How to prepare for Political Science optional for APSC Mains Exam
Either you are waiting for Prelims result or starting for the first time, you have the big challenge of APSC Mains (Written) Exam. 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. Political Science as an APSC Mains optional
Political Science 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 Paper II syllabus of this subject is widely covered in General Studies paper as well.
Here, we will try to help you prepare for Political Science optional for APSC Mains 2018 Exam.
Positives of Political Science as an optional subject in APSC Mains
- Many topics overlap with GS Paper, so good preparation in Political Science 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 Political Science optional basically covers THEORY part of the subject. Those who have studies the subject in graduation or masters will be at comfort but others with no academic background in this subject, have to go through the syllabus thoroughly be referring to standard books of Political Theory/Thought available in the marker.
Paper I syllabus can split into various sections
- Political Science as a subject – Nature, Scope, study approach, relationship with other social science etc.
- Theory about State – Origin, Functions and various types of states
- Various concepts – Justice, Liberty, Equality, Power, Authority, Law, Sovereignty, Separation of powers etc.
- Political Philosophers – Plato, Aristotle, Gandhi, Marx etc.
- Governance – Various forms of Government, Organs of Government
This section is totally STATIC and THEORETICAL and we have to prepare from various books available in the markets and other online different sources. Try to prepare notes which will be very useful for revision. It’s very important to understand the basic concepts thoroughly and logically, especially for Political Science newbies.
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.
Paper II
In Paper II, though Political Science students are still at little advantage but for polity first timers also it is easy to master. Its syllabus covers application part of the subject, i.e. the political system prevailing in India, and some sections covering Constitution of US and UK. It also covers important international organizations. For Indian Polity part, without having a second thought, just read ‘Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth’, which is more than enough at least for APSC Mains exam.
Paper II syllabus can split into various sections
- Constitution of India – it’s formation, important provisions like FR, FD and DPSP, Citizenship etc.
- Govt of India – Union & state, Legislature, Executive, Judicial and their inter-relationship, bureaucracy
- Local Government in India and Assam
- International Topics – Constitutions of the U.S.A. and the U.K. United Nations, ILO, UNESCO, IMF.
This section is interesting to all and has STATIC and DYNAMIC parts as application of the static parts. Current political, governance and judiciary issues will somehow be connected to these topics. We have to prepare from standard books and some current event sources also.
Notes-making is not very essential if reading from books like ‘Indian Polity – Laxmikant, marking/ underlining is enough but for current events, note making will be very useful for revising them later.
Here main Funda is Revision. The more you revise a topic, the longer it stays in your mind.
3. Recommended Books & reference study materials
We have provided a list reference books and study material to help cover the subject comprehensively.
Paper I – Recommended Books
- A History Of Political Thought: Plato To Marx – Mukherjee and Susheela Ramaswamy
- Introduction to Political Theory – O P Gauba
- Politial Theory – Rajeev Bhargava
- IGNOU material on political thought.
Paper II – Recommended Books
- Indian Polity – Laxmikant (must for basic coverage)
- Our Constitution – Subhash Kashyap
- Politics in India – Rajni Kothari
- IGNOU material.
- wikipedia – for International Organisations
- https://idsa.in
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 you 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 Polity 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 political science optional, your result will always depend on the answers you write. Practicing Answer writing is must in Political Science, 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 Political Science 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 political science, 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 Political Science key-terms in the answers, whenever possible.
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 un-prepared.
We hope this article provides you with useful information on how to prepare for Political Science 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
