Mains 2019 Preparation and Discussion Thread

@Vikai found ppr 2 trickier than last yr...last yr the ques were straightforward bt this time it were of analytical nature specially world history
Also in map do they consider more than one ans?like banawali/bhirrana,hathigumpha/jaugada?....gs and essay went comparatively btr ab sb opt pr depend hai

@Yes_I_am_inpaper 2 10 markers were good,
20 markers harappa have written drew diagrams of town planning,seals etc.
Village study was my best answer in paper mentioned 8 concepts plus studies year anthropologist etc.
Tribe and nation state gave indian examples and concepts such as ethnicity eminent domain different approaches.

15 markers non hindu on sc and constitutional safegaurd and tribal programs went fine.

Ngo case studies only 2 and rest pointwise.

Impact of industrialisation and impact of media not very strong case studies but wrote pointwise
Paper 2 i wrote theoretically strong points but case studies were repetitive and well known not very strong or in depth.
Last year had 138 this time fingers crossed

@Shubzwas watching gs score video by piyush kumar. He was saying that we can mention more than one site and write about one and upsc is quite liberal when it comes to mapwork. Hope that’s also followed in practice at upsc

@Ultimstarwhat about paper 2

@ShubzI think with good description, as long as the sites are in the adjacent areas one can expect 1.5 or 2 marks if not 2.5. Many of the sites are too close to identify correctly.

@abhishek_pwell its awesome thn....this info would help me to stay calm

@Vikayup exactly...50-60 kms ko itne se map me differentiate krna becomes difficult

@ShubzWorld History was what I had focussed more on but the ques were trickier /tougher so had to attempt Modern. It looked very straight forward but writing an answer that fetches 1 or 2 marks more than competitors would be tough.
Familiarity with topic does not mean a good distinguished answer can be written. But everyone would face this problem. Do not overanalyze. Time to shift to the most unstructured part of the process.
PS: Did others also notice that they wrote Crtically Examine/ Answer in ques 1

I have seen some of my relatives who are in service, clearing this examination with ncert level knowledge in GS and optionals(particularly in history) but those with PhD stuff struggling to score decent marks in mains....what exactly do we need to write there??

@dancingminionIt is not wrong. Means way forward won't be penalized but it won't fetch anyone any extra marks either.

@Yes_I_am_inI don't think so. Last year too there were some difficult questions but average marks did not decrease as compared to 2017. so we cant expect average to be 260. If evalution standard remains same as 2018 260 will be a bad score.

@abhishek_pIt is more about understanding the demand of ques and answering it and not being too factual. Effective communication in answer is also key.
I think if an unheard ques comes those who tackle it by being precise by applying limited knowledge score better than those who leave it because they have not studied it.

@nikhilit20112751 I could write Attorney general wala okay okay . But , could not remember Constitutional article . Was it necessary in that ? Affects marks ?

@Vikai noticed that critically examine part after already writing 2 ten markers...nevertheless i had tried to incorporate all the dimensions

@Akkkuif you have written whats in the article correctly then it becomes immaterial but those who have written both number and substance and relevance of attorney general will score high in the question

I wrote about power of attorney general, salary, who appoints ....extra I wrote about two cases where attorney general was defending government. ......fist case in right to privacy AG was defending AADHAR mandatory for linkage with Sims second case was YAKUB MENON CASE ....I hope to get good marks in this question but my answer was finished in 2 pages and one paragraph in page 3 .....but it is also true I hv not attempted question like CAT, federal supremacy, 17th one ......out of 215 I am, expecting 100-105 bcz in remaining questions CONTENT was not compromised

@zombielandthen...I am out.
Also ,this was my last attempt

@Vikayeah, but wrote what I knew..covering most of the aspects in 150 words

@Yes_I_am_ don't worry bro. last year i got 253 with average content n left around 60 marks