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CHOOSING THE RIGHT OPTIONALS

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SelectingrightsetofoptionalsisabigdecisioninCivilServicespreparation.Thinktwicebeforeyoudecide
becauselaterthiswillconsumeyourmoneyandenergyandmostcruciallyyourtime.
SometimeswhenIconsiderwhattremendousconsequencescomefromlittlethings...
Iamtemptedtothink....
Therearenolittlethings....BruceBurton
RememberthatselectingtherightsetofOptionalsisabigdecisioninCivilServicespreparation.Ifyouare
nervousaboutwhatsubjectstochooseforOptionals,itmeansyouareontherighttrack.Thisisbecause
you are thinking and not jumping to conclusions. Many a time there is tremendous peer pressure on
selectingOptionals.Keepyourselfat arm's length from such advices. Any advice which promotes you to
jointhe group, is bad because Civil Services Exam is quite a tailormade examination where everybody
shouldplaytoone'sstrength.Thereisatendencyamongpeergroupstomagnify/underplaythings.Please
thinktwicebeforeyoudecidebecauselaterthiswillconsumeyourmoneyandenergyandmostcrucially,
yourtime.
HowdoyouassessyourselfforOptionals?
InUPSCparlance,thetwoOptionalsarecalledfirstandsecondOptionals.FirstOptionalisthatoptionalfor
any candidate that he takes in the Preliminary. It can be the subject of graduation/post graduation.
SecondOptionalisthatoptionalwhichacandidateselects.Acandidatewiththreetofiveyearsfamiliarity
withanysubjectmakesfirstoptionalhisnaturalchoice.Thedecisiononsecondoptionalismore crucial.
CandidatesfromtheSciencebackgroundgenerallyfacemoreproblemsbecausetheymighthavetoprefer
totallynewsubjectsastheiroptionals.
Weproposeathumbindextoassessyourpreferencefortheoptionals.
Interest:Thisisthemostcrucialparameter.Ifyourmindiswhereyourheartis,halfthebattleiswon.
Interestkeepsyouattachedandmotivatedduringthestretchedoutcourseofpreparation.Therewillbe
sustained desire to know more about the subject. Hence, even if it is difficult for a while, you will have
enoughmotivationtoseeitthrough.Closeyoureyesandgobacktoyourschool days and recollect the
subjectwhereyouscoredmaximum.Thebookyoulookforwardtoreadingalways.Thinkofthesubjects
youdidnotmindstudyingevenintheeighthperiod.
Syllabus:Ifthefactorofinterestdoesnothelpyou,getmorerealisticandturntothesyllabusofvarious
Optionals.SelectoneOptionalandstaywithitadayortwo.Readeverysubtopicmentionedinit.Reflect
overit.Seewhetheryoucandevelopsomechemistrywiththesubject.
QuestionPaper:IfyoustillhavenotdevelopedanyparticularlikingfortheOptional,turntothequestion
paper,whichisonestepmorerealisticthanthesyllabus.Generallyeverybodyiseitheranalyticorfactual.
Analytical people like questions where they have to discuss many things without giving many factual
details, whereas some people like learning facts by pure memory and prefer questions which demand
straightandfactualanswers.ReadthequestionsofvariousOptionalsandtrytofigureoutwhichsubject

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makesyoumorecomfortable.
Coaching/Reading Materials/Company: These factors play a crucial role during your preparation
period.Hence,ifyouarestillnoncommittalontheabovethreeparameters,youmaygoforanyOptional
whichyour"trusted"friendistakingandthetwoofyouwillformgreatcompanyinpreparation.Similarly,
ifthereisagoodteacheraround(coaching)andyouhave"faith"inhim,youmaytakeanOptionalonhis
advice. Availability of good reading material is another factor on which you may decide. However, the
bottom line remains that ultimately it is between you and your Optional. Even if you are selecting an
Optionalbasedonexternalfactors,adoptitasyourchoiceandfaceitresolutely.
HighscoringandlowscoringOptionals
HighandlowscoringOptionalsisawidelycontestedtopic.Manycandidatesbelievethatcertainoptionals
scorebetterthanothersdo.Theremightbesometruthintheirobservation.Iwouldnotbetooidealisticto
assumethateverythingisperfectintheworldofCivilServicesExam.However,atthesametimeImust
put on record that I have seen high scores in virtually all the subjects. That is, I have seen students
scoringaround200ineveryOptionalpaper.Thismakes400perOptional.Thesubjectsthathavecrossed
400areHistory,Sanskrit,Geography,PublicAdministration,Anthropology,English,Psychology,Hindi,etc.
Otherscienceandengineeringsubjectsalsodoequallywell.
Highscoringdependsupontwofactors.First,youshouldhavedonewellintheexamination.Andsecond,
thatUPSChasbeenkindenoughtoaskeasyquestionsinthatparticularyear.Attimestheassessment
factor also helps. On observation, you would notice that a particular subject does exceedingly well in a
givenyear.Thisisyourluckydrawandyoucannotdomuchaboutit.However,UPSCtriestobringparity
betweendifferentsubjectsbutsucheffortsbringonlylimitedrelieftocandidates.Acandidatemustdevote
hisenergytodohisbestintheexambymakingsurethathisfundamentalsareright.Thesefundamentals
arethathehaspickedthesubjectofhisliking,heunderstandsitwell,andheiswritinghisanswerswell.
This,tomymind,isanadequatestateofpreparedness.Managingmorethanthisisnothumanlypossible.
LoyaltytoOptionals
ImaginethatyouhaveselectedOptionalswithduedeliberation.Youunderwentalltherigoursdemanded.
You selected an optional of your choice. Your interest was also quite all right when you selected the
optional.However,whenyoustartedyourrealpreparation,somewheredownthelineyourealizethatyou
havebittenoffmorethanyoucanchew.Yourinterestissaggingandeverytimeyouopenyourtextbookit
feels like you are in the shoes of Hercules This is the moment of your truth and you are torn apart
betweencontinuingyourOptionalandleaving it midway. The fact that you have already invested lot of
yourtimeandmoneyinitkeepslurkinginyourmind.Moreover,thereisafeelingthatyouwillbeseen
amongyourpeersasficklemindedandsomebodywhocannotmaketherightdecision.
Iamsorrybuttherearenoeasyanswerstothis.Iwouldnotliketourge you to go ahead and change
your Optional/s, for the simple reason: what if you do not like the new Optional also? Will you dump it
again?Iamsurebythistimethegamewillbeoverforyou.ChanginganOptionalmidwayalsocreatesa
senseofpanicbecausethereisthepressingneedtomakeupthelosttime,ifnotmoney.Freshcoaching
requirementsmayalsodisturbthepreparationcyclethatyouarein.Weighing all concerns, I would say
that,itisnotwisetochangeyourOptionalforordinaryconstraints.Itisbettertofightone'swaythrough,
thanexperimentingafresh.
IwouldnotbedoingjusticeifIaskedyoutotieyourselftoyourOptionaltillthedayofeternity.Afterall
youdonothavetoproveanypointagainstthatparticularOptional.Overallsuccessintheexaminationis
what a common aspirant is gunning for. Making a prestige issue over small things is low maturity.
However,donotchangeyourOptionalforthefollowingfactors:
AfriendhaspromisedtohelpyouinyournewOptional,
Yourcoachinginstitutehasjustgivenyouthemeritsofanewsubject,
Itisahotnewsubject,
YourOptionalisinminority,
YouaresurroundedbypeoplewhodonotshareyourOptional,
ThenewOptionalhasalotofreadingmaterial,
Agoodcoachisintown.
Believeme,noneofthesefactorsandotherfactorswhichsoundormeansimilarshouldbethebasisfor
switchingOptionals.AsIhaveremindedtimeandagain,anOptionalisanextremelypersonalmatterand
anyotherpersoninterveningwillonlymessitup.Takeyourtimeanddeliberateinisolation.Anydecision
tochangetheOptionalshouldbeyours.Briefly,lookforthefollowingindicationsbeforeyouchangeyour
Optional.

Youareunabletounderstandmajorconceptsofthesubjectevenafterhelpandguidance,
Youaretryingtolearnitbycrammingratherthanbyunderstanding,

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Youareparticularlybadatsomethingandthatfactoristhesoulofthesubject,
Foryoureadingandunderstandingthesubjectislikefloggingadeadhorse,
Youavoidanydebatethatrelatestothesubject,
Youareperpetuallyatalossandunsure,
Youfeelthatthesubjectisnotaddinganykindofknowledgetoyou.
These are not the final set of situations that should motivate you to divorce your Optional. But as an
indicator, any other factor should either resemble or reflect the same kind of feelings as listed above. A
goodjudgementintheend,Imustadmit,isnecessary.
One'sfirststepinwisdomistoquestioneverythingandone'slastistocometotermswitheverything.
GeorgeChristopher

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