Civil services exam, conducted by UPSC is the most challenging in all competitive examinations in India. The key to success in this exam is an optional subject and its proper guidance.
Hence, aspirants must find out a reliable and authentic coaching institute so that the rate of success in this exam could be enhanced and secured. Your career is very much precious in your life so you should choose a coaching institute that genuinely could serve your purpose.
Students from diverse educational and socioeconomic backgrounds appear in this examination. Everyone is brilliant in one’s respective educational field. However, only a handful of them could secure ranks in the final list of civil services exam.
Since most of the students lack guidance and many of them are misguided in terms of selection of optional subject and coaching institute, one must follow the below-mentioned criteria while choosing optional subject and coaching institute.
SELECTION OF OPTIONAL PAPER
As far as the selection of optional subject is concerned one must consider the followings:
Parent subject as optional subject:
while selecting an optional subject, one should decide one’s parent subject as an optional subject, since you have studied it in graduation or post-graduation course. It would help to learn the subject for the purpose of UPSC easily and effectively. If one can’t take up parent subject as optional one then one should go for the subject of interest.
Interest in the subject:
The subject one would like to choose as optional that should be a subject of interest. Otherwise, one could not concentrate and focus on the subject matters which are essentials to learn a new subject.
Length of the syllabus:
is another dimension as one has to study several subjects in G.S and essays, therefore, if an optional subject is too lengthy then one could not spend adequate time to G.S and essays. One has to spend time to G.S, optional subject and essay equitably to crack this exam. If one spends too much time on the optional subject then G.S and essays to be adversely affected. This approach of skewed preparation in favour of one area may be suicidal.Nature of questions in the exam:
is very crucial ultimately. If questions are twisted and dynamic one must have to write extempore in the exam. Hence, it would be very difficult to answer all the questions with high quality in 3 hours time period and many answers may be not up to the mark.However, if questions are straight forward then one could prepare answers beforehand with the best of the qualities and memorize and revise the answers time and again before the exam, therefore one could write and complete all the answers with great quality within constraints of time to get a high score.
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Scoring aspects of optional:
Ultimately an optional subject must be high scoring. If a subject is not scoring by nature, then one’s goal is to be defeated. If one has an interest in an optional subject, the syllabus is shorter and questions are straight forward, then the optional subject must be high scoring.
Spin-off benefits:
If an optional subject has some benefits in other areas of G.S, essays, and interviews of the exam that would be an added advantage for choosing a subject as an optional one. One must focus on optional primarily, not on the secondary spin-off benefits.
All these factors are definitely in favour of Anthropology optional if one keenly considers the subject from the above-mentioned perspectives.
HOW TO SELECT COACHING INSTITUTE:
To learn a subject in a short span of time and for the purpose of the civil services exam, one must need help from a coaching institute. Coaching institutes can clear doubts and queries, promote conceptual clarity and more importantly could help in learning the art of presentation which is key to success.
In other words, the coaching institute could catalyze your preparation to the path of success. There are mushrooming growths of coaching institutes, out of which the best and genuine one must be selected, after all, it is not only a question of one’s carrier but that of one’s long-cherished dream.
Following facts must be kept in mind while selecting a genuine coaching institute:
EXPERIENCE OF COACHING INSTITUTE:
An authentic and reliable coaching institute is one that has been dealing with a particular optional subject for at least 8 to 9 long years. Prolonged experience is needed to guide students about the approach of the subjects, to develop conceptual clarity and to create awareness of trends in the exam. Short term experience is not enough to guide aspirant rather it can be misguiding and misleading.
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GO FOR RIGHT BRAND:
Select the right brand for the optional subject, not disguised one. There are big brand institutes in the field of UPSC coaching in Rajinder Nagar in Delhi. These institutes are the so-called brand in the field of general studies not in the field of an optional subject like Anthropology, Mathematics, etc.
Since these optional subjects (Anthropology and Mathematics) have been growing leaps and bound over the period, these branded institutes, out of greed, have started teaching above mentioned optional subjects.
They are not employing even deserving faculties they are using their own G.S faculty for the optional subject. The background of the faculties is doubtful. These big institutes in the field of G.S think that whatever optional subject they would start students would join.
They are misusing the innocence of thousands of students. Dear aspirants don’t be blind, rather be critical and aware of these vested coaching institutes. If anyone joining these institutes it would be like “purchasing formal clothes from sports brands like Nike and Adidas”.
ABOUT FACULTY:
Where ever one join a coaching institute for the optional subject, try to know the faculty of the institute even you are joining a big institute. Try to know the faculty regarding educational background. Whether the faculty itself appeared in the civil services exam, what was his score in the exam. For how many years the faculty has been teaching.
Actually, the background and experience of the faculty are going to help you. If you hesitate to know all of these facts about the faculty, you are going to compromise with your own career and life.
METHODS OF TEACHING:
Teaching method is another important sphere. It should not focus on facts and understanding of facts alone, it must emphasize on presentation. After all, candidates must present all these facts within the constraints of time and space. If the presentation is not taught anything is done for you. Mains exam is all about presentation.
Apart from, the class should be interactive, not one-sided or monologue. Meaningful interaction is inevitable for learning, It is possible only in a small class not in a classroom of 500 students. The crowd is going to help the institute, not the aspirants.
The regular class test shall be there so that your preparation could be effectively and timely evaluated thereby due feedback could be given time to time and personal attention as well.
STUDY MATERIALS:
The study materials given to students must be well processed, organized and ready to write the form in the exam. If you are given the only a bunch of facts without due organization, then it is going to be a big challenge to make it in answer format at home. Hence, study materials constitute an important aspect of your preparation.
RESULTS OF THE INSTITUTE:
A genuine institute is one that has been consistently producing successful candidates’ years after years. However, there is a trend that students coming for interview guidance only they are also claimed as successful candidates of their institute from the coaching of optional subjects. Unless and until students are taking regular class and test series for optional paper, they should not be claimed as students of optional subjects.
Dear aspirants, Institute may be big in size and number of students and well-reputed in general studies, however, if they do not satisfy the above-mentioned criteria as far as optional preparation is concerned then your interest is not going to be protected and promoted. One should not be trapped by vested institutes, hence, be critical while selecting as an institute for the optional subject.
