Surbhi Singla (AIR-75, CSE-21) Comprehensive Strategy

Surbhi Singla: A Journey to the Top

Surbhi Singla, a young achiever from Kapurthala, Punjab, has secured the impressive All India Rank of 75 in the highly competitive Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2021. Her remarkable success is the culmination of a determined and meticulously planned journey, marked by perseverance, discipline, and a keen understanding of the examination's requirements.

Brief Background

Surbhi Singla completed her B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in 2017. Since then, she had been diligently preparing for the UPSC CSE, appearing for the examination for the fourth time during this attempt. Despite facing challenges in her previous attempts, Surbhi's unwavering determination and resilience have helped her secure this remarkable achievement.

You can connect with Surbhi on her Telegram Channel, Instagram, or Twitter to learn more about her journey and strategy.

Comprehensive Strategy

Surbhi's success is the result of a well-planned and integrated approach that she has developed over the years. Her strategy encompassed various aspects, from the selection of study materials to the implementation of a disciplined practice routine.

Static Sources: Common for Prelims and Mains

Surbhi followed a comprehensive approach in her preparation, utilizing a diverse range of static sources for each section of the General Studies (GS) paper.

GS1: History, Geography, and Culture

For Modern History, she relied on the Spectrum publication, while for Ancient and Medieval History, she referred to the New NCERTs. For Art and Culture, she used Nitin Singhania, the Art and Culture NCERT for class 12, and the Vision's PDF on World History. For Geography, she studied the NCERTs of class 11th and 12th, covering both Physical and Economic Geography of India and the World. She also utilized the ARC Report on Disaster Management.

GS2: Polity and Governance

Surbhi's primary source for Polity was Laxmikanth, a well-renowned publication for this subject. She also leveraged a sample and format explainer for GS-2: Governance & Social Justice, available on the Decode Civils Telegram Group.

GS3: Economy and Environment

For the Economy section, Surbhi relied on Mrunal's PDF notes and Shankar's book on Environment. She also referred to the Budget and Economic Survey.

GS4: Ethics and Integrity

In the Ethics and Integrity domain, Surbhi used Vajiram's Notes, the Decode Ethics book by Mudit Jain, and the ARC report on Ethics.

Current Sources

In addition to the static sources, Surbhi incorporated various current affairs resources into her preparation, including the Hindu newspaper, Insights Daily Current Affairs, Vision's Monthly Magazines, and RSTV Debates. She selectively used Drishti IAS materials to supplement her notes on certain fringe topics.

Test Series for Prelims

For the Prelims stage, Surbhi used a combination of test series, including Forum's SFG, Vision, and NextIAS. She found the disciplined approach of the SFG tests, which were to be solved at 7 AM every morning, particularly helpful in inculcating a strong work ethic.

Answer Writing for Mains

Surbhi's approach to Mains preparation involved a structured and consistent practice of answer writing. She initially utilized IASBaba's TLP initiative to practice daily answer writing, spending around 20-25 minutes on each answer and an additional 2 hours for review and improvement.

In her previous attempts, Surbhi had struggled with maintaining discipline in her Mains test series preparation. However, in this attempt, she consciously addressed this issue by joining two test series, Shankar and Vision, and adopting a more disciplined approach:

• For the Shankar test series, she would write one full-length test every Saturday or Sunday at the test center, within the 3-hour time limit.
• For the Vision test series, she would divide the 3-hour paper into three 1-hour slots and write answers for one hour daily in a disciplined manner.

This structured approach helped Surbhi improve her time management skills and the quality of her answers through consistent practice.

Note-making

Surbhi's note-making process was tailored to the specific needs of the examination. For static sources like Laxmikanth and Spectrum, she created concise notes focusing on value addition, data points, and examples from a mains perspective. For dynamic topics like Governance, International Relations, Security, Society, and Disaster Management, she adopted a theme-based approach, analyzing past year question papers to identify the patterns and then making her own notes based on current affairs sources and Drishti IAS materials.

Surbhi has generously shared her Evernote notes made using this approach on her Telegram channel, for the benefit of fellow aspirants.

Mathematics

Surbhi's performance in Mathematics saw a significant improvement in this attempt, with a score of 296. She attributes this success to her systematic approach and the effective utilization of various resources.

Surbhi's primary source for Mathematics was the IMS notes, which she thoroughly revised multiple times. For certain topics, she supplemented the IMS notes with other resources:

• For Real Analysis, she referred to solved examples from Malik and Arora.
• For Statics and Dynamics, as well as Mechanics, she relied on the Krishna series books.
• For Ordinary Differential Equations (ODE), she solved problems from MD Raisinghania.
• In Modern Algebra, she focused on solving a few examples from IN Herstein for specific topics like Euclidean Domains, UFD, and Polynomial rings.
• For Fluid Dynamics, she primarily solved previous year questions and prepared the theory through this reverse engineering process.
• For 3D Geometry, she selectively solved problems from Analytical Solid Geometry by Shanti Narayan.

Surbhi's strategy for Mathematics involved three key steps:

1. Completing 3-4 revisions of the IMS notes for all topics.
2. Condensing the IMS notes into a compact 50-60 page register for each topic, containing essential theorems, proofs, and one solved example per type. She continuously updated these notes with good questions from test series.
3. In the period between Prelims and Mains, her focus was on revising these short notes and solving as many tests as possible, identifying and addressing her weak areas through targeted practice.

Surbhi also solved topic-wise previous year questions (CSE and IFoS) for the past 5 years to further enhance her preparation.

Plethora of Mistakes and Lessons Learned

Surbhi acknowledges that her journey to success was not without its challenges and setbacks. She made several mistakes along the way, which she has now identified and advises others to avoid:

• Reading a large number of sources out of the fear of missing out on important information.
• Taking revision lightly and procrastinating answer writing.
• Underestimating the importance of discipline and prioritizing mental and physical health.
• Delaying the writing of test series.

Surbhi emphasizes that the strategy she has outlined was the result of a cyclic process of making mistakes, taking corrective measures, and continuously improving her approach. She believes that sharing these lessons learned can help fellow aspirants avoid common pitfalls and optimize their preparation.

Conclusion

Surbhi Singla's remarkable success in the UPSC CSE 2021 is a testament to her unwavering determination, strategic planning, and disciplined execution. Through her comprehensive approach, efficient utilization of resources, and a deep understanding of the examination's requirements, she has set a shining example for aspiring civil servants. Surbhi's journey and the valuable insights she has shared are sure to inspire and guide many on their own path to success in the prestigious Civil Services Examination.

You can find Surbhi's GS and Mathematics notes on her Telegram channel. To connect with her directly, you can reach out to her on Telegram, Instagram, or Twitter.