Civil Services Mains 2020 Results: In or Out ? Way ahead, gratitude and Pain
The Civils Mains result has been declared. This thread is for sharing your grief , joy , mixed feelings - absolutely anything and everything.
@SunnyParashar no your approach for mains sounds logical as you make handwritten notes, so i am assuming you make it in a format you write the answers so u are done with the structuring aspect of answer writing. Also I believe you have written mains before so u have a hang of this exam. I struggle to complete the paper + I make online notes so answer writing becomes a must for me. In the end, everyone's goal is the same but each one is at a different level, so the means ought to be different one can't generalize
Yes,I simply have to vomit my notes in exam.Not much thinking required
@SunnyParashar And also what was your strategy for prelims?
Mugged up vision monthly by heart.Mugged up insights daily ca and daily quiz by heart.Revise them and all the standard books 15 days before exam.
EiChan,@SunnyParashar Did you have socio optional by chance? If yes can you tell in brief what you did?
Check pm
@SunnyParashar I followed your strategy for prelims, except solved some PYQ. But for mains mugging up word for word takes a lot of time right? Did you do mains 365. I also think your strategy is right but it took me a lot of time for mains.
@Neyawn Okay, so I didn't expect that my comment would catch your attention.
Coming back to Mishra & Puri for Eco, as someone who did not (read could not) attend regular offline class on indian economy in the coaching class I joined, M&P came to my life as a life saver.
I had bought Sri ram's notes and Ramesh Singh before finally zeroing down on M&P , and personally the former two didnt work for me.
I had a very weak base in Eco and for me going through the first two sources felt like someone was just pushing information down my throat without giving me the exact context or the back story. And this back story (or base as you can say) was something that I really needed.
Recommending M&P is my tried and tested suggestion. But as all disclaimers go, one should take this one also with a pinch of salt.
Coming back to the specific que that you asked. I'll enumerate the units in m&p which I found immensely helpful from MAINS point of view(in no specific order) . There are plenty of other less overwhelming resources for prelims.
1.Agriculture complete unit (which includes 9 chapters)
2. Infrastructure(the whole problems, how govt has handled it both pre and post lpg)
3.Employment, unemployment, poverty
4. WTO ,
5. Entire unit of money, banking and finance
6.entire unit of public finance
7. Industrial sector unit(special focus on industrial sickness, labour relations, issues related to public and private sector)
Again this is really something that worked for me especially for enriching mains related topics.
For prelims specific tit bits I always take help from google/youtube.
EiChan,12432TrivendrumRajdhani@SunnyParashar I followed your strategy for prelims, except solved some PYQ. But for mains mugging up word for word takes a lot of time right? Did you do mains 365. I also think your strategy is right but it took me a lot of time for mains.
I did vision monthlies and some old notes which I made from newspaper during my last attempt.
Mugging up took so much time that I couldnt write a single answer or even a single essay.
I also heard after coming to this forum that people use a software called evernote to make notes.I had always made notes using pen and paper and never made digital notes as it becomes impossible to mug up from digital notes.
May be I am living in dinesour era
So I still dont know how my papers went as I have no yardstick to judge myself although i posted my gs 3 and 4 answers here.
Let's see how things go moving forward and dekho result kya aata hai.We can only prepare and hope for the best
EiChan,@SunnyParashar and how many times did you revise your handwritten notes?
This will be very useful. Because MP does tell the whole thing like a story, and it makes for good foundation. Just that it takes time. But once you do it, you know things like a pro. I may have deleted my comment because I thought me stepping in sometimes stalls the good conversation which is not at all the intention :)
I love the book myself. They are my favourite apart from a ten year collection of Economic Surveys :)
I am no knight. Do not call me Sir|Philosophy behind ForumIAS
@SunnyParashar and how many times did you revise your handwritten notes?
Quite a lot.Revised them for 2019 mains and then again this year.Could'nt tell the exact number of times but quite a number of times
EiChan,This will be very useful. Because MP does tell the whole thing like a story, and it makes for good foundation. Just that it takes time. But once you do it, you know things like a pro. I may have deleted my comment because I thought me stepping in sometimes stalls the good conversation which is not at all the intention :)
I love the book myself. They are my favourite apart from a ten year collection of Economic Surveys :)
Exactly, the "story" thing is what makes it my favorite book in the preparation. :)
And yes it did take me a month and a half to read it in one go, but now I have made 1 page notes for every chapter and revision is a cakewalk.
TambourineMan,This will be very useful. Because MP does tell the whole thing like a story, and it makes for good foundation. Just that it takes time. But once you do it, you know things like a pro. I may have deleted my comment because I thought me stepping in sometimes stalls the good conversation which is not at all the intention :)
I love the book myself. They are my favourite apart from a ten year collection of Economic Surveys :)
.
@SunnyParashar And also what was your strategy for prelims?
Mugged up vision monthly by heart.Mugged up insights daily ca and daily quiz by heart.Revise them and all the standard books 15 days before exam.
Did you take hard copy of monthlies and revised like maniac as u say? and for this mains from which month you would read monthlies??
Mains 365 also have monthly content only.. Would it be wrong to go for mains365 in your view or you think they skip imp themes>?
Did you take hard copy of monthlies and revised like maniac as u say? and for this mains from which month you would read monthlies??
Mains 365 also have monthly content only.. Would it be wrong to go for mains365 in your view or you think they skip imp themes>?
Have'nt seen mains 365.
I took printout of vision monthlies from oct 2019 to july 2020 and mugged them by heart for 2020 mains.
How to mug up without taking printouts?Don'nt people mug up things?
Do they just do multiple readings?
If that is the case then it explains why I am left with no time to write answers.
I do mug up things by heart.But only results will tell if it is the right approach although it worked for optional last year
Dost dar ke aage hi to jeet hai.
On a serious note,maybe u r right.
But I followed this approach last year for optional and end up with 266 despite leaving 2 questions.
And even clared pre with this approach twice with +15 more than cutoff last year and 20 this year.
So either this strategy will yield complete bullshit or may be a double digit or single digit rank.
Only time will tell and only god knows
Mate, your achievements are laudable and I’m not discrediting any of it. Maybe you’ll end up with AIR 1 this time. That still would not convince me to use your approach. I’m not discrediting the utility of your approachfor you.This clearly works for you. All I’m saying is that ifIspent a year mugging up Yojana, ARC and my optional notes alone,(with absolutely no practice like you say you did)Iwould fail like many others on this forum. Your credentials wouldn’t change my opinion on that.
This is because, even if you clear with your approach, there will be plenty others who clear with a close to conventional approach. The only thing that we can establish is that those who cleared followed an approach that was customised to work for them. :)
@SunnyParashar @Patootie what you will suggest to someone who is reading ARC first time?
Can you suggest any source for ARC recommendations summary? Some recooment IAS Network ARC thing and GS score but GS score have bulky summary I feel.
This will be very useful. Because MP does tell the whole thing like a story, and it makes for good foundation. Just that it takes time. But once you do it, you know things like a pro. I may have deleted my comment because I thought me stepping in sometimes stalls the good conversation which is not at all the intention :)
I love the book myself. They are my favourite apart from a ten year collection of Economic Surveys :)
@Neyawn.Please comment on the ongoing discussion.
I seem to have done everything different to everyone else.
Do you know anyone who cleared exam with this approach
Thank you for the encouragement :) Sometimes I feel like a Neanderthal on the forum itself :)
P.S. I am happy that you did admit that you revised like crazy. Some people would be following you advice . When we are an aspirant, we have an aspirant bias - that is - we assume that everyone know and reads as much as we do - without knowing that a lot of people will mix and match five advices - taking the minimum from each - and don’t write answer , test series because you said , won’t revise because some topper said he didn’t get the time , won’t do basic books because they read somewhere that I didn’t get time to do basic books and only solved test papers ( some people do that ) and ends up doing nothing .
Then when you clear the exam, what gets highlighted in a popular video that you did nothing and yet cleared , without highlighting the replacement things you did :P
Also, I met an old man seeking guidance from him over my own career. I told him I am creative, innovating :P bit bad at routine work and fare badly on x,y,z parameters ( which are important for success in any way of life ) and I said - yet I am managing to do fine - he said - you are doing fine not because of the bad qualities of not doing routine work or having x,y, a but despite it .
A year later when I read a book - what got you here won’t get you there - I saw the same principles repeat, so stay a little cautious.
I am no knight. Do not call me Sir|Philosophy behind ForumIAS
Did you take hard copy of monthlies and revised like maniac as u say? and for this mains from which month you would read monthlies??
Mains 365 also have monthly content only.. Would it be wrong to go for mains365 in your view or you think they skip imp themes>?
Have'nt seen mains 365.
I took printout of vision monthlies from oct 2019 to july 2020 and mugged them by heart for 2020 mains.
How to mug up without taking printouts?Don'nt people mug up things?
Do they just do multiple readings?
If that is the case then it explains why I am left with no time to write answers.
I do mug up things by heart.But only results will tell if it is the right approach although it worked for optional last year
I agree.. need strong memory to memorise everything and vomit there at last.. Some call it revision some call it mugging up.. Its individual perception
Hey, I am also interested. If others who are interested agree, we can start today itself from 3:00-4:30 (1 essay per week). Submit by 5. Read others answers by 6 and discussions/peer reviews for 1~1.5 hrs after that.Can a group be made for weekly essay practice and reviewing?
I know there are lot of issues involved while forming such groups. But, if there is any such group or you people are interested in forming such a group, do add me. Or should I join a test series to improve my essay writing ?
Your reviews on any essay test series that you people joined..?
Yes. We should. Count me in me if you decide to start something.
What do you say ? Also, I think it will be feasible to keep size of group slightly small (<=7~8)
Follow my strategy.
Don't write any essay.Just see topper copies.In this way you will be original in the exam and originality is rewarded.
Go in exam with a blank mind as if you have'nt studied anything.
When you make frameworks,write essays beforehand trust me you lose out(I lost out last year due to this).
This year I went with a blank mind.0 essays written.
And in exam in ships essay I could start with macauly real life story,quoted recent corona examples,gandhi sins,namaste london film and could conclude with another poem made on the spot in exam.
In patriarchy essay,again could invent a poem on the spot in the exam about patriarchy being not visible still being present,could quote gargi,razia sultana.Write about deepika padukone and indira gandhi and other usual stuff like data,policies and could divide essay using subheadings like Lighting Candles of equality.Concluded with a nehru quote.
All of this could be done as mind was'nt occupied by advises or frameworks.
Wrote whatever I felt and in whatever way I felt was right.
Although marks are still not out,I am hopeful of atleast scoring above average if not the topmost marks.
Thanks.
I honestly don’t have the confidence to do something like this. Personally, I work best when I have some pre-meditated idea of what I intend to write and basically reproduce a version of that in the exam hall. This sort of spontaneity is quite unnerving
Not only in essay.I did this this in all gs papers and even optional.0 answers written.
Even in pre I wrote 0 pre tests.
I had decided f**k all coachings,all toppers advises as they led to my downfall in last attempt.
I decided I would write whatever I feel in whatever way I feel in the exam in all the 7 papers and even in pre.
Thanks to rishab pant and his coach.
Dekho kya hota hai.
Man I hope you make it because that'll open up a whole new dimension of preparing for this exam. Personally, I'd be sh*tting bricks if the first time I write an answer is when I'm sitting for Mains. But obviously you're comfortable with it and I feel once we know whatworks for us then preparation becomes easier.
On a side note, I saw your optional is Socio. I'd be very thankful if you could dm me your strategy for it in brief. Cheers!
This will be very useful. Because MP does tell the whole thing like a story, and it makes for good foundation. Just that it takes time. But once you do it, you know things like a pro. I may have deleted my comment because I thought me stepping in sometimes stalls the good conversation which is not at all the intention :)
I love the book myself. They are my favourite apart from a ten year collection of Economic Surveys :)
@Neyawn.Please comment on the ongoing discussion.
I seem to have done everything different to everyone else.
Do you know anyone who cleared exam with this approach
Thank you for the encouragement :) Sometimes I feel like a Neanderthal on the forum itself :)
P.S. I am happy that you did admit that you revised like crazy. Some people would be following you advice . When we are an aspirant, we have an aspirant bias - that is - we assume that everyone know and reads as much as we do - without knowing that a lot of people will mix and match five advices - taking the minimum from each - and don’t write answer , test series because you said , won’t revise because some topper said he didn’t get the time , won’t do basic books because they read somewhere that I didn’t get time to do basic books and only solved test papers ( some people do that ) and ends up doing nothing .
Then when you clear the exam, what gets highlighted in a popular video that you did nothing and yet cleared , without highlighting the replacement things you did :P
Also, I met an old man seeking guidance from him over my own career. I told him I am creative, innovating :P bit bad at routine work and fare badly on x,y,z parameters ( which are important for success in any way of life ) and I said - yet I am managing to do fine - he said - you are doing fine not because of the bad qualities of not doing routine work or having x,y, a but despite it .
A year later when I read a book - what got you here won’t get you there - I saw the same principles repeat, so stay a little cautious.
Thanks a lot.
We will have to wait for results to see how things worked out.
Hey, I am also interested. If others who are interested agree, we can start today itself from 3:00-4:30 (1 essay per week). Submit by 5. Read others answers by 6 and discussions/peer reviews for 1~1.5 hrs after that.Can a group be made for weekly essay practice and reviewing?
I know there are lot of issues involved while forming such groups. But, if there is any such group or you people are interested in forming such a group, do add me. Or should I join a test series to improve my essay writing ?
Your reviews on any essay test series that you people joined..?
Yes. We should. Count me in me if you decide to start something.
What do you say ? Also, I think it will be feasible to keep size of group slightly small (<=7~8)
Follow my strategy.
Don't write any essay.Just see topper copies.In this way you will be original in the exam and originality is rewarded.
Go in exam with a blank mind as if you have'nt studied anything.
When you make frameworks,write essays beforehand trust me you lose out(I lost out last year due to this).
This year I went with a blank mind.0 essays written.
And in exam in ships essay I could start with macauly real life story,quoted recent corona examples,gandhi sins,namaste london film and could conclude with another poem made on the spot in exam.
In patriarchy essay,again could invent a poem on the spot in the exam about patriarchy being not visible still being present,could quote gargi,razia sultana.Write about deepika padukone and indira gandhi and other usual stuff like data,policies and could divide essay using subheadings like Lighting Candles of equality.Concluded with a nehru quote.
All of this could be done as mind was'nt occupied by advises or frameworks.
Wrote whatever I felt and in whatever way I felt was right.
Although marks are still not out,I am hopeful of atleast scoring above average if not the topmost marks.
Thanks.
I honestly don’t have the confidence to do something like this. Personally, I work best when I have some pre-meditated idea of what I intend to write and basically reproduce a version of that in the exam hall. This sort of spontaneity is quite unnerving
Not only in essay.I did this this in all gs papers and even optional.0 answers written.
Even in pre I wrote 0 pre tests.
I had decided f**k all coachings,all toppers advises as they led to my downfall in last attempt.
I decided I would write whatever I feel in whatever way I feel in the exam in all the 7 papers and even in pre.
Thanks to rishab pant and his coach.
Dekho kya hota hai.
Man I hope you make it because that'll open up a whole new dimension of preparing for this exam. Personally, I'd be sh*tting bricks if the first time I write an answer is when I'm sitting for Mains. But obviously you're comfortable with it and I feel once we know whatworks for us then preparation becomes easier.
On a side note, I saw your optional is Socio. I'd be very thankful if you could dm me your strategy for it in brief. Cheers!
Check pm
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