MISSION – 2017: How to Secure a Rank in 2017 – A Roadmap
Insights IAS Test Series for Prelims 2017
Before we start,
- It’s a lengthy post, but Please read each and every line. It will really help you.
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- In case you are impatient to see the Timetable, it’s at the Bottom! Go grab it.
Thanks to UPSC, we are starting Test Series for Prelims 2017 bit early this year. Prelims 2017 is scheduled on 18th June, 2017. You have 10 Months i.e. 300 Days to prepare yourself to face Prelims.
If 2017 is your first attempt, this is the right time to start preparing for UPSC civil services exam 2017 and aim for a rank without worrying about extra attempts.
All you need is a right guidance and strategy that boosts your confidence day by day and helps you stay focused till you achieve your dream. When you are under right guidance, the efforts you put will definitely yield result.
After seeing many toppers very closely and interacting with them on a regular basis, we have discovered that only dedicated, consistent and focused efforts will bear results. If you try to follow too many strategies, read too many materials, search for too many sources and seek too many guidances, chances of clearing this exam within one attempt are slim. Your one year and one attempt plan morphs into Five Year plan.
One can still clear this exam by trial and error, but these experiments will waste many precious years of your life (and life is precious) You will be exhausted by then. You might also lose your original motivation for joining civil services (after 4-5 attempts, people start talking about becoming MLA, MP, Naxalite, Prime Minister or next Vajiram and Ravi)
You must strive to succeed in one best attempt and then start serving nation at an young age.
You can succeed and you will succeed if you show Faith, Trust and Hope in our Guidance (sorry if we sound like advertising, it’s is just we have immense faith in our guidance)
In this article, we are going to outline a Strategy for 2017 with the aim of enabling you to reach your goal. We will provide a comprehensive and workable Timetable for you to follow (Sounds like election manifesto, but it works. Read on to discover how)
Below, we will give you a strategy that has worked for many toppers since the day when Insights pioneered its result oriented initiatives. Toppers have acknowledged it through various articles on our website (all are genuine and written mostly voluntarily)
The Aim of Mission – 2017 will be to help you get a good rank. This is not a false promise. We would have hesitated to make promises like this two years ago, but not now. Our efforts have resulted in producing good ranks till now. Even though our effort is miniscule and your hard work needed is 99%, we believe that that 1% right guidance will help you achieve your dream without making you victim of trials and errors.
Do Self Study and be Independent
Our entire emphasis is on Self Study. Through self study you can achieve a good rank. It gives you immense satisfaction to achieve something through your own effort and through your untiring hard work.
Of course coaching helps, we believe, only for Optional subject and not for General Studies papers. That too for people who have chosen completely alien subject and are struggling to understand core concepts (first of all, one should not choose such an Optional subject!)
We do not believe in spoonfeeding. It was Insights which started Answer Writing Challenges for the first time for aspirants . We designed Test Series in such a way that those who followed our timetable strictly could easily feel the difference within short span of time. You will feel confident as you progress in this journey under our guidance.
We witnessed our students improve their prelims score from 40 50 Marks in first Test to 140+ in last Test. It’s solely because of their undying trust in our strategy and their consistent hard work till the end.
Now, our students who took 2016 prelims test series and followed it religiously are showering praises HERE. We haven’t asked them for reviews, yet they are so happy that they are expressing their happiness so generously. This is what makes us feel proud and happy.
It is a fact that everyone wants to work hard , but they don’t work hard. Even if someone works hard, it will be under bad guidance or under no guidance. This is why some hardworking and brilliant people never make it. You need a guide – invisible or visible, anyone with good experience – to show you the right path.
Most also do not follow a one good strategy. Especially freshers – they want to explore everything despite suggestions by toppers. Too much curiosity and inquisitiveness is harmful in UPSC civil services exam preparation.
But those who consistently follow one strategy will eventually end up getting a rank this year or next year. You should one of them. You can easily get rank in your very first attempt (please read this). You don’t have to be super brilliant to do this.
We keep repeating that there are only 2-3 thousand students who consistently toil every day to achieve their dream without wasting their time on too many strategies. You are competing with only a few thousand serious aspirants. You will be one among these 2-3 thousand if you stay focused and consistent.
You must commit yourself from now itself to follow your heart and never waver in your faith. If you want to be a Topper, then Start TODAY. And never STOP in between till you reach your goal. Never look back. Never listen to what others are talking or recommending. Once you trust something that has worked in the past for many, trust it and follow it.
We will just show you the path which worked for our students. We honestly believe it is a lonely journey no matter how many people tend to support you in this journey. You must do self study and excel. We will be there to support you.
INTEGRATED STRATEGY FOR PRELIMS AND MAINS – 2017
This strategy seeks to give you a roadmap that will keep you BUSY, very busy indeed, and focused till the Interview stage of 2017 civil services exam.
Your preparation will be Integrated one i.e. Prelims + Mains + Interview oriented. The present pattern is such that an integrated approach is the only way to excel in it.
How to do this?
Target 140+ Marks in Prelims
In 2016 Prelims paper we saw that current events is given good weightage. UPSC is trying to make Prelims more broad based. But questions are not difficult per se. It’s just that it wants you to know both facts and concepts very well – both related to current events and static part of Prelims cum Mains syllabus.
In this regard, you need to prepare comprehensively which should cover very basics from NCERT books, daily current events and understanding of various issues and concepts that are mentioned in the syllabus. You should aim to have a broad understanding of all important issues that are taking shape around you. Your knowledge should be more broad based than in-depth.
Therefore, we have designed 2017 Timetable in such a way that, if you religiously follow it, you will definitely clear both prelims and Mains in 2017 attempt. Have no doubt about it.
There is no shortcut to success. You must follow the timetable and practice all tests as many times as possible to get through. 10 Months of time is sufficient for this. Our approach is to enable you to solve any type of question in exam (we wrote these lines under Mission – 2016, and this year our students are repeating these in their comments after giving prelims!)
This year many of our students are scoring 140+ (from Offline) thanks to the fact that they solved so many questions under exam like conditions (You will read some of them validating this in their Topper Testimonies next year). Prelims is the first hurdle which you must cross. One must never take chances with it. You will have a painful wait if you don’t clear prelims with comfortable margin.
For this we are going to adopt following strategy:
- Daily Current Affairs for broad understanding of all important issues
- Daily Current Affairs Based Quiz to help you keep tab on Daily Current Affars that are important for prelims
- Comprehensive Paid Test Series for General Studies Paper – 1 to score 140+ in this paper
- Mains Self Study – to cover static part + Ethics Paper
- Daily Secure – 2016 (from December Secure -2017) – for Mains Current Affairs Preparation
- Daily Debates for Interview Preparation
These 6 initiatives are the Pillars of 2017 strategy. Follow all of them religiously from Today till the Day of Interview, you will not be disappointed.
New Features at www.insightsias.com!
We have redesigned our test series website to give you the best experience while taking online tests.
Features of Test Series:
- It covers only Paper – 1 of Prelims syllabus.
- All India Ranking – You will see two ranks in your dashboard: Static one based on the no. of people who give exam a day before the next test, and another one which keeps changing as more and more people give exams. Static rank is more authentic as Only Serious people will be giving exams according to strict schedule!
- Analysis of your performance – You will see graph of your performance in various categories within each test, and also your performance relative to others scores
- Tests are both Mobile and Tablet friendly. But please prefer to give tests on desktop or laptop.
- Flexible timing. You can take tests any time and any day at your convenience. Once a test is activated, it will be there till Prelims 2017 for you to take it. But do your best to follow the schedule if you want to be topper.
- Retakes: you can take online exam only once as of now. This is to make sure that Ranks are genuine and to bring seriousness in exam preparation. For revision you will have PDF file which you can download anytime. However, we will increase number of attempts by 2 later in the month of April 2017.
- A PDF with questions and detailed solutions will be made available to you after completion of test. You can also download it ANYTIME from your dashboard. Only SINGLE PDF will be available (Not two separate PDFs one with questions and solutions) with your name, email DI embedded in it.
- FAQs is provided for you to clear doubts. Please read them 1-2 times. Most of your doubts are cleared there.
- Inclusion of REVISION Tests. Without revision, you fail. So, we have included revision tests for you to revise periodically.
- Minimum Sources, maximum efficiency. We have reduced sources, but given some important sources as references. Here minimum sources refers to less number of sources for same topic. We have focused more on giving diverse sources to cover diverse areas.
- Inclusion of ETHICS tests under Mains Self Study: We have given which topics to read for each Ethics Mains Self Study test. prepare thoroughly and face the test.
NEW Features of Website:
- Integrated Discussion: You can Discuss each test with www.insightsIAS.com! After each test, we will open discussion thread where you can post all your test related queries. We will address all your doubts there.
- Rating the Test: After each test, you can review and rate it. This helps us improve quality.
- Motivational Blog: We will communicate with you through dedicated Blog within Test Series website.
- Access Insights Daily Updates in your dashboard: you can access daily secure, current events and all other posts in your dashboard!
- Colourful Dynamic Dashboard: A dashing dashboard to keep you updated and motivated
More new features will be added in future.
We have also learnt from previous mistakes and will be striving to make our Test Series truly the best in India by introducing following system:
- Explanations to each question will explain why particular Option is correct and others are wrong. Earlier we were just providing you the content and solution without telling you why answer was correct or incorrect.
- Along with explanation, we will also provide the Source for each question i.e. page number if question is framed from NCERT or other books, or URL (with explanation) if question is from online source. This is done so as to let you know sources which are important to be covered.
- Papers will be designed just like UPSC does having questions of Very Difficult, Difficult, Medium and Easy levels. We won’t be making entire paper tough or easy.
- Emphasis on providing Error free question papers (at least 99%). No Typos, not spelling mistakes or any other mistakes. We have accumulated sufficient experience to avoid such things in future. Even if some mistakes appear, they will be addressed soon on discussion page.
- We will provide syllabus that you can truly manage to read in Ten days. We have removed unwanted resources this year. Targets will be realistic. Even if you are going to start your preparation today, you can be assured of clearing Prelims with ease.
By the time you complete Insights IAS test series and daily targets, you will master NCERT books, all standard books (including Economic Survey and India – 2016) and current events.
Daily current events, daily Quiz and a strict Timetable to follow once in every Ten Day will help you stay focused every day. Learning will be made truly fun and rewarding. You will be in charge of your exam preparation. You will be in charge of your Rank.
Nearly 60 (indirect or direct questions) appeared from our IAS test series in Prelims in 2015. We are hoping more than 70 questions have repeated in 2016 Prelims. Comments are pouring in telling us how our test series helped them get 120+ or 130+ in Prelims (fruit of their hard work). Based on this feedback we are assuring you that you too will clear Prelims provided you solve all tests.
2017 Mains Preparation
Mains preparation depends how well you master both current events and static concepts, and learn to integrate both in your answers.
Mastering current events depends on two factors: Understanding background information and analysing particular issue from exam point of view. Here, our current affairs helps.
While you prepare for Prelims you will be reading current events from prelims point of view. At the same time, if you follow secure and current affairs, you will also read them from Mains perspective. In addition to these, when you solve Mains Self Study questions, you will slowly learn how to include static points even in answers to current events based questions. This comes through rigorous practice.
You must answer at least 3-4 questions daily either in your notebook or on website to improve your writing and analytical skills. We want to see your name in top 50. Let’s do whatever takes it to do it.
What about static part?
Mains Self Study tests are the answer. Questions will be based on same Timetable as for Prelims Test Series. So that your preparation is fully integrated.
This is a FREE feature. Timetable will be available on website. When you prepare for Prelims Tests, you will also have to read books from Mains perspective. Questions will be framed from the sources we have mentioned in the Schedule. Extra sources will be mentioned from Mains perspective whenever needed.
Coupled with Prelims Test Series and Secure Questions, Mains Self Study Guide 2016 will be a gamechanger.
You will comprehensively prepare for UPSC civil services exam – 2017 without the aid of coaching institutions (go for them for Optional subject if you need it).
This year, we will post Mains Self Study questions with clock like precision on each day of the Test.
There will be no confusion what to follow or what not to follow. Roadmap is crystal clear. Those who follow till the end, will always succeed. This is a fact borne out of our experience and observation.
Without confusion if you stick to this roadmap, you will be on warpath to face both Prelims and Mains in 2017 with lots of confidence. If you are still in doubt, you can read testimonies by Toppers.
If you are aiming to get rank in 2017, don’t wait longer!
From this August to Next November you will be super busy. This is an advantage as it will keep you away from distractions and help you focus on what matters most for you i.e. getting a rank in your very first attempt.
Then, what about Interview?
Preparation for interview doesn’t and shouldn’t start after Mains result. It is a continuous process along with your Prelims and Mains preparation.
What matters most in interview is your personality. Honesty, integrity, clarity of pressing issues, basic understanding of concepts, good articulation of thoughts and humility are the factors that decide outcome in interview.
Please read two interview related posts which we posted this year and understand the essence of personality test.
No initiative can help you improve your personality. Your or anyone is basically a very good person at heart. That goodness should dominate your personality.
But few initiatives can help you form opinion on various issues and learn the opinion of experts in their fields. In this regard, our Daily Debates, Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV debate summaries will help you immensely.
Debating a particular topic gives you clarity on the issue. It helps you refine your views and improves depth of understanding.
Therefore, you should at the end of the day make it a habit to participate in Daily Debates. We ask such questions that can be asked in interview too. In Secure also we ask questions, especially under Ethics heading, which can be asked in interview.
Many aspirants who are posting comments at Daily Debates have told us how they have improved in understanding issues. Also the fear of writing is gone for most of them. Take Daily Debates Seriously and participate in it.
Preparing beforehand is always better. Interview is extremely important in getting you a rank. Therefore, while preparing for prelims and Mains, please prepare for interview too.
What to Do in a Day?
- Read The Hindu for 1-2 hours in the morning
- Start answering at least 3-4 Secure questions Daily (even if you are starting preparation now). This takes 3-4 hours in the beginning and later gets reduced to 1-2 hours.
- Start Preparing for Next Insights Mock test – prepare small timetable of your own i.e. Day-1 ‘Class VI – Science’, Day – 2 ‘Class VI Social Science’ etc and study for 3-4 hours.
- Read Daily Current Affairs for 1 hour
- Solve Quiz (10 – 20 minutes)
- Participate in Daily Debates for 15-20 minutes
- While having lunch or dinner, watch Rajya Sabha TV debate
- Revise Secure, Current Events, Quiz and Test Portion for 1-2 hours
- Sleep for 6-7 hours.
In the beginning all this takes 10-12 hours to follow. But if you stick to this and follow it for a month, you will be able to manage all these things within 8-10 hours! try it.
Keep separate Notebooks for all initiatives and write in them regularly.
Most Important Secret Behind Success : Your Consistency!
We and others will give you many strategies and roadmaps. Ultimately it rests on you. If you consistently follow a strategy, it will work for you. It worked for many people. They got ranks in Top 10, 25 and 100.
We believe that YOU can get a rank. You should and you must. You are going to work hard and you will be proud of your achievement. Have no doubt about this.
Just make sure that you are consistent.
Finally, The TIMETABLE
This year’s timetable is designed carefully to prepare you for any kind of test that UPSC throws at you. We bet that if you follow our timetable from Day-1 to the last Day, and revise our tests 2 to 3 times, You will definitely score 140+ in 2017 Prelims.
Take print outs of timetable. Keep them with you always and follow religiously.
Please download them from below links. We sincerely thank you for showing us constant support.
Insights Prelims Test Series – 2017 SCHEDULE (PDF)
Insights Prelims Test Series – 2017 SCHEDULE (EXCEL)
Note: The same Timetable will be followed for Offline Prelims Program as well. More details on offline program will be posted shortly.
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