Approach & tips for Geography (Mains Examination)
Now with CSAT coming into picture from 2011 & optionals being phased out, its irrelevant to delve upon strategy followed in Geography during prelims. Straight away getting to orientation for Mains exam
· I referred the following material for Geography (Did not take any coaching; just got the Xerox material from Xerox shop whose address I’ve already mentioned elsewhere)
1. Direction’s (Neetu Singh’s) Class Notes for Geography Mains
2. Alok Ranjan’s Class Notes for Geography.
3. Physical Geography – Savindra Singh
4. Geographical Thought – Majid Hussain
5. Comprehensive Geography of India by Khullar
6. Geographical Map Entries – Majid Hussain
7. NCERT (XI & XII)
8. Oxford Atlas (You could also buy Orient or TTK, I followed Oxford)
· Only the above mentioned material was referred. I found it more than sufficient. Infact the three books mentioned were used mostly for reference & actual coverage was done from the class notes.
· I used to compare the coverage of a topic from both Direction’s & Alok Ranjan’s Notes & used to cover it from the source where I found it more satisfactory. For e.g. If plate tectonics was better covered in Alok Ranjan than in Direction’s notes then I would cover it from Alok Ranjan or vice versa. Sometimes if used to find a diagram or paragraph better in NCERT or any other source I used to get it Xeroxed & paste it at the place from where I was covering that particular topic (Do this exercise in time so that you don’t waste time when Mains exam is a month away or so; consolidate your material well in advance).
· Draw lots of diagrams. Diagrams fetch you marks. For e.g. in 2009 Mains exam Paper I, I drew 4-5 world maps (E.g. in Food production regions; Cultural regions etc…whereas many don’t do it) & in Paper II around 10-12 Maps of India. Diagrams should be drawn even if it is tangential to the topic. I used to draw the diagram with black pen instead of pencil as it looks more prominent (But one has to master the diagrams as one can’t erase it).
· Map entries are critical in getting edge. Every coming year the entries are getting obscure & sometimes makes an aspirant wonder if he/she has seen an atlas at all in his/her life!!!!. But don’t loose heart. Practice with a focused approach pays. I’ve identified the following areas where exhaustive coverage should be done.
| Focus Areas | Examples |
| Islands | Butcher Island, Pirotan Island (Try covering all possible islands you can find) |
| Places in News | Lavasa, Baltel |
| New Oil Field/Mining Town | Mangala, Kalakot, Kulti |
| Abbreviations | NIO |
| Logical Guesses | Kuala Terengganu (City in Malaysia….linked to Kuala Lumpur), Vana Tivu (Link to Katchativu…..I bluffed this & got it right) |
| Rivers | Ken, Rangit (Try covering rivers in greater detail) |
| Waterfalls | Kutralam Falls (Try covering all waterfalls which you come across in Atlas) |
| Longitude Idea | For Time Zone in World Map (For the first time this was asked in 2009 paper…..A good approach could be using a ruler to measure distance from the prime meridian on each side & thereby making calculations) |
· Source of Map Entries:
1. Direction’s material has previous map entries solved from 1970 till date; also try to cover their Class practice maps (Twenty sheets in all).
2. Try making your maps on other important entries
3. Good Atlas (Oxford, Orient Blackswan or TTK).
4. Geographical Map Entries by Majid Hussain
5. Try to secure material on map entries from as many different institutes as possible.
6. Its not possible to cover explanation for all map entries whose location one covers (Logical guesses come to one’s rescue).
7. For e.g. in 2008 attempt there was a map entry called Mount Harriet. I just knew that it was located in Andaman & Nicobar island group. But I used other logical inferences like the region receives more than 200 cm of rainfall, moist evergreen type of vegetation (also mentioned some tree types from this type of forest). Annual range of temperature is low. Climate has monsoon affectivities. Now its always better to know & write exact pertinent details about the map entry asked but many times aspirants are short of facts. In such cases providing some logical information is better than writing nothing.
· Answer Writing Style: I used to give a brief introduction (not more than once paragraph of 4-5 lines) & then switch directly to the question at hand. Answer the question asked & don’t beat about the bush. Come straight to the point. Conclusion also used to be of one paragraph in the end (on a constructive note if the question demanded deliberation on any problem). I’ll try to upload the scanned copy of the two mock test I wrote last year.
· I would suggest aspirants to write two full length mocks sometime in September on Paper I & Paper II & get detailed feedback from the teacher/professor. The best way to improve your answer writing style is to take the Xerox of the topper’s (Topper in the mock test) copy & analyze what areas require improvement. This really helps. Just two mocks, one for each paper are sufficient in case of optionals. If you feel less confident then take full battery of mocks (But I would recommend that in case of General studies……Still the aspirant is the best judge).
· The latest trend shows that selective coverage can get you in trap (For e.g. in 2009 Paper I the first question had three sub-questions (20 x 3) & there was no choice. Moreover it touched less asked areas like rejuvenation (second cycle of erosion) & L. C. King’s cycle. Many aspirants couldn’t deal with this question satisfactorily as they did not cover the syllabus exhaustively. I don’t recommend 100 % coverage but around 80% coverage is a must now….especially after seeing 2009 paper.
Approach & Tips for Psychology
Psychology as an optional has remained abstruse to many. Even I share some of the sentiments. In my first attempt when I was grossly under-prepared I secured 323 marks in Mains. OTOH in second attempt despite better coverage, my score dropped to 296. Anyways, I relied on the material mentioned below as I didn’t take any classroom coaching.
1. Mukul Pathak’s Class Notes (Just got the material Xeroxed)
2. Mukul Pathak’s Support Material (Or Printed Material)
3. NCERT XI & XII Textbooks
4. Morgan & King, Baron’s Introduction to Psychology (Used for reference only).
· Mukul Pathak’s Class notes are more than sufficient. When I scored 323 in first attempt I had not even looked at NCERT or any other book (including Morgan King, Baron). Only in my 3rd attempt I integrated diagrams & research studies from NCERT in the class notes of Mukul Pathak.
· I used lots of illustrations & diagrams (I remember reproducing diagram from NCERT in actual paper, cover diagrams from other books if they can be reproduced easily in exams).
· The trend in Psychology is getting increasingly difficult to decipher. Questions are being asked from obscure areas (Sperling test, Bernoulli blah blah blah). One should cover around 90 % syllabus to be able to answer five questions out of eight.
· Most of the questions ask for relevant research studies & experimental evidences to support one’s answer. So try to cover as many as possible from standard books.
· Not many institutes conduct test series in this. Try taking the mock taken by Mukul Pathak Sir himself sometime in August-September. The downside is that he doesn’t cover all chapters but then there are not many good options available here. (If you approach Shoubhik Sen, he will ask you to deposit 8-10 thousand & join his some sort of a crash course……Not needed at all in my opinion. Still if you have money to splurge, please be my guest).
· Most of the long questions have 3-4 parts. One should be careful lest one misses any particular sub-part & loose marks Read the question very carefully. The extra time spent in re-reading a question is worth the extra time spent. I’ve seen many missing a particular sub question & regretting later for not having read the question properly.
Will share other details once the Final Marksheet for interviewed candidates is out.....Good Luck.
