#UnriddleUPSC Events

      UNRIDDLE  UPSC

"Work for the future that you want to live. Find it difficult? Let's make it happen together! "

The cut -throat competition in the modern epoch will compel you to look out for ways that are easy and convenient. In an exam as demanding as CSE, current affairs hold a lion's share, but more often than not we are in a conundrum of "do's" and "don'ts". In such a situation, why work hard when we are here to bring for you the webinars that are sufficiently required and apt? 

         

     EDNITA  brings to you,  #UNRIDDLE  UPSC , an indispensable series of webinar sessions where discussions on different topics, methods and issues pertaining  to UPSC preparation are held. The webinar is held between various esteemed IAS/IPS/IFS/IRS Officers and UPSC aspirants.

        EDNITA believes that in this time of pandemic, preparation of aspirants is getting hampered  due to lack of resources and guidance, which was then available. We hope the sessions are impactful. 

In the light of the same, the first Webinar session was organised, with IAS Naveen Kumar Chandra as the speaker, and the topic of the discussion, primarily focussed on,

1. "How to prepare Current Affairs"

Here are the Highlights of the discussion held with an overwhelming participation of the aspirants:

06 SEPTEMBER 2020 / 07:00 PM / GOOGLE MEET

Attendees

●        All members of Ednita

●        70+ attendees

●        Speaker: IAS Naveen Kumar Chandra

Agenda

1. To discuss how to prepare the current affairs portion for the CSE exam.
2. To address questions on the same.

Notes

The speaker divided the discussion into three parts:

○         Basics

○         What &

○         How

●        Basics:

○        ‌ About 70-80 % of the questions in the exam are directly or indirectly based on current affairs.

○        ‌ The daily news will be asked in all the respective stages of the civil services exam i.e.the prelims, written and the personality test.

○        ‌about 50-60 % of questions on current news are asked in the final level itself.

○        ‌ linking up the topics of static portion and the current portion is very vital for aspirants.

●        What?

○        ‌due to the existence of too many sources and data, students often get confused in the process of deciding which source is best.

○        ‌The speaker advises the attendees to decide one source and stick to it since facts and information are more or less the same in different sources.

○        current affairs questions from past 10 to 12 months are asked in the exam.

○        Current affairs for humanities and non- humanities background students remain the same.

●        How?

○        ‌take optimum time to decide one magazine, one newspaper and one website to cover current affairs.

○        ‌apart from reading a newspaper and magazine, take a quiz on a daily basis to check your progress.

○        ‌ For quizzes, many online websites are available.

●        ‌Preferred sources:

○        ‌Newspapers, for detailed current affairs

■        ‌The Hindu

■        ‌The Indian Express

○        ‌Magazine, for previous months current affairs

■        ‌Vision IAS

■         ‌Insights on India

■         ‌Forums IAS

○        ‌Websites, for pointers

○        ‌ It is advised to devote 40 minutes each to newspaper, magazine and quiz. Hours for current affairs should be fixed.

○        ‌ Not feasible to skip newspaper, second or third-hand information is not useful for an aspirant.

○        ‌Start with newspaper reading and gradually bring down the timings to 30 to 45 minutes.

○        ‌Read 5 to 6 pages daily from the magazine (read previous month information in the present month)

○        ‌The formula is:

■        ‌40 min: newspaper

■        ‌40 min: magazine

■        ‌20 min: quiz

○        ‌ This comes down to devoting about 2 hours daily on current affairs. Stick to it and be persistent.

●        Notes: is it required?

○        ‌The speaker advises not to make notes of current affairs

○        ‌ The magazines act as a note binder. Take help of some coaching notes that are available in the market.

○       just keep updating them with time.

○        ‌No need for extra coaching classes for current affairs.

●        ‌ Doubts clearing:

○        ‌Filter out the important news from so many headlines.

○        ‌Skip news on entertainment, sports, local news, etc

○        ‌Read articles related to the Constitution, policy, economy (not economics).

○        ‌Ask yourself while reading the news: is it adding to the pre-existing knowledge you   have? If yes. Go for it.

○        ‌The newspaper itself decides which news is important for you.

●        ‌For beginners:

○        ‌Give at least a week in understanding the exam, its syllabus and pattern, etc.

○        ‌Give next 2-3 days in deciding the optional subject

○        ‌The basis to decide optional:

■        ‌subject of graduation

■        ‌interest

■        ‌availability of study material on it.

■        ‌maximum GS questions (should be the last resort)

●        ‌College-going students

○        ‌Should focus more on college studies

○        ‌Can develop reading habits during this time (newspapers and NCETRs)

●        ‌Answer writing skill:

○        ‌First, know your skills

○        ‌Are you a good writer naturally or hate writing?

○        ‌If you like writing:

■        ‌don't work a lot on it

○        ‌If you hate it:

■        ‌start practising answer writing as soon as possible on a daily basis and develop it slowly and gradually

○        ‌Remember: no one is judging your practice papers.

●        ‌Don't lose touch with your hobby.

●        ‌Overcome restlessness.

●        Most important: ‌be happy

We suppose that the Highlights and key points of the session would be benefitial for the readers.

Thanks to everyone who participated...!

Follow our social handles and subscribe to us to get updated for more such events.

     

 

"Sweat more in practice, bleed less in war" 

       The Second Webinar session of the series was organised with IAS Diana Khuamamthem, as the speaker, and the topic of the discussion focussed on,

2. "How to read NCERTs"

     People often choose to build a library of books when it comes to preparing for UPSC CSE. Similarly in fabricating the advances, we often forget the basics. NCERTs constitute the basics of CSE. One should always be able to go through all such primary books and then proceed. 

Here are the Highlights of the discussion held with an overwhelming participation of the aspirants:

13/09/2020/03:00 p.m./ GOOGLE MEET

ATTENDEES

    ●        All members of Ednita.

    ●        90+ attendees.

    ●        Speaker: Diana Khumamthem.

AGENDA:

In continuation with last session under #UnriddleUPSC

1. To discuss the strategy to read NCERTs.
2. To address questions on the same.

NOTES

‌The session was short, precise  and a productive one.

●        ‌ The speaker talked about importance of NCERTs in the preparation of CSE

●        ‌ It is advised to read NCERTs from 6th to 12th class.

■        History

■        Civics

■        Geography

■        Economics

       ●        ‌ For maths and science, books from 6th upto 10th would suffice with selective chapters in science from 11th and 12th.

●        ‌ Go for NCERTs only if you do not have any basic understanding of the subjects.

●        ‌ Time duration should be kept in mind

○        If you have only 2-3 months for your prelims, it's always better to skip NCERTs.

○        If you have enough time, you can devote 1-2 months to reading all the NCERTs.

●        ‌ The speaker also talks about the alternative to NCERTs:

○        State board NCERT books

○        Tamil Nadu board NCERT books

●        ‌ New Vs Old NCERT

○        The new NCERTs are quite attractive containing comparatively more pictures and images.

○        There is no major difference between the new and the old NCERTs.

○        ‌ just choose any one of them and start reading.

●        ‌There is no need to prepare notes

●        ‌No direct questions from NCERT come in Mains or Prelims.

●        Questions from science come directly in prelims.

●        ‌ If you have a strong base in subjects like history, geography, civics,etc you can go a bit lenient on NCERTs.

●        Revisit only those subjects/topics that you are weak in.

●        Visit online websites:

■        Vision IAS

■        Byjus

■        insights

■        Mrunal

●        Humanities Vs science background:

○        ‌ There will be a difference in approach for a humanities and science background student vis-a-vis NCERTs.

○        ‌Often humanities background student is much aware such subjects(History, civics, geography,etc)

○         Whereas a science background student needs a comprehensive look at these subjects especially 11th and 12th NCERTs.

EDNITA THANKS THE PARTICIPANTS AND THE SPEAKER FOR THIS SESSION.

We suppose that the Highlights and key points of the session would be benefitial for the readers.

Thanks to everyone who participated...!

Follow our social handles and subscribe to us to get updated for more such events.

 

“UPSC Prelims or Mains first? Is 3 months enough for Prelims? What if I start preparing for Prelims first?”

Warm greetings and regards✨

Are you confused regarding how to go about your prelims preparation? Well then #UnriddleUPSC is your solution

EDNITA is pleased to inform you all that we are organizing another insightful webinar on our series #UnriddleUPSC.

The webinar was very interactive and insightful. The participants attained a deeper understanding of DOs and DONTs of Prelims Preparation.

Here are the Highlights of the discussion held with an overwhelming participation of the aspirants:

11/10/2020/06:30 p.m./ GOOGLE MEET

ATTENDEES

  ●    All members of Ednita.

  ●    60+ attendees.

  ●    Speaker: IAS Akshay Agarwal 

AGENDA

 1.How to prepare for Prelims?

2.To address questions on the same.

NOTES

  The speaker introduced the viewers to his official blog for UPSC.

https://akshaybrotherhood.home.blog/

• He recommended aspirants to visit the above site for tips to crack UPSC . It had links to his Youtube videos and also included specific tips for economics optional takers.
• He stressed upon the importance of covering all the recommended NCERTs and standard books thoroughly for the exam. Some well known ones are Spectrum for History, Lakshmikanth for Polity etc. He also mentioned a book authored by IFS officer Mr. Saurabh  Kumar called Prelims Simplified for excelling in Prelims.
• Apart from covering the suggested books, solving Previous Year Questions(PYQs) was very crucial to know about the real question pattern of the examination, according to him. This would help the aspirant in knowing what all topics he needs to cover for the exam.

It goes without saying that, Current Affairs are the backbone of the exam. According to Mr. Agarwal, we need to cover the current affairs of one year before the exam properly . For example, if exam is on June 2022 then the preparation like Newspaper Reading should start on March or April 2021.
CSAT is an important aspect of Prelims. It includes questions on Mathematical reasoning and Aptitude Tests. Solving PYQs or referring to books by R.S. Agarwal can help the aspirant to score better if Maths is their weak area.

• Aspirants can take up 2 or more online/offline Test Series of Reputed Institutes,  such as Vision, Insights , IAS Baba to name a few .

According to him, one can start his/her preparation during their graduation itself by utilising free time or weekends to finish standard books, and they can sit for the exam after graduation. In the beginning  of UPSC preparation one may feel lost and stuck. However, this should not make them lose hope and patience. 
Note making is very important for the exam and the candidates  may refer to his blog mentioned above for more tips on note making and answer writing.

• He said the major qualities of a UPSC topper were consistent hard work, patience and hope. The aspirant needs to remember that UPSC exam is not a sprint but a marathon and it is essential to remain motivated throughout the preparation.

 

 History:

📍 Start with NCERTs

📍 Refer Spectrum book

📍 Use visual memory and pictorial representation

📍 Learn things through mnemonics

 Geography:

📍 Watch YouTube videos, refer Mrunal

📍 Solve and practice questions

📍 Start from basic NCERTs 

CSAT:

📍 Solve previous year questions

📍 Take atleast two test series ( Vision IAS, Insights, IAS Baba)

 Current Affairs

📍 From March 2021 to March 2022

📍 Read editorial section in newspaper

 Reference list:

📍 Polity- Lakshmikant

📍 Environment- Shankar IAS

📍 PRELIMS Simplified by IFS Saurabh Kumar

📍 CSAT- R S Aggrawal

 Official blog of the speaker- https://akshaybrotherhood.home.blog/

 General things to keep in mind:

📍 Am I reading the right stuff? 

📍 You wull take a lot of time to read books and newspaper so donot panic.

📍 You will be slow and clueless. So be patient. The ultimate key to successs is Hardwork, Consistency and Patience.

EDNITA THANKS THE PARTICIPANTS AND THE SPEAKER FOR THIS SESSION.

We suppose that the Highlights and key points of the session would be benefitial for the readers.

Thanks to everyone who participated...!

Follow our social handles and subscribe to us to get updated for more such events.