My Sociology Journey: From 230s to 285

        My Sociology preparation for the UPSC Mains was both challenging and enlightening. Over multiple years and four mains, I transformed my approach and strategy, steadily improving my score from the 230s to my best score of 285. Here, I'll share the key changes I made, the lessons I learned, and what I did to improve my Sociology score. 

Initial Attempts and Lessons Learned

2019: First Mains Attempt - Score: 230

• Preparation Strategy: My preparation was unstructured. I relied on multiple sources: class notes, academy materials, Haralambos, Nitin Sangwan, online notes, and Vikas Ranjan texts.
• Mistakes:
• Relying on too many sources: This scattered my focus and made my preparation haphazard.
• Lack of streamlined preparation: I didn't have a clear, organized study plan.
• Writing what I knew instead of what was asked: Many questions require application of concepts, but I tended to write what I knew rather than addressing the specific demands of the questions.
• Insufficient practice in answer writing: I didn't practice answer writing daily.
• Poor stress management: I didn't keep my stress under control, affecting my performance.
• Lack of short notes: I didn't have concise notes for quick revision.
• Outcome: Scored 230, a pretty average score that year, with almost equal marks in both papers.

2020: A Year of Break and Practice

• Focused Improvement:
• Practiced daily answer writing.
• Started making comprehensive short notes from all the materials.
• Focused on incorporating more thinkers in my answers.
• Outcome: In the 2021 Mains, I scored nearly 240. I took tests with Sivarajavel sir, whose guidance improved my conceptual understanding of many core areas. Though just a 10-mark improvement, it was significant as overall scores in our optional were lower that year. I had improved my conceptual understanding and answer writing skills. But I understood that, there should be a balance in use of thinkers, and thinkers should be justifying our viewpoint and not the way around.

Turning Point

2022: Guidance from Rajitha Mam

• Seeking Help: After the 2022 prelims, I approached Rajitha Mam, questioning my capability to score 270+ in Sociology and I asked her to let me know THAT ONE way to get high score in Sociology.
• Key Insights:
• She showed me answer scripts of three toppers, each with different answer writing styles but all scoring above 270.
• Emphasized that there is no single method to achieve high scores; multiple approaches can get us good scores.
• Implementing Changes:
• Made cosmetic changes and structural improvements as suggested - Writing 4 mini paragraphs for each page, Giving numbers even to paragraphs.
• Mam went through every test and question of mine, making suggestions focusing on content, structure, and appeal.
• Outcome: Scored 285 (137+148), my best score ever. Despite missing the final list by 2 marks due to a poor interview performance, it was a significant improvement in Sociology.

Dealing with Fatigue

2023: Managing Fatigue and Consistency

• Challenges: Fatigue from the continuous exam cycle and missing the rank by narrow margin affected my preparation. I couldn't read for longer periods, reducing overall efficiency.
• Strategy:
• Did not try anything new.
• Focused on consistency, writing all Sociology tests between July - September 2023.
• Outcome: Scored 260, a decent score considering I left more than three questions. I secured 444th rank in CSE 2023. 

What have I followed?

Classes and Test series

1. Sociology classes from Rajitha mam (2018)
2. Test Series - 2019, 2022, 2023 with Rajitha mam and 2021 with Sivarajavel sir
3. Books and Materials - Class notes, Haralambos, Shankar academy material for thinkers in paper 2, Vision IAS model answers, ChatGPT. 

Mistakes I did

1. Relying on Too Many Sources - Makes revision very difficult. - So, create a concise notes from everything.
2. Not having a short, crisp and revision notes.
3. Not having a clear, organized study plan - Like what to read, where and when to read - Lacking this leads to loss of confidence in our preparation and reduces efficiency.
4. Writing what I knew rather than addressing the specific demands of the questions - Also called crude form of writing will not fetch us good marks
5. Did not practice answer writing daily, leading to a lack of confidence and skill - Always had self-doubt whether I can write good answers in my initial attempts.
6. Did not keep stress under control, affecting overall performance - As I was unable to manage GS, Essay and Optional all at the same time.

What I learnt and what I did

1. Limiting the sources, making a short but comprehensive notes - Each chapter in 5 to 7 pages - this contains summary of everything plus thinkers - Keep notes exam relevant i.e., A topic should contain Intro, crux of concept, criticism and way forward - Notes should be in exam ready format.
2. Started practising daily answers - PYQs with peer feedback and brainstormed many unknown difficult questions.
3. Writing answers very specific to what is asked in the question - THIS WILL GIVE YOU MARKS
4. Copied readymade answers from Vision IAS Sociology Test Series Model answers for static questions.
5. Copied best introductions, conclusions and innovative pictorial representations from internet, toppers answers and good answer copies of test series.
6. Proper balance in usage of thinkers - Neither too much nor too less.
7. Giving importance to Content, Value addition and also visual appeal. 
8. Experimenting all the above things and other new ways of writing in test series to see which ones were rewarded, adapting my style accordingly.

Test Copies and of notes will be shared here soon.