IAS 2015 Rank 1 Tina Dabi's Success Strategy for UPSC CSE Study Plan; Booklist;

hi this is Tina da ba ir 1 I did my BA
Honours political science from Lady Shri
Ram College Delhi University I graduated
in the year 2014 I have a lot of
interests the previous ones being
painting debating also some on some
amount of social work but at the other
end the non serious one is like any
other young student hanging out watching
movies if you talk about whether we need
to go for electronic material or paper
materials I have always been very
bookish so I did not per se follow any
website or blog well yes I did research
on Google whenever the need arose but
then I've always consulted books more
and somewhat my faith life modern books
if you talk about a typical day in my
study life then it would comprise off
you can say on an average seven to eight
hours of study because you know even
after that it is highly impossible for
the average brain to a lot more and as
far as the method methodologic is
concerned what I used to follow when I
used to study I used to go I used to
have targets of completing chapters
every day used to underline the
important stuff memorize it and then
after I finished all of that just
briefly take them down in notes and you
know the fantastic part was that these
served as very quick revision notes just
before the exam because day before the
exam you really don't have time to go
through the whole chapter so when you
capture the offense they also serve as
excellent revision notes if you talk
about the pace of how I did my
preparation oh well I did coaching for
one year at hua ji ramen ravine and
since the coaching oz went on for nearly
six to seven on some days because you
also took a coaching for your optional
along with your GS
of course it's highly impossible that
you can study for a longer time during
those days and honestly I just used to
study for us but then yes I was quite
attentive in class so that you know when
you are teaching you something in class
you retain it and you learn it there
itself but on normal days when I was at
home and doing nothing but just sitting
and studying it would go for eight to
nine hours sometimes even 10 hours if
you know what particular topic is not
completed and you know I am such kind of
a person who gets really scared one day
before the exam so you know I would
study for twelve to fourteen hours you
know because I always had this thing oh
if I if I if you know I shouldn't have
this big Radi take stages because I had
it revised the particular thing I missed
it so it is quite varying the pace about
the courier back up I really did not
have one since I was in school
particularly in class eleventh I had
decided I wanted to become a civil
servant so I focus all my energies on it
and really did not have a career backup
option I had thought that tkf it doesn't
get over in one event I would probably
go for another in another but then if at
all if I would have got tired of civil
services I had always thought I would go
again in academics do my masters and
probably join as a lecturer about
English medium and Hindi medium I really
don't think it makes much of a
difference no matter what language you
choose be it English or non-english
languages you should be mastered in it
that's the point you should be
expressive in whatever language you
choose if you feel that you're bored
expressivity he'd be I would advise you
go for Hindi because at the end of the
day the answers are judged according to
how excellently you make your points so
as far as medium is concerned I think
one should choose in which one can
express the best
well I've been asked whether what I
learned from the whole journey of
preparation for the examination I
thought that probably if apart from you
know the growing knowledge base that you
acquire you keep studying and keep
learning more about India or the world
and everything else I think you also
grow as a person like I acquired a lot
of self-discipline I acquired a lot of
patience I acquired acquired a lot of
tolerance for myself you know this is
something which is also like building
your personality so I believe you also
mature as a person as far as what I
would like to tell you on I would really
advise everybody to be very patient
you know this exam this exam is so tough
and I and I do recognize it's very tough
it was tough for me as well and nearly
two years of your investment go into it
one year you prepare for it the other
you you sit for it so when so much time
so much lock-in period is involved you
grow very you go tired so at such point
you really need to be patient and not
lose hope so patience is the key
apart from that hard work should not be
a one-day issue it has to be consistent
you might study only for five hours but
do it daily make it a habit
so I would like to wish all of you all
the very best and it's really really
possible to do it
it's absolutely if you put in hard work
nothing really can stop you so all the
very best do with
hi I'm Tina Dobby a ir1 I did my BA
Honours political science from Lady Shri
Ram College Delhi University I have a
range of interest the serious ones being
painting debating some amount of Social
Work non serious when I think it should
all of us share handing out watching
movies shopping etc when we talk of
trillions I wouldn't say that there are
you know one particular book for every
subject in every topic because for
different topic different books cater
better so if we talk about ancient
history I only did it from the class 12
in CRT if you talk about medieval
history as well the same source in CRT
class 12 history when it pertains to the
freedom struggle in modern Indian
history I somewhat did it from Biffen
Chandra history of modern India and
parts of it from spectrum spectrum is
also good for another reason it gives so
more information and at the end of each
chapter
they've summarized the whole chapter in
television points so you know if you
know because we all know there are time
constraints so if you can't read the
whole chapter from spectrum you could
always go through the revision points at
the end of the chapter if you talk about
art and cultural I think you know that's
one thing which scares everybody because
there is no one source and the only good
thing is that nobody is well-versed in
art in culture so like we're all at the
same level so what I did for art in
culture at wadi rum some class notes
were given they are easily available in
the market so you could consult that
Raja Ram has also come out with a
booklet on art in culture and the fourth
hundred pages are good for reference but
if you really want to do quickly the
whole topic of art in culture
I could recommend the vision ISS booklet
on art and culture it's around fifty
pages very concise to the point also has
pictures so I think that another great
source if we talk about quality
I think Lakshmi Kant is the Bible of
quality and I did Lakshmi cons for
prelims as well as means but yes Lakshmi
Kant has a drawback that it's often too
factual but whatever new is happening
currently we have really good sources
from the current affairs booklets
published by penny coaching Institute's
and I believe our European vision is has
really really good Current Affair
booklets so whatever current is
happening in polity the good part in
both of these booklets is that they not
only talk about the factual part of it
for instance if you talk about
President's rule so they'll not only
tell you about Article 356 but also give
you its analysis its past experiences
what has the supreme court read so it's
a whole something so I believe along
with Lakshmi count these could prove as
a good supplement if we talk about
economy I really did not consult any
book on economy I completely follow the
Raja Ram class notes and I think they
are excellent and they are easily
available in the market so you could do
that along with that even the economy
the Indian economy in world economy
changes every day there are new things
happening so again we need to consult
the current affairs booklets and vigy
Rams booklets or vision ISS booklets
they are very wholesome because they not
only give you the first they give you
the analysis and they even predict that
you know what could happen
they even quote good scholars so you
know you really don't need you know
because we don't have time so you really
don't need to read update sustain or
Nandan Nilekani what you could probably
do is go through these booklets and
you'll automatically get their
viewpoints so that's you know like a
good shortcut it will save you time and
headaches if we talk about signs like I
was really poor at sighs you know being
a humanities student so you know
probably I'm not the right person to
guide you all for science
so I had very limited sources I just did
the class notes of Vegeta and since I
was not very comfortable with scythes
what I did and what I could advise other
students like me is that I completely
focus on current affairs you know
related to signs like oh are they some
new developing developments happening on
the space front like we had the
mangalyaan
we had the Mars mob Mars orbiting
mission so probably you know you could
focus on what's happening in luckily
like that's what I found
even in trillions and means they were
only interested in the current
developments so that's really good for
students like me who have non science
backgrounds environment if we talk about
environment and ecology I think that's a
really hot topic like your by yours the
number of questions are increasing and
it's really unfortunate that students
really don't pay attention to it they
somewhat ignore it I would highly
recommend not to ignore this topic
because it is core your brownie for
instance the others are ignoring it so
where they will not school you will
score for environment I think Shankar
Academy has been has brought out this
very good green book so I consulted that
and I found it pretty sufficient apart
from that even environment in ecology
things change everyday some someone find
either art an art of living culture
festival happens when they destroy the
Yamuna floodplains then on the other day
the red book data comes out so if your
things keep happening so it's very
important that you have a current
affairs orientation in believe me in
trillions and means nearly 80 percent
questions are current affairs base
current affairs has to be extremely
strong if we talk about geography if we
talk about physical geography I think a
physical geography is very theoretical
and conceptual and it takes time to
build on the concepts I believe to the
class 11th in CRT which I believe is
named as our fundamentals of physical
geography is very very sufficient and
has explained everything very nicely in
detail with diagrams it's a so I think
that's a very
source if you talk about India's
geography I think last tenth NCERT is a
very very good geography of the world no
one source but a wizard publication has
given everything in a very concise form
in tabular format so that may help as
well if you talk about national and
international current affairs
I think Current Affair booklets of
Varginha main vision ideas are
sufficient and you wouldn't need
anything more than that schemes policies
I think anybody who reads the newspaper
religiously every day will be fine with
it
see that well see that is again very
tricky in and I'm not sure if I'm the
right person it's all about maths and
logical reasoning and I come from a non
match background so I took coaching in
vajira for three months and I used to
constantly practice or the coaching
material they gave so the blue booklets
of a theorem I think they are wonderful
they have ample practice questions and
they have even explained all topics very
well if you talk about compulsory
language papers of me I think since
English is compulsory if you read and
English daily every day I think it's
more than sufficient and you really do
not need to prepare so much for it it
was a very easy paper and anybody even
if they're from non-english background
if you are in touch with English like if
you read books in English or you're
reading the newspaper I think it's very
well sufficient as far as the other
language paper is concerned I had opted
for Hindi and I started reading a Hindi
newspaper 215 days before the exam and
it proved adequate essay ofE is a very
very tricky area also the most neglected
area but believe me it's like a big big
rowdy point paper like you score marks
in this and it doesn't really require
much effort all it really needs is that
you practice one essay every 15 days
when you start preparing for means and
that is going to be fine and since you
know I'm not a very philosophical person
like I am a very normal
since you just read the newspapers and
judge did GS and my optional so I always
took topics which were more current
affairs based because you know that was
one area that I was knowledgeable I was
aware so for normal people like me you
know - philosophically their orientation
I think this is a very good thing that
you could always choose topics that are
current affairs oriented means so
general studies paper one means again
for culture I consulted the same source
as prelims which is the wadi rum class
notes and the widget I use booklet an
art in culture which is around 50 pages
and is very concise it's a good source
you you must do it Indian history again
class 12 in CRT or the Bipin Chandra
book for world history 18 world history
syllabus is so so vast so so large that
I believe it was almost a graduation
onto itself so probably I I just
consulted Oh JA third thoughts of vajira
they are easily available in the pocket
and I think they are very very good
they're to the point and debt is high it
is Athena Davi
AI R 1 I did my BA Honours political
science from Lady Shri Ram College Delhi
University my interest the serious ones
include painting debating some amount of
social work as well as the other non
serious interest I think that we all
share watching movies shopping hanging
out with friends etc then if we talk
about gender studies means paper one I
think it's a very very diverse paper
catering to different subjects if you
first come to art in culture I believe
the same trillion souls are sufficient
you need to do Bajorans class notes
along this vision I use booklet on art
in culture which is around fifty pages
and very concise if we talk about Indian
history the class 12 in CRT is quite
sufficient if we talk about world
history I would strongly recommend you
jaw surah Jairam notes because the world
history is really really huge massive
it's a graduation unto itself so the
class notes are really helpful if we
talk about post-independence
India again jujitsu is not subtly n't
and you must read them if we talk about
Indian society which is more sociology
oriented I believe Raj Kumar serves Raja
Ram notes are very good he's quoted a
lot of scholars a lot of thinkers so the
answerer writing becomes a very high
quality standard if you talk about role
of the main poverty and other related
issues Raja Ram has come out with a
yellow book on sociology and it caters
to nearly all sociology related topics
be it role of women globalization
communalism secularism so this book is
sufficient if we again come to geography
world geography physical violence yellow
book and geography is very good very
comprehensive and very helpful if we
talk about resource distribution madam
has come out with a thin booklet on this
topic itself and it's very good I would
say the same for factors of industrial
location if we talk about earthquakes
tsunami again the body Romulo book on
physical geography self sufficient
impact on flora and fauna is somewhat
environment related and the one we
consulted for clearance the Shankar
Academy book a green book is very good
for this event coming - paper - on the
topic of Indian Constitution devolution
dispute redressing leader very factual
topics and if anybody has done Lakshmi
cons well during trilliums it would just
be a repetition comparing constitutions
of the world I believe our vision has
come out with a handout of constitutions
of the world it's very detailed but at
the same time very concise and they've
given everything in tabular form so it
becomes very easy to memorize so I would
suggest people to go for it if we talk
about parliament state legislatures
executive judiciary Lakshmi Khan's will
serve as a base
apart from the analysis portion I
believe a vision is again has come out
with very good handouts you know for
instance if we take for Parliament they
have written a good hand out of around
five pages on why do we think that the
Elementary culture is on its decline so
this is an analysis portion next we're
another what are the problems in
judiciary so these are easily available
in the market so apart from the Laxmi
cons which is provide your theoretical
base this will provide as an analytical
base for other small topics like
pressure groups informal Association
representation of people that vision is
has come out with small handouts of five
five six six pages and they're very good
I would strongly recommend people to do
that it's sufficient you don't need to
do anything else if we talk about
statutory bodies constitutional bodies
extra constitutional bodies vision IES
handout on the same is very good it not
only has the fact it has analysis and
even recommendations in fact a lot of
people say that you know you need to
read a RC reports the good thing is here
they've already compiled suggestions
from the a RC reports for you so you
don't need to bash your head reading
them welfare schemes bodies and other
such topics I think this is very
newspaper based in anybody's reading
newspapers will be able to do it when we
talk about governance and public
administration related topics like
accountability eager Vernon's role of
civil service watch iran class modes are
very good they are comprehensive they've
given you suggestions
they've given you analysis they pointed
out the pros and cons so I do not think
you need anything more because they have
already read from different sources and
given you a compiled thing if we talk
about international relations I would
suggest you take sugar Imams political
science notes pertaining to
international relations they are very
very good they not only give you a
background of bilateral relations they
also give you the current thing and what
we can what we predict what we think can
happen if we take a certain path she has
quoted different scholars it's very very
good so I strongly recommend people to
take that apart from the other small
topics in IR vision I use handouts are
very good there again very concise and
detailed at this
time international bodies I believe are
the focus and approach should be on
those which are currently in news so you
know for instance during my time a lot
discussion was happening on United
Nations Security Council so a candidate
must focus on that and a question
pertaining to that even Kim so that how
upse really works so paper three now aa
paper three I think again this is
something which I totally did fork from
plasmids
so when you talk about Indian economy
inclusive growth budgeting Sanjeev pol
massage class moods are extremely
helpful and if by chance you can't get
hold of the class notes he came out even
with a book on economy it's by unique
publication so you might go for that as
well other than that the small topics
like agriculture produced storage
marketing distribution farm subsidies
eat echnology for farmers food security
stuff like this I believe a vision is
handout is quite good they've summarised
each of these topics in four to five
pages and you know I'm honestly telling
you that's what you actually need
because when you actually give the
people you don't have so much time and
you require very concise points and
concrete points solid points and vision
IES have done that for you so that will
save your time please go for that land
reforms is a very important topic things
keep coming from it chomps on the source
notes of our Jairam are very very good
he has also given it in a very tabular
format so it's very easy to memorize if
we come to science again I like I spoke
to you about trillions I would again
even say that four means that focus
should be on current affairs
developments in science and technology
so the good thing about the current
affairs booklets is that for instance if
they've talked about the Indian regional
navigation satellite system so this told
us ok what is it about it what is the
basic technology
used for such a mission and what is
expected how are different countries of
the world are doing about it and so you
know you get a proper analysis a
well-rounded answer so I think Current
Affair booklets you take them from
Gojira more vision I use they are very
good in their sufficient if you come to
national security
I think vagi ROM yellow book on national
security will so well for all the topics
under national security it is extremely
detailed
it even has diagrams yes on national
security it is so well written like I
did only I prepared national security
only from this book and it has served me
extremely well please please buy this
one coming to paper for ethics i think
ethics is a very tricky paper it is also
very ignored paper but it will also
fetch you extra points so if we if we
talk about the theoretical aspects of
ethics like you know things like what is
attitude what is integrity what is
emotional intelligence what is family
what is society I think vajira had come
out with a yellow book it's very very
nice apart from that local products or
notes of very comprehensive they are
very easily related in the market and
he's given you all the important point
in you know he has done the whole work
he's read David Goldman's book on ethics
or on sorry emotional intelligence and
you know you don't need to read the
books he's already giving you his
comments and his basic ideas so that
will save you time and will also fetch
you good marks because you know when the
examiner checks your questions he would
he would actually think oh this person
is so well-read
if you talk about the other parts of
ethics which pertain to probably Public
Administration more like governance
corporate governance citizen charter
corruption and stuff like that I think
obedience Authority ROM notes are very
very good even he has compiled from the
range of sources all over the world so
they are very high quality notes please
go for that and you may also consult the
body runs yellow book a history writing
case studies is very very very very very
important even I ignored case study for
quite some time and I believe that had I
focused more
hi this is Tina Rafi AI r1
I did my BA Honours political science
from Lady Shri Ram College Delhi
University my interest so the serious
ones include painting debating some
amount of Social Work as well the non
interest I believe we all share watching
movies shopping hanging out with friends
except wrong means answer writing I
think this is one area which is quite
important because it means which
actually ensure whether you make it or
break it as far as the word limit is
concerned I was one person who always
breached the word limit but then I would
still advise everybody to stay within
the word limit because you have time
constraints you need to do around 20 to
25 questions in three arcs and you need
to write good answers on them so word
limit should be added it's okay if you
like cross them by 50 50 words here or
there but the word limit more or less
has to be stuck to also how to ensure
that you write within the word limit I
think that's where the main test
theories come into play I highly highly
highly recommend that you take any means
test series because they not only teach
you how to write within the word limit
but they also teach you time management
time management is very crucial for
instance I will give you my own personal
experience when I was writing my mains
exam at my venue a lot of people were
not very well-versed with the tasks of
time management so after the exam a lot
of girls and boys were actually crying
that you know oh I does maka paper
should cure twenty marks question should
yeah this happened that happened so this
only happens when you did not practice
writing answers in a text format so
practicing answers per se is not
sufficient you need to practice answers
in a test format in a proper test in a
proper time constraint that is how you
learn because you know let me tell you
it is a fight of every mark and I have
fought for every mark in probably that
is why Arthur and I have a difference of
45 marks
you have to complete your paper you have
to fight for every mark as far as you
know there's always this question do we
write in poems we write in Paris it
depends from person to person sometimes
people are comfortable like they are
very well explicit even within points
but for me I could only express when I
wrote full sentences in proper
paragraphs probably it's because of my
humanities orientation have not been an
engineering student so I don't have this
practice of writing in points so well I
wrote in proper paragraph but at the end
of the day I wouldn't say that this is
the perfect strategy for everybody it
differs so choose how you will be able
to express yourself better if you think
you are not very good with forming full
sentences please write in point my
having good answers also require some
amount of decent presentation
presentation in the sense that you know
it it's always helpful if you know you
could underline the key word in phrases
and you could write the names of the
scholars in block letters these little
little things really really make your
answer much more beautiful so if some
what also about presentation attempting
questions I think you absolutely have to
attempt every question and you know if
you're a serious candidate you will know
something about the topic even if you
don't know what they really are so I
believe you have to write at least what
you know if if you know something but
yes if you completely do not know
anything please don't insult the
examiner by cooking up stuff because
that is really insulting the examiner
don't do that but yes like for instance
you don't know exactly what is being
asked but you have some vague idea about
it incorrect idea about it please write
that down even that one mark or 0.5 mark
or two marks will help you have to fight
for every mark
diagrams diagrams also in depends you
know for instance if you think you can
make a very good diagram on a particular
issue which will impress not a useless
diagram but you know something which
will be impressed with something out of
the box please do it it will fit you
brownie points for instance though I did
not get an opportunity to have diagrams
in my GS papers in means but for my
optional like I have political science
as my
shanell and it's very surprising that
you could make diagrams in political
science and in a theory paper but I did
that because you know that was very
unique and something very appropriate at
that particular question so if you see
such a circumstance I would strongly
advise you to because i graph and please
you you do not have the time you know to
highlight use color pencils or pencil
you know you writing with a pen and that
is sufficient just being neat neat and
it is not even so more about the
handwriting but how clearly you've
written words so you know if your words
are clear your diagram is clear that is
sufficient that is all that they need so
I would just like to say that with
little little points and being careful
and little is affronts it's quite quite
possible to do this exam in one go like
I did this and I'm telling you I was a
very normal person
i I I did not even have much guidance I
just did things very meticulously in a
very plan B plan your targets plan your
strategy and pick strategy with food you
as a person don't follow people blindly
and just be very very hardworking very
very sincere to yourself you know and of
course you will come during those days
you'll have those days you know then
where you don't want to study in that
happen to everybody so you know one
break in every 15 days is a must you
know we are all normal people sleep is
important you know those people who get
up at 4:00 in the morning again if you
say ah that fear so you know nothing
like this you know you need eight to
nine hours of sleep you need a
well-rested mind goes through so much
work to learn so much and take it as a
learning experience enjoy studying enjoy
learning and that will make all of it
worthwhile
thank you so much
hi this is Tina Dobby III one well we
are now in a final lap and this is the
time when everybody is very nervous very
anxious very worried very doubtful
bought bought blueberry Sapna Hebrew
break reality he keeps bulk f ing and he
kept angry but seriously you have
studied all you could uh porn Aparna
hence now is the time for revision so
please stop worrying
keep it knucklepuck to take its knock on
our head yehey
each day Joby aperture here should be
allocated for each subject this episode
a opening important points revise
girlfriend one day has to be kept for
cut interface current affairs is very
very important dearly 60% of the paper
will be from the current affairs so it
did nickel T top sub-code revised and
now see related a lot of geography
questions are directly from the atlas so
it's very very crucial that one goes
through india's map and the world map
environment inequality has somehow
become the UPSC favourite for the past
3-4 years so don't forget to revise the
national parks read book data wetlands
and ramps are convention science and
technology it's a good thing that you
phe is only interested in what's
happening currently so keep yourself
abreast of all the latest developments
of the field in the past seven to eight
months for economics i think economic
service abroad questions are there
either directly or related so don't
forget to refer to that this is also
very cut enough time in the sense that a
lot of people will offer you a range of
advice will even miss guide you to the
extent that they'll force you to change
your strategy but please believe in
yourself keep faith in yourself and
stick to your own strategy
I believe a lot of you must have already
given a lot of mock tests so Joby
questions play which you thought that
this is an important question in the
exam paper
or this is a question I don't know so
please go through that identifying your
own strengths is very crucial if you
want to play on your points please very
very crucial eight hours you can't cut
on it because you need a fresh mind the
next paper learning as much as you can
for revising as much as you can this is
the time when you really can't fall ill
you need to keep a proper diet eat
Gurkha Khanna as much as possible I also
believe that this is a time when you're
most upset you're most disappointed you
doubt yourself you really really need to
feel last cared for so please take out
time every day to talk to your parents
siblings boyfriend/girlfriend anybody
who's close to your heart
since a few days are left I think we can
all give up on going on Facebook
whatsapp Twitter this will only eat up
on your precious time please do not do
any group study at this juncture only
self study will help then the enter the
examination will often a lot of people
ask the other candidates key to make it
snap Araki important here please don't
do this it will only lead to you
panicking and you will spoil your own
chances then the quest when you have the
question paper in your hand please read
each question very very carefully
sometimes we don't read the question
carefully we interpret it wrongly and
then we mark the wrong answer
a good way to tackle this problem is
that you read each question twice before
even looking at the answer option when
we attempt to people don't mark the
answer straight away on the OMR sheet
first encircle the right option in the
question paper itself after
cross-checking
only then mark on the OMR sheet of
course there will be a good chunk of
questions around 30 to 40 percent which
will be doubtful whether I should
attempt it or not do I know it correctly
do I know it completely or not for those
doubtful questions attempt only where
you are at least 85% sure what these are
paper I think going for the reading
comprehension questions should be done
right at the beginning since they
require a well-rested mind if you do
them at the end you will be exhausted
and you might get them block then see
that is qualifying of course play on
your strengths do those questions we are
which you are sure that you will score
in them right at the beginning also
please don't listen to a song before the
exam you will listen to some song on the
radio while traveling don't do that as
the tune will stick in your mind and you
will get distracted while attempting the
paper in the end my best wishes are with
all all the very best
Keep Calm D+ suppose I go
you