Summary
Highlights
Harshita Goyal, who secured AIR 2 in UPSC CSE 2024, discusses her journey, starting preparation in 2018. She explains why she changed her optional from Commerce and Accountancy to PSIR after her second Prelims attempt, citing monotony and a desire for an optional that would aid her in General Studies, essay, and interview stages, along with her interest in international relations.
Harshita used Shubhra Ma'am's online tablet course and her running notes as primary sources. She supplemented these with summarized flowcharts found on Telegram. For current affairs, she relied on the Mains 365 for GS, integrating that knowledge into her PSIR current affairs. Previous year questions (PYQs) from Kiran Publications were a major resource, thoroughly analyzed from 2013-2023.
Harshita shares her unique approach of preparing PSIR after Prelims, completing lectures and one revision before Prelims, but without answer writing practice. After clearing Prelims in her third attempt, she dedicated herself to PSIR in the 3 months before Mains. She quickly reviewed basic notes, created her own flowcharts for sectional preparation, and then tackled PYQs for each topic, attempting questions first and then comparing with model answers.
She explains her strategic order of covering sections: 1A, then 2A (due to theoretical interlinkages), 2B (leveraging GS2 and current affairs knowledge), and finally 1B. This approach allowed for holistic coverage and the ability to draw connections between different theories and examples.
Harshita emphasizes giving sectional tests immediately after completing each section, despite initial hesitation. This helps break inertia, improve question selection, time management, and overall answer writing. She wrote six tests (four sectional and two full-length), underscoring that more tests lead to better preparation.
To enhance PSIR answers, she advises quoting mainstream thinkers (e.g., Morgenthau for realism) and avoiding being overly innovative with core concepts. Interlinking static thinkers with current examples (e.g., farm laws with Marxist perspective, CAA protests with Arendt's collective action) makes answers dynamic. She suggests maintaining a separate diary for these interlinkages.
Harshita scored 152 in Paper 2 by not adhering to rigid structures and incorporating her own opinions and creativity, especially in foreign policy topics. She stresses that in theory-based answers (Paper 1A and 2A), aspirants should express their own understanding and thoughts, using thinkers as support rather than comprising the entire answer. Practical examples and even diagrams can make answers multidimensional.
She explicitly states that she did not follow separate current affairs for PSIR, instead molding her GS current affairs knowledge to fit PSIR answers. She encourages thinking from a PSIR lens when studying current events. A unique tip is to use creative, everyday examples, like McDonald's 'Aloo Tikki Burger' for Marshall McLuhan's 'global village' concept, to make answers distinctive.
Harshita advises against making answers a 'khichdi' of thinkers. Instead, she recommends creating a segregated list of thinkers (for and against a topic) with important quotes. This creates a holistic bank of PSIR keywords, quotes, and theories, reducing the need to chase multiple resources. She stresses on limited, concise resources, flowchart creation for vast subjects, and frequent revision.
She summarizes her advice: avoid multiple resources, keep notes concise (flowcharts/short notes), mindfully integrate GS/current examples with PSIR static content for dynamism, and thoroughly utilize Previous Year Questions. She emphasizes that even with limited time (like her 70 days), smart work and a strategic approach can lead to a decent score (her score was 269), encouraging aspirants to trust themselves and prepare effectively.