Divya Mittal, an IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, needs no introduction. After clearing the UPSC exam in 2013, she is currently serving as the district magistrate of Mirzapur.
Divya is also quite active on social media and often interacts with her followers. Recently, her followers posed a question to the IAS officer on how to prepare and crack the UPSC Civil Services examination.
To address the same, Divya took to Twitter and shared nine important tips which hold the key for the UPSC aspirants as the IAS prelims are just less than two months away.
Many at times find the syllabus to be huge to cover. According to the IAS officer, there is never a delay and even if you are just starting, you can make it.
9 Tips/ Steps Shared by IAS Divya Mittal In A Thread On Twitter
Step 1: Attempt the last year GS and CSAT paper and see where you stand. Based on your current performance, check the areas of your weakness and strength.
Step 2: Focus on Strength areas Double down on your strength areas where you have to put in least effort to gain maximum marks. Eg: You are good at economics or geography but are making some mistakes, work on them the most. Prelims is a game of playing on your strengths.
Step 3: Divide the syllabus into smaller chunks – static, current in GS and RC, Reasoning, Quant in CSAT. Check out the past 5 years question papers and understand the pattern. Find repeated topics and hidden syllabus.
Step 4: Compulsory topics for Parity Some topics with high weightage (30-40) i.e. Polity, Environment. All serious aspirants would be able to solve them, especially if the paper is easy.
PARITY with competition is MOST important!
Step 5: Repeated topics and current affairs
Imp topics to focus:
Repeated: Buddhism, Jainism, Monetary policy, Wetlands, Emerging tech, Banking & fin regulations, Polar regions, space missions, Biotech, Alternative energy etc. Current: Inflation, AR, Ukraine/NATO, ONDC, OCEN etc.
Step 6: Consolidate your resources You can't cover multiple books on a subject. Consolidate the specific notes, textbooks etc that you will cover. Eg: Laxmikant Polity, Shankar Environment, NCERT eco, Spectrum history, Current affairs notes of 2 institutions.
Step 7: Make a study plan Allot specific times to stay organised and make sure you stick to it.
Give 10 plus hours per day at least (If you are starting now- Time is less. you have to slog).
Set daily and weekly goals to track your progress.
Step 8:
Mock tests: Work on past question papers. Pick up mock tests of 2-3 institutes as it would add to your knowledge base and also bring you on parity with the competition.
GS: 3-4 mocks/week; CSAT- 1 mock/week till the last week.
[Takes 3 hours/day] Given the recent pattern, it is impossible to 'know' more than 30-40 questions. You need educated guesses on 40-50 questions. So in any question eliminate obvious wrong options. Then based on your knowledge of the topic, pick the best choice.
This is improved by practice, mocks.
Step 9: Be positive Every now and then you will feel you don't know anything or you don't remember anything. Don't worry. When you see the options, mind will automatically find the answer.
Apart from the tips, IAS Divya Mittal advised UPSC aspirants to be positive and always have the confidence that you can make it.