developer at Amazon for around 1 year.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Optionals<\/td>\nMathematics & Forestry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n

Marksheet<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Tell us something about yourself and your Tryst with UPSC.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I had planned starting UPSC preparation after my graduation. But having got an opportunity to work at Amazon, I decided to explore the field of software development more closely to take an informed decision later.<\/p>\n

As my parents insisted, I gave my 1st<\/sup> attempt while working. Couldn\u2019t clear prelims. After around one year, I decided to prepare full-time. This time I missed Prelims cutoff by 4 marks.<\/p>\n

By this time, I had realized that Prelims is 2-month\/3-month affair <\/span>\u00a0a full 1 year exam. It doesn\u2019t mean that one starts preparing from May\/June itself. What it means is that the preliminary stage of exam deserves few dedicated hours every day.<\/p>\n

So with this in mind, I gave this attempt. It helped me crack AIR-20 in IFoS\u201919.<\/p>\n

\n

Preliminary examination <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

GS (strategy and books)<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\n

Strategy that I followed<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>For IFoS prelims is a tough nut to crack. No matter how hard you work or practice, your performance on the examination day<\/em> could go in any direction. \u00a0This uncertainty might seem insurmountable at first but can be very well minimized.<\/p>\n

I did this by clearly demarcating my priorities<\/strong> <\/span>. They are listed below in descending order of their relative importance in prelims.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. NCERTs<\/li>\n
  2. Standard books like Lakshmikanth<\/li>\n
  3. Current Affairs<\/li>\n
  4. PYQs<\/li>\n
  5. Practice Tests<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Role of test series in my prelims preparation:<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    I think a Test series serves three functions.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Developing an understanding <\/strong>of how questions are framed from a given text<\/li>\n
    2. Time management<\/li>\n
    3. Improving accuracy<\/strong> in questions where we end taking \u2018calculated risk\u2019.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      While the first two objectives can be easily achieved, the 3rd<\/sup> one does require some practice.<\/p>\n

      So Initially, I attempted all 100 questions & analyzed my performance separately in questions where I could eliminate 1, 2, 3 options & also questions where I went for a wild guess altogether. I gave only 8 tests & could see my performance improving in first 3 categories consistently but not in questions where I randomly guessed. Thereafter, I saw no point in giving more tests. So I stuck to this strategy & went for more revisions.<\/p>\n

      This is exactly how I attempted finally in UPSC prelims (attempted 94 questions)<\/p>\n

      \n

      Booklist that I followed<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Topic<\/td>\nResource<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      HISTORY<\/td>\n[If someone has severe time constraints, covering Sriram\u2019s history book would be a wise option. It covers entire history in < 150 pages. Also it\u2019s much better structured than Spectrum ]<\/strong><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Ancient & Medieval<\/u> – \u00a0Left this almost entirely<\/p>\n

      \u00b7\u00a0 #ScoringTopics : <\/strong>\u00a0Buddhism, Jainism, Mughal Administration<\/p>\n

      Modern History<\/u><\/p>\n

      NCERTs + Spectrum + Sriram\u2019s History book<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

      Culture<\/td>\nCovered only painting, dances, festivals & few such minor topics only<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Polity<\/td>\n\u00b7\u00a0 Lakshmikanth<\/p>\n

      \u00b7\u00a0 NCERTs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

      Economy<\/td>\n\u00b7\u00a0 SRIRAM\u2019s economy book<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 NCERTs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

      Science<\/td>\n\u00a0Class 9th<\/sup> & 10th<\/sup> NCERTs.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Environment<\/td>\n\u00b7\u00a0 Shankar IAS<\/p>\n

      \u00b7\u00a0 CLASS XII BIOLOGY NCERT: Only Last four chapters of this book.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

      Geography<\/td>\n\u00b7\u00a0 NCERTs<\/p>\n

      \u00b7\u00a0 Sriram\u2019s classroom notes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

      Current affairs<\/td>\n\u00b7\u00a0 VISION-IAS monthly compilations. ( In 2019 Prelims, atleast 6-7 questions were directly picked up from this)<\/p>\n

      \u00b7\u00a0 Insights current affairs quiz compilations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

      Value Additions<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      #ScoringTopics <\/strong><\/td>\n

      		I mugged up the following lists. From my perspective, these are essential for an<\/p>\n

      IFoS aspirant.<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 List of PVTGs by state<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 List of Wildlife Sanctuaries & National parks by state.<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 Ministers in interim cabinet & 1st<\/sup> Govt of India.<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 Subjects of Union\/state\/concurrent list which are in news.<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 Geographical indications<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 Permitted FDI in major industries.<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 List of rankings\/indexes<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 List of military exercises, important weapons\/missiles<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 Diseases in news<\/p>\n

      \u00b7 Geography \u2013 dams, lakes, rivers etc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

       <\/p>\n

      CSAT (strategy and books)<\/strong><\/h5>\n
      \n

      Strategy that I followed<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      I had solved 2 previous year CSAT papers. As I was comfortable in it, I didn\u2019t practice it more.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Mains Examination<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      How did you prepare GS\/GK?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

      There is hardly any role of answer-writing in GK exam. It\u2019s purely knowledge-based. End-to-end preparation of this exam is extremely time consuming but disproportionately rewarding. Hence I prepared only History & Science & Technology sections.<\/p>\n

      How did you prepare English?<\/strong><\/h5>\n