As has been informed, SFG- Level 1 will be starting from the 5th of December. As I plan on going for SFG, I'm very confused as to how to manage both SFG and mains prep together. I plan to finish my Mains prep till the end of December and start the next year with prelims prep only. Kindly provide some tips as to how to manage both.
If you have in the game for more than a year, and not a fresher, see if you can survive SFG with 5-6 hours of preparation.
If I were you, I would wake up at 2am, study till 7, write the exam till 8, and collapse for a sleep. Then go on with other things from 12/1 noon till late evening.
I am no knight. Do not call me Sir|Philosophy behind ForumIAS
One more thing I feel is that Prelims these days is more about temperament in exam hall. By temperament I mean your ability to maintain your composure when faced with unknown questions and I believe whatever best your level of preparation is, in the best case scenario you would be confident in maximum 40 questions. In rest of the questions you have to apply logic, reasoning, intuition, gut feeling and leap of faith to attempt. So, practicing tests especially without preparing too much can be very helpful as:
1. You learn not to expect questions from what you have studied (the biggest reason of stress as exam time approaches and one tends to recollect everything as if going for viva).
2. You can do reverse engineering as you can identify specific areas in static portions to focus more in second reading.
3. You will commit mistakes and there is a better chance that the mistake is etched in your memory for not to be repeated again (I have seen many students committing the error of correct vs incorrect statements).
4. You will learn how questions are framed from a particular topic and you will be able to orient your studies accordingly.
5. It is actually refreshing and motivating way of studies if you don't take too much stress about marks.
:)
I am just sharing my thought based on experience for science and technology portion:
1. In recent times, do focus on reverse engineering of past year questions of prelims of 5-6 years. They will give you some idea and sometimes questions also. Remember, ELISA in 2017 and 2020 or Mitochondrial DNA threrapy in 2021 and Pronuclearase Transfer in 2020.
2. Another assessment is that they are focusing on landmark developments in the field of biotechnology, space etc. which have significant impact on humanity as a whole. So, google landmark developments in physics, biology, biotechnology, space etc. Remember, merger of giant blackholes question 2019.
3. Do watch explainer videos for these technology themes. It will save time and questions need application of knowledge which one can learn from these videos.
4. Then if you want you can refer to monthly magazines for basic knowledge.
5. Lastly, practice MCQs to get rid of "All of the Above" syndrome.
Bol Bachchan :)