Scoring high marks in your Optional Subject is a pre-requisite for getting into the top of UPSC CSE ranklist. Sociology has proven to be a very scoring subject. Many of the toppers of UPSC CSE examination had Sociology as their optional subject.
UPSC TOPPERS WITH SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL
# Anu Kumari, 2nd rankholder in 2017
# Shruti Jayant Deshmukh, 5th rank in 2018
# Sanjita Mohapatra, 10th rank in 2019
# Jagrati Awasthi, 2nd rank in 2020
TOPPERS WITH HIGH MARKS
Vishal Shah, in 2018, secured AIR 63 scored 329 marks in Sociology. About picking the optional, he said, “The sociology syllabus is comparatively shorter and thus allows aspirants to spend more time in revising.” Regarding notemaking, he says, “Your notes should be like a ready reckoner when you go through them later. Use words and phrases that you will be able to recollect easily.” Vishal says that in terms of content, most aspirants have access to similar information, so the important thing to do is focus on presenting that content well and in a cohesive manner.“I worked hard on answer writing, and that was one skill I felt I improved on from my first attempt. Every part of the question must be answered, and also ensure that you make your answers easy to read for the examiner. Take some time to put down sub-headings and break it up into paragraphs.”
Hemant Bhorkhade, AIR 424 secured 324 marks in Sociology. He suggests Usage of maximum Sociological terms, Drawing relevant diagrams or simply reproducing diagrams from the standard books in your paper, Underlining important sentences, Boxing Sociological Thinkers names so that on every page, 3-4 thinkers names comes out which examiner cannot ignore.
Chirumamilla Vinay Kumar, AIR 169, 2018 topper scored 319 in Sociology and suggests five ways to master the optional – Clarifying the Sources, Spending time on each topic, Familiarity with the thinkers, Writing ‘Sociological’ answers and not casual ones, Adding uniqueness and Current affairs to the answers.
TOPPERS’ MANTRA
#Limit your sources
#Make concise notes
#Really know your thinkers
#Add contemporary issues
#Revise countless times
#Do answer writing practice
#Go through topper’s answer booklets
#Attempt Mock tests
