How to prepare for History optional for APSC Mains Exam
If you have cleared the APSC CC (Prelims) Exam 2018, a bigger challenge of APSC Mains (Written) Exam awaits you. Either you are taking optional subjects from your academic subjects or any new subject, and irrespective of how good knowledgeable we already have about the subjects, there is always a certain level of uncertainty regarding the preparation of the optional subjects.
1. History as an APSC Mains optional
History is a very popular optional in APSC Mains 2018 Exam and very high proportion of aspirants takes it in both Prelims and Mains Exam. This subject can fetch you very good marks if written appropriately and the additional advantage of this subject is that History is widely covered in General Studies paper as well.
Here, we will try to help you prepare for History optional for APSC Mains 2018 Exam.
Positives of History as an optional subject in APSC Mains
- Many topics overlap with GS Paper, so good preparation in History will also help in GS Paper.
- All standard books & preparation materials are readily available in market.
- Good Scoring subject and easy to comprehend.
2. What to study? The Syllabus
Paper I
Paper I of History optional covers Ancient, Medieval and Modern History of India. Most of us have studies almost the whole syllabus in our school, but still you have to study again thoroughly as the exam is more demanding and ask for in-depth knowledge of the topics mentioned in the syllabus. Revise the syllabus as many times as possible, that’s the only way to remember History.
Paper II
In Paper II, the syllabus covers history of world in three part: (a) History of Great Britain 1485-1945, (b) Modern Europe (1789-1945) and (c) World History 1914-1945. One of the important issue of this part of the syllabus is finding the correct materials to study.
Do the hardest part also – Answer writing practice! Very much recommended for this part as it is the harder part to master and presenting in paper.
APSC Mains Answer Writing Practice – Weekly Questions Sets
3. Recommended Books & reference study materials
We have provided a list reference books and study material to help cover the subject comprehensively.
Start with NCERT textbooks of History from Class 6 to 12. Click to Download
- India’s Ancient Past by R.S. Sharma
- Ancient India by R.C Majumdar
- A History of Medieval India by Chandra Satish
- India’s Struggle for Independence: 1857-1947 by Bipan Chandra
- India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha
- History of the World by Arjun Dev
- Wikipedia.org ( for Concept Clearance )
- IGNOU/NIOS PDF Books
4. Preparation Plan –Time Allotment
“My only enemy is time.” – Charles Chaplin
Either you start your preparation six month before the exam or two year before the exam, you will still find yourself wanting for more time. So, whatever time you are left with, use it judiciously and distribute among all the papers of the APSC Mains, so that you perform nicely not only in one or two paper, but perform fairly in all the papers.
If Mains Exam is going to be in conducted in July 2019, you still have around Four months to sharpen your axe.
If you see the Mark allotment in various subjects, it looks like:
- GS Paper = 300 Marks = 21.5% of Mains (Written) Exam Marks
- English Paper = 300 Marks = 21.5% of Mains (Written) Exam Marks
- Optional Subject 1 = 400 Marks= 28.5% of Mains (Written) Exam Marks
- Optional Subject 2 = 400 Marks= 28.5% of Mains (Written) Exam Marks
So, you can allot your precious limited time in the following proportion:
- GS Paper = 30% of preparation time
- English Paper = 10% of preparation time [ Less! Most aspirants gives much lesser time to it.]
- Optional Subject 1 = 30% of preparation time
- Optional Subject 2 = 30% of preparation time
NB: If your any optional subject is Political Science, History, Education, etc, then this subject will also help in preparation of GS Paper.
5. Overview of the Preparation Strategy
Complete whole syllabus once – Complete the whole syllabus with the limited books/sources as soon as possible.
Revise & Write Answers – Then revise a section of the syllabus and start practicing Answer writing of the sections. For this part, you can make a schedule to follow, For example – Schedule of APSC Mains 2018 History Test Series. For Answer Writing Practice, see example here – APSC Mains Answer writing practice Questions
Before exam, you should have completed the syllabus at least 3-4 times and have done enough Answer writing practice. See a Sample Schedule
Do not leave any part untouched during preparation – As there is always chances that the topic you left out comes in compulsory part of questions. Then in exam if you have options then write only the Questions you know better.
6. Analyse previous years Questions ( It’s MUST ! )
Collect previous years Questions of as many years as possible.
Analyse previous years questions for:
- Pattern of the Questions.
- Finding common topics on which APSC ask questions frequently.
- Some Questions may get repeated also
These will give a very good idea of the important topics to be focused upon which preparing for the exam.
7. Answer Writing Practice
No matter how much you prepare for History optional, your result will always depend on the answers you write. Practicing Answer writing is must in History, mainly because of it’s theoretical part.
To be able to write a good answer with good content and under the exam constrains of time and space, it requires a lot of practice and skills. The more you practice for History the better answers you will be able to write.
You can also practice by answering last year questions or by joining some test series. Joining APSC Mains Test Series is a good option to have a self-check of your evaluation.
You can also participate in APSC Mains Answer Writing Practice, where we provide regular questions and aspirants write answers and upload in the Question page of our website assamexam.com.
8. Answer Writing Tips
To help you prepare for writing better answers in History, some writing tips are provided below:
- Put most important and most popular points first and the least in the end. Evaluators always search for these most important points.
- Time schedule is very important so that you can distribute your allotted time among all the questions and be able to attempt every question. Attempting all questions well always will fetch more marks than writing some questions very nicely and leaving some other questions.
- Use historical facts in the answers, but only if you know correctly.
Go to Answer Writing Techniques, Strategy & Tips for APSC Mains Exam
9. So, All You have to DO is
- Complete whole syllabus once with limited sources
- Revise at least 3-4 times and do Answer writing practice.
- Do not leave any part unprepared.
We hope this article provides you with useful information on how to prepare for History optional for APSC Mains Exam 2018. Stay connected for more information regarding APSC Assam Civil Services Exam 2018.
If you have any doubts or queries, post them in the comment section below.
Wish you a Happy APSC journey!
Go to APSC Mains 2018 Answer Writing Practice Questions
