PSIR - Strategy, resources & discussion

No clue as I’ve not enrolled into any paid programs anywhere yet, but I think each teacher has a particular area of the syllabus on which he/she spends the most time on and I think that area is IR for Piyush Sir and Political Theory for SR.

If you see his introduction video on strategy for political science he’ll repeatedly emphasise part B of both the papers - saying how dynamic nature increases scope for scoring higher et al. Who knows really, all this is just a HOT TAKE tbh. 

This quoting scholars thing... is it given as much importance even for actual students in BA/MA pol sci exams? I mean, is it such an important aspect of the study even in a proper academic course? Humanities students would know if there are any here? Since the examiners are likely profs.

It always seemed a bit off to me - surely if people have been doing the same thing for years, and since a lot of the views will tend to get repeated, it should be rewarding to try something different?

2A me sir dictates from Heywood's book. Ma'am mostly relies on Baylis & Smith(as much i have seen). That's the difference in notes. Problem is Sir does not cover the topic comprehensively & organically. It's mostly one para from here another from there, that's why he's not very good for 2A

@Caesar @Villanelle Okay. Guess we just have to collect more independent content then!

That’s pretty much what I’ve concluded too. 

It does add weight to your answer, esp in theory part. But I do think scholars should be used to support your argument and not the other way round. And answers should not be completely about scholarly views. Like a ques on nuclear detterence should not be ltd to Waltz, Sagan and theories but extend to current events, history and 2-3 lines of your own. That's what I think, others can elaborate 

Shubhra Ma'am notes were 100% solely part of my prep. Nothing absolutely NOTHING beyond them. This was a conscious choice since i prepared after prelims mostly.

Her crash course notes are a gold mine for paper 2. In paper 2 i attempted 2 ques in 2B part all thanks to her notes. 142 in paper 2 only because i could quote books and scholars from her crash course answers. 

In paper 1, it seems i need to add more content for which i think test series, pyq and selected reading of standard books might help. 

Although this time csat is stuck so not so hopeful :(

Thank you :) and i truly hope you clear the csat, would be great to learn alongside someone who has scored such good marks

Amazing... you must have revised them really really thoroughly! Especially if you prepared mostly after prelims. Hope you get a chance to excel this year too :)

From how I understood things after my first mains (2018), where I'd relied on Shubhra maams notes entirely, was that they're enough to get you till 275-280. The real game for the next 50 marks starts after that. For every additional mark in this segment, one has to put disproportionate amount of time, be it going beyond standard sources for selective topics (theory part particularly). Yet the real scope to take a lead away from the pack lies in part B of both papers, but more importantly 2B (SR notes usually lack in this, but her crash course notes cover up the gap). One can go without them also, by keeping track of books, data, editorials etc but this has to be done over a long term process, otherwise it is a huge task to be done between pre and mains. And lastly, writing practice to write better, faster answers with good presentation and complete the paper. 

I'm yet to dig deeper as to how this year gave such drastically variant results for myself. But in the end, my way forward would still be to do the above- consolidate notes that I already have, make them crisper (I liked@AzadHindFauz  style as seen few pages back), add value points from whatever material you see (topper copies, model answers from test series, peer review copies, and then just writing more and more mock tests. 

hi@Porus , just wanted to knw one thing, giving attempt in 2021, did mam course would cover, all the scholars n thinkers we need to quote in 2B , because i feel i m reading too much editorials and really dont knw what to quote

Additionally, look for editorials or scholars' pieces (ORF, Diplomat etc) for particular phrases they've coined or like to use. 

- It may be time for aNew Delhi Consensus, which is not a metaphor for Indian exceptionalism but a call for a more inclusive and participatory world order

Or even what the PM says, like for BRI- On BRI

@Porus @MarcusA  guys it would be really helpful for this year mains students if you can provide your notes. 

 i am relying on shubhra mam class notes.. see if you can arrange them from market. however, i would suggest you to buy directly from the centre.

I've also seen some of the topper copies this year, nothing out of the ordinary in content. But whatever is required in an answer is there. 

Let's see marks of rank 31, 35, 67 etc. We may get a clearer picture.