Abhishek Dawachya, AIR-610 CSE-22 Prelims Sources, GS-1 & Sociology

Abhishek Dawachya, a civil service aspirant from Jaipur, Rajasthan, has secured an impressive All India Rank (AIR) of 610 in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022. Dawachya, a BTech graduate in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar, began his UPSC preparation journey in June 2021 while residing in Delhi.

Prelims Sources and Strategy

Dawachya's approach to the Prelims examination was multifaceted. He utilized a diverse range of study materials, including:

Modern History

• Spectrum book
• Questions from Ghatna Chakra

Ancient and Medieval History

• R.S. Sharma's book for Ancient History
• NCERT (Old and New) for Medieval History, supplemented by questions from Ghatna Chakra

Art and Culture

• NCERT 11th-grade textbook and personal notes

Polity

• M. Laxmikanth's book
• NCERT Political Theory (New) and Constitution (New) 9th and 11th-grade textbooks

Geography

• NCERT 11th and 12th-grade textbooks (New)
• Detailed notes on Physical and Indian Geography, with a focus on searching for specific keywords and concepts

Economy

• NCERT Microeconomics and Macroeconomics (New)
• Rau's Prelim Compass, Economic Survey (Vision Summary), and Budget

Environment

• Shankar IAS Book
• Udaan 2023

Science and Technology

• Selected chapters from NCERT Biology textbooks (New)

Dawachya's Prelims strategy revolved around thoroughly understanding the static resources and completing at least five subject-specific tests to gain mastery over each topic. He concentrated on correctly answering questions on politics, economics, and the environment. His approach was to attempt around 85-90 questions, with a focus on correctly answering 30-33 questions and using deduction or educated guesswork for the remaining questions.

For the CSAT paper, Dawachya solved previous year papers in a time-bound manner, focusing on attempting at least 50 questions.

Mains Sources and Strategies

GS-1 Approach (128 Marks)

Dawachya recognized that the GS-1 paper is more static in nature, so he repeatedly reviewed the same pre-sources for history and geography. He paid particular attention to the Indian society component (70-75 marks) and prepared it using his optional readings in sociology. He also made diagrams instead of maps to better explain physical geography concepts. Dawachya's approach was to first comprehend the question's requirement and then dissect it into sub-parts to provide a thorough response in the 15-mark questions.

GS-1 Mock Test Copy

Dawachya has shared a GS-1 mock test copy for aspirants to focus on the answer writing structure.

Sociology (288 Marks)

Dawachya's preparation for the Sociology optional subject included both basic and advanced sources. He covered the basics from 11th and 12th-grade NCERT textbooks and Sleepy Classes videos, while advancing his understanding with sources like "Essential Sociology" by Nitin Sangwan, Tusharanshu Sir's notes, content from the Triumph IAS website, Yaksh Chaudhary's copies, and Neha Bhosle Mam's copies.

Sociology Paper-1 Strategy (171 Marks)

Dawachya's strategy for the Sociology Paper-1 involved using thinkers to substantiate arguments and presenting diverse viewpoints. He advised writing answers in simple English, avoiding excessive sociological jargon, and using keywords and underlining them. He also recommended creating two to three model answers for each topic in one's own language and memorizing them, then improving the content based on solved questions from test series and other resources.

Dawachya has offered to be contacted on his Telegram Channel for further guidance and support.