My Desire for Group-1 services:
Unlike
most of the aspirants do, I entered into the battle of competitive examinations
setting my eyes exclusively on TNPSC Group-1 Exams. The Desire to get into
civil services was a childhood dream which was given up when I got into CORE companies
post my graduation. And this decision was also supported by the various
allegations on the credibility of recruitment in state civil services. But then
by 2014 a close friend of mine from college days cleared state services and
that’s when I myself believed that it’s all about the effort and hard work you
make that matters to get into civil services. I met the friend who was then
District Employment Officer (ERODE District, Tamil Nadu), and his words “Don’t
hesitate to pursue your dream. It’s all happening in a transparent manner. You
can achieve it “gave the much needed courage to take daring decision. 2 hour
talk with my friend that fine night, gave the much needed impetus to resign
highly paid dream job in corporate and pursue preparation for civil services .I
never looked back since then.
Never be afraid to take risks to achieve your dream. My
salary when I decided to resign was around 8Lakhs/annum, which was a good
salary for a 23year old guy. Was it a risk ? yes…!! Is it worth? Absolutely worthy
…!!!
Brief Bio-data
Name
|
Maniraj.P
|
DOB
|
12/10/1991
|
Age
|
26
|
Hometown
|
Salem, Tamil Nadu
|
Qualification:
|
Electronics & Communication
engineering
|
College
|
College of Engineering
Guindy(CEG), Chennai (Anna university’s main campus)
|
Work experience
|
Design Engineer in ROTORK
Innovation Design and Engineering Centre ( RIDEC)- R&D unit of ROTORK
Controls Pvt Ltd (Aug 2012-July 2015)
|
No. of attempts in TNPSC GROUP-1
exam made previously:
|
0
|
General Approach:
Preparation
has to be two pronged: one for preliminary examination and other one for
Mains Examination.
It is wise and smart to approach the exam topic by
topic rather than going book by book. Reading precise and staying up to the
point is essential, and due to heavy syllabus you need clear understanding of
each concept, and you will definitely be pushed to develop answer from few
points that you have understood. At the same time, it is also required to get
the conceptual clarity (if not in depth, at least a basic clarity) as some
questions will test the concept clarity for sure. Books are so many in the
market for every single subject. It is only by sticking to the syllabus that we
can try conquering the subjects to the best of our satisfaction. It is better
to start the preliminary preparation with main exam in mind and follow the same
approach as main written examination. Take notes; keep developing it when you
get better understanding and when you find new points.
Role of Training Institutes:
Yes, academies play very good role in helping the student to clear civil
service exam. But don’t forget not all students who get into an academy clear
the exam. Academies will guide you (maximum 20%), but 80% of the effort and
uniqueness has to come from you. If you could develop Discipline and
perseverance, I would suggest you to do it all on your own.
Did I join Academy?
Did I join Academy?
No!! That was the first
and bold decision which I was pushed to take, because I had only 3 months for
preparation for preliminary exam (until then I was purely into electronics
only) and I was completely new to all subjects after almost 8 years. So I
sensed that going as per academy plan will not work for me, and so I decided to
do it on own. I will share my work plan going below.
REMEMBER Academy is not the Door step to succeed. Something more is
required.
Preliminary Examination and Detailed
analysis:
I would like to recall again, the syllabus for exam is very huge and you
need to be smart to accomplish each subject and the syllabus. I’m not sure
about the methodology adopted by various coaching centers, but I will share
with you how I approached each subject and how I was successful in covering all
subjects in a short span of 2.5 months good enough to secure State rank.
The basic work I did was to take previous year question paper from
website and worked on the weightage given for each subject. Based on which I
classified the subjects as scoring and non-scoring subjects. Scoring subject
questions would relatively be easy when the syllabus is covered and the hit
rate would be more than 80%. Non scoring subject would be relatively out of
box, and your hit ratio reduces down to 40-50%.
The below table gives to detail of subjects, nature, no. of .questions
(approx) and how much is expected to be answered correctly.
S.no | Subject | Scoring Nature | Expected questions(approx) | Hit Ratio expected(approx) | Books Recommended (for Prelims) |
1 | Aptitude and Information Technology | High | 50 | 45+ | R.S.Agarwal,+1 CS book,10Th statistics |
2 | Modern History | High | 15 | 11+ | 10 and 12th History Book |
3 | Ancient History | Low | 10 | 5+ | 11th History Book |
4 | Indian Polity | High | 15 | 12+ | Indian Polity by Lakshmikanth |
5 | Physics | Medium | 8 | 5+ | 11 and 12th Physics book |
6 | Chemistry | Low | 8 | 2+ | 11 and 12th Chemistry book |
7 | Botany | Medium | 8 | 4+ | 11 and 12th Botany book |
8 | Zoology | Low | 8 | 2+ | 11 and 12th Zoology book |
9 | Economics | Medium | 8 | 4+ | Indian Economy by Shankar Ganesh, Mrunal.org |
10 | Current Affairs | High | 35 | 27+ | |
11 | Geography | Medium | 10 | 5+ | 6-10 std school books |
TOTAL | 175 | 122+ |
Approximate cutoff required would be around 125-130 (questions correct
for BC category). The remaining 25 questions would vary between the subjects.
Since TNPSC don’t impose negative marking for wrong questions, you will have
liberty to answer all the questions, and that would help you very well cross
the cutoff mark.
MY PRELIMS SCORE – 138/200
What Not to Study:
Remember, the materials are enormous in the
market and website, and one way or other some academy or some aspirant will
suggest every material as most appropriate. Don’t get confused or carried
away..!! Every material is appropriate and it’s all about the knowledge bank
you develop. So “what not to study!” becomes more pertinent than “What to
study”.
Cover only topics given
in the syllabus. This is most important. Even in the syllabus heading, covering
entire content (like derivation, etc) doesn’t make sense. Before you start
reading something, sit and think can the contents you read be put into a
question? Develop a character and understanding by referring to previous year
papers, on the approach followed by TNPSC in setting the questions.
Consider
physics (which people feel difficult subject to cover):
What should
be covered?
Ø Principles
Ø Examples
Ø Applications
Ø Laws
Ø Devices , techniques used in
real-time ( eg: lightening conductor, microwave oven, semiconductors etc)
Ø Reason behind certain natural
phenomenon ( eg: Rainbow, Dispersion, spherical shape of bubble, why ship
floats? Etc)
Ø Recent sensations ( eg:
Neutrinos, black hole, gravitational waves etc)
When you adhere to this, the contents you need to cover would reduce
around 40% for sure.
What need
not be covered?
Ø Derivations
Ø Final equations
Ø Contents specific to school
examinations
Ø Contents too much irrelevant
to real time events
Ø History of inventions
Ø In depth study of working
details of various devices
Ø Proof of various laws and
principles
Similarly you can analyze for each subject and establish a plan to cover
the subjects quickly. If needed mail me / make a request to mrunal, I can give
the analysis for each subject on what to study and not to study.
Prelims Mock tests ?:
“An Apple a day keeps doctor
away” – write tests every day (at least one). There is no limit on the tests
that you can take. But create an environment similar to the actual exam. Fix a
time clock and strictly adhere to it. Track your marks in an excel sheet. Study
your progress (do this when are feeling bored or irritated). Take printout of
OMR sheets, and even the practice tests do it in OMR.
All question papers are
best. Get question papers available every where. Model questions in any
websites(TNPSCguru,TNPSCportal etc), SURA books,old question papers, school
exam question papers ( need not answer problem type questions) etc
Never let your mark go
below 60% in any of the mock tests. Fix this as a TARGET. Don’t feel bored to
take mock tests. You can initially take 25mark or 50 mark tests, and through
the course of preparation you can shift gears to 100,150 and 200 questions
paper.
How many hours per day?:
This is an arbitrary question from most of the
aspirants, but I will still try to answer it in a best possible way.
Hours per day depends on your
talent/discipline level. There is no unique formula. What I can finish in 2 hours
may be completed by you in 1 hour if you are smart enough and have previous
experience in the subject. So many factors determines the effort you need to
put in every day like
Ø Discipline to sit and read
Ø Previous experience in subject
Ø Quality friends to clarify doubts
Ø Efficiency in using internet
Ø Hunger to become an aspirant
Ø Ability to link and retain etc
But based on my
experience, I have arrived at a formula to calculate the tentative hours needed
to be put in everyday, comparing TNPSC group 1 with your efforts in 12th STD public examination. Prior to
TNPSC, 12th STD was the biggest step in your life, and the importance was more
or less the same.
Hours needed per day = {8(effective hours for a good skilled guy) / (percentage of 4 major subject marks of 12th STD) } *100
Sample calculation for my marks:
Hours per day = (8 /((199+200+200+194)/8))*100
= (8/ 99.125)*100
= 8.07 hours / day
This includes
the time you spend on Mock tests, News papers and any constructive works.
Main Written Examination:
When to Start?
Finish the preliminary exam,
wait for official answer key on TNPSC website, and check your score. If you
have answered 125+ (this may vary based on difficulty), have a party and take a
10-15 day break and get back into study mode. You will write Mains examination
for sure within 8months from date of prelims exam. Start your mains
preparation, finish it and have sufficient time to revise things. If you go for
a long break, the tempo and sync will be out, and you will eventually end up
wasting few months after prelims, which is not healthy.
The Strategy :
The preparation made for
preliminary exam would cover 60% of the main exam syllabus, but the trick here
is, for main written exam you should be able to write everything in detail and,
hence you need more aggressive preparation. The paper is lengthy compared to
any other written examination, and you need to answer 56pages in 3 hours.
Hence the completion of paper remains a tricky one, and for this you
have to make intense practice. I would suggest you write at least 30-40 tests for 300 marks across
various subjects, and preferably in the paper with around 22-24lines per page (as this is what is being used in final exam).
Try preparing question in parallel to the topics you study. Set yourself
question paper in the below pattern and try answering as exam. I have question
paper for almost every book I read, and I will try to search and share it in
future. Kindly don’t study as for school exams. Remember all questions are
important. So, any question paper you set yourself is good. Finally go into
previous year papers ( around 5-7 years ) , and any model papers available in
internet.
Section A: 3 marks --> (30 out of 35 question) = 90marks
Section B: 8 marks --> (15 out of 18 questions) = 120 marks
Section C: 15marks --> (6 out of 9 questions) = 90 marks
TOTAL=300marks
Book List:
Books studied for prelims
will form the foundation/core of the preparation. Study those in detail and
have a sound knowledge on that portion. Below are the additional books in every
subject you need to cover to enhance your chances to write solid answers.
S.No
|
Subject
|
Additional Books for Mains
|
1
|
History
|
a)
Spectrum’s Modern India
b)
Modern India by G.Venkatesh (
this book covers Tamilnadu role)
c)
Contemporary India by
G.venkatesh
|
2
|
Science and tech
|
a) Science and Tech Tata
Mcgrawhill
b) Recent sensations in news (
eg: Stem cell therapy, LiFi,LIGO etc)
|
3
|
Information Technology
|
a) 11th std
computer science book
b) Wizard science and tech (
only IT portions)
|
4
|
English
|
Internet – study formats for precis
writing,comprehension etc
|
5
|
State Administration
|
a) State administration by
Lakshmikanth
b) Industrial bodies –
TIIC,SIPCOT,ELCOT etc ( Wikipedia – also check at bottom of the wiki page for
other bodies)
c) State schemes – Tn.gov.in
d) Central schemes-
Wikipedia/visionias
e) Recruitement bodies and
other special bodies like NSG,NCERT etc – Wikipedia
|
6
|
Economics
|
a) RajyaSabha document on 2008
crisis
b) Acts and economics welfare
schemes – Wikipedia
|
7
|
Social Issues
|
a) Ram Aujha – social issues
b) Wizard- Social issues
|
8
|
Current Affairs
|
Cover for 10
months in detail. Try to predict 30 marks questions. Eg: LIGO,Paris
agreement, SDG,SHDR,Aaadhar etc
|
Note: These are the books in
addition to the books covered for prelims. Yes book list looks very big, but
then stick to the syllabus. Focus more on wide coverage than looking for
in-depth coverage..!!!!
Does Handwriting matters?
You
will find an exclusive statement in instruction to candidate as “NO marks
reserved for handwriting”. And to best of my knowledge and experience I believe
this holds true. It’s good enough if your handwriting is legible and clear.
But
however, there must be some feature that should make your answer outstanding.
And that I strongly believe to be Presentation of answers. Writing in essay
format, I personally don’t feel is the best choice, firstly because you cannot
manage time and secondly paper looks too much loaded.
I
will give you an example of how I presented my answer.
Q: Write a short note on Regulation XVII ( 3marks)
Ans:
a) When
: Dec 4, 1829 in Bengal
b) By:
Lord William Bentinck
c) Pioneer:
Raja Rammohan Roy
d) Significance:
Practice of Sati was banned and abolished
e) Sati:
Burning of Widow women alive in her husband pyre
Ensure you have at least 3
heading per page for 8 marks and 15marks. Try adding quotes, diagrams etc for
possible question. Quotes are must for social issues questions. For history try
to add the statements made by popular leader (of that time) on every historical
event. 15 marks should begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion.
If you need more sample answers, I can send you
some photos on request( again don’t ask me to send photocopy of all the notes).
Connect me on face book (profile name : Mani Raj)
Interview Preparation?
Subject knowledge has been
enough tested in first two rounds of exam , and hence the interview focus only
on testing your personality, how you react to social matters, what attention
you have made to happenings around the globe etc. Hence basic subject knowledge
will be helpful to make your answer look smart. But however prepare in detail
about what you have done in your graduation and particularly the current
affairs for past 10 months at least. Develop opinion for majority of the issues
around the globe and also prepare the points to support it. Don’t worry if its
correct or not, but take a stand and stay on it . Have clear understanding in
each issues.
NEVER STOP reading papers after your mains. Develop a culture to
follow NEWS everyday. Discuss with your friends on every popular issues. Try to
explain your family about issues that are so much covered by the media.
NEWSPAPERS are for life , not for exams alone. They will TRANSFORM you.
Have some mocks, as
many academies conduct free mock for selected candidates, which can be helpful
to refine yourself. The Interview is for 120 marks, and if you perform well you
be given a maximum of 90.
Alright interview can be handled later , as you will have sufficient
time post mains exam to prepare for this.
My Scores:
Main written exam (out of 900)
|
Interview
(out of 120) |
Total
(out of 1020) |
State Rank
|
Community
|
Post Selected
|
588.5
|
81
|
669.5
|
2
|
BC
|
Deputy Collector
|
Conclusion:
At the end of the day, even after
so much preparation there would be questions that looks unanswerable. What we
are doing here is to equip ourselves with all the weapons in our armory to make
sure we win the battle even if we lose some soldiers. Presence of mind on the
exam day is going to be vital .Customize yourself by taking a good
understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. Adjust accordingly and launch
your preparation. Discipline and perseverance would play the decisive role. All
the Best!!!
Good instructions thanking you
பதிலளிநீக்குSUPER SIR
பதிலளிநீக்குThank you very much for motivational and guidelines
பதிலளிநீக்குA good job done sir. Please to clear more doubts from you regarding group 1, prelims books.
பதிலளிநீக்குThank you soooo much sir..........
பதிலளிநீக்குPlz send the books details cearly
பதிலளிநீக்குosssssm sir
பதிலளிநீக்கு