Sociology Notes: Notes making Strategy & Free PDF Download Links
For Free Download of All Sociology optional Notes (in PDF), click here.
Strategy (How to prepare notes for sociology):
The merit of having sociology as an optional is that the syllabus is quite limited. The demerit is that you will not easily find the whole material that is required for your UPSC preparation completely in a few books.
This is the reason that making proper sociology notes should be an important part of your optional strategy. Since sociology is not the graduation subject of many aspirants, a basic understanding of the syllabus is an indispensible step for any serious aspirant.
It is advised that the aspirants take a print out of the complete syllabus of sociology, keep it handy and memorize each topic and sub topic to be on their finger tips. This will help the aspirant in differentiating the content that is relevant to UPSC from the content that is not, as well as broadly compartmentalize it into Paper 1 and Paper 2.
They second step will of course be to attend your classes religiously. As a beginner in sociology, continuity is important for an aspirant in order to establish inter linkages between the different parts of the syllabus.
Also while the standard books like Haralambos or Ritzer are targeted specifically for students pursuing their careers in sociology, Pranay sir designs his classes to confine them to the requirements of UPSC. Hence the areas that are frequently stressed on by UPSC are given more coverage in the class as compared to ones that have less chances of being asked in the examination. In other words, while standard books contain quality content, it is your class notes which are more relevant for the UPSC IAS exam.
The IAS Gurukul class notes should thus be the bible for every aspirant. You will understand the meaning of some of the key words when Sir is explaining and dictating them in the class, which will help you lay a foundation of sociology. You will understand the importance of using these terms while writing answers as they will add extra weightage to your answers.
However, if for some reason you are unable to attend the classes, the handwritten sociology notes are easily available in the Rajendra Nagar market. We have also provided the link below to download handwritten class notes for Paper 1 and 2 of Pranay Aggarwal Sir’s classroom students for the benefit of those remotely located IAS aspirants who may not be able to get the physical copy.
| S. No. |
File Name |
Download PDF File |
| 1. |
IAS Gurukul Handwritten Notes Sociology Paper 1 |
Download |
| 2. |
IAS Gurukul Handwritten Notes Sociology Paper 2 |
Download |
Only after the class notes have been read twice should you start to add your own notes to them. If you start making your own notes from day one, chances are that your exercise will be futile as you might not be able to confine yourself to the requirements of UPSC, start making extremely lengthy notes and then leave them mid way in frustration.
It is also important that before making your notes, you should go through the previous year’s question papers and sociology test series to understand the type and range of questions that may be asked in the examination.
Making notes for Paper 1
Haralambos and Ritzer, which are considered standard books for UPSC preparation, are heavy books, which you may not be able to read more than once or twice in your preparation because of the paucity of time.
It is thus important that while you are reading them, you understand what is important in them so that you can add the points on to your class notes.
Sociological Theory by George Ritzer has some excellent points on sociological thinkers with which you can build your understanding as well as supplement your class notes with them.
While reading Haralambos, it is important not to get carried away and you should only add as many case studies and examples in your notes from them as you will be able to remember on the day of the exam. Hence selectivity in notes making is very important while making notes from this book.
Notes for the ‘Research and Methodology’ section of paper 1 can directly taken from Essential sociology by Nitin Sangwan and you do not need to consult any other book for it.
Paper 2
The importance of notes making is especially relevant in case of paper 2 which is dynamic in nature.
Again, class notes should be the first step in the preparation process.
There is a link provided below to download books for sociology paper 2 (PDFs of total 3 books) by IAS Gurukul. It has been compiled from multiple sources and books which our faculty and content development team has come across throughout their academic and teaching career in sociology and many of which is from books you may have never heard of.
| S. No. |
File Name |
Download PDF File |
| 1. |
IAS Gurukul Paper 2 Book 1 |
Download |
| 2. |
IAS Gurukul Paper 2 Book 2 |
Download |
| 3. |
IAS Gurukul Paper 2 Book 3 |
Download |
You can also consult the
IGNOU MA material for Indian sociological thinkers as well selectively go through Sociology of Indian Society by C.N. Shankar Rao.
Apart from this, it is important to update your notes for Paper 2 from your
newspaper readings and
current affairs materials. Examples from current affairs and name of certain sociologists or
new sociological terms like for example ‘helicopter family’ that crop up in newspaper articles can give an extra edge to your answers.
Apart from this, it is important to update your notes for Paper 2 from your newspaper readings and current affairs materials. Examples from current affairs and name of certain sociologists or new sociological terms like for example ‘helicopter family’ that crop up in newspaper articles can give an extra edge to your answers.
Our team has also made this exercise easier for you by collecting selected current affairs topics content that may be relevant to sociology answers and certain miscellaneous topics that can come as a surprise question in the examination and compiling them into a separate book. This book will also help you understand which current affairs topics are relevant for sociology answers. Provided below is link to
download the current affairs booklet for sociology by Pranay Sir.
| S. No. |
File Name |
Download PDF File |
| 1. |
IAS Gurukul Current Affairs & Misc. Topics |
Download |
You can also have a look at the
notes of sociology toppers that are easily available in the market. Provided below for
free download are notes of certain selected toppers which will help you better understand the art of notes making.
| S. No. |
File Name |
Download PDF File |
| 1. |
Neha Bhosle, AIR-15, P1 |
Download |
| 2. |
Neha Bhosle, AIR-15, P2 |
Download |
| 3. |
Akshat Kaushal, AIR-55, P1 |
Download |
| 4. |
Akshat Kaushal, AIR-55, P2 |
Download |
5. |
Tusharanshu Sharma, AIR-75, P1 |
Download |
| 6. |
Tusharanshu Sharma, AIR-75, P2 |
Download |
| 7. |
Sindhuri, P1 |
Download |
| 8. |
Sindhuri, P2 |
Download |
General tips for notes preparation
- • Make the sociology notes according to the sequence given in the syllabus. This way you avoid skipping any topic or making haphazard notes. The syllabus also has certain continuity in topics which you can maintain by following the syllabus sequence.• Make the sociology notes according to the sequence given in the syllabus. This way you avoid skipping any topic or making haphazard notes. The syllabus also has certain continuity in topics which you can maintain by following the syllabus sequence.
- • While making note for the first time, you may use loose sheets of paper or leave space for adding extra notes later on.
- • In your second reading, highlight the key words.
- • Try making diagrams and flow charts as far as possible. This will help you in quick reading or scanning of the notes just before the examination.
- • Do not make unnecessary haste while making the notes. These notes may consume a lot of time in making, but if they are meticulously done, they will help you save a lot of precious time later on.
- • After you attain a certain level of confidence in your optional, make short notes from your notes keeping in mind the day before the examination .In these notes, use just the highlighted words and one or two lines. These highlighted words should be able to trigger the whole concept in your mind.
Sociology optional, with proper sociology notes making, can turn out to be your greatest asset in the mains examination and increase your score substantially.
All Sociology optional Notes for Free Download (in PDF):
| S. No. |
File Name |
Download PDF File |
| 1. |
Neha Bhosle, AIR-15, P1 |
Download |
| 2. |
Neha Bhosle, AIR-15, P2 |
Download |
| 3. |
Akshat Kaushal, AIR-55, P1 |
Download |
| 4. |
Akshat Kaushal, AIR-55, P2 |
Download |
5. |
Tusharanshu Sharma, AIR-75, P1 |
Download |
| 6. |
Tusharanshu Sharma, AIR-75, P2 |
Download |
| 7. |
Sindhuri, P1 |
Download |
| 8. |
Sindhuri, P2 |
Download |
| 9. |
IAS Gurukul Paper 1 Book 1 |
Download |
| 10. |
IAS Gurukul Paper 1 Book 2 |
Download |
| 11. |
IAS Gurukul Paper 2 Book 1 |
Download |
| 12. |
IAS Gurukul Paper 2 Book 2 |
Download |
| 13. |
IAS Gurukul Paper 2 Book 3 |
Download |
| 14. |
IAS Gurukul Current Affairs & Misc. Topics |
Download |
| 15. |
IAS Gurukul Handwritten Notes Sociology Paper 1 |
Download |
| 16. |
IAS Gurukul Handwritten Notes Sociology Paper 2 |
Download |
