Exam requires self analysis and constant improvements

In this post I would like to share my experience about performance improvement steps I took during preparation for civil services examination.


Preliminary Examination


In my first preliminary examination in 2008 my preparation was insufficient. After coming home from the examination center, I began to check my answers on the internet. I did not rely on any readily available answer keys but searched for each answer myself. In the next 2-3 days I had the answers to 95% of the questions in both general Studies as well as History. I calculated my score and it was around 50 in History and 60 in General Studies. This was not good enough and hence I was sure I would not qualify for main examination that year.


The period from June till December 2008 I spent on Main examination preparation for the next year. I knew that I could overcome my shortcomings in the 2008 preliminary examination by necessary improvements from January 2009 till May 2009.


The target for prelims in General Studies was 60 and for History it was 70. (The target is set by asking people who have given the exam earlier. U.P.S.C does not declare the Preliminary Examination Marks).


 I tried to achieve this target in the test series that I gave between January 2009 and March 2009 at C.D.Deshmukh Institute. After each test given, I would analyse my score and find out the areas I was getting less marks in. In every subsequent test I would try and improve on those areas.


By March 2009 I was able to get a score of 60 in general studies but my history score was stuck at 55. After the test series at C.D.Deshmukh Institute was over, I solved lot of history papers. Preparation was continuing side by side in both History and general studies. There is no point in waiting for the completion of our entire preparation, it is better to solve papers along with the preparation. 


Each paper is different from the other. So how does one gauge the difficulty level of a Test Series Paper and the score required in it to qualify for the Main Examination?
Answer: By asking a previously qualified person to solve the same paper and comparing the scores. The idea being that if a person has already cleared prelims once he/she is very likely to clear it again. So our score should be better or close to the score of the previously qualified person.


In my case I had asked my friend Anushree Hardikar, who had qualified prelims in 2008, to solve the history test series papers. By 10th May I was able to improve my score to 66 in History which was quite close to Anushree's score. 


My score in 2009 Prelim exam was 84 in General Studies and 64 in History. That was sufficient to qualify for Main examination.


Main Examination


I joined the test series for Main Examination at Delhi in History (7 Tests of Paper 1 and 7 Tests of Paper 2), Public Administration (6 Tests of Paper 1, 6 Tests of Paper 2), General Studies (6 Subject wise papers and 1 comprehensive Test) and Essay (5 Tests). The preparation gave me the confidence that I could achieve scores of 320 History, 300 Public Administration, 280 General Studies and 120 Essay. The confidence is the key. Seldom will the questions be the same in the test series papers and the actual U.P.S.C. Main Examination, but one should go into the exam with the confidence that one will get the necessary marks whatever be the nature of the paper.


My scores in Main Examination 2009 were: History 336 (183 and 153), Public Administration 292 (159 and 133), General Studies 279 (150 and 129) and Essay 109.


My preparation for 2010 Main Examination started by analysing my 2009 performance and identifying areas requiring improvement. History Paper 2 and Public Administration Paper 2 were my areas of focus.


Strategy for Public Administration Improvement


Paper 1 is more concept based. As my foundation was strong I was able to deal with it. Paper 2 requires a lot of factual knowledge regarding committee recommendations, case studies etc. The questions tend to be generic in nature, but specific writing is important to get marks. Public Administration being my 2nd optional was not as strong as History. I took special effort with regard to Paper 2.


First I improved my factual knowledge as required in the Main Examination. Then I had question-answer group discussions with my colleagues in C.D.Deshmukh - Ashwini Adivarekar, Sushil Khodwekar, Shraddha Sangle (all with Public Administration as first optional) and Vijay Jogdande. It helped in bringing quality to my answers. 




Strategy for History Improvement


The main reason for getting low marks in History Paper 2 was my lack of control over World History. I focussed on World History immediately after my 2009 Main Examination. I utilized the internet to get more information on events after World War 2 during my specific preparation for Main Examination 2010.




The overall effort in Public Administration Paper 2 and History Paper 2 paid dividends. Public Administration Paper 2 score improved from 133 in 2009 to 159 in 2010 and History Paper 2 from 153 in 2009 to 186 in 2010.  


While focusing on improvements in certain papers it was also important that I maintained my good score in the other papers. I consciously repeated my entire preparation of the previous year. Thus I was able to improve upon my weak areas while retaining my good performance in other areas.