Mains 2019 Preparation and Discussion Thread

@BGPoverall anthropology Kaisa rha?

@Raillifeaverage.. how was it paper?

@Raillifeit was general in nature.. was able to answer all the questions

@chandler_bingsame paper 1 questions were more direct.

@Bodhgayahow was ur optional?

@Champakhow was paper 1?

@Bodhgayai made some msitakes in paper 1. included tree ring method in relative dating. also did not have much content in contribution of clifford and turner

in paper two i messes in ramapithecus question. attempted haphzardly in last two minutes. also in nation state question my attempt was not satisfactory

@Bodhgayawas the paper simpler than last two years?

@Bodhgayatest series of L2A is good only for ur practice. They take more than a month to check copy. They say they will check on time if test is given on scheduled date. But in preparation I found it very difficult to stick to their schedule

do you think leaving delhi after mains is a good idea?

@Biryanimafia_i got 125 and 128 in anthropology optional. my paper 1 was much better than paper 2

paper 1 was good. in paper 2 writings answers from anthropological perspective with qua'ity case studies were bit difficult

@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.

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

@Yes_I_am_inexhausted all attempts?

@Khamoshkrantikarianthropology was okay. Similar to last year. Was able to complete the paper. In paper 2 completed two questions in hurry. But it was not lengthier than 2018

@pravinshinde3592958the evaluators of visionias strictly stick to the model answers. If points match with model answers then they give 50 percent marks. Otherwise average upto 30 percent. In most of the tests my score was between 90-95 Really don't know how so many people were scoring above 115 in test series.

@Rand_Al_Thorin prelims insight test series some students mug up the solution before attempting test. So the highest marks is more than 180 in most of the tests. May be some students are doing the same in vision mains test series as well.

@kuttau rocked man....

@sat_009u failed to share ur marksheet..... Ur credentials are doubtful

@Chanakyait means for unreserved category candidates competition is same as last year. Last year too unreserved seats were around 360 n this year too..

@dr-ahmednaaz8567it should be 25 marks

@abhishek_pmost of their feedbacks are very generic. so not much helpful. also they check copy strictly as per model answers. so if your answer matches withh model answers then they will give five out of ten. otherwise 4 n so on.

essay test series too are of no use. on one hand they charges around 1500 per essay test bt give poor feedback. peer and self review is much better than test series. test series is good only for time management and finding left contents/important topics.

@vvvikas0078212last year i left two ten markers and attempted 20th question in less than last 1 minute in GS3. But got 103. so i think one should not worry much about few questions like cyberdome and integrated farming

I think completing whole paper is advantageous in GS3 where evaluation is bit liberal. However in GS1 mere completion of paper is of no use.

@Valar_morghulisbro i left 45 marks questions ( Chile+ structural anomalies+ poor attempt of evoultion of disease). Quality of questions like sci vs magic + categorization of genes+ national character study were avg or below avg. My score was 128. I believe that they gave genuine marks to me. they was no ill treatment of anthro

Anthro has high relation with quality of cramming. If one has crammed perfectly one will score good that year but marks will get reduced if it is not revised properly as many answers requires very high degree of cramming. I believe any casual approach towards anthro will result in reduction of marks.

@Valar_morghulisi never meant that you are misguiding anyone. we are not selected candidates yaar. we are still trying to find how to enter into the list.

@sat_009like last years only. except few questions paper was okay.

@sat_009impact of media main ek case study likha tha UNECOs commennity radio station in some village in Jharkhand. rest all points were gs like.

In impact of industraialization I had case studies for negative impact. I wrote positive impact like gs paper.

Similarly in question emanicipation of sc by non-hindu religion, I had case study for discrimination towards non-Hindu NGOs but how it helped in their improvement. So i wrote how non-hindu religion helped in improving their status (gs type) then added discrimination continues ( Andre Betille study of christians in Tanjore+ Sikhs+ Muslims+ Buddhists (1 page)

@Valar_morghulismy few parts of one answer is like gs type and another part like core anthro. don't know how much it will affect marks

@sat_009what was ur score in 2017 and 2018 ( Paper1 + Paper2)

@sat_009your marks are good. u got interview call in 2018?

@sat_009anthro needs lot of cramming. one week gap in revision is enough to make us sanjay singhania of movie Ghazni

@sat_009haahahaha. yaar every year either they ask rama or sivapitecus or narmada man. still i forgot physical characteristics of ramapithecus. Bhagwan maaf nhi krega

@DKTall the best

@vvvikas0078212Many people are of opinion that learning is continuous process. If someone likes a subject/work he can learn it at any stage of life. Then what is the point of putting attention on catching young candidates. Even young candidates have to learn new skills n knowledge after they cross 30 to remain productive in service.

Only benefit in recruiting large number of young aspirants is that one can mould their opinion as per own political agenda

@Biryanimafia_if someone does not know the answer of ten questions in each paper then whether he attempts all questions or not is immaterial.

completion of paper becomes important when we have decent content for 15-16 questions. then reducing time in some questions and attempting those questions where we have very less knowledge will be beneficial.
increasing score from 5 to 5.5 out of 10 in our best attenpted questions is much difficult than getting two marks in questions where we know superficially. in such situation comletion of paper becomes beneficial

@corrigible_87after result of forest service

@vvvikas0078212i think for above average answers they are awarding 75-80%. (from experience of anthropology)

2017 aur 2018 main ctrl+f k baad 0/0 aaya tha. bhagwaan bas iss baar history repeat mt krna

@Champakbro please elaborate on what went wrong in her interview. Last year too I saw one marksheet where one guy got only 96 marks in interview.

How can they give so low marks? I believe if one has average speaking skill with average preparation one must get 150 marks.

@ranyo_asokar u sure that the above candidates had poor communication skill? Do you know anyone personally who has got low marks in interview?

@STwhen i gave exam for first few days i had feeling that this time I am definitely going to clear mains. but now i am scared. I feel that this time too i am going t fail. with time confidence has only deteriorated

@Ravssame bro. with time confidence is decreasing. result should come asap. kahin kuch padhne main mann hi nhi lagta h. Dadaji ki tarah 4 ghante main 2 newspaper padhte hain tym pass krne k liye

@Dijkstrajyada glance mt kro. Nhi toh mains clear krne ki bhi umeed khatm ho jayegi

@Dijkstrain question of Radcliffe brown and Levi Strauss study of social structure I only explained structural functionalism and structuralism without mentioning descent and alliance theory...

Pura 15 number Ka galat hi hogaya. Also in adaptive primate radiation I wrote on adaptive radiation. Left primate

M really scared

anthropology 2019 mains answers. please comment how was ur optional as per this answer key.Mains 2019 Discussion (Live).pdf

as per mrunal today is the result day.

@Champakoverall key is good. Just ignore too many thinkers nd new concepts. I believe writing content of standard text books is more than enough to get above 300.

@ranyo_asokatoo many thinkers have to be remembered also. After gs papers it becomes difficult to mug up too many thinkers and recall them in exam. So numbers of thinkers should be done optimally.

@Dijkstrain somatoscopic and morphometric questions I mentioned classification on basis of heath-carter system+ hair colour+ nose size+head size with corresponding race ie Caucasoid+mongoloid+negroid

Then Boyd criteria of classification of races i.e not affected easily by environment n so on. Since these critieras do not satisfy Boyd criteria race is not valid+ human genome project study+ UNESCO statement.

@sat_009refer to the test copies of koya Shree Harsha. He has used simple language n content from standard text books without overdose of thinkers. I was in Vaid Ics. I had seen most of the answers of Akshay Jain. They r simple n too the point.

Answers give in answer key is only to awe members of telegram group. Whne I see telegram group I think many of them are considering anthropology optional as equivalent to phd

@sernihilono marks r deducted for exceeding word limit. Bt writing very less will definitely affect marks.

However if u r exceeding word limit in each question then will b difficult to complete paper.

So consider word limit as merely a guide to complete the paper

@destinirules2354in 2017 i wrote direct essays. I don't have good writing skill. So in 2017 in intro I simply explained what I understand by the heading of the topic. n wrote wat i am going to write next. I got 141 in that year.

In 2018 i got influenced by others. I started with story which was not good. Poor story+ more space. Introduction ended up in disaster.

In 2019 attempt I went back to basic.

@destinirules2354102

@destinirules2354yes

@ranyo_asokastory wala introduction over-emphasized tha 2018 main.. coahing wale marks hi nhi dete the mock essays main iske bina.. Dimaag ghoom gya

@Rand_Al_Thorif one has not good writing skill then real examples are better than the fictious ones. I also used real example for the introduction. It was short n to the point. Last year I used fictional one nd the introduction got elongated to more than one page.

I think every year coaching institutes emphasize one or other thing. Like story wala introduction + use of many diagrams+ 50-60 tests for prelims....

@bevancomthis is not about story Vs non-story introduction. When story- introduction is over-emphasized, aspirants start believing that introduction without story will result in poor marks. If one has not good writing skill then story wala introduction may affect marks badly

@Ravsbas tmne keh diya ho gya.... Party se mere liye mithai pack krwa k lana

@Shubzyes. one of my friend wrote in similar way. he got 134. sometimes coachin instittutes over-emphasize on few things

@Lostif marking pattern remains same as last year it will be 772+/- 10.

@Haeckeli think he has focussed more on AI in general. not on linking AI+job. if he had linked pros of AI with job opportunities then he will be awarded decently

@TETRACYCLINEbro u r going to b selected. UPSC filters out superior people

@TETRACYCLINEGS2 was very lengthy. ten markers in GS3 were difficult

mrunal par result date (-)3 days ho gaya

@vvvikas0078212bhai result ka time aa gya h. ab kya hi matlb h in sab baaton ka k questions attempt nhi krne se marking par kitna asar parega.

@vvvikas0078212instead of leaving questions, one should write even half a page. It will fetch atelast 1 marks. The marks of rank 231 and 245 were same. hence the significance

@K_9in my first attempt i attempted anthropology paper2 in 1:30 hrs only. Kuch aata hi nhi tha. bki time class ka mahaul samajh rha tha

@atulji109+72

@dr-ahmednaaz8567no in multi-stage exams it is possible that cutoff for reserved category is more than general.
If someone qualifies under SC category in prelims bt gets more marks in mains than general, in such scenario SC cutoff for mains will b more than general. It has happened in Raj. That obc cutoff was more than general

@vvvikas0078212in all India competitions general cutoff is more than reserved ones (generally)

But in some state exams u will find very little difference between cutoffs of general n reserved ones especially obc. Sometimes obc cutoff can be more than general.

In CSE ews cutoff may become higher than general becoz there is so much uncertainty in prelims. There r large number of candidates near cutoff. So a bit relaxation on prelims cutoff will benefit ews candidates. A ews candidate may score little less than general in prelims bt may perform better in mains.

However, this year I think cut off of ews will be close to obc cutoff or lower.

@Shubzwat u r saying is good for one stage exam but not in multi-stage exam.
Take the case of Tina David. She cleared prelims under SC category but secured rank1. She is still considered as SC candidate.

In case of EWS, they r general category students only (8lakh criteria is too high to consider them as poor). There is not much difference between ews and general category students.

In prelims a relaxation of 1 marks is a big boost. These ews candidates who will benefit from this relaxation will compete with general category students n may score more than them. Still they will be considered as reserved category students. So there is no guarantee that cutoff of general will b always more than reserved ones

@Ravsi covered CA of last two years for prelims but didn't do for mains. UNESCO was not covered by vision. Couldnt answer properly.
UAPA was covered in vision CA

@STbhai prelims is the most boring stage. mugging up schemes+ national parks+ tributaries of rivers. bada dard deta h

@Caesaru r from Bihar?

@DreadfulLast year they increased around 30 seats to 812 but allocated only 709 seats. nothing definite can be said

@Jharsugudabt kanishka kataria got above 100 in all full length tests few days before mains

@pysh12950my scores in visionias tests were between 90-100 in almost all tests. I think this is because of their checking pattern. they give marks like 3.5, 4, 5 and 5.5, 6.5, 7.5. Ended up in getting similar marks across all the papers. I tried to cross 100 mark bt never succeeded

@utkarsh_mishrayes consistently getting above 100 in visiontest series (if completed within 3hrs) is a positive sign and should be reflected in actual exam

@Biryanimafia_ were they completing paper within time limit? i have seen that few good copies uploaded by vision have answers similar to model answers. it seems that the candidte has once read the answers before attmepting.

@Caesari used my real name @ telegram which resembles with a girl name. boys started messaging me personally, "mam strategy bataiye na"

@TETRACYCLINEchemistry optional?

@vvvikas007821290*4+120+280=760 (GOOD FOR obc BUT BAD FOR GENERAL) below average performance hoga ye

@VivekanandSyes it is good to get interview call but for selection optional should touch 300 or increase marks in gs to 100.

@Rags240 is below avg and 140 above avg h

@Ragspossible toh bilkul h bt hmlog avg performance ki baat kr rhe the

@Ragsi was more dependent on optional and essay. I was not able to increase my score in GS in test series. After 95 increasing marks in gs becomes difficult. So i dedicated more time on optional which is more rewarding.

@dancingminionaur the amar ujala wale likhenge MrX jinka nick name DKT hai ForumiAs par unhone pratham sthan lake jile aur rajya ka naam raushan kiya h

@bigboyif one is leaving questions then is content in other questions must b good to score above 300. My content was average in anthropology and I left questions of around 60-70marks. I got 253. If I would have been able to write just average content in these questions, then my score would have been b/e 280-290.

Aksht jain in one session told that he left one 20 mrker in paper1 bt still got 171. So leaving question is only accpetable if content in others questions are extremely good

How an optional subject is butchered? Does they start setting tough question papers or they start giving less marks? Any aspirant with geography or pubad optional, please comment. My optional is anthropology. will they butcher it this time?

@hirockyrocks7101so we can assume that anthropology will not be butchered as paper was not that difficult.

@Dijkstramtlb anthro ka lag sakta h..

@Dijkstrayes there must be moderation formula otherwise mathematics optional candidates will get above 400. but in humanities optional already marks are awarded less. There moderation will only bring disaster

@John_Titorbhai tm itna yaad kaise rakhte ho kisne kitne din pele kya kha tha. Anthro optional le lo. Tmahara guaranteed 330+ aayega

@VivekanandSbhai bas anthro ko agle saal butcher-futcher jo krna h kr de. Iss saal nhi...

@paranthapijjaBhai na hi GOT aur na hi Big Boss Dekha maine

@TETRACYCLINEnhi Bhai. In anthropology the one who got362 her copy is out of league. Her content is not covered in normal books that anthropology candidates refer. She was a completely different case

@sat_009i think taking anthropology is in itself not a big advantage. Last year my i had prepared decently with average content I got 253. After failing in mains I again s worked on my content till March end. N then again started mugging up soon after prelims.
I think this much time if given to other optional will also yield good result. I also took anthropology with the belief that it has small syllabus. but like me many ignore that it needs lot of cramming which compensates the time. N if one is not good @ cramming anthropology will not add any advantage.
Now i realise if i had taken mathematics or chemistry optional in initial attempts i may had failed but with attempts marks would have improved. In anthropology there is no such guarantee. Ignore mugging part. Marks will get reduced to avaerage.

So while taking anthro optional only small syllabus should not be the criteria but also ability to read same stuff again n again (Basicalll ratt le).

Believe me those who are taking anthropology in a rush will get surprised

@atuljiI left questions of worth 65marks.

Average means when thinkers are not included (less number). case studies were there. but i did not address all parts in few questions. questions like non-hindu OBC+ A&N tribals were attempted haphzardly. I was not satisfied with my attempt

I was writing in paragraph format. U can see the copy of Ashima Mittal She has included many sub-headings. I was not doing that. So worked on presentation part

@atuljiaverage does not mean poor content. it simply meant i went through traditional books n coaching notes without any value addition from my side. however people now-a-days are going beyond this. u can see the copy of anthro topper

@VivekanandSyes I have read. Paper 1 is basically compilation of P.Nath only.
However paper2 is not gud

result jaldi aa ja yaar. clear toh ho jaye Prelims ka padhna h ya k interivew ka

@Chanakyaarey woh bakchod group h. ignore kro usko. koi ladki hogi jiska optional geo ya hindi lit. hoga. Sare launde usko khush krne main lge honge

@DKTif we consider increase in vacancy only then it will not affect cut-off by 4-5 marks as near last ranks there are 5-6 students getting same marks. Secondly optional papers were not as tough as you are saying. Even in last year there were few bouncers in anthropology but many people managed to cross 300.

Thirdly, essay was bouncer last year too. So don't expect any reduction in marks in essay. Also students were prepapred to handle philosphical topics this year. So if marking pattern remains same as last year, there will be no reduction in average essay marks.

GS2 was tough. So it will reduce average score there. Same is the case with GS4. In GS3 last year too two questions were difficult: bose-einstein condensate and capital tax wala question. But people managed to cross 100. So there shall be no reduction in average marks in GS3.
GS1 paper was okay barring some 10 markers. So but last year too questions on Chaitanya was diifcult. So i am not expecting any reduction in average marks here.

So overall I can only say, if marking pattern is similar to last year, cut-off will decrease at-max by 10 marks.

@RealMangolast year it was around 1PM

@TETRACYCLINEatleast in prelims there is some sort of surety whether one will clear or not (except who are near boundary). So preparation is not affected much however in mains things are entirely different. we can never be sure whether will qualify or not.
After mains I have not touched book. completely out of cycle. i cannot focus either on next year prelims or interview.
Na padhne main mann lagta hai, na sone main, na hi porn dekhne main.

@vvvikas0078212no-one needs interview guidance. This is just personality test. Just be honest. Please don't come to Delhi. U will waste ur money.

UPSC CSE is a very easy exam. One topper said that while filling form he was not aware that there three stages of the exam (even my maid knows there are three stages). While selecting optional he just arranged all the optionals in order and used this trick "aada pada kisne pada, miyan ji ka ghora pada". the word pada came on PSIR. So he selected PSIR as his optional. Again he did not prepare for GS4. he wrote from reflections of his life. Also he didnot write a single essay before mains. He did very smart study n prepared GS1+2+3 and optional in the gap b/w prelims and mains. So in just 5 months he became IAS.

So if your IQ is upto the level of this IAS, then no need to come to Delhi for interview as well. Also if you have any financial issue you can well sell your house as last year one topper sold his house for preparation. if you don't have house then you will have to sell your kidney.

Thank you

@K_9telegram pe toh Kisi be post Kiya k badh gye h

@DKTstill discussing questions... i hv lost confidence in questions where i hd confidence....
anxiety, uneasiness hv made time difficult

@kochikaamekya bakchodi h. Ifos k baad CSE Ka result dene Ka.. saale exam bhi CSE Ka baad m hi lete

@kochikaamelast year sayad ifos ka pehle aaya tha...

yaar patience ka bhi kuch toh limit hoga? ab de bhi do result

@Behemothyes man those were the best 9 days of life. really enjoyed those days.

@RealMangoif you/me fail to find roll number in sacred pdf. then first cry a lot in a room. it will help in relaxing mind. Go nd watch a movie and sleep. from next morning, a new beginning

@TeddyWestsideenjoy ur quality time.. n congratulations

@John_Titoryes it is a serious concern. My cousin is in class 12th. Instead of focussing on competitive exams he is more interested in hindutva. He always talks of how much Muslims r conservative, hw they r destroying country. He is absorbing all the fake news. M really concerned that if things r not controlled next generation will be of radicals. Sorry if I am generalising bt I hv found number of such kids r oncreasing

@DreadfulActions on CAB+ Kashmir+ Triple Talaq were good. However m not in favor of nationwide NRC. Right now concern should be on improving condition of economy. Nation wide NRC should be implemented later. Illegal migrants r not only economic burden bt also security threats. They commit crime in India and escape to Bangladesh. It becomes nightmare for law enforcement agencies to deal with such people.
Also challenge of radicalisation of these illegal migrants cannot be ruled out. So nation-wide NRC should be implemented bt at a later stage

@atuljibhai rona aa jata h.. ussse bhi muskil ghar pe batana k iss baar bhi nhi hua

i think we should ignore left, right, centre, up and down. Right now our concern is only to enter into the services.

Any ifo regarding result?

@Behemothkyu bhai. phir se marks calculate kr rhe kya? ab result aa hi jayega. Kuch aur kro anxiety kum krne k liye

@Kevin_De_Bruynelast year 12:30

@kinginthenorthhan lag rha aaj toh nhi aane wala h result. ek din aur barbaad hua

@STkya bhai... 2 number se interview experience miss ho gya

@TETRACYCLINEi checked profile of around 15 candidates who gave interview last year bt failed to get any rank. Around 10 of them failed to clear pre this time. (they have shared their marksheet on quora). anyone else has experienced that. i think failing in interview reduces chance to clear next pre.

@VivekanandS2018 was the most random prelims. 2019 prelims was much better than 2018. Many serious candidates failed to clear 2018 prelims.

@Shubzthose giving interview should be extra cautious for prelims.

@VivekanandSfor prelims?

@VivekanandSi was calculating 120 marks in 2019. kuch answer key galat ho gye honge coaching walo ke. phir bhi 115 k upar hi hoga. mera ifos main nhi hua tha

@atuljitbhi advice dete h k kuch back up optiona rakhna shi rehta h. technical degrees iss maamle main arts degree se behtar h. Job options jayada hote h. initial difficulties k baad uth k khada hona relatively easy rehta h.

phir bhi jinko confidence h unke liye kya hi backup. bt in general backup option rakhna shi hota h.

@kochikaameMedia has a big role in creating this mess. they promote toxic motivation. like jagran josh uploaded a video with caption "ias banne k liye ghar becha". i saw many candidates with poor family background were sharing this video. in this subjective exam how much it is worth to sell ur house.

second thing is 2years time is enough to complete'y prepare syllabus. there is no need to go for intermediate n graduation (arts) just for the sake of civil services. a guy with technical degree will also easily understand history or sociology.

@atuljiaur parents sochte Hain "aur ek ye nalayak hai Jo ke itna facility Milne k baad bhi select nhi hota".

@dancingminionto yo yo choti Singh has posted that result will come next Wednesday or Friday. Result will not come this week. So relax or remain worried for seven more days

@dancingminionhe is in academy. So his info can be relied upon. Result not coming this week

@dancingminionhe got rank 104 last year. Vijay vardhan

@DKTunme se kitno ne mains diya hoga? any guess?

@azam-imame434my name resembles with girl's name. When i commented on telegram many thought that I am girl. They started sending me personal messages