How much time does it take to prepare?
4-5 months, if you study Geography 12-15 hours per week. This should be enough. Also, it depends on how much can you recall your graduation concepts.
Ideally, aspirants need 4-5 months to complete the optional subject solely. Here we are giving best suitable strategies for Geography optional for UPSC IAS Mains exam.
UPSC Geography Preparation Plan for 3 months
If you have 3 months preparation time for UPSC Mains exam, You can prepare 8-9 hours per day.
How to Prepare UPSC Geography Optional Subject
The geography consists of both world and Indian geography. It is overlapping subjects like Environment, agriculture, and Economics. The candidates should have a basic idea about the earth, the universe, natural phenomena, its reason etc. Along with the core concepts on has to update his or her traditional knowledge with recent updates.
- know your UPSC Civil Services Exam syllabus
- Select Best Reference Books
- Prepare a Study plan
- Prepare own Preparation Notes
- Practice Previous Question Papers
- Practice few Mock Test Papers
Why Geography optional?
- The syllabus of Geography optional for UPSC IAS Mains exam is short and aspirants can manage it easily.
- Geography is one of the most scoring subjects among all as it is has ample scope for diagrammatic representation. It is heavily covered in GS paper 1 and also indirectly in many areas of GS Paper 3. Geography is a good optional subject from the civil services point of view. During the last few years, it comes out to be one of the most favourite choices of Civil Services Aspirants.
- Paper II of Geography is based on Physical geography and Human geography.
- Geography Paper II is based on all the technical topics.
UPSC Preparation Tips
UPSC Aspirants should follow exam tips to write the exam. Preparation tips are needed for any exam. UPSC exam should be conducted once in every year. Planning and hard work are very important to face any competitive exam. Below are some of the tips for preparation.The Paper I of Geography Optional paper is which is like General studies Paper principally Physical geography and Human geography. But Paper II of Geography optional deals with the technical concepts.
Step 1: Know UPSC Geography syllabus
In the previous article, we’ve provided UPSC Mains Geography Syllabus. You can check and find what are the applicable topics and chapter for UPSC IAS Mains 2017 Exam.
Step 2: Select Best Reference Books for UPSC Geography
To prepare UPSC Geography Optional Subject, UPSC aspirants should prepare some reference books. We’ve already provided UPSC Reference Books for All optional papers. You can check our best-recommended books for IAS exam at given link below. The suggested books are included optional and language Subjects.
Recommended books for Geography:
- A Geography by Population – R.C. Chandna
- Agricultural Geography – Majid Husain
- Climatology – D.S.Lal
- Economic and Social Geography – Made Simple by Rupa Publisher
- Economic Geography- Hartshorn & Alexander
- Environmental Awareness – R.C.Chandna
- Environmental Geography – Savindra Singh
- General Climatology -Critchfield
- Geomorphology – Savindra Singh
- A Geography of India -Gopal Singh
- Agriculture Geography – Majid Husain
- Certificate Physical and Human Geography – Goh Cheng Leong
- Economic and Commercial Geography of India – C.B. Mamoria
Step 3: Prepare a Study Plan
Study plan is very important for every exam preparation. It plays a key role in the success of getting the good score in the UPSC exam. Prepare a study plan for UPSC exam. Make a monthly plan, weekly plan and daily schedule to prepare UPSC Geography Optional Paper. Allot the time for exam preparation and set the time for playing, eating, watching TV, and studying.
Step 4: Prepare UPSC Geography Important Topics
Geography Paper I and Paper II Important Topics
- Location of Countries between seas
- Climatic conditions in Different Regions
- Floods, Earthquakes and Cyclones
- Atmosphere
- Westerlies
- La Nina and El Nino
- Ocean Currents
- Temperature and precipitation
- Geographical region and regions
- Natural vegetation, Flora and fauna
- National Parks, Wetlands, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Biosphere Reserves
- Different types of Soil, their Conservation Methods
- National Green Tribunal
- National Highways and other infrastructure
- Rivers in India and their protection
As you know the marks of the optional paper is crucial to decide your ranking in the final list, you to have to perform exceptionally well in the paper of your choice. Since the rest of the papers are compulsory for all, its only the optional paper that can make or break your fortune. So don’t try to do selective reading and gamble, as there is only one optional paper now.
Final Step: Prepare UPSC Geography Previous Question Papers & Practice papers
Download UPSC Mains Geography Question Papers. We’ve provided UPSC mains Geography Previous Question papers for download in PDF format.
