~HOW
TO PREPARE FOR NPSC MAINS EXAMINATION, BOOKS AND TIPS~
I have been trying to free myself to write
this blog, and to be honest I have not been able to execute because of number
of engagement to the extent That I had to excuse myself.
Well, I Received a number of calls and people texting me how to approach
NPSC mains and i had to narrate the whole thing over and over and some
even asking for a second narration. In order to save myself I decided to pen
down this, and also am not a regular blogger so excuse me if it's not one of
your regular read (my previous blog dating to 4 years back)
Since almost 20k people appear
for prelims so it makes more sense to publish material for pre, where as for
mains only handful candidates i.e less than 1000 sometimes even less than 500.
In this blog I'll try to give tips and short cuts, do's and don'ts.
About me: I have been preparing for UPSC since 2012, wrote UPSC mains, cleared UPSC Assistant commandant in General quota(couldn’t clear my physical), gave
NPSC twice and cleared as JDA in my first attempt and EAC in my second. I also gave lectures at couple of NPSC coaching centre and i have an experience of 200 hours of classroom lecture.
This is just to give an idea that whatever tools and ideas am giving comes from
a very well experimented corner and I leave it to your judgment whether to
accept or throw it into the bin.
Leaving behind all
the nonsense here are the information.
#BOOKS TO READ AND WHAT TO READ.
There are all together 8 subject so I'll try to sort out with
respect to that but one of the text book you cannot do away with is
EXCEL MCQ FOR PRELIMINARY AND MAINS- you need this in your NPSC
library, price of this book goes up every year, I remember buying it for 400rs and it's
now 800rs which means it is very very important. Every year they just paste new
question paper and no new information so even if you have an old one it's good
to go.
*PAPER 1 is MCQ and it includes sections like
1) History(40mark)
2) Science(40mark)
3) Mathematic and mental ability(40amrk)
4) Nagaland(40mark)
5) Current affair(40mark)
*PAPER 2 is descriptive and includes
6) Economics(25-35Average)
7) Geography(25-35Average)
8) Current affair related(25-35Average)
9) Polity(25-35Average)
10) Nagaland(74mark)
1)HISTORY
Since for mains history is asked in MCQ format so the catch is
you should have done a good reading on history from 1857 till independence.
Ancient and medieval are not included.
Books- any standard textbook on modern history is fine
because I have seen that almost all history textbook have same input, because
it's factual and the narration is same. Tata McGraw hill, Lucent, wizard- one
of them will do...
Tips- do all the MCQ from Excel, if you have enough time do more
from other MCQ bank. You'll have 40 MCQ so try to bank upon it.
2) SCIENCE
If you look at the syllabus the commission have mentioned basic
science, everyday science.
So even the science student doesn't have an upper hand and the
saying is a myth that science questions are asked more or it's advantageous for
science student.
I wouldn't suggest
reading any textbook, just solve the MCQ from EXCEL and here's the tip- circle
those questions which you understand eg: chemical name of common salt? Or,
largest organ in the human body? Don't even bother about questions you don't
understand ( if you are not able to understand then it means you need to get
into the theory, and it basically means starting from the root so just
eliminate it unless you have to) . Also I would suggest you to dissect previous
years question paper to get an idea of what kind of questions are being asked
and then accordingly circle it. Circling means when you do revision you have to
consolidate only those MCQ and leave out the rest. So that's the drill and I'll
be mentioning CIRCLING again and again.
3) MATHEMATIC AND MENTAL ABILITY.
I won't suggest you any other book,
dissecting all the previous year questions and solving EXCEL is more than
enough. The mathematics part is simple class 10 Maths so it shouldn't be an issue.
Also solve previous year questions exhaustively.
4) NAGALAND.
Books to refer are
1) Any textbook on Nagaland from the market, I made use of
Nagaland G.K by N.Khashito Aye
2) NBSE Nagaland textbook for class ix and x
Nagaland and current affair is
the only topic that's is asked for both paper 1 and 2 , for paper 1 do all the
MCQ from EXCEL, and if there is question bank from other book solve it too.
Also solve previous years Nagaland questions because it's a small topic with
huge mark allocations so questions are always repeated.
5) CURRENT AFFAIR.
For paper 1, I would advise you to have followed
your newspaper religiously and jotted down all the facts for MCQ. If you have
not then you can follow this step- Google "current affair monthly MCQ PDF
for competitive exams" this will give you an exposure to a lot of website,
pick which ever is convenient and get it printed or you can write it down(not a
big issue, I wrote 700 in two days) . For every month there will be 100-150 MCQ,
not every question is important, refer previous years CA MCQ and filter on an
average 50-65 MCQ and that should be good, and for a year it will vary from
700-800 max.
6) ECONOMICS.
Book to refer- Tata mcgraw hill Ramesh Singh.
You don't need to read everything from there. Leave
all the technical stuff and read the conceptual and generic definition. This
topic is important only for paper 2, all 2 marker are definition based and 10 marks are
opinion and current related. It's a bit dynamic in nature, but not to the level
comparable to UPSC.
7) GEOGRAPHY.
Books to refer- Any standard textbook on geography for
competitive exams, I have seen that almost all the textbook have same input and
doesn't vary at all in terms of input. I have been using wizard.
At the most questions from this section is
for about 15-20 mark, and it has only 2marker and 5marker questions, rarely
10marker.
So for any aspirant
they should have read heavily on 1)polity 2)economics 3)geography (importance
in descending order) because this are the topic where one need to pick up
language and need to be clear on concepts. I won't include history because it's
mostly part of MCQ, but also simultaneously need a wide reading for essay and
opinion based questions.
8) CURRENT AFFAIR RELATED.
For paper 2 you have had read competitive examination
magazines and newspapers, it's indispensable. All those questions on polity,
economics and sometimes Nagaland are intertwined with current issues. For this
section there is no short cut, consistency or if possible last hour quick read
will help.
9) POLITY.
Tata McGraw hill laxmikanth : you need this only whether it's
for NPSC or UPSC( mother of all exam). Since its relevant for paper 2 so the
drill is know the concept, definition , pick up the language, refer previous
year questions.
10) NAGALAND
1) Nagaland village empowering law (A compilation) by Z. Angami.
2) Economic survey of Nagaland to add flavor to your answer
writing
3) Make sure you have the above and then go for supplementary
textbook if need be.
For paper 2 take all the previous year’s question paper, even
those papers prior to 2012 and write down notes for all 2 marker factual
questions, they are again always repeated, chances are, they might repeat last
year’s questions too. For 5 marker question, the candidate should have read
significantly on Nagaland and the facts on budget and other information from
economic survey helps a lot, hence ECONOMIC SURVEY facts(download PDF mode from
govt. website) is to substantiate answer and no factual questions will be asked
directly. So it's more to do with writing opinion hence having a background
understanding on the topic should be there.
A) HOW TO APPROACH MCQ AND DESCRIPTIVE?
1)As we have discussed above that there are tricks as to how MCQ
can be done but again some area needs the long process painstaking
Process of reading and understanding eg. for topics like polity,
geography, economics, current affair.This steps cannot be excluded and you
should either get it done by doing classes or extensive reading.
2) Again coming back to MCQ, circle those questions which you
have solved, the idea is not to memorize the facts but to get familiarize with
the question and answer, it's impossible to memorize thousands of facts. When
you have an MCQ question the answer is also in the question itself so hence
picking up right answer. Don't forget to revise circled MCQ because the trick
is to retain it in short term memory, it will be very fresh for 3 to 5 days and
will get blurry By time. So revision is indispensable.
3) Word limit for answers for paper 2-don't write too much or
too little. At the most a person can write 3000 to 3200 word in 3hours so if we
divide it's 15-16 word for every mark. For 2marker write like 30 quality words,
5marker 75-80 word, 10marker-120-150 word and for 20marker 250 to 300 would
suffice. It wouldn't make sense to write more than that and humanly impossible
unless attempting a world record. Also having a big handwriting helps, don't
write so tiny that your 300 words look like 150 words, it's a visual
effect.
B) HOW TO APPROACH ESSAY AND ENGLISH PAPER?
1) English section carry 100 mark , 80mark for comprehension and
20mark for grammar. Doing previous years question as model test prior to exam
is a must. Since there is no sample question on Internet so solving previous
year question is one way and other way would be doing mock test from coaching
institute. ( I didn't want to do mock test because normally coaching institute
publish name with picture as successful candidate from their institute, which I
find it wrong in many levels. Anyways I didn't succeed to save myself from such
evil as my name was published in local paper somehow portraying me as their
successful candidate, where as I was the faculty member. I somehow vented out
my disappointment here)
2) Time management is the key here, finish English and
comprehension part within 80-90 minute max, keep at least 45 minute each for
one essay.
3) For essay follow this format
I) Introduction.
II) background/history related.
III) Main concept/theory/what the subject is about.
IV) Current scenario related to it.
V) Good side.
VI) Negative side/obstacle.
VII) Suggested reforms.
VIII) Conclusion.
Since 1000 words for each essay in 45 minutes is a
challenge so scribble down the format and make one paragraph for each, write
almost 120-125 word for each paragraph. All together 125*8=1000 word, so when
your are writing intro focus only on intro of the essay don't waiver from that
point, going to next paragraph ie history and background write 125 solid on
history and don't move from that topic, follow the same for the rest. Such
arrangement keeps you sharp on the topic and gives you well structured essay
and saves time from wandering away.
At least prepare minimum 40-50 essays on current
related issues and some generic essays on crisis management, social problems,
current event of national and international importance, local issues.
C) CONCLUSION
*This suggestions are not to
be taken as alpha and omega of your preparation, please do not be limited by my
suggestions. This should be kept as your minimum performance and you should
exceedingly exceed.
*English paper and MCQ should
be nailed well, normally it does not have a threshold limit like paper 2 which
everyone somehow happens to score in the same spectrum.
* The trick is doing it again
and again, multiple revision and using your short term memory and ability to
knit a good answer with a good opinion.
* Don't forget to look at the
syllabus again and again, refer previous years question paper all the time.(
you'll find it in NPSC website download) Try to build an intuition so that the
moment you see information you'll know if it's important or not, ability
to filter information will save you from wasting time on unwanted information
and also saves mental space.
THIS IS THE END OF ME!! ALL THE BEST FOR
YOUR PREPARATION, MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALWAYS MOTIVATED TO BRING POSITIVE CHANGE
TO THE SOCIETY, LET JESUS GUIDE YOU TILL THE END~
