Note: My book, Fundamentals of Essay and Answer Writing is available now. It’s a comprehensive guide that helps you write better Essays and Answers in the UPSC Mains Exam. You can know about the book here.
In this article, we will go through my booklist for Civil Services Exam (Prelims). I’ve written this post keeping in mind an absolute beginner aspirant who is starting from level zero.
As you start your Prelims preparation and read these books, please keep the following points in mind:
- Along with these books, get a printout of the syllabus and read it carefully.
- And when you start, I recommend that you begin with NCERT books. Read and revise them methodically to gain absolute conceptual clarity. They form the foundation of your knowledge which will help you immensely through all stages of the exam.
- Do not be scared at the long list of books. For a beginner, one year is more than enough to cover the complete syllabus of GS (prelims and mains) and optional.
- In the book list, wherever I had mentioned selective reading, it means there’s no need to read the book cover to cover. Go through the past five years’ question papers to understand the kind of questions UPSC usually asks. It’ll give you a good perspective of what’s important and what’s not.
- For the same topic, do not refer to more than one material. For example, take India’s freedom struggle (1857-1947). If you read that portion from the Spectrum publications, there’s no need to do the same again from Bipan Chandra’s book. Read the latter to cover those parts not covered in the former.
- Use internet extensively. Let me give a few examples. Youtube’s PMFIAS channel is an excellent resource for understanding complex Geography topics. Similarly, for Art & Culture, I used to watch videos of classical dances, folk dances, puppetry shows on Youtube so that I could memorise their features better. In Science & Tech, if you come across a term, say, Blockchain Technology, go to Youtube and see explainer videos. Even for Environment, suppose you read about endangered species such as the Red Panda and Malabar Hornbill, Google them and see how they look. Visuals stick in your mind far longer. Your target must be to gain knowledge, be it through books or through internet.
- If you are taking coaching, by all means read their notes. But please keep in mind that you cannot just read those coaching notes and neglect these standard books. For example, take Polity topic. A coaching institute’s notes will never cover the complete subject, only Laxmikanth does. So even if you refer to your coaching notes, you still have to read Laxmikanth and know it like the back of your hand. This principle applies for all subjects.
- For all subjects, you have to superimpose current affairs over it. To illustrate, in Polity topic, apart from reading the static theory portion, you need to keep an eye on current happenings. For example, if the Govt brings in Constitutional amendment for GST, you must read both about the major provisions of the amendment and the Constitutional amendment procedure itself. Do this for all subjects.
- To perform well in Prelims, revision is crucial. Without it, you will not be able to recollect whatever you may have read. So please dedicate adequate time for revision before the actual exam.
- Just because I am AIR-1, it does not mean that this book list is the last word. If you have been studying some other material, that’s fine, too. To succeed in this exam, the source of material is not important. What’s important is you to understand the concepts, memorise the facts well and have a firm grip over the entire syllabus.
The Complete Booklist for UPSC Civil Services – Prelims Exam (Paper I)
Polity
- Indian Polity by Laxmikanth
Economy
- Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
- Mrunal.org articles
- Macroeconomics – NCERT Class XII
- Indian Economic Development – NCERT Class XI
- Economic Survey (Selective reading from Prelims perspective)
- The Hindu
- Internet for understanding concepts (Arthapedia, Google, Youtube)
Ancient History of India
- Old NCERT by RS Sharma
Medieval History of India
- Old NCERT by Satish Chandra (Selective Reading)
Modern History
- A Brief history of Modern India- Spectrum Publications
- India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra (Selective Reading)
- NCERT by Bipan Chandra (For the period 1700s to 1857)
Indian Art and Culture
- An Introduction to Indian Art – Class XI NCERT
- Chapters related to culture in Ancient and Medieval India NCERTs
- Centre for Cultural Resource and Training (CCRT) material
- Heritage Crafts: Living Craft Traditions of India -NCERT
Environment and Biodiversity
- Shankar IAS book
General Science
- General Science books – IX and X standard
- The Hindu (Note down and read about the latest scientific terms, discoveries and inventions frequently mentioned in news)
- Google and YouTube
Geography
- Fundamentals of Physical Geography XI NCERT
- India: Physical Environment XI NCERT
- Fundamentals of Human Geography XII NCERT
- India: People and Economy XII NCERT
- Certificate Physical and Human Geography: GC Leong
- PMFIAS (Excellent resource for understanding complex topics)
- Google and YouTube
Govt Schemes
- Govt schemes compilation by the website Civils Daily
General Trivia (Eg: Global groupings, Reports, Institutions, Rankings etc)
- Any coaching material
Current Affairs
- The Hindu
- Civils Daily
- ForumIAS
Mindset to tackle the UPSC Prelims Exam
Ten days before the Prelims is usually the time when your mind is rather restless and clouded in self-doubt. Even though you must have prepared thoroughly for the exam, covering all the sources, Some of you are worried that you haven’t yet finished a particular topic, some others are stressed whether they will make the final cut for Mains. Remember that it’s okay to be a little nervous at this point and that it happens to everyone. I was no different, too.
From my experience, I have distilled a few suggestions to help you perform well in the exam.
- In the final days preceding the exam, if you start reading entirely new material which you haven’t read before, you’ll only stress yourself out. Just refer to whatever you had already read. Revision is the absolute key. How effectively you perform in the actual exam depends on the quality of revision you do in these 10 days.
- Stay calm. While revising, do not get bogged down in one subject. Your target should be to revise all the topics methodically before the final day.
- Questions are going to be balanced and will be asked from across the syllabus. So if you are poor in one topic, that’s alright. You can offset it through performing well in your stronger areas. For example, if you are worried about Indian Art and Culture, do not freak out. You might lose out on some questions, but you will still have many others to solve.
- Just the day before the exam, ensure that you get 7-8 hours of quality sleep. A good night’s rest will rejuvenate your senses and ensures that your brain is alert and memory is on point.
- Many aspirants (especially engineering grads) tend to be careless about CSAT Paper 2. I’ve seen people who solve only 60 questions and think that’s enough to qualify them. Some are even more impulsive— they leave the hall 30 minutes before time. Don’t be that reckless brat. Your qualification for Mains will be based on your marks, not your audacity. Remember that just because the paper is qualifying, UPSC is not going to hand it you on a platter. This is why they have been constantly pushing up the difficulty level over the past few years. So solve CSAT with all the seriousness and intensity of Paper-1.
- While solving the paper, in the first iteration, go through all 100 questions sequentially and do three things: mark those answers you are confident about, round those questions that you are unsure or vaguely aware of (for guesswork later), and cross those questions which you have absolutely no idea about. In the second iteration, you come back again and try to answer those questions you are vaguely aware of through educated guesswork or elimination method.
- Don’t get mired in one question and waste your time. If you are unable to recall, make a side mark on the question paper and move on. Once you come back after solving remaining questions, chances are you’ll recollect.
- If we assume a moderately difficult paper, then you will confidently know answers to around 50-60 questions. But you must aim to attempt around 85-90 questions. That’s why educated guesswork is necessary and important.
- As you enter the exam hall, it doesn’t matter what books you may have read, or how many times you may have revised. What matters are those 100 questions. Put your emotions aside and solve those 100 questions with a laser like focus. Erase your fears, doubts and insecurities and stay positive and confident.
- Always believe and keep telling yourself that you have worked hard and prepared well so far and that you’ll do well. On the final day, summon your best self and you will absolutely ace the test.
For further reading,
A. You can check out my article on UPSC GS Mains Preparation
B. Article on how to make educated guess work in UPSC Prelims
So that was my Booklist for UPSC Prelims. Hope it’ll be useful to you.
– Anudeep
Note: My book, Fundamentals of Essay and Answer Writing is an Amazon bestseller. Since its release, the book helped countless candidates master the art of crafting exceptional essays and answers and elevate their performance in the UPSC Mains Exam. You can know about the book here.
Anna Do I really need to take coaching or can i crack UPSC by self study by using online available resources?
Please see my blog post on coaching.
hello sir, I have no well describe syllabus means topic wise. If The syllabus is: “A Brief history of Modern India” then what topic should I read and what not. Please guide me.
hello sir, I have no well describe syllabus means topic wise. If The syllabus is: “A Brief history of Modern India” then what topic should I read and what not. Please guide me.
Please refer to the books I mentioned for that particular topic. That should do.
Ok thank you so much sir.
sir please respond to my query
i make fine notes of newspaper daily,and find it different from vision monthly magazine ,content wise and nature wise.
newspaper notes are unorganized and does not all the facets of issues like how vision covers comprehensively about any issue,
also vision has all its content in keyword and bullet points format,which are the sufficient for answer writing in mains.
now please tell me ,if it is really helpful in newspaper note making ? does it give any edge on answer writing ??
this is confusion i have been dealing with since days.
please help
I didn’t make notes from newspapers but read them carefully. I’d make a mental note of important recurring issues. I would do this exercise for a week and then on a fine weekend, I would just sit and go through 7 days current affairs compilation from CD/Forum/Insights (choose as per your liking, all of cover the same content anyway) As I read these online compilation, I used to highlight important things so that they became my revision material when I refer to it later.
Thank you sir…Have a great life ahead and you progress more and more…
I
Thank you so much, Hardik.
Your welcome sir…
In the course of preparation for the toughest examination of India how do you used to keep yourself motivated and overcome the feeling of dejection?
Always look upto you as an elder brother,really admire your humbleness and yes,your answer writing skills.By means of blogging you’re really doing a great job for many Young CSE aspirants.
Thank you, Sneha.
Hi sir, I am Anil from karimnagar.
What is the difference between new and old ncert books?
Which would I opt for my basics for cicil aervices examination?
Please answer me!
Sorry, I wrote wrong spelling of civil services.
Sir,can you please guide me in how to read newspaper from exam point of view and make notes from it.
Congrats Anudeep garu…am Bhaskar from hyd could you give suggest me how i plan for Athrophology…wich book you are preferred for topic wice plzzz
It’s available on the blog. Do care to explore a little more.
hello sir, thank u for ur guidance & advice for this preparation. sir, i have some doubts,
1. studying G.C.Leong, is it necessary? if we complete only ncerts is that not enough?
2. what about Ramesh singh (is this must to read??), b/c according current trend of upsc, it is current issue oriented. so we need to read ncert & understand only basics concepts of economics.
plz rply m preparing by myself so need small help
Sir
Which editions of Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh and Indian Polity by Laxmi Kanth are better ??
Could you please suggest ??
Sir can an average student crack this examination..?
Average in talent, yes. Average in preparation, no.
sir you are great you have provided guidance to all upsc aspirants thank you very much
Perfect reply✌️
Sir it is good idea to read previous year mock test,like to read mock test of 2018 for prelims 2019 ?
Firstly Congratulations sir. . Many people suggested me to follow vajiram and Ravi notes rather than NCRTs pls tell me sir … .
Hello sir….I am not able to decide what to read in current affairs because so much magazines and daily current affairs and The Newspaper also so can you clear how to start and what to read?
I have only 8-9 Months for my first attempt. Please guide me .
Sir during your preparation , did u spend time for other activities like reading novels , watching cricket etc ?.. I am asking this because I am gud at drawing and i love reading novels .. but due to UPSC preparation i am not spending time for these and i don’t have time too.. i am afraid that i will loose these habits..
Prioritize UPSC preparation and indulge in your hobbies to unwind.
So there is no need to completely shun your habits, but you have to draw a line as to how much time you want to spend on them. You are the best judge to tell how much is enough.
Sir I have 2014 edition of spectrum modern history,so is it necessary to buy new edition ? I prefer modern history by bipan chandra for pre 1857 era thats why I hesitate for buying new edition.
Sir,
I must say this is a great blog to explore on for the beginners to start preparing for civil services. Even the comment section is helpful for clearing doubts. Thank you so much sir? for the efforts that you are making. Best wishes for your future?. You are my inspiration. (I have never seen such a kind, humble and helpful topper?)
Sir , is it necessary to buy latest edition of history books like Bipin chandra or Rajiv Ahir?
Sir given that newspaper holds extreme significance and I started reading newspaper from August 2018 page to page thoroughly. Now that I missed from June and July 2018, do you suggest taking up old papers and read them? or how should I fill that void?
Refer to any coaching institute’s monthly magazines for those months. That would be enough.
Do you suggest to prepare notes for geography.
Hi Sir, I am about to begin the preparation, could you please let me know if it’s a bad idea to begin with pmfias geography GS notes instead of ncert books ?
Not a bad idea at all. Refer NCERT and Youtube if you are unable to understand any concept.
Sir,
First of many many congratulations for you the dream Rank #1. I want to know that for practicing for Prelims which test series you have joined or which test series you would recommend to us so that we can have enough practice before the actual battle.
Thank you sir in aadvance
Bhuvaneshwar Singh
Sir,
First of all, many many congratulations for you the dream Rank #1. I want to know that for practicing for Prelims which test series you have joined or which test series you would recommend to us so that we can have enough practice before the actual battle.
Thank you sir in aadvance
Bhuvaneshwar Singh
Sir, Is it necessary to make notes of NCERT. Could we revise from books itself?
Sir I would like ask do we need to cover every website of current affairs daily.if yes which website to cover.sir do we have to make notes on first reading or after at least one reading and what is the best way to make notes.
Sir, did you attend coaching classes for your studies
hello sir, thank u for ur guidance & advice this preparation. sir, i have some doubts,
1. studying G.C.Leong, is it necessary? if we complete only ncerts is that not enough?
2. what about Ramesh singh (is this must to read??), b/c according current trend of upsc, it is current issue oriented. so we need to read ncert & understand only basics concepts of economics.
plz rply m preparing by myself so need small help
Hello Sir.
Factual part of current affairs remains a thorn in my preparation. I do daily newspapers + magazine at the end of the month, but by the middle of next month very few facts remain in my brain.
1. How should I revise CA and would you suggest Vision or any other magazine ?
2. What was your strategy in this portion?
I wrote about my current affair strategy in one of the comments. Please find.