Mains 2021 Post result Thread: What went wrong and way forward.

One important thing that I feel is to know what are the parameters on which GS answers are evaluated. Some clarity is needed on this

1) General Approach

I felt I worked hard enough. But by the time December came, I started facing slight burnout. This time I'll take adequate breaks + pace my prep accordingly. Imo two weeks of studying right before Mains is 5 times more valuable than the month right after Prelims. Everything should be done to peak at the right time. 

Mental and physical health is way too important and way too neglected. I'm restarting my daily habits of meditation, journaling and exercise. 

Regularly looking at the syllabus and PYQs should be the norm. I'm trying this practice of reading a particular question and then looking at the syllabus. This helps me figure out certain contexts in which questions are being asked. It's simplifying prep by helping see what's important and what's not. 

Going through topper copies also should be the norm. I learned a lot; but I feel I can learn more. I'm planning on maintaining a separate notebook where I'll note down innovations toppers are using. After I write answers/give tests, I'll try to go through the notebook and see what all I can implement. 

2) Maths:

Based on my previous experience, this time I focused on completing the syllabus and understanding concepts thoroughly. However, in the exam hall, I faced the problem of not recalling specific steps/approaches to problems. I ended up missing out on a lot of questions which I'd solved earlier but I couldn't remember the formula/steps/theorem. To address this, I'm solving all PYQs blindly without referring to formula sheets like I used to. Further, I'll keep revising short notes weekly. 

I'll also join a proper test series and give all tests religiously + go for mentor visits. Will not join IMS since their evaluation is weak. Rather I'll try to join a lesser known institute which can offer better support. 

3) GS 

My performance was better compared to previous attempts. I felt answer writing needs some more work so I'm doing TLP regularly (write atleast one answer, mentally frame remaining).

Like others mentioned, preparing static portion is necessary. Rather than doing everything, selectively reading according to the syllabus is needed. For instance, Government budgetting is a topic mentioned in the syllabus. I should ideally have prepared the theory which would have helped me answer the Capital and Revenue question better. Same for the GDP question. 

In my answers, examples + Govt initiatives/steps taken were inadequate. To correct this, I'm noting down examples from the newspaper daily. For initiatives, whatever prelims compilation for schemes come, I'll use the index to memorize schemes for each sector. Further, the Economic Survey also mentions schemes/steps taken for every sector in one place. This will also suffice. 

For way forwards, rather than giving generic suggestions I was thinking of doing NITI Aayog Strategy @ 75 (only reading recommendations portion). 

Also, many of the "bouncer" questions in GS3 came from the IE Explained Articles of the previous 6-7 months. Since these are questions nobody knows answers to, preparing them will give a competitive edge. I've already started saving relevant articles. But only in 2-3 months can I say how sustainable this is. 

4) Ethics

My theory portion went well. My case studies were poor. I need more practice. Plus case studies needed specific preparation, for which I skimmed through the case studies Playlist by Sunya on YouTube. 

Another thing I've realised is that going by the chronological order of test series yields poor results. I prepared GS 1, 2 in October and GS 3, 4 in November. By the time my backlogs and all finished, I had just one week left for ethics. This time I'll start with optional, ethics and essay in the first month and then GS. 

Plus I'll also join separate test series for ethics + essay, something which I've never done. 

5) Essay

My essay prep was great in terms of content but inadequate in terms of practice. I'll write more essays next time (especially in the first month). 

In essays, UPSC gives clear instructions as to the demand of the paper in the Notification. After every essay I write, I'll try to self evaluate myself based on the parameters mentioned. 

Yuval Noah Harari's ideas and examples are very relevant especially in tech, future related essays. I've used his ideas in 2019 and 2021 essays. I'll dive deeper into his work. His articles on the Guardian are a good place to start (both in terms of content as well as in writing style) 

Plus for philosophy essays, along with more practice, I'll be reading more philosophy articles.

Finally, it makes sense to go through previous topics. For instance, even in philosophical essays, certain themes like excellence, the self etc are often repeated. Preparing these repeated themes will yield content which can be used across essays. 

Also, I realised that the transition words I use are limited - "Further, also, in addition to" etc - I'm stuck with just a few phrases. I'll try to go through a list of connectors, transition phases and then try implementing them in essays I write. 

These are the main pointers I need to work on. 

These 'way forwards' make up a long list. But they can and must be implemented if I have any hope of clearing next time. 

I'm doing SFG. If I get time leftover after revising the relevant portion, I do some mains portion (Optional + GS answer writing) 

My mistakes 

1) Totally ignored static part. So many easy question could have been better answered had I went through static part.

2) poor time management. Especially in essay and ethics. 

3) Wrote 5 mocks only before Mains. 

4) During exam hall I got panicked because of covid 3rd wave in Mumbai. I was not in good mindspace. 

5) PSIR was okish. Nothing exceptional. 

Over invested in GS2 and gS3 while ignoring Essay ethics and PSIR.

4th attempt,2nd mains, In state of shock... however these were the mistakes..not reading current affairs properly specially after prelims..Was not able to give my best in essay and juts wrote 7 pages each..was not able to give equal time in case study and theory section of ethics paper. I am attaching a link for group which could be used for mains strategy and answer writing (post prelims).My optional is socio and I think it was good.One another mistake which I did was not leaving job and not taking leave after prelims.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/FqtRsuGu4zoLIS3V5oYx1x

Here are some of my doubts I have that I am not able to find solutions. 

1. GS1- I don't know from which sources this question came 1. Tribal culture 2. India as subcontinent - 

Gs2 - 1. Constitutional morality-  2. Equality between us and India

Can anyone tell me from which sources it came?

And how to write answer for something that I don't know anything about.

The only thing i can say with certainty at this point is that i let the panic get to me a month before mains. Every other detail can only be added on and analysed after looking at marks of each paper. Till then, on to prelims prep. 

S400 (explained article in Nov 2021), Green Grid (Nov 2021), WHO Air Quality Guidelines (Oct 2021), V shaped recovery (Sept 2021, Dec 2021), COP26 (Nov 2021), NFSA (Mar 2021)

These are the ones I could find. I googled for The Hindu also. These can be found even there in either the explained pages or opinion pages. However I don't have a subscription so couldn't read the full articles. I'm trusting the needed info is there.