Pujya Priyadarshni Rank 11 CSE 2018: IAS Toppers Strategy

PUJYA PRIYADARSHINI, RANK 11 – UPSC CSE 2018

“NEVER GIVE UP”

 Educational Background

• I am a graduate from Sri Ram College of Commerce.
• Master in Public Administration from Columbia University
• I worked with PW coppers for 2 and half years and then Reliance Foundation

How to  manage Professional life with Preparation of Civil services?

• Always enter into the Civil Services Preparation with Plan B. What if you can’t clear as its very competitive and uncertain.
• Backup plan will give you sense of security and you will be able to focus well on exam.

What was my strategy for preparation?

• Keep the process very simple. Keep your expectation in check and you will definitely get good results. There was a huge jump of 90-95 marks.
• During preparation there are so many things to study so the important step is to Concise the sources and Revise often.
• Competition is too much and preparation is lengthy process therefore HARDWORK and PATIENCEis the key.

What was my Strategy for Prelims?

• Prelimsis the toughest step and the biggest roadblock in the journey of Civil Services.
• Syllabus and Sources –Stick to the syllabus and most important thing is limiting the SOURCES. There are more than 10 sources for every subject. Don’t get confuse.
• I referred NCERT for Ancient India and Medieval India
• I referred Bipan Chandra for Modern Indian India Struggle for Independence
• Tests Seriesis must. I used to attempt Tests Daily – I attempted at least 70 tests before the Prelims. I always aimed for 110+ in my practice tests.
• TIME MANAGEMENT – Will come with practice.
• Educated Guessingis very important- In one go you can safely attempt 40 questions in the Prelims PAPER 1. After that you have to take calculative risk by applying the elimination process.
• CSAT Practice – Don’t take it lightly because it’s a qualifying paper. Practice is very important.

What was my Strategy for MAINS?

• General Studies: I used to practice 3 hours of GS Answer Writing every day.
• I have improved a lot between 2016 and 2018 attempt.  I joined Test Series and get it checked from Teachers and Mentors.
• I understood with time that you need to develop introductions and art of Answer writing for each paper of GS. It helped me a lot. Each paper has its own strategy which you have to understand and practice rigorously.
•       Ethics– It’s a tough paper as there is no defined syllabus. I focussed on Case Studies and key concepts and terms in Paper 4  like Attitude, Aptitude. Part A needs substantiation with examples. In terms of time managements Ethics is a lengthy paper.
• Optional– I decided to take Sociology and remained stick with it over the attempts.
• Sociology helps in understanding Mains Paper 1 and 2 and Essay paper and also Ethics Paper.
• Sociology was a very practical decision for me.
• I used to write Sociology Answer writing for 1 hour.
• Essay– I practiced Essay writing of Previous Year Topics. Focussed on Structuring and flow. Essay was my strength.

Approach for the Interview

• Scored 176 (2016) to 193 (2018).
• I have given Mock interview. But I would suggest to not overdo.
• Take few mocks and be confident.
• Interview is all about your own Emotional Quotient. Take feedbacks from Mock Interview and learn how you are going to place an answer.
• Know yourself. Be who you are and play with your own strengths.

GS SCORE extends heartiest congratulations to Pujya Priyadarshni on her great achievement and we are gratified to have been a part of her journey to Success (Rank 11) in CSE 2018.