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General Studies Notes for UPSC
2021/09/08
General Studies notes for UPSC are extremely important for the candidates who are appearing for the UPSC
examination for the first time. Notes of UPSC General Studies will help the candidates in preparing for the
examination.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission
(UPSC) to reeruit candidates into top government services like LAS, IPS, IFS, ete.
‘There are three stages that are included in the UPSC i.e, Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and the
last step ie,, Interview round, To qualify the examination, itis important for the candidates to prepare UPSC ESE
general studies notes.
Here we will discuss some expert tips to help prepare notes of UPSC general studies which will enable the
candidates in increasing their chances of qualifying for the post.
UPSC Exam 2021: Key Aspects of General Studies Notes
Itis very difficult to crack any civil service or defence service exam but with the help of general studies notes, hard
work and strategy, candidates can improve their chances of qualifying the examination.
The candidates should make sure that they are mentally prepared to study well and have their UPSC ESE general
studies notes ready to take the exam preparation to the desired level.
Here are some of the important aspects of general studies notes for UPSC, which you must be aware of: —
. Notes must be prepared as per the UPSC General Studies Exam Pattern
To prepare notes of UPSC general studies, it is important for the candidates to make sure that they understand
the UPSC Exam Pattern for general studies thoroughly. The candidates must know all the details about these
topics that are included in the exam syllabus so that they can prioritize the topics in the notes accordingly.
The UPSC Exam Pattern is eategorized in three stages i.e., Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and the
Interview round. The candidates must appear for two papers in general studies, Paper I: General Studies and
Paper II: GS (CSAT).
The candidates who will qualify the UPSC Preliminary Examination will be shortlisted for the Mains
Examination, Given below is the exam pattern that the candidates can refer to prepare the general studies notes
for UPSC.
Preliminary Examination :Sr.No Particulars No. of Questions Marks Duration
1 Paper I: General Studies 100 200 2 Hours
2 Paper II: GS (CSAT) 80 200 2 Hours
Main Examination:
Paper Particulars Nature Marks Duration
A Any Indian Language Qualifying 300 3 Hours
(objective)
B English 300 3 Hours
(objective)
1 Essay Merit Ranking 250 3 Hours
2 General Studies I 250 3 Hours
3 General Studies IT 250 3 Hours
4 General Studies II 250 3 Hours
5 General Studies IV 250 3 Hours
6 Optional Paper I 250 3 Hours
7 Optional Paper-IT 250 3 Hours
Total 1750
. Notes should incorporate suggestions from experts
To access the most well-rounded UPSC study notes, Testbook is the best online platform. Here you can access and
download general studies notes for UPSC PDF which have been curated by experts. Referring to these notes can
help the candidates in understanding about the different topics and help in preparing thoroughly for the
examination.
. Notes Must cover the important topics in the syllabus‘The UPSC General Studies syllabus must be covered completely by the notes of UPSC general studies to help
maximize the scores in the examination. The syllabus will enable the candidates to understand which subjects are
included in the syllabus and then prepare for it accordingly. Given below are the most important topics in the
UPSC General Studies Syllabus 2021: —
SUBJECTS
TOPICS
General Studies
(Paper 1)
Current events of national and international importance
History of India and Indian National Movement
Indian and World Geography
Indian Polity and Governance
Economie and Social Development
General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change
(Covers only general awareness of the issues, no subject specialization
required)
General Science
General Studies
(Paper 11)
Comprehension
Interpersonal skills including communication skills
Logical reasoning and analytical ability
Decision making and problem-solving
General mental ability
Basie numeracy (Class X level)
Numbers and their relations,
Orders of magnitude, ete.
Data interpretation (Class X level)
General Studies
Indian Heritage
(Mains Paper II) :
«Indian Culture,
_ History of the World and Society
_ Geography of the World and Society.
General Studies II
(Mains Paper IIT) ~ Governance
Constitution
«Polity
|. Social Justice
International relations
General Studies III
(Mains Paper IV) . Technology
Economie Development
BiodiversityEnvironment
Security and Disaster Management
General Studies IV
(Mains Paper V) «Ethics
Integrity
Aptitude
. Notes should emphasize on candidates’ weaker topics
‘The candidates are advised that they should research well before preparing the general studies notes for UPSC, so
that it will help them in studying all the topics that are included in the syllabus
Researching well will help in understanding all the important topics that ean be asked in the examination. The
candidates should also keep in mind their weaker topics and prepare the notes accordingly.
. Notes should be comprehensive
After preparing the general studies notes for UPSC, the candidates should go through the notes to make sure that
nothing important has been left out. UPSC exams are extremely competitive, and the exam preparedness of the
candidates must be at the optimal level.
‘The study notes play an important part in this process; hence they should be detailed and comprehensive to
ensure that the candidates are prepared to take on any type of questions being asked in the exam.
. Notes must build upon the information in books
‘The important point that the candidates should keep in mind while preparing the general studies notes for UPSC
is that the UPSC ESE general studies notes must build upon the information present in the books. Given below is
the list of few UPSC books suggested by the experts. This will help the candidates in preparing their own study
notes: —
Sr. | Subject Booklist
No.
1 ‘World History
._ The Story of Civilization, Part 2 by Arjun Dev, NCERT
. Contemporary World History, Old NCERT Book
._ Mastering Modern World History, Norman Lowe
2. Geography
|, Certificate Physical & Human Geography (Oxford) by Goh Cheng
Leong
CERTs (New Editions)
XI Standard: (1) India — Physical Environment (2) Fundamentals of
Physical Geography3. Social Issues
XI Standard NCERT on Indian Society
XII Standard NCERT (Chapters on Communalism, Secularism and
Urban Issues such as Poverty, Housing, ete.)
4 Indian Polity
Constitution of India at Work (Class XI) NCERT Publication
«Indian Polity by Laxmikant
5 Governance Issues
From Government to Governance by Kuldeep Mathur
«Ethics in Governance, ARC Report
«Citizen Centric Administration
6 Developmental
Tes . Human Development Report & World Development Report
Panchayati Raj in India by Kuldeep Mathur
UPSC General Studies Cut Off
‘The candidates are advised by the experts to refer to the UPSC Cut Off marks for the previous year along with the
expected cut off shared by the experts. Candidates can use the cut off marks as a reference point to ascertain their
level of preparedness after attempting the mock tests.
UPSC Previous Year General Studies Question Paper
Candidates are advised to attempt UPSC previous years” papers and mock tests to help them prepare for the
examination. Candidates will therefore be able to attempt such questions in a better manner in the examination.
Attempting these tests will be very helpful for the candidates in preparing for the UPSC exam.
Ifyou are looking to improve your preparedness for the UPSC General Studies topies, then you must aecess the
best study notes curated by experts. Download the Testbook App now and access the best learning resources to
improve your exam preparedness.
General Studies Notes for UPSC FAQs
Q.1 Is it compulsory for the candidates to refer to the different website for general studies notes
for UPSC?
Ans.1 Yes, itis compulsory for the candidates to refer to the different website for general studies notes for UPSC
as it will help them in understanding the various topies and then prepare for the exam accordingly.
Q.2 What are the ways in which I can prepare general studies notes for UPSC?
Ans.2 The ways in which you can prepare general studies notes for UPSC is referring to websites, researching onthe topies, working on the weaker sections, and others.
Q.3 What are the stages that the candidates need to qualify i
UPS
order to get selected for the post in
2
Ans.3 There are total three stages that are involved in the selection process i.e. Preliminary Examination, Main
Examination, and the last step is Interview. The candidates should make sure that they qualify all the three
rounds in order to get qualified for the post in UPSC,
Q.4 How many vacancies are advertised in the UPSC Civil Services for the year 2021?
Ans.4 There are a total of 712 vacancies that are advertised in the UPSC Civil Services for the year 2021.
Q.5 Are there any application fees that the candidates need to pay in order to apply for the post?
Ans.5 Yes, the candidates who belong to General, EWS, and OBC category need to pay INR 100 as application
fees and the candidates who belong to SC/ST, PwD and the Female candidates need not pay any application fees
in order to apply for the post
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