Animesh Verma

Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India.

Union Public Service Commission

EE-3.pdf

EE-4.pdf

EE-5.pdf

EE-6.pdf

EE-7.pdf

EE-8.pdf

notes Analog Electronics.pdf

notes Circuit Theory.pdf

notes Digital Electronics.pdf

notes Control Systems.pdf

notes Electric Machines.pdf

notes Mathematical Tools.pdf

notes Power Electronics.pdf

notes Power Systems Protection.pdf

notes Electromagnetic Theory.pdf

notes Measurements and Instrumentation.pdf

notes Signals and Systems.pdf

notes Analog Communication.pdf

notes Power Systems.pdf

notes Digital Communication.pdf

EE-2.pdf

EE-1.pdf

EE pointers

  1. Scaling factor = binary marking (paper 1 + paper 2 ) x 0.75
  This time significant scaling was observed in paper 1 as it was quite difficult and lengthy.   
  The actual scaling factor usually ranges from 0.7 to 0.8, depending on the paper difficulty, lengthiness, etc. (take 0.75 as average).

  2. In technical optionals like Electrical Engineering (EE), practice is the most crucial part. Hence, try to solve as many questions as possible.

  3. EE optional is quite bulky. It takes around 8-10 months to complete it (@6-7 hrs/day). Initially I used to think that EE optional can be completed in 4-5 months like humanities optionals (the biggest mistake I made during my UPSC journey).

  4. EE optional is mostly numerical based, even paper 2 (though it also depends on your choice of questions you attempt).

  5. Try to make short notes for formulae and concepts. I have already shared my EE notes.

  6. Make a habit of regularly revising your notes. Try to find out patterns in formulae as it will help you to remember them for a longer time. However, don't spend too much time on notes revision. Try to devote maximum time to solving numericals. The active recall you make while solving questions is the most effective way to remember formulae.

  7. Accuracy is the key. Almost binary marking is given in technical optionals. Suppose in a 10 mark numerical, you have solved half the question correctly and faltered in the next half, then you should expect to score max 2-3 marks in that question.

  8. How to improve accuracy? 
  Whenever you are practising questions from PYQs, previous year test series (or maybe even standard books), try to solve them in a test format (i.e. Solve multiple questions and then at the end check your answers all at once. Give binary marking. Give 0 even if all the steps are correct but the final answer is wrong). Now track your progress.
  Personally speaking, I used this method a lot (almost on a daily basis) and found it to be very helpful.
  This method can be used to improve speed as well. To do so, you should record your start time and end time also and then compare it with the stipulated time (take approx 7 min for 10 markers, 11 min for 15 markers, 14 min for 20 markers and so on).
  Personally, I did not implement this idea much during those 100 days for mains preparation as I already had to give a lot of tests (averaging 1 test every other day since you have to prepare for total 7 papers) and there is obviously a lot of time pressure while writing tests. But those candidates who are not currently studying for Mains can opt for this method.

  9. Always keep the cost benefit ratio in mind when thinking of studying some new topic.
  These days tough questions are being asked from some new/strange topics. You should ignore them if you find them very tough or time consuming.

  10. No need to cover 100% of the UPSC CSE EE syllabus. Covering 90-95% of the keywords is more than enough. Try to cover 80-85% of the syllabus before Prelims.

  11.  Similarly no need to cover everything in PYQs, test series, etc.

  12. In difficult subjects like power electronics, digital communication, etc. cover at least the easy topics (and medium ones if possible).

  13. Don't skip easy topics like electric drives. Mostly easy questions are asked every year from this topic.

  14. Personally I did not make any separate notebook of solved examples. It takes a lot of time and anyways at the end of the day practice is what matters.

  15. Don't make too much theory notes. I made this mistake and could hardly revise 10% of it at the end.

  16. Choose questions wisely since you have to attempt only 5 out of 8 questions. You can spend 5-7 minutes of your allotted 3 hrs time in deciding this (the question paper is distributed on average 3-4 minutes before the start time). Give more preference to those kind of questions which you have practised beforehand. Always be sceptical of new types of questions which are deceived to look similar to PYQs but aren't. So read questions properly while choosing.
17. Beware of Q.8. Try to avoid it. If you go through the PYQs then you will notice that Q.8. usually has very new and tough questions.

  18. Sometimes wrong diagram/misprint is given in the question paper (eg: buck regulator question in 2022 paper 1). In such scenarios you are expected to know the correct diagram and solve accordingly.

  19. You are not expected to know everything that has been asked in the PYQs. I did not study very difficult questions like 4th order matrix controllable uncontrollable modes question (2022 P2) while I was preparing for the 2023 attempt. Always keep the cost benefit ratio in mind.

  20. I used to attempt the paper in sequential order. In 2023 EE paper 1, I attempted  Q 1,3,4,5 and then 8 (I used to regret attempting Q 8 but not so much after seeing my marks) and in paper 2- Q 1,4,5,6 and then 7. You can also attempt the compulsory questions first (1&5) and then remaining questions. However I always chose the former method.

  21. In case of very lengthy questions (identify lengthy questions as soon as possible): i. Skip trivial steps while solving  ii. Avoid full answer statement at the end. eg. Simply write  R=10 ohm and box it. The examiner will also know that it is a lengthy question and you won't be penalised if you follow these two steps (as per my experience).

  22. In case of difficult questions, solve till the end (as far as possible). Such questions are usually checked leniently and scaling is also awarded later.

  23. You should always attempt all the questions (250/250).

  24. Some PYQ trend analysis:
  i. In 2022, new/ difficult questions were asked in the compulsory part (eg. Derivation related to cosets in paper 2). Earlier, new types of question were mostly limited to non-compulsory questions.
  ii. Every year, some new type of questions are asked. Eg in 2022 corner frequency question was asked (analog electronics) which I didn't know at that time. For 2023 attempt I prepared that topic and it proved to be fruitful as that topic was again asked in 2023. But you don't need to study all the new topics as some are very difficult and almost feel like out of syllabus questions.
  iii. In measurement and instrumentation, connection diagram based questions related to ac bridges are quite important. Asked in 2021 and 2023. Try to memorize the connection diagrams. Derivation and solving numericals is very easy.
  iv. Sometimes questions related to topics of paper 2 are asked in paper 1 and vice-versa. Eg Bode plot, R-H criterion questions being asked in paper 1 in the last few years. So get used to it.

  25. After prelims, i. complete the leftover important topics ii. Solve PYQs, test series including previous year test series iii. Refer to standard books very selectively for some tricky topics

  26. After writing essay and GS papers, you get around 5 days to prepare for optional. These 5 days are very crucial. You should mostly practise numericals during these days. Also give at least one simulation test (9-12 and 2-5)- it can be any previous year UPSC EE paper (preferably) or previous year test series paper.
  
Clarification: Even after doing B.Tech in EE from IITD, I relied mainly on self-study to prepare my EE optional. I tried to judiciously choose elective courses during my college days so as to align with the UPSC CSE EE syllabus, but still was able to cover only about 60-70% of the syllabus. Remaining portions of the syllabus I covered through self- study using standard books. Sometimes I also referred to NPTEL lectures for some tricky topics in Electric Machines, Power Electronics, etc.

electric engineering notes , test copies and strategy ee pointers

  1. scaling factor = binary marking (paper 1 + paper 2 ) x 0.75
  this time significant scaling was observed in paper 1 as it was quite difficult and lengthy.   
  the actual scaling factor usually ranges from 0.7 to 0.8, depending on the paper difficulty, lengthiness, etc. (take 0.75 as average).

  2. in technical optionals like electrical engineering (ee), practice is the most crucial part. hence, try to solve as many questions as possible.

  3. ee optional is quite bulky. it takes around 8-10 months to complete it (@6-7 hrs/day). initially i used to think that ee optional can be completed in 4-5 months like humanities optionals (the biggest mistake i made during my upsc journey).

  4. ee optional is mostly numerical based, even paper 2 (though it also depends on your choice of questions you attempt).

  5. try to make short notes for formulae and concepts. i have already shared my ee notes.

  6. make a habit of regularly revising your notes. try to find out patterns in formulae as it will help you to remember them for a longer time. however, don't spend too much time on notes revision. try to devote maximum time to solving numericals. the active recall you make while solving questions is the most effective way to remember formulae.

  7. accuracy is the key. almost binary marking is given in technical optionals. suppose in a 10 mark numerical, you have solved half the question correctly and faltered in the next half, then you should expect to score max 2-3 marks in that question.

  8. how to improve accuracy? 
  whenever you are practising questions from pyqs, previous year test series (or maybe even standard books), try to solve them in a test format (i.e. solve multiple questions and then at the end check your answers all at once. give binary marking. give 0 even if all the steps are correct but the final answer is wrong). now track your progress.
  personally speaking, i used this method a lot (almost on a daily basis) and found it to be very helpful.
  this method can be used to improve speed as well. to do so, you should record your start time and end time also and then compare it with the stipulated time (take approx 7 min for 10 markers, 11 min for 15 markers, 14 min for 20 markers and so on).
  personally, i did not implement this idea much during those 100 days for mains preparation as i already had to give a lot of tests (averaging 1 test every other day since you have to prepare for total 7 papers) and there is obviously a lot of time pressure while writing tests. but those candidates who are not currently studying for mains can opt for this method.

  9. always keep the cost benefit ratio in mind when thinking of studying some new topic.
  these days tough questions are being asked from some new/strange topics. you should ignore them if you find them very tough or time consuming.

  10. no need to cover 100% of the upsc cse ee syllabus. covering 90-95% of the keywords is more than enough. try to cover 80-85% of the syllabus before prelims.

  11.  similarly no need to cover everything in pyqs, test series, etc.

  12. in difficult subjects like power electronics, digital communication, etc. cover at least the easy topics (and medium ones if possible).

  13. don't skip easy topics like electric drives. mostly easy questions are asked every year from this topic.

  14. personally i did not make any separate notebook of solved examples. it takes a lot of time and anyways at the end of the day practice is what matters.

  15. don't make too much theory notes. i made this mistake and could hardly revise 10% of it at the end.

  16. choose questions wisely since you have to attempt only 5 out of 8 questions. you can spend 5-7 minutes of your allotted 3 hrs time in deciding this (the question paper is distributed on average 3-4 minutes before the start time). give more preference to those kind of questions which you have practised beforehand. always be sceptical of new types of questions which are deceived to look similar to pyqs but aren't. so read questions properly while choosing.
17. beware of q.8. try to avoid it. if you go through the pyqs then you will notice that q.8. usually has very new and tough questions.

  18. sometimes wrong diagram/misprint is given in the question paper (eg: buck regulator question in 2022 paper 1). in such scenarios you are expected to know the correct diagram and solve accordingly.

  19. you are not expected to know everything that has been asked in the pyqs. i did not study very difficult questions like 4th order matrix controllable uncontrollable modes question (2022 p2) while i was preparing for the 2023 attempt. always keep the cost benefit ratio in mind.

  20. i used to attempt the paper in sequential order. in 2023 ee paper 1, i attempted  q 1,3,4,5 and then 8 (i used to regret attempting q 8 but not so much after seeing my marks) and in paper 2- q 1,4,5,6 and then 7. you can also attempt the compulsory questions first (1&5) and then remaining questions. however i always chose the former method.

  21. in case of very lengthy questions (identify lengthy questions as soon as possible): i. skip trivial steps while solving  ii. avoid full answer statement at the end. eg. simply write  r=10 ohm and box it. the examiner will also know that it is a lengthy question and you won't be penalised if you follow these two steps (as per my experience).

  22. in case of difficult questions, solve till the end (as far as possible). such questions are usually checked leniently and scaling is also awarded later.

  23. you should always attempt all the questions (250/250).

  24. some pyq trend analysis:
  i. in 2022, new/ difficult questions were asked in the compulsory part (eg. derivation related to cosets in paper 2). earlier, new types of question were mostly limited to non-compulsory questions.
  ii. every year, some new type of questions are asked. eg in 2022 corner frequency question was asked (analog electronics) which i didn't know at that time. for 2023 attempt i prepared that topic and it proved to be fruitful as that topic was again asked in 2023. but you don't need to study all the new topics as some are very difficult and almost feel like out of syllabus questions.
  iii. in measurement and instrumentation, connection diagram based questions related to ac bridges are quite important. asked in 2021 and 2023. try to memorize the connection diagrams. derivation and solving numericals is very easy.
  iv. sometimes questions related to topics of paper 2 are asked in paper 1 and vice-versa. eg bode plot, r-h criterion questions being asked in paper 1 in the last few years. so get used to it.

  25. after prelims, i. complete the leftover important topics ii. solve pyqs, test series including previous year test series iii. refer to standard books very selectively for some tricky topics

  26. after writing essay and gs papers, you get around 5 days to prepare for optional. these 5 days are very crucial. you should mostly practise numericals during these days. also give at least one simulation test (9-12 and 2-5)- it can be any previous year upsc ee paper (preferably) or previous year test series paper.
  
clarification: even after doing b.tech in ee from iitd, i relied mainly on self-study to prepare my ee optional. i tried to judiciously choose elective courses during my college days so as to align with the upsc cse ee syllabus, but still was able to cover only about 60-70% of the syllabus. remaining portions of the syllabus i covered through self- study using standard books. sometimes i also referred to nptel lectures for some tricky topics in electric machines, power electronics, etc.  animesh verma notes upsc

Electric Engineering Notes , test copies and strategy

Important Supreme Court Judgements.pdf

Important Articles.pdf

I am sharing my notes of important articles and supreme court judgements for your reference. Important articles are useful for both Prelims and Mains while the supreme court judgements are useful mostly for Mains only (except the very important and latest judgements which can be asked in Prelims as well).

notes of important articles and supreme court judgements i am sharing my notes of important articles and supreme court judgements for your reference. important articles are useful for both prelims and mains while the supreme court judgements are useful mostly for mains only (except the very important and latest judgements which can be asked in prelims as well).  animesh verma notes upsc

Notes of important articles and supreme court judgements

EE booklist

Paper-1

  1. Circuit Theory: book by Abhijit Chakrabarti
  
  2. Signals and Systems: Oppenheim (Pearson)
  
  3. E.M. Theory: Principles of E.M. By Sadiku and Kulkarni
  
  4. Analog Electronics: i) Microelectronics by Donald A. Neamen
  ii) Electronic Devices and Circuits by J.B. Gupta 
  ( Most toppers recommend this book. So I also bought J.B. Gupta. But it was mostly waste of time. Only ideal op-amps is covered nicely. Last year, I researched and bought the Donald Neamen book and found it to be very useful.)
  
  5. Digital Electronics: Digital Design by Morris Mano and Celitti
  
  6. Energy Conversion: i) Electric Machines by Ashfaq Hussain
  ii) Principles of Electric Machines by P.C. Sen
  
  7. Power Electronics and Electric Drives: i) P.S. Bhimbra
  ii) Fundamentals of Electric  Drives by G.K. Dubey
  
  8. Analog Communication: i) B.P. Lathi ii) Sanjay Sharma iii) Simon Haykin
  (Ideally I also want to recommend only 1 book per subject. But PYQs from communication, especially digital communication have been tough. Direct questions have been asked from all these 3 books. Can't help.)
  
  Paper-2
  
  1. Control Systems: i) Anand Kumar ii) Norman Nise
  
  2. Microprocessors & Microsystems: i) Ramesh Gaonkar
  
  3. Measurement and Instrumentation: A.K. Sawhney
  
  4. Power Systems Analysis and Control: i) Grainger and Stevenson ii) CL Wadhwa
  (direct questions have been asked from both these books)
  
  5. Power Systems Protection: i) Badri Ram & Vishwakarma ii) Paithankar & Bhide
  iii) CL Wadhwa
  
  6. Digital Communication: i) Sanjay Sharma ii) Simon Haykin iii) B.P. Lathi
( Direct questions have been asked from all these 3 books. Can't help.)
Other resources for EE

  1. PYQs from MadeEasy
  2. Previous Year Next IAS EE optional Test Series
  3. Next IAS Postal Study Package (though I did not go for this)
  4. ESE PYQs (personally I did not get any time for this)
1. Books recommended in bold--> direct questions have been asked in UPSC EE optional paper
2. Instead of buying all these books, an alternate strategy could be to buy the NextIAS postal study package and then buy books for those subjects only where you find that it is not covered properly in the NextIAS/MadeEasy book.

electric engineering optional resources ee booklist

paper-1

  1. circuit theory: book by abhijit chakrabarti
  
  2. signals and systems: oppenheim (pearson)
  
  3. e.m. theory: principles of e.m. by sadiku and kulkarni
  
  4. analog electronics: i) microelectronics by donald a. neamen
  ii) electronic devices and circuits by j.b. gupta 
  ( most toppers recommend this book. so i also bought j.b. gupta. but it was mostly waste of time. only ideal op-amps is covered nicely. last year, i researched and bought the donald neamen book and found it to be very useful.)
  
  5. digital electronics: digital design by morris mano and celitti
  
  6. energy conversion: i) electric machines by ashfaq hussain
  ii) principles of electric machines by p.c. sen
  
  7. power electronics and electric drives: i) p.s. bhimbra
  ii) fundamentals of electric  drives by g.k. dubey
  
  8. analog communication: i) b.p. lathi ii) sanjay sharma iii) simon haykin
  (ideally i also want to recommend only 1 book per subject. but pyqs from communication, especially digital communication have been tough. direct questions have been asked from all these 3 books. can't help.)
  
  paper-2
  
  1. control systems: i) anand kumar ii) norman nise
  
  2. microprocessors & microsystems: i) ramesh gaonkar
  
  3. measurement and instrumentation: a.k. sawhney
  
  4. power systems analysis and control: i) grainger and stevenson ii) cl wadhwa
  (direct questions have been asked from both these books)
  
  5. power systems protection: i) badri ram & vishwakarma ii) paithankar & bhide
  iii) cl wadhwa
  
  6. digital communication: i) sanjay sharma ii) simon haykin iii) b.p. lathi
( direct questions have been asked from all these 3 books. can't help.)
other resources for ee

  1. pyqs from madeeasy
  2. previous year next ias ee optional test series
  3. next ias postal study package (though i did not go for this)
  4. ese pyqs (personally i did not get any time for this)
1. books recommended in bold--> direct questions have been asked in upsc ee optional paper
2. instead of buying all these books, an alternate strategy could be to buy the nextias postal study package and then buy books for those subjects only where you find that it is not covered properly in the nextias/madeeasy book.  animesh verma notes upsc

Electric Engineering Optional resources

Q&A
Recently one of the candidates asked me this question on social media. (I am posting here as some of you can also have a similar doubt.)

Ans. Sources of CA: 
  1. Daily newspaper reading (The Hindu) along with note-making
  2. Vision monthly magazines
  For Prelims 
  I mostly read "news in shorts" under each section like polity and governance, IR, etc. Ignore any FOMO. Sometimes, UPSC asks CA questions which has not been covered in any magazine. Also, the weightage of CA is quite low in Prelims.
  For Mains
  Each Vision CA monthly magazine contains roughly 50-60 topics. However most of the topics are of low significance and have very high cost but low benefit. So, I studied only the top 10-12 topics based on their importance (priority can be decided easily if you read NP daily). Ignore the rest 80%. 
  Remember: CA questions asked in Mains are those topics which have been in news for some time. So, only important current affairs topics must be studied for Mains.

Revision strategy
  1. Daily revision of my CA notes (at least 10 pages per day)
  2. Once or twice weekly I used to revise monthly CA magazine
  3. Never spend more than 20% of your daily study time on CA
Another question recently asked.
(also need not call me sir, directly take my name)
 Q.  "Sir how did you take notes for newspaper."

Ans.
   1.  For daily newspaper note-making, you should be thorough with the Mains syllabus. Need  not learn it verbatim, but read the syllabus 10-15 times. I also took a printout of the syllabus and pasted it on the wall in front of my desk. So that whenever I had any confusion, I can look at the syllabus and know whether a topic is included in the syllabus. 

  2. Secondly, you should go through the PYQs as well to help you guide in newspaper note-making.

  3. Make notes of whatever you feel is important.

  4. Whenever in doubt as to may be it is important or maybe it's not so important, leave it and move on. Cultivate a habit of ignoring the FOMO.  This is very important in an exam like UPSC which has a huge syllabus.
For big CA topics which continue for days, I made daily notes and complemented it with Vision CA monthly magazine. These magazines contain the A-Z of any topic. So need not google and waste your time and effort.

how to take notes for newspaper? q&a
recently one of the candidates asked me this question on social media. (i am posting here as some of you can also have a similar doubt.)

ans. sources of ca: 
  1. daily newspaper reading (the hindu) along with note-making
  2. vision monthly magazines
  for prelims 
  i mostly read "news in shorts" under each section like polity and governance, ir, etc. ignore any fomo. sometimes, upsc asks ca questions which has not been covered in any magazine. also, the weightage of ca is quite low in prelims.
  for mains
  each vision ca monthly magazine contains roughly 50-60 topics. however most of the topics are of low significance and have very high cost but low benefit. so, i studied only the top 10-12 topics based on their importance (priority can be decided easily if you read np daily). ignore the rest 80%. 
  remember: ca questions asked in mains are those topics which have been in news for some time. so, only important current affairs topics must be studied for mains.

revision strategy
  1. daily revision of my ca notes (at least 10 pages per day)
  2. once or twice weekly i used to revise monthly ca magazine
  3. never spend more than 20% of your daily study time on ca
another question recently asked.
(also need not call me sir, directly take my name)
 q.  "sir how did you take notes for newspaper."

ans.
   1.  for daily newspaper note-making, you should be thorough with the mains syllabus. need  not learn it verbatim, but read the syllabus 10-15 times. i also took a printout of the syllabus and pasted it on the wall in front of my desk. so that whenever i had any confusion, i can look at the syllabus and know whether a topic is included in the syllabus. 

  2. secondly, you should go through the pyqs as well to help you guide in newspaper note-making.

  3. make notes of whatever you feel is important.

  4. whenever in doubt as to may be it is important or maybe it's not so important, leave it and move on. cultivate a habit of ignoring the fomo.  this is very important in an exam like upsc which has a huge syllabus.
for big ca topics which continue for days, i made daily notes and complemented it with vision ca monthly magazine. these magazines contain the a-z of any topic. so need not google and waste your time and effort.  animesh verma strategy upsc

how to take notes for newspaper?

CSAT notes.pdf

Sharing my CSAT notes which contain some basic formulae and tricks.

csat notes , basic formulae and tricks. sharing my csat notes which contain some basic formulae and tricks.  animesh verma topic-discussion upsc

CSAT notes , basic formulae and tricks.

1278123_2220.pdf

1278123_2219.pdf

1278123_2218.pdf

1278123_2217.pdf

Basic changes that I made during Mains 2023:

  1. Focused on revision so as to improve content and speed.

  2. Wrote more of data, facts, etc. so as to enrich my answers.

  3. Tried to write all the answers with proper intro, body, conclusion format.

  4. Wrote proper sub-headings to address each part of the question.

  5. Changed to a liquid ink pen instead of ball pen.

  6. Tried to improve legibility and handwriting.

  7. Tried to fill all the pages (except maybe in GS4). Wrote more points.
Sharing my Abhyaas mains 2022 copies as well so that you all can see the improvements that I made.

basic changes that i made during mains 2023: basic changes that i made during mains 2023:

  1. focused on revision so as to improve content and speed.

  2. wrote more of data, facts, etc. so as to enrich my answers.

  3. tried to write all the answers with proper intro, body, conclusion format.

  4. wrote proper sub-headings to address each part of the question.

  5. changed to a liquid ink pen instead of ball pen.

  6. tried to improve legibility and handwriting.

  7. tried to fill all the pages (except maybe in gs4). wrote more points.
sharing my abhyaas mains 2022 copies as well so that you all can see the improvements that i made.  animesh verma topic-discussion upsc

Basic changes that I made during Mains 2023:

Essay_2321.pdf

Essay_2323.pdf

GS4_2092.pdf

GS4_2088.pdf

GS3_2087.pdf

GS3_2091.pdf

GS2_2090.pdf

GS2_2086.pdf

GS1_2089.pdf

GS1_2085.pdf

mains test series answer copies sectional tests 2074-2078  animesh verma topic-discussion upsc

Mains test series answer copies

1278123_2077.pdf

1278123_2078.pdf

1278123_2075.pdf

1278123_2076.pdf

1278123_2074.pdf

Sharing my mains test copies for your reference

animesh verma - mains test copies sharing my mains test copies for your reference  animesh verma notes upsc

Animesh Verma - mains test copies

photo_2025-07-17_17-31-22.jpg

photo_2025-07-17_17-31-24.jpg

photo_2025-07-17_17-31-25.jpg

I am going to share my Prelims mock tests marks (from Vision student portal) of 2022 and 2023 to show that fluctuations in Prelims marks are quite normal and that there is very weak correlation between Abhyaas Prelims marks and actual UPSC Prelims marks.

From the below graphics you can notice that though I used to get only 50s 60s marks in Abhyaas Prelims 2022, I got 103+ in actual Prelims 2022. So never get bogged down if you get low marks in test series, just continue the good work and everything else will fall in place. The converse is also true. Even if you get very good marks in mock tests like 90+, 100s... you should not get overconfident as still you can score lower marks in actual Prelims which will always be different than coaching mocks (already discussed yesterday).


Abhyaas marks are in the order GS, CSAT, GS, CSAT, GS and CSAT.
Prelims Test series comprised 25 tests out of which the first 12- 15 tests are sectional ones and later ones are full tests (Paper I).Though I gave only 3 CSAT mocks (Abhyaas), I recommend giving more CSAT tests owing to the difficulty level of CSAT paper these days.

prelims mock tests i am going to share my prelims mock tests marks (from vision student portal) of 2022 and 2023 to show that fluctuations in prelims marks are quite normal and that there is very weak correlation between abhyaas prelims marks and actual upsc prelims marks.

from the below graphics you can notice that though i used to get only 50s 60s marks in abhyaas prelims 2022, i got 103+ in actual prelims 2022. so never get bogged down if you get low marks in test series, just continue the good work and everything else will fall in place. the converse is also true. even if you get very good marks in mock tests like 90+, 100s... you should not get overconfident as still you can score lower marks in actual prelims which will always be different than coaching mocks (already discussed yesterday).


abhyaas marks are in the order gs, csat, gs, csat, gs and csat.
prelims test series comprised 25 tests out of which the first 12- 15 tests are sectional ones and later ones are full tests (paper i).though i gave only 3 csat mocks (abhyaas), i recommend giving more csat tests owing to the difficulty level of csat paper these days.  animesh verma strategy upsc

Prelims Mock tests

Prelims booklist and resources
 
  1. Polity- Laxmikanth book only
  2. History
  • Modern history- Spectrum
  • Art and Culture- Nitin Singhania book 
  • Ancient and medieval history - ICSE book (class 7 (Frank modern certificate) and class 9- Total History and Civics)
  3. Geography- NCERT classes 11 and 12
  4. Economics- NCERT classes 11 and 12
  5. Environment- Shankar IAS book
  6. Science and Technology- CA monthly magazines
  7. Current Affairs (CA)
  • Daily newspaper (The Hindu) reading along with handwritten notes
  • Vision CA monthly magazine (mostly News in Shorts)
  8. Other resources (used as and when needed)
  • Google whenever in doubt
  • Vision QRM (quick revision module)
  • Test series- reverse learning
Prelims strategy
  
  1. Since this is an objective (MCQ) type paper, you do not need to revise too many times (the correct answer is in front of you). 3-4 times is mostly enough.

  2. Instead of revising too many times, try to expand your knowledge base as far as possible (via reverse learning, etc.)

  3. Don't spend too much time in current affairs. These days the weightage of current affairs is quite small so you should allocate time to it proportionately (maximum 20% of your studying hours).

  4. Though almost every topper has read CA monthly magazines/PT365, etc. but this does not mean they have read it thoroughly. You have to read such magazines very selectively (eg. I read mostly news in shorts only in Vision magazine)

  5. I recommend giving 20-30 mock tests for Prelims paper I and 5-10 mock tests for CSAT. These are not strict limits. Modify them as per your individual needs.

  6. Don't give too many mocks. Too many mocks means less revision. 

  7. Also, you must remember that the actual UPSC prelims paper will always be different from the coaching mocks, no matter how many mocks you give. This is because, these days, coaching mock papers are available almost universally (online, offline, tg). So, UPSC also easily gets access to these papers and it later filters out all the mock questions from the question bank that UPSC prepares. This results in the UPSC Prelims paper being different from the mock tests.

  8. Also, plagiarism is widely prevalent in coachings UPSC study material and mock test papers. So giving 10 mocks from 10 different coaching institutes is of no use.
 
  9. Due to the new pattern of UPSC Prelims paper, the effectiveness of the old tricks has decreased but not vanished. I will be sharing those tricks soon.
Strategy while solving the Prelims Paper I

  1. Attempt questions in maximum 3 rounds (preferably 2) in a sequential order. Bubble OMR sheet after every round.
  
  • First round: start sequentially from question number 1 to 100. This is the surety round. In each question, tick the correct statements/options and put a cross mark on those statements/options which are wrong (do this only if you are sure). If you are partially sure (like 51-90% confidence level) then put a small tick or cross mark accordingly beside the statement/option. If you are unsure, leave it blank and move onto the next statement or option or question as the case may be. After completing 1st round, bubble OMR sheet and drink water. This acts as a little break (bubbling OMR is an easy-peasy thing for your brain). This rest for the brain often proves to be useful when attempting questions in the next round.

  • Second round: Attempt only those questions in which a 50:50 scenario exists (i.e. you have already eliminated 2 options). If you can now eliminate one more option then very good. Else, you can just randomly tick either of the two options or go with gut feeling. It might sound funny, but randomly selecting either of 2 options (when you have correctly eliminated two wrong options) will almost always give you a good result (given 1/3rd negative marking penalty). Also, since Prelims paper is quite lengthy these days, so often you might need to resort to this strategy. Another quick alternative to this is to go with the small tick or small cross sign which you marked in the first round when you were only partially sure. Take a leap of faith and treat that partially sure as completely sure. The third way is to go with gut feeling and tick the option which you "feel" is correct. You can choose any way but do it fast. After completing the 2nd round, bubble the OMR sheet. Now quickly count total no. of questions attempted (just count the questions which you have not attempted by looking at the OMR and subtract that number from 100). If the total number of attempted questions falls within your ideal range, then don't go for round 3. You have finished the paper. If the no. of questions attempted are less, then go for round 3. If the no. Of questions attempted are more than your ideal range, then also you have finished the paper. [note: you can't unfill the bubbles once marked; only few centres provide whiteners that usually too 300-400 students in any given centre would have to do with just 1 or 2 whiteners.

  • Third round: Attempt remaining questions (preferably those where you have already eliminated one option) till you reach your ideal no. of questions attempted.
  
  2. Read questions carefully. Understand the meaning properly. 

  3. Extremes in between statements.- solely, only, all, always, never, lethal, etc.- such statements are most probably wrong.

  4. On the contrary, when statements contain generic keywords like some, sometimes, etc., then they are most probably correct.
  5. Etymology: many a times keyword based questions are asked where you need to know the meaning of that keyword. Even if you don't know the meaning, try to break down that word into smaller parts whose meaning you might know.

  6. Always be ready to use your common sense, logic, rationality and practicality. Many statements/options can be eliminated using these.

  7. Coherency/ consistency between statements; odd one out. Only inconsistent statements cannot go together. So, an option containing inconsistent statements is eliminated.

  8. Try to read questions at a good pace but without hampering comprehension. Read every question max. twice as these days the questions and options are quite long.

  9. Unknown/unheard facts/data are usually wrong. This holds true especially in long statements with many facts/data.

  10. Careful when *not* is in the question. Highlight/underline the not so as not to miss it otherwise you will mark the exactly opposite option.
11. Attempt 75-90 questions only. Attempting too low is risky because many a times it happens that you feel you are completely sure of the answer but later it turns out to be wrong. [Also, note: UPSC Prelims paper contains some subjective questions as well (though quite many subjective questions were there in 2023). If you are surprised at this thinking that Prelims is completely objective, then you definitely need to solve PYQs and cross check with official UPSC answer keys and coachings' answer keys.] While attempting too many questions (eg. all 100) is also risky as it will involve more of luck and less of knowledge/skill and you never know how your luck would be on the D-day.

  12. Preferably attempt only those questions in which you are completely sure and 50:50 questions (i.e. finish the paper by round 2).

  13. Always look at the options set up before judging the difficulty of the question. Many a times you will read a question, not understand anything, lose confidence and move onto the next question. But you should always read all the options as sometimes the set up/content of options can make a difficult question easy.

  14. Statements having multiple facts are usually wrong.

  15. In case of persistent Confusion (like first you thought option a is correct but later you think b is right) go with the first guess. This is especially useful in questions where you last revised a long time ago and your knowledge becomes more like a feeling.

  16. If you have exhausted all tricks and need to attempt more questions, then you can solve some questions with gut feeling.

  17. Solve PYQs. It will help to verify whether the tricks are working, find the ideal range of no. of questions you should attempt, etc.

  18. Underline keywords and extreme words (including in statements and options). It will help avoid silly mistakes.

  19. Tick options carefully in the question paper. Knowing the difficulty of the Prelims these days, sometimes candidates get excited whenever they see a question which they are sure of but end up ticking the wrong option due to complacency.

  20. Bubble OMR sheet carefully.

  21. Leave at least 8-10 minutes at the end to mark OMR.

  22. At the end- reverse check if you have attempted all desired questions. A fast way to do this is by looking at your filled OMR sheet, finding the question numbers that you have not bubbled and then cross-checking the question paper to verify that the particular question is not attempted. If in case that particular question is attempted in the question paper, then quickly bubble it.

  23. Lastly, feel free to modify this strategy as per your own needs.

prelims booklist and resources and prelims strategy prelims booklist and resources
 
  1. polity- laxmikanth book only
  2. history
  • modern history- spectrum
  • art and culture- nitin singhania book 
  • ancient and medieval history - icse book (class 7 (frank modern certificate) and class 9- total history and civics)
  3. geography- ncert classes 11 and 12
  4. economics- ncert classes 11 and 12
  5. environment- shankar ias book
  6. science and technology- ca monthly magazines
  7. current affairs (ca)
  • daily newspaper (the hindu) reading along with handwritten notes
  • vision ca monthly magazine (mostly news in shorts)
  8. other resources (used as and when needed)
  • google whenever in doubt
  • vision qrm (quick revision module)
  • test series- reverse learning
prelims strategy
  
  1. since this is an objective (mcq) type paper, you do not need to revise too many times (the correct answer is in front of you). 3-4 times is mostly enough.

  2. instead of revising too many times, try to expand your knowledge base as far as possible (via reverse learning, etc.)

  3. don't spend too much time in current affairs. these days the weightage of current affairs is quite small so you should allocate time to it proportionately (maximum 20% of your studying hours).

  4. though almost every topper has read ca monthly magazines/pt365, etc. but this does not mean they have read it thoroughly. you have to read such magazines very selectively (eg. i read mostly news in shorts only in vision magazine)

  5. i recommend giving 20-30 mock tests for prelims paper i and 5-10 mock tests for csat. these are not strict limits. modify them as per your individual needs.

  6. don't give too many mocks. too many mocks means less revision. 

  7. also, you must remember that the actual upsc prelims paper will always be different from the coaching mocks, no matter how many mocks you give. this is because, these days, coaching mock papers are available almost universally (online, offline, tg). so, upsc also easily gets access to these papers and it later filters out all the mock questions from the question bank that upsc prepares. this results in the upsc prelims paper being different from the mock tests.

  8. also, plagiarism is widely prevalent in coachings upsc study material and mock test papers. so giving 10 mocks from 10 different coaching institutes is of no use.
 
  9. due to the new pattern of upsc prelims paper, the effectiveness of the old tricks has decreased but not vanished. i will be sharing those tricks soon.
strategy while solving the prelims paper i

  1. attempt questions in maximum 3 rounds (preferably 2) in a sequential order. bubble omr sheet after every round.
  
  • first round: start sequentially from question number 1 to 100. this is the surety round. in each question, tick the correct statements/options and put a cross mark on those statements/options which are wrong (do this only if you are sure). if you are partially sure (like 51-90% confidence level) then put a small tick or cross mark accordingly beside the statement/option. if you are unsure, leave it blank and move onto the next statement or option or question as the case may be. after completing 1st round, bubble omr sheet and drink water. this acts as a little break (bubbling omr is an easy-peasy thing for your brain). this rest for the brain often proves to be useful when attempting questions in the next round.

  • second round: attempt only those questions in which a 50:50 scenario exists (i.e. you have already eliminated 2 options). if you can now eliminate one more option then very good. else, you can just randomly tick either of the two options or go with gut feeling. it might sound funny, but randomly selecting either of 2 options (when you have correctly eliminated two wrong options) will almost always give you a good result (given 1/3rd negative marking penalty). also, since prelims paper is quite lengthy these days, so often you might need to resort to this strategy. another quick alternative to this is to go with the small tick or small cross sign which you marked in the first round when you were only partially sure. take a leap of faith and treat that partially sure as completely sure. the third way is to go with gut feeling and tick the option which you "feel" is correct. you can choose any way but do it fast. after completing the 2nd round, bubble the omr sheet. now quickly count total no. of questions attempted (just count the questions which you have not attempted by looking at the omr and subtract that number from 100). if the total number of attempted questions falls within your ideal range, then don't go for round 3. you have finished the paper. if the no. of questions attempted are less, then go for round 3. if the no. of questions attempted are more than your ideal range, then also you have finished the paper. [note: you can't unfill the bubbles once marked; only few centres provide whiteners that usually too 300-400 students in any given centre would have to do with just 1 or 2 whiteners.

  • third round: attempt remaining questions (preferably those where you have already eliminated one option) till you reach your ideal no. of questions attempted.
  
  2. read questions carefully. understand the meaning properly. 

  3. extremes in between statements.- solely, only, all, always, never, lethal, etc.- such statements are most probably wrong.

  4. on the contrary, when statements contain generic keywords like some, sometimes, etc., then they are most probably correct.
  5. etymology: many a times keyword based questions are asked where you need to know the meaning of that keyword. even if you don't know the meaning, try to break down that word into smaller parts whose meaning you might know.

  6. always be ready to use your common sense, logic, rationality and practicality. many statements/options can be eliminated using these.

  7. coherency/ consistency between statements; odd one out. only inconsistent statements cannot go together. so, an option containing inconsistent statements is eliminated.

  8. try to read questions at a good pace but without hampering comprehension. read every question max. twice as these days the questions and options are quite long.

  9. unknown/unheard facts/data are usually wrong. this holds true especially in long statements with many facts/data.

  10. careful when *not* is in the question. highlight/underline the not so as not to miss it otherwise you will mark the exactly opposite option.
11. attempt 75-90 questions only. attempting too low is risky because many a times it happens that you feel you are completely sure of the answer but later it turns out to be wrong. [also, note: upsc prelims paper contains some subjective questions as well (though quite many subjective questions were there in 2023). if you are surprised at this thinking that prelims is completely objective, then you definitely need to solve pyqs and cross check with official upsc answer keys and coachings' answer keys.] while attempting too many questions (eg. all 100) is also risky as it will involve more of luck and less of knowledge/skill and you never know how your luck would be on the d-day.

  12. preferably attempt only those questions in which you are completely sure and 50:50 questions (i.e. finish the paper by round 2).

  13. always look at the options set up before judging the difficulty of the question. many a times you will read a question, not understand anything, lose confidence and move onto the next question. but you should always read all the options as sometimes the set up/content of options can make a difficult question easy.

  14. statements having multiple facts are usually wrong.

  15. in case of persistent confusion (like first you thought option a is correct but later you think b is right) go with the first guess. this is especially useful in questions where you last revised a long time ago and your knowledge becomes more like a feeling.

  16. if you have exhausted all tricks and need to attempt more questions, then you can solve some questions with gut feeling.

  17. solve pyqs. it will help to verify whether the tricks are working, find the ideal range of no. of questions you should attempt, etc.

  18. underline keywords and extreme words (including in statements and options). it will help avoid silly mistakes.

  19. tick options carefully in the question paper. knowing the difficulty of the prelims these days, sometimes candidates get excited whenever they see a question which they are sure of but end up ticking the wrong option due to complacency.

  20. bubble omr sheet carefully.

  21. leave at least 8-10 minutes at the end to mark omr.

  22. at the end- reverse check if you have attempted all desired questions. a fast way to do this is by looking at your filled omr sheet, finding the question numbers that you have not bubbled and then cross-checking the question paper to verify that the particular question is not attempted. if in case that particular question is attempted in the question paper, then quickly bubble it.

  23. lastly, feel free to modify this strategy as per your own needs.  animesh verma strategy upsc

Animesh Verma

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