Geography is
one area which students normally find tough because of technical nature of this
subject and due to non availability of sufficient material, but it have an
important place in civil services exam both at pre and mains level. One cannot
ignore geography and should try to make this subject as interesting as
possible. I will give here strategy to tackle geography of General Studies.
Prelims:
For prelims,
Geography covers both Indian and World physical, political, social and economic
geography. Map also plays an important role in prelims and Map reading helps
one to understand newspaper as well.
What to read??
· 6th -8th class NCERT (new one)
for basic concepts and one should make notes for these books so that 6th
– 8th standard NCERT needs not to refer again.
· 9th-10th class NCERT for
Indian geography
· 11th class NCERT for Indian & World
geography (12th class NCERT is human geography which is relatively
old and not worth reading, it’s better to cover latest Census data and related
terms from Census website)
· Indian Geography by Dr. Khullar
· For maps, K Siddhartha is must, although it
is for optional subject students but it really helped in preparing maps. Buy a
good atlas book also like Black Swan or Oxford. Do not spend special time on maps;
rather devote 15-30 minutes daily when you want to read something lighter.
· Chronicle or Wizard special issues for geography should be seen for additional topics.
Mains:
For mains, Geography
coves only Indian Geography so one should study Indian Geography only.
What to read??
· Above books referred for Indian Geography.
· Current affair plays an important role in Mains so geography
related current affairs like India Ocean Dipole, El-Nino, La Nina etc. Read
newspaper for latest development in this area.
· India Year book for some
geography topic like Transport, Agriculture etc. should be covered.
· Latest Census data is must
for both prelims and mains; it can appear anytime in the exam. Census is always
a favorite area for examiner and should be prepared thoroughly. Census site can
be referred to understand the census terms like Birth Rate, Neo Natal Death
rate etc.
Geography if
understood properly can raise your marks significantly. One should understand
the concepts properly and Internet can be a great help in it. There are
some questions which appeared in previous mains exam which examiner had picked
from Optional paper of Geography. One should not get disturbed after seeing
such kinds of question because every person has limited capabilities and no
person can cover each & everything in this exam. So one should try to cover
as much as possible but leave the area which is beyond your scope.
If somebody is
covering the above material properly he/she will be able to cover substantial
portion for Geography area in GS paper.
Best of Luck!
Regards,
Deepak Singla
