How to Prepare Geography for UPSC Civil Service Examination? | Geography for UPSC CSE PDF Download

The teachers of EduRev have mentored thousands of students in the last 3-years, including Anudeep Durishetty AIR 1 UPSC CSE 2017, and one thing that was common that a lot of time of an UPSC aspirant is wasted in compiling the reliable sources from different sources and the strategy to study them efficiently.
Our team has spent the last 2-years interacting with UPSC toppers, teachers who have mentored these toppers, understanding their strategies, sources that they referred to during the preparation, compiling these sources & making them available to you at a single click in the EduRev App, saving hundreds of hours wasted in setting the base for the UPSC CSE preparation.
This document will briefly help you understand how you can leverage EduRev smartly to crack the UPSC exam & study what actually matters to crack the exam.

How to prepare Geography for UPSC effectively with EduRev?

EduRev course(s) is structured in such a way that you can prepare everything for Geography for both UPSC Prelims and Mains in a single place without going to coaching:

1. Understand Geography Syllabus & PYQs of UPSC/IAS Examination
   It is recommended to start with the understanding of the syllabus & analysis of previous year questions of UPSC Prelims & Mains to understand the pattern of the exam and what kind of questions are being asked in the exam, which you can find under the Advice to Aspirants hierarchy in the course Geography for Geography for UPSC CSE.
   
   Advice to the Aspirants hierarchy in EduRev Geography Course
2. What should I read for geography in UPSC: Focus on NCERTs 
   Once you're done with the understanding of the UPSC Exam syllabus & previous year's questions, you should start your UPSC preparation with NCERT Textbooks.
   1. Read NCERT Textbooks for conceptual understanding of the topic: 
      Just like Advice to Aspirants, there's a section of NCERT Textbooks, Summaries & Tests in the Geography course.
      
      NCERT Books, Summaries & Tests hierarchy in Geography Course
   2. Read Old and New NCERT Summaries
      In case if you've already read the NCERTs, we recommend you to go through NCERT summaries  for a quick revision. EduRev has also provided quick revision practice tests for each class (the purpose of these tests is revision & are not of UPSC level).
      
      NCERT Summaries of Geography at EduRev
   3. Attempt NCERT based Tests for UPSC CSE
      After you’ve read the NCERTs and their summaries, it is recommended to attempt MCQ tests to help you strengthen your concepts and ensure that you’ve understood all the concepts right and it helps in UPSC Exam as well as in Interviews. All these tests have been prepared by the experts of EduRev as per the latest pattern of the UPSC exam.
      Check here: NCERT Based Tests for UPSC CSE
      
      NCERT based Tests of Geography on EduRev
3. Which are the Best Books for Geography for UPSC?

   EduRev also offers a course with summaries & MCQ Tests for the famous reference book: GC Leong for Geography & Shankar IAS for Environment (which is co-related with Geography & often asked together)
   Other reference books that you can refer is Majid Hussain for Geography of India, Majid Hussain for India & World Geography & DS Khullar for Physical Geography which is suggested by the UPSC Toppers themselves.

4. Why you should Stay Updated with Current Affairs for UPSC?
   All the above-mentioned information/sources will help you strengthen your concepts and covers the static part of the UPSC Exams. However, for the dynamic part, you should stay updated with current affairs as questions are asked in a way that both the current affairs and the static portion are interlinked.
   You can go through the course: Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly Compilation & can keep yourself up to date with the recent subjectwise current affairs.
   Monthly Current Affairs section Daily, Weekly & Monthly  course on EduRev Along with this, you can find monthly Yojana Magazine on here.

5. How to Perfect the Concepts for UPSC/IAS?
   Perfect your concepts and master the subjects through Video Lectures, Notes & MCQ tests so that you don't get stuck on the D-Day.

   1. Refer Video Lectures of related topics for better understanding
      Once you are thorough with the basic understanding of the concepts through NCERTs, you should continue the learning with the videos. Learning with Videos help you remember better in a natural manner which helps you in your Final UPSC interview. You can find video lectures under each topic in the videos section here
      

      Video Lectures for the Himalayas on EduRev
      
      EduRev videos with Timeline & In-text Questions

   2. Study Detailed Notes for UPSC CSE
      EduRev UPSC experts have prepared notes in a structured manner with well-explained images to help you understand the topics and cover all the aspects of a particular topic. Find the detailed notes in the course Geography for UPSC CSE
      EduRev notes prepared by UPSC Experts

   3. Attempt MCQ Tests and crack your UPSC sectional Cutoff
      MCQ Tests on all the topics (& sub-topics) of Geography are helpful for clear understanding, proper practice, and quick revision. These tests will help you in self-evaluation and you can check whether you've understood a topic completely and are prepared for the UPSC interview in the longer run. Find the MCQ Tests in the course Geography for UPSC CSE
      MCQ Tests of various Topics on EduRev

6. Is Map Based Learning in Geography Important for UPSC?
   It is recommended to study the books Orient Black Swan and Oxford for Physical ATLAS & Maps for Geography section in UPSC. And EduRev is offering a course with videos & MCQ tests that enhance your Map-based learning from the course   ATLAS: Map-based Learning for UPSC
   Map-based Learning Course on EduRev

7. Mock Tests & Previous Year Questions for UPSC 

   • Once you've completed your preparation for Geography. We recommend you to attempt subject-wise mock tests of Geography, available under the UPSC Prelims Mock Test Series on EduRev. These Sectional Mock tests help you analyze your Strengths and weakness better and eventually prepare you better for the final UPSC CSE.

   • Check out UPSC CSE Prelims Mock Test Series. Attempt more and more tests and ace your preparation.
     

   • You can get the last 10-years of UPSC Prelims & Mains papers from here - UPSC Previous Year Question Papers and can also refer to the topic-wise questions of Indian Polity from the last 25-years here.

Other Important Links:

1. Courses for all the subjects:
   Similar to Geography, there are courses for other subjects as well available under the EduRev Infinity plan -
   History for UPSC CSE, Indian Polity for UPSC CSE, Indian Economy for UPSC CSE, Science & Technology for UPSC CSE, Environment for UPSC CSE & others.
   
   Various Courses for UPSC available on EduRev
2. Prepare each subject well with EduRev App.
   check:

   • How to study History using the EduRev App?

   • How to Study Current Affairs for UPSC Preparation with EduRev App

   • How to study Environment for UPSC using the EduRev app?

   • How to study Geography for UPSC with the EduRev App? 

   • How to study Indian Economy for UPSC using the EduRev app?

   • How to study Science & Technology for UPSC using the EduRev app?

   • How to study Polity using the EduRev App?

Happy Learning with EduRev!

FAQs related to Preparation of Geography for UPSC CSE Examination-

1. What is the Syllabus of Geography IAS (UPSC CSE) Prelims?
   The Syllabus of Geography for UPSC Prelims is divided into two parts: World Geography and Indian Geography.
   These two can also be divided into 3 other components: Physical, Social and Economic Geography
2. Is NCERT enough for the geography of UPSC Prelims?
   In terms of geography, NCERT is virtually sufficient. However, make sure to include references from other sources as well as Atlas. This makes geography easier to understand since you can visualise the facts and data.
3. Is geography easy for UPSC?
   Many applicants from science, medical, and engineering backgrounds like geography since it is an easy-to-understand and scientific topic. Only ideas must be grasped before the exam may be taken. There is no scarcity of study materials, and numerous Geography books are accessible.
4. How can I start my geography preparation for UPSC Prelims at home?
   EduRev course(s) is structured in such a way that you can prepare everything for Geography for both UPSC Prelims and Mains in a single place without going to coaching.