The UPSC IAS Syllabus has comprehensive coverage of all the important areas of the country such as History, Polity, Environment & Ecology, Geography, Science & Technology, etc. Among them, Geography is one of the popular subjects that have an average of 17-19 marking weightage in the preliminary exam every year. As a Civil servant, the candidates are expected to have basic knowledge of Indian and World Geography. For example, if you secure the Deputy Commissioner post of a district in a hilly state, then it becomes essential to be familiar with all the features of the region including soil of the area, major crops are grown in the region, Clouds, and types of rainfall in the area, morphology, etc. Cracking the UPSC IAS Exam is no cakewalk owing to a large number of candidates against limited vacancies. Therefore, make sure that you make no mistake during the preparation of the Geography subject as it may take away their dream of becoming an IAS officer. This article will throw light on some of the strategies that will assist candidates in avoiding common mistakes in the Geography subject during UPSC IAS preparation.
Skipping UPSC Geography Syllabus
The UPSC Geography Syllabus is vast which is why candidates should be familiar with all the aspects of it and not depend only on notes and other study resources of coaching. The UPSC syllabus is updated every year so the candidates should keep a track of it to get all the latest details from an authentic source. Some of the important topics covered in the UPSC Geography Syllabus are slope development, earthquakes, Cyclones & Anticyclones, Oceanography, principle ecology, and much more. Hence, studying geography and gaining in-depth knowledge is very important as this subject is included in both the prelims exam and the General Studies Paper I of Mains exam.
Avoiding Mock Tests
One of the common mistakes is not taking mock tests regularly during the preparation of the UPSC Geography section. It doesn’t matter how many resources you have referred to or how well you are prepared for this subject. All your efforts will be wasted unless you attempt the mock tests. By taking the mock tests, you will be able to discover the strong and weak areas of the subject. This way, they will be able to figure out the reason for the weak areas and focus more on improving the same as it will help them in attempting every type of question asked from the Geography section.
Not Solving Previous Year Question Paper
Completing the entire UPSC Geography syllabus on time and then solving previous year’s question papers is one of the best strategies to improve the preparation level. Solving papers from previous years will save you from getting surprises in the exam hall and will help you in analyzing the pattern, trend, and the overall weightage of geography subjects in both Prelims and Mains Exam.
Studying Without Break
Learning and Reading for hours without taking any break is a wrong method of preparation. All the UPSC aspirants should take regular breaks to refresh their minds and body. It is recommended to take short breaks of 10-20 minutes as it can help in improving the efficiency and retention power of the candidates.
Avoiding Regular Revisions
In the ocean-like syllabus of UPSC Geography, it is not possible to remember all the concepts and theories by heart. Thus, the candidates should include revision plans in their exam strategy. It has been observed among most of the candidates that they only focus on learning new concepts and believe revision is a waste of time. This is one of the mistakes to be avoided during the preparation. It is better to revise all the covered topics than to rush to cover the new concepts at the last moment.