In the past years, thousands of aspirants emailed me with their UPSC exam queries. One topic that is constantly featured in the majority of them is Current Affairs. Though I tried my best to reply to those emails individually, the volume of mail on current affairs never abated. So I thought a detailed blog post on it would be ideal so that everyone can read and get their doubts clarified. Prepare for Current Affairs in UPSC<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I mentioned in my posts on Essay<\/a> and GS<\/a>, there\u2019s no one best way to prepare for this exam. The rest of the post merely reflects my learning; you must pick and choose what you feel is right and what you are convinced about. For instance: I read everyday newspaper meticulously, but I never made any hand-written notes from it because I felt it was a colossal waste of precious time. I found a better alternative in making notes online (more on this later). But if you are used to making effective hand-written notes from newspapers in a limited time, don\u2019t change it for the sake of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this post, I list out 5 principles that helped me cover news comprehensively and score well in GS-1 (123), GS-2 (123), and GS-3 (136).<\/p>\n\n\n\n A fundamental problem with Current affairs is the deluge of reading material. In my earlier attempts, I used to buy current affairs material out of whim, in the delusional hope that more material meant more marks. My room used to be filled with CSR, Pratiyogita Darpan, EPW, Chronicle, Yojana, and every random magazine you can name of. I\u2019d buy them out of excitement, and keep them safely on my desk, never to reopen again for lack of time. I learned the hard way that running after too much material is counter-productive. Choose quality over quantity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA wealth of information leads to a poverty of attention\u201d \u2014 Herbert Simon<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n My Current Affair sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some aspirants spend an indefinite amount of time researching the \u201cbest website\u201d and the \u2018best coaching material\u2019 website for current affairs and invest less time reading it.\u00a0 Others have this perfectionist mindset that forces them to make copious notes and compilations from tons of material available in the market. Desist from this. Do your research for a day, decide on your sources, and stick with it. You\u2019ll do just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem with most aspirants is not that they neglect newspapers, but they overplay its importance. Some read newspapers for almost 3-4 hours a day, leaving them with no time to read other subjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Current affairs are important, and newspapers are important, but not so much that you invest a disproportionate amount of time in it. In my experience, ideally one should finish reading the day\u2019s current affairs in under 2 hours. 3-4 hours for everyday current affairs is an overkill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My current affairs preparation consisted of<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s the difference? News talks about an incident. Issues focus on ideas. Let me give you a couple of examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So to understand any current issue, I used to follow the following framework:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many a time, coaching material covers issues comprehensively. If it doesn\u2019t, use the internet to find quality content and make online notes so that you have a complete understanding of each issue. Prepare for Current Affairs in UPSC<\/p>\n\n\n\n I never made any hand-written notes for current affairs. Making them online saved me a lot of time. I used to read the papers, and then utilized Evernote to capture and highlight the daily news compilations put out by coaching institutes (choose any one.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n But then, a follow up question is frequently asked. Can I skip the newspaper altogether and just read these compilations? I wouldn\u2019t suggest it because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides, download the Evernote Web Clipper extension from the Chrome web store. This tool is incredibly useful in clipping online articles, highlighting them on the spot, and organize neatly into your Evernote. This is how my Evernote collection looked: Screenshot. Prepare for Current Affairs in UPSC<\/p>\n\n\n\n The aforementioned methods will ensure that you capture 90-95% of current affairs in a manner relevant to this exam. But current affairs is a continuous topic that keeps piling up by the day. The best way to retain the content is through constant revision and by executing them in the answers you write during daily practice or test series. Just mentioning the relevant issue in a sentence or two will add tremendous value to your answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides, it\u2019s best to revise current affairs immediately after you read the concerned static part of a paper. For example, if you are preparing for a GS-2 mock test, right after you finish the static part, revise that relevant current affairs segment. This will help you subconsciously link the static and the current and help you write a good answer when you take the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even after reading and revising, you may not be able to recollect all current affairs material in the exam hall. That\u2019s okay. No one really can. Like perfect notes, perfect answers are a myth. Your job must be to write the best answer you can in the limited time you have. Trust your instincts and have that unflinching self-belief. You will outperform your own expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best wishes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anudeep Durishetty, Rank 1 CSE 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why reading newspapers is important for banking and other Govt exams?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n UPSC IAS Easy Tips on How to Prepare for Current Affairs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tips & Tricks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Developing Book Reading as a habit- Abhijeet Sinha UPSC 19th Rank 2017<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nPrinciple 1: Limit your sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Principle 2: Limit your time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Principle 3: Focus on issues, not news<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Principle 4: Learn to make notes online<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Principle 5: Read. Revise. Execute.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n