The Lazy Man’s Guide to the CSE

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I am writing this piece, because, despite my repeated declaration of my not having any pronounced ability or ‘formula’ for success in the CSE, my inbox is getting inundated with requests for ‘tips’ – from persons not having Mechanical Engineering as an optional subject. I may assume I have some sort of command over Mechanical Engineering optional, and as a duty towards fellow strugglers, I have written an article on the same. However, many do insist that I tell them about the ‘rest of my preparation’, and they would not take no for an answer. So, here it goes.

First of all, the disclaimers. I took the exams in the pre-2013 syllabus era. Some of the additions done to the GS syllabus are not covered here, simply because I did not read those topics while preparing, and I would be lying if I say I read those topics now. However, had I been writing under the new pattern, I’m sure the strategy would not have changed much. My CSE strategy was based solely on my growing grip over Mechanical Engineering. It took time, and took mental effort, and yielded quite good marks – over all my three attempts. So, the ‘rest of my strategy’ was basically reading something that should be covered in less time, and yield decent scores – not ‘selection grade’ scores – that responsibility rested on Mechanical Engineering. In fact, over my three attempts, which included two selections, I never crossed 300 even once in my second optional! My GS scores were also quite pedestrian. However, paired with a solid first optional, like Mech, it was a feasible strategy. It was like the Indian Cricket Team of the 1990’s – you had Sachin Tendulkar, and then you had to pick up the next 10 players to make up the numbers. My point is – this is a “lazy man’s strategy” – involves less efforts, for the maximum “marks to effort ratio” – not necessarily the maximum marks. If you have a reliable optional subject, like I had, then you may follow this strategy, and then too, at your own risk.

General Studies – static and dynamic

General Studies has two parts – the static, and the dynamic. The static comprises of things that do not change – generally – like History, Political Science, Geography, Culture etc. The dynamic comprises of things like Contemporary Affairs, Environmental Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs, and practically anything under the sun, which has appeared in any newspaper or magazine in the country. There are separate ways to deal with both. There is a third category, which involves the use of the static knowledge to explain dynamic affairs. Dealing with it is more of a skill, which can be developed in many ways – writing a blog like this may be one of them!

Static

Whatever you do, it is always advisable to get a good GS Compendium. GS Compendiums are basically compilations on the various GS topics, from various renowned books and publications, in one place. Since the lessons need to be summarized, they usually cut through the bullsh*t that authors of the original books often put in to make their books thicker. Like, I got the Tata McGraw Hill General Studies Manual. It is a hefty book – but half of it is exercises. What remains of the book is divided almost equally between the sciences and the humanities. If you are a science / engineering student, you may not need to touch the science part (except if you had no Biology in XII – then that portion may require a quick look). What remains is some 300-400 pages dense with pure, relevant facts – in History (including the National Movement), Geography, Political Science and basic Economics. Just read it twice, thrice, as long as it takes to get it all crammed in. Believe me, this would be the most remunerative quantum of effort you put in in the course of CSE preparation. If you have more time, and a higher pain-threshold, you can always go for reading the books mentioned as ‘Sources’ in the TMH GS Manual. The NCERT textbooks for Intermediate Geography are also good. However, they are to be tried only after being thorough with the Manual.

Dynamic

Dynamic part has gained preponderance in the GS papers over the years. As I said, anything under the sun can be asked under this. It is not possible to be ‘fully prepared’ for this. It is not feasible to be even ‘half prepared’. You can only maximize what you read, and, if you are a believer, pray that enough questions come from what you read. So, reading a good newspaper is a requirement. Many swear by ‘The Hindu’; I personally preferred ‘The Indian Express’ – especially since it had good articles on Economics – my other optional. Both are good newspapers, and either would do equally well.

Reading the paper has to be done a bit methodically. The paper has two broad parts – the news, and the ‘Opinions / Editorials’ (Oped). The news parts needs to be run through speedily. Any important event – a death, award, inauguration, appointment, wedding, book release, commission reports, NGO reports, discoveries, inventions, Supreme Court Cases – the 2 marker stuff, may be noted down. Should hardly take 10-20 minutes to do this. However, the Oped part needs to be read more coolly, with concentration. One should try to have a ‘mental debate’ with the views expressed by the authors of the article. If one has time, it is better to read the opinion pages of both the papers, as they often project the Left and the Right view, and it helps the reader develop a balanced view on most issues. However, even reading a single paper, with a conscious effort at mental debate, can help you develop good substance of your own.

Other than the papers, one source, which is quite good, even if terribly boring, is the Front Line Magazine. It takes care of a part of the Foreign Affairs and the Environmental Affairs, by bringing out obscure issues from nowhere into the limelight. Read it, if you have the stomach.

Internet and other stuff

Internet can be scoured for a variety of aids – one can go through the websites of RBI, MoEF, MEA etc. for some more ideas on the Economic, Environmental and Foreign Affairs. Another important website is that of the Press Information Bureau - which lists important news directly related to the Union Government and its policies - in fact, this site should be followed as religiously as the newspapers. Internet can also be used to find summaries of important documents – like the Economic Survey, the General Budget etc. In my honest opinion – reading the whole text of these documents can be regarded as misallocation of time – the summaries should equip one enough. One can also look for the various ‘Current Affairs’ notes floating on the net – many coaching institutes give out some as a ‘demo’ – if you are regular with the newspapers, the content may look familiar. If it does, do not read them further. If you are in Delhi, or have access to Delhi markets, you can get a copy of the latest ‘GS Notes’ in the market. Again, if you have been honest with the news reading, this will also appear familiar. It is not as if the coaching notes have a lot of relevant factoids – but the fact is, this exam is about beating the competition – and if 90% the competition is reading this, it is better to have one look – but only if time permits.

Another skill that needs to be developed is reducing pages of reading into notes of one or two lines during the preparation, and reassembling those one or two lines into pages of answers in the exam. Many people prepare copious amounts of notes, which are as voluminous as, if not even more voluminous than, the source. In my opinion, notes should be handy, and small enough to help one revise one day before the paper. So, any notes that one plans to prepare must be subjected to this constraint – the final document should be readable in one or two days. Now coming to reassembling – one should always remember that the hundreds of days gone into the preparation amount to nothing if the implementation in the three hours of examinations is not upto the mark. As I have said earlier, first answer only what you know, and relegate what you don’t know to the back of your mind. Papers are getting too lengthy for one to afford rumination over some tricky question. Chances are that by the time you are finished with what you know, your subconscious brain would have formed some answers for the other questions too. I have noticed it. It is also important to break answers into points, as far as possible – it is easier to read and understand for the examiner – and also fills the pages faster, if you have less time!

This was my honest to God strategy for everything other than ‘Mechanical Engineering’ in my CSE attempts. Can’t say it would work for you, or anybody else. It did work for me, and it does not cost me anything to put it here. So, here I rest my keyboard, with best wishes for the reader.