Garima Narula, who, in her very first attempt, secured an impressive AIR-39 in CSE-22. Garima Narula, hailing from Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, introduces herself. She pursued her schooling in Rudrapur before enrolling in Hindu College, Delhi University, where she graduated in English Literature.
Following the completion of her undergraduate studies, Garima embarked on her UPSC preparation journey in 2021. Displaying immense dedication and hard work, she appeared for the prestigious exam in 2022 and achieved a remarkable All India Rank (AIR) of 39.
My journey includes the very basic thing “limited books and multiple revision” throughout.
For Prelims
- I focused on my class notes along with some basic necessary books generally referred by everyone.
- I approached PYQs in two different sections, firstly I used to analyze pyqs subject wise whichever subject I used to read on that particular day or week, and later on, one month before the pre exam which was on 5 June 2022, I attempted year wise pyq papers. By this, I was able to attempt and analyze PYQs multiple times.
- I used to attempt the tests at my home in isolation for two hours and attempt the paper in three readings. My main focus on test was its solutions which I used to read and analyze extensively, and enrich my class notes with extra content that I used to find it in the test series explanations.
For Mains
- My focus was on answer writing. My approach for mains was based on following the syllabus. I had a hard copy for mains syllabus and everyday I used to tick the topic whichever I used to read on that particular day. That syllabus worked as an index as well as time table for me as I used to do double or triple ticks on the topics following the multiple revisions subsequently.
- In my answers, I used to focus on proper format which included introduction, body and conclusion. It had examples, data, flowcharts, diagrams, maps whenever and wherever required. In whichever topic I did not have an enough information, I used to read it through model answers of test series. I joined forum ias mgp+ test series. Whenever I was not having any quality data with me, I used to refer their model answers.
- I used to write answers in bullets and pointers and add sub points by adding examples or data. My conclusions used to be forward-looking, positive and futuristic in approach.
- I completed all the answers in all the papers, GS and Optional both.
Booklist
Below mentioned are the books that I referred to, however along with these books, I relied extensively on my handwritten classroom notes which I made during running classes for every subject.
- Polity– Laxmikant
- History Old NCERT (read spectrum just once)
- Economics– Only class notes (but I think class 12 macroeconomics as an important book)
- Geography– Class 11 and 12 NCERT
- Art and culture– Nitin Singhania Sir’s book (Class 11 NCERT I did not read but I think its also a content rich book)
- Environment
- IR- Mains/Pt 365
This booklist might differ for everyone so one thing that I really think is important is “TRUST YOUR RESOURCES”.
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