Sociology is a highly reliable and time tested optional for UPSC mains examination.
One of the reasons behind this is its high score-ability. To get a high score in sociology,
one needs to formulate the right strategy. Right strategy often requires right guidance.
Often students who take coaching are able to find experienced mentors at the institute
to guide them through the UPSC puzzle. However, there are a sizeable number of
aspirants who are unable to undertake coaching for various personal, professional or
financial reasons.
However, it is important to note that coaching for sociology is the stepping stone to the
ultimate goal. It is however, not the goal itself. There is no need to get disheartened if
you cannot get access to coaching. You can still formulate a personalized strategy to
guide you through the mains examination.
Following are few points to help you formulate a non-coaching strategy for sociology
optional:
Knowing the syllabus of the sociology optional is the first and one of the most important
parts of an aspirant’s sociology strategy. This especially important for aspirants who are
not availing coaching. Since they have to collect whole of their preparation material on
their own, it is important that they learn the entire syllabus by heart. This will help them
not miss topics in between while collecting study material from various sources.
It will also help them make them their own notes from the newspaper and various
magazines.
Previous year question papers help in providing an answer to the question of how to
prepare sociology optional without coaching. This again helps you understand the
demands of the UPSC mains sociology exam.
It also helps understand the areas from which more questions come ever year and
hence the parts of syllabus on which more stress needs to be placed.
You can download online IAS Gurukul classroom notes for free from IAS Gurukul
website. They are also available in physical copies from the market. These are
comprehensive notes prepared by Pranay Sir which cover the entire syllabus.
Apart from this IAS Gurukul sociology optional booklets are also available online on the
website. Current affairs for sociology by Pranay Aggarwal is especially useful for Paper 2. It also helps the aspirant understand how to use current affairs to enrich their answers in sociology.
Essential Sociology by Nitin Sangwan is a blessing for those who are looking for
answers to the question of how to prepare sociology optional without coaching. This is
probably the only book which has the entire syllabus of sociology optional in one place.
It has been written while keeping specifically UPSC in mind by a successful ex-aspirant.
Reading this book will help you re-confirm that you have covered the entire syllabus.
You should go for the standard books only after you have gone through the IAS Gurukul
class notes. This is because, firstly, after reading the class notes, you will be able to
comprehend these books better. Secondly, these books have not been written for
UPSC aspirants. They have been written for sociology students who are pursuing it as a
profession. Hence, they have to be read only selectively.
Your syllabus, previous year question papers and IAS Gurukul class notes reading will
help you differentiate between what is relevant to the UPSC exam in these standard
books and what is not.
Here is a list of standard books for sociology optional:
Paper 1
1. Sociology Themes and Perspectives by Haralambos and Holborn
2. Sociological theory by George Ritzer.
3. Essential Sociology by Nitin Sangwan.
Paper 2
1. Principles of Sociology by C.N. Shankar Rao
2. Sociology of Indian Society by C.N. Shankar Rao
3. Societal Problems by Ram Ahuja
4. Current Affairs for Sociology by Pranay Aggarwal
Making your own notes is the key to the dilemma of how to prepare sociology optional
without coaching.
Writing the information you have collected from various sources into your notes will not
only help you memorize them faster, but also save you from the headache of putting
them together again and again.
It will also help you revise faster and more efficiently a few days before the mains
examination.
Regular answer writing practice should be an important part of any aspirant’s sociology
strategy, whether they opt for coaching or not. Sociology is a writing intensive optional.
Thus, it is not only important to know what to write, but also how to write it.
Regular answer writing will also help an aspirant develop their own unique style of
answer writing. Once a standard framework of answer writing becomes ingrained in
their minds, they will be automatically able to replicate it in the answer sheets. This will
help them save a few extra minutes aspirants take in trying to decide the framework of
their answers sitting in the examinational hall.
If an aspirant is able to join any mock test series, it is good. However, do not worry if
you cannot do so. You can get your answers evaluated by other senior aspirants and
friends or any other experienced mentor.
If you do not know anybody in your circle who is preparing for civil services, there is no
need to lose heart. You can download topper’s answer sheets available online and self
evaluate your answers, comparing your answer style with them. You can then make
further improvements from the points you are able to gather from these comparisons.
You can use these points while writing your next answer.
Here are the answer sheets of few IAS Gurukul sociology toppers:
| Name of Students | Download Answer Sheets |
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Neha Bhosle Rank - 15, 2019
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Paper-I
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Paper-II
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Neha Bandhu Rank - 121, 2019
|
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Paper-I
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Paper-II
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Srushti Deshmukh Rank - 5, 2018
|
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Paper-I
|
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Paper-II
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Sanya Chhabra Rank - 84, 2018
|
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Paper-I
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Paper-II
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Gaurav Kumar Rank - 34, 2017
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Paper-I
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Paper-II
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Sudhir Kumar Rank - 42, 2017
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Paper-I
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Paper-II
|
You can also watch online strategy videos of toppers and read sociology topper’s blogs
to help you with your sociology strategy.
Similarly there are separate online videos and content available on various sociological
thinkers and themes. In case you have doubts after reading the written material, you
can watch these online videos to gain more clarity on specific areas of the syllabus.
Updating your notes while reading the newspaper is very important. You can also read
certain reputed magazines like Economic and Political Weekly selectively to gather new
sociological case studies to further enrich your answers. This is especially important for
Paper 2 which is slightly dynamic compared to Paper 1.
While coaching may act as the wind beneath the wings of the aspirants, ultimately one
has to fly on their own to conquer the UPSC skies. Finally, it is the hard work and
perseverance of the aspirant that bears the final result.
Hence, with these valuable tips, non –coaching aspirants can easily compete shoulder
to shoulder with ones who can avail coaching. Thus we hope you will be able to get
started with your strategy and preparation rather than pondering further on how to
prepare sociology optional without coaching.