https://nehabhosleblog.wordpress.

com/2020/09/04/selecting-an-optional/

The two papers of the Optional subject are perhaps the deciding factor when it
comes to getting a Top Rank in the UPSC CSE. While the scope to maximize the
score in the GS papers or even in the Essay paper is limited, Optional papers
provide a wide opportunity to boost the Mains marks.

As mentioned in my first Blog Post, while I was working, I had started preparing
for the UPSC CSE with Management as my Optional subject. I had chosen it,
mainly due to familiarity, and the belief that it will take lesser time compared to a
completely new Optional. Little did I know how wrong I was After struggling
for almost six months with it, I decided to look for a new Optional. I spent nearly
three months evaluating different Optional subjects, and then finally chose
Sociology. By then I had decided to leave my job, so studying a completely new
Optional was not an issue anymore.

The biggest challenge with Management Optional was the crazily huge syllabus.
Those of us who have studied in B-Schools with a trimester pattern know very well
how ‘seriously’ we actually studied for some of the papers. And exactly some of
those subject areas like HRM, OB and even MIS have a higher weightage in the
UPSC CSE papers, as compared to Marketing or Strategy.

Also, there were barely any ready-made notes, either by past rank holders or by
any good authors or institutes, available for it. I could devote only 3-4 hours to the
exam preparation on weekdays. And even in that limited time, I had to spend a lot
of time reading the various Management Textbooks and making notes from them.
My GS as well as current affairs preparation lagged behind due to this.

Finally, in the recent years, some of the Optional subjects are seeing very high
marks, while Management remains a slightly low-scoring subject. This is not to
say that high marks are not possible in it. In UPSC CSE 2018, Rank 46, Deepak
Kumar Dubey Sir, scored an excellent 307 marks (158 + 149) in Management. But
I still think that the marks awarded in this Optional are not commensurate with the
amount of efforts that one has to put in for it. In fact, I personally know two
extremely talented and smart-working people, who are still in IRS, only and only
because of their marks in the Management Optional.

However, the good thing about Management is that the syllabus is static, and
questions do get repeated. If you are keen to choose Management as your Optional
subject, I wish you the Best ! You can refer to Divya Mittal Ma’am’s Blog for the
sources. I had referred to some of those sources only. The link for the same is –
https://divya-mittal.blogspot.com/2014/01/management-optional-books.html

Now, coming to my evaluation of the various Optional subjects.

Some pointers that I had kept in mind while deciding the new Optional were – my
general interest in that subject, the volume of the syllabus, the availability of good
coaching guidance, notes and books, and the kind of marks that were being
awarded in that subject. I personally think that overlap with the GS syllabus should
not be taken as one of the criteria while selecting an Optional. However, if you
think that it is important as well, do please check that too.

Also, please go through the syllabus of the Optional that you are interested in.
Then go through the Question Papers, of at least the past five years, of that subject.
And then, if NCERTs exist for that subject, do go through the Class 11 and Class
12 NCERTs, to get a very basic idea of what that subject is all about.

Do please check all of these before finalizing your Optional.

If your graduation or post-graduation subject ticks well on the above points, I

would suggest choosing the same as your Optional.
If you are from a Tier 1 Engineering College, do please consider Engineering or
Science Optionals. While they are syllabus-heavy and have no overlap with the GS
papers, they also provide a huge scope for a high score. There have been many past
rank holders with 325+ marks in such subjects, and you should at least refer to
their strategies once, before completely discarding the idea of choosing a Science
or an Engineering Optional.

If you are good with your regional language, Literature of your regional language
can also be a good choice for the Optional subject. There have been some past rank
holders with 320+ marks in such subjects. And from what I have heard, the
syllabus for such subjects is quite limited and static, and questions often get
repeated.

If none of the above work well for you, what remain are the popular humanities
subjects, which are not very difficult, even for those with no previous background
in them.

I had done an assessment of some of the Optional subjects, and this is what I had
concluded from that exercise. Do please take it with a bowlful of salt.

Economics – I had gone through some of the notes shared by Gaurav Agrawal Sir.
The link for the same is –
https://thesupermanreturns.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/upscnotesgauravagrawal/.
Paper 1 seemed a bit too technical, and hence I did not proceed further.

English Literature – The syllabus is pure love. I had already read some of the
books mentioned in the syllabus. I had almost finalized this Optional, but a chat
with an active member of the Forum IAS Community, who had the same Optional,
changed my mind. It just seemed like too much work, at the end of which, you
might actually start hating those very books, which you loved before preparing for
this exam.
Public Administration – Did not consider this because of the whole negative
perception surrounding it. It was ‘butchered’ in the past, though last year there
were some rank holders with 300+ in this Optional.

Geography – Studying this even for GS was annoying for me, hence an absolute
no. From what I have heard, the syllabus is huge, and it is not that high-scoring
either.

History – The only issue with this subject is that, like Management, it is a slightly
low-scoring Optional.

Psychology – I don’t even understand why this is considered a part of the

humanities stream. Some parts of the syllabus are proper science, Medical Science
to be precise.

Philosophy – A bit too abstract for my taste. And from what I have heard, it is not
that high-scoring either.

And then I was left with these three:

Anthropology – It is called the sister branch of Sociology. Short and interesting

syllabus, good marks, good coaching guidance, notes and books. However, the
only issue for me was the part of the syllabus that is based on Biology. If you are
comfortable with Biology as well, this can be a good choice for an Optional.

Political Science and International Relations – Like they say, memorizing Shubhra
Ranjan Ma’am’s notes alone are enough to get at least 270 marks in this Optional.
The IR part was a deal-breaker for me, because it is too current affairs oriented.
Slightly huge syllabus, but I think it can be managed thanks to Shubhra Ma’am.
And there are a lot of past rank holders with 300+ in this Optional.
Sociology – Obviously the most interesting syllabus, because we all are part of the
society However, unlike PSIR, there is no one amazing Teacher available for
this Optional. Hence, no matter which Coaching Institute you join, you will have to
refer to multiple notes and books. Paper 2 is very dynamic, but with some practice
and knowing how to write ‘sociologically’, it is quite manageable. Marks awarded
in this Optional have been good too. I will write a detailed post for Sociology.
However, in short, if you are planning to join offline classes, I would suggest
Upendra Gaur Sir. Not sure if Sir plans to start online classes, but if he does, that
would be really helpful. Else, for the online mode, you can consider joining
Shankar IAS (Rajitha Shivashankar Ma’am).

I have already written a detailed review of the Coaching Institute as well as the
three Test Series that I had joined for Sociology –
https://nehabhosleblog.wordpress.com/2020/08/08/my-experience-with-upsc-cse-
coaching-institutes/

Finally, Optional is a very personal choice. No matter what you hear from me or
from others, do please use your own discretion while choosing an Optional. Also,
if you have a legitimate reason to change your Optional, please do not shy away
from the same, just because you have invested a lot of time and efforts in studying
it. Avoid being unnecessarily possessive or emotional about your Optional.
However, an Optional should be changed only if you are confident of at least 485
marks in Essay + GS. Else, studying a new Optional and refining the GS
preparation as well, would be too cumbersome. And once you have finalized your
Optional, do not forget to go through the strategies of some of the past rank holders
from that subject.

All the Best !