Dear aspirants,
The Preliminary Examinations appear to be around the corner. Tensions will be running high for the first-timers. Those used to the process will be making all kinds of predictions on the difficulty and cut-off for the paper. The confusion of whether switching on to Prelims mode in full swing might be going through one’s mind.
Wait. Think. Clearing Prelims is not rocket science. Ninety days, from now, will be enough. However the nature of the paper might be such that optimal efforts during this period can let you sail through the round with ease. Even if you start from the scratch, you can make it. This is a round of elimination. Those who are prepared cannot be eliminated. To get prepared, the first thing you will need is a plan.
Here, we give you the plan. It is only a blueprint but if you can succeed in executing it, it will be a lifeline. They come along with certain rules. Play by the rules; stick by the plan.
The Rules
- Never miss the newspaper –Don’t fall for it when your friend says the question paper will be set before a month and the current affairs will not come from the area. You could happen to glance through an article that you missed earlier. You could revise a concept; say a Constitutional article, from a current happening.
- Don’t ignore CSAT –The exam is only of qualifying nature and you could have topped the aptitude exams in school. But on the day of the exam, everything else is a different ball game. Don’t be complacent. Make sure to put the minimum effort and stay in touch.
- One step at a time –Complete your prelims targets for the day before taking up your optional subject or mains answer writing.
- Write mock tests –Mock tests can help you in gauging your preparation levels. They are chances where you have the liberty to fail. And in failing, you move another step towards success.
- Analyze your wrong answer after test –After every test that you take up analyse the reason why you went wrong. Is it because you
- wrongly understood or misinterpreted the question, or
- made silly mistake like say missing some important key word in the question or
- are completely unaware of the question but still went ahead and made a guess
- thought of some answer but marked another answer
- Integrate the question solving along with reading –Studying alone will not suffice. Ensure that you get a good exposure to questions of the MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) type.
The Plan
We have taken a week-by-week approach to design the plan. The week starts on a Saturday. This has been done for facilitating you to utilize maximum time in the weekend. The plan runs till June 15th, providing you two days time till the Prelims Day, to relax yourselves and give your best shot on the day.
For the sources, you can stick with the NCERT and Shankar IAS Academy Books. As far as Current Affairs is concerned, IAS Parliament gives you a comprehensive coverage of all the articles that have been in news since August 2016.
The syllabus for Prelims broadly falls under the subjects of History, Geography, Economics, Polity, Science & Technology and Environment. Based upon these and current affairs, the plan has been designed.
| Week | Subjects | Syllabus |
| #1 (March 18 – 24) | History | Ancient India (NCERT) |
| Geography | 6th, 7th, 8th (NCERT) | |
| Map | North America, Australia, 3 Indian States | |
| Current Affairs | August 2016 | |
| #2 (March 25 – 31) | Polity | Till DPSP |
| Geography | 9th, 10th, 11th (NCERT) | |
| Current Affairs | September 2016 | |
| Map | South America, Europe, 3 Indian States | |
| #3 (April 1 -7) | History | Medieval India (NCERT) |
| Polity | Executive (Centre, State), Judiciary | |
| Current Affairs | October 2016 | |
| Map | 3 Indian States | |
| #4 (April 8 -14) | Geography | 12th (NCERT) |
| Economics | National Income, Growth & Development, Money | |
| Current Affairs | November 2016 | |
| Map | 3 Indian States | |
| #5 (April 15-21) | Economics | Money, Inflation, External Sector |
| History | Modern India (NCERT) | |
| Current Affairs | December 2016 | |
| Map | 3 Indian States | |
| #6 (April 22- 28) | Polity | Parliament, State Legislature |
| Economics | Banking, Financial Market | |
| Current Affairs | January 2017 | |
| Map | 3 Indian States | |
| #7(April 29 – May 5) | History | Miscellaneous |
| Environment | Environmental Ecology, Biodiversity | |
| Current Affairs | February 2017 | |
| Map | 3 Indian States | |
| #8 (May 6 – 12) | Geography | Miscellaneous |
| Science and Technology | Space, Defence | |
| Current Affairs | March 2017 | |
| Map | 3 Indian States | |
| Mock Test #1 | ||
| #9 (May 13 -19) | Polity | Constitutional Bodies, Other bodies, Misc topics |
| Environment | Climate Change, Agriculture | |
| Current Affairs | April 2017 | |
| Map | 3 Indian States | |
| Mock Test #2 | ||
| #10 (May 20 – 26) | Economics | Miscellaneous |
| Science and Technology | Biotechnology, Health | |
| Current Affairs | August + Sept + Oct+ November 2016 | |
| Map | 2 Indian States | |
| Mock Test #3 | ||
| #11(May 27 – June2) | Environment | Institutions, Organizations |
| Science and Technology | Nanotechnology, Information Technology, IPR | |
| Current Affairs | December 2016 + January + February 2017 | |
| Map | Union Territories | |
| Mock test #4 | ||
| #12 (June 3 -9) | Revision | History, Geography, Economics |
| Current Affairs | May 2017 | |
| Mock Test #5 | ||
| #13 (June 10 – 16) | Revision | Polity, Environment, Science & Technology |
| Previous Question papers | Last 5 years Prelims Papers | |
| Current Affairs | March + April + May + June 2017 | |
We cannot design a plan that fits all. This is an outline. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You can base your plan upon this and restructure it in a way it maximizes your potential.
Build trust in yourself. Believe that you are moving in the right direction. You decide what you become!
