Sociology is a social science that studies societies and their evolution. Sociology is also an optional for
UPSC Mains examination. Sociology as a discipline of research has no boundaries and it discusses wide
ranging topics. Sociology UPSC, on the other hand, has limited syllabus and that is one of the reason why
it is an optional which is the choice of many toppers.
There are innumerable numbers of thinkers in sociology discipline. The sociology UPSC on the other
hand has six principal thinkers in Paper 1 which cover 40% of the paper 1 syllabus. There also are a few
Indian sociological thinkers in paper 2. Thus sociology UPSC provides a good choice for those aspirants
who do not have too much time to spare for their preparation due to professional or any other reasons.
Sociology UPSC has a well defined syllabus that UPSC notifies ever year. There is a possibility that a
question that comes in the mains examination of sociology optional has not come from any standard
sociology book. However it is never possible that the question may come out of the syllabus notified by
UPSC. The limited numbers of topics in the syllabus allow aspirants to confidently cover all the topics,
without the fear of missing out on any topic from the syllabus.
Thus it is advised that before reading any standard textbook of sociology, students should go through
Pranay Sir’s notes. The notes systematically cover each topic and sub topic of the sociology UPSC
syllabus and provide suitable interlinkage between the topics.
It takes prominent sociologists in the country their entire careers to gain expertise in sociology
discipline. However, students with their own hard work and right guidance can gain mastery over
sociology UPSC in just three to four months. Infact, once you have grasped the basics of and revised
sociology UPSC a few times over, you can complete the entire syllabus in just five days for the mains
examination.
Sociology UPSC thus demands crystal clarity of concepts. This is the reason Pranay Sir spends so much
time clearing the basic concepts in the class with innumerable examples and observations. But once the
clarity is achieved in Sociology UPSC, the rewards are manifold. The optional becomes your biggest asset
and that too with minimum liability of syllabus. It provides you the best results for investment of your
time-a 300 plus score in sociology UPSC is a fairly common observation.
Sociology UPSC not only strengthens your optional strategy, it also overlaps with the syllabus of your
general studies paper 1 as well as your general studies paper 4 or your ethics paper. It is also of
immense utility in your essay paper. In fact, sociology UPSC inculcates in an aspirant that art of creativity
with words. This helps the aspirant in improving their writing skills in the entire mains examination, or
for that matter, any subjective matter they may choose to write in the future.
Sociology UPSC also helps the aspirant in the personality test by inculcating a balanced approach
towards controversial issues. Sociology UPSC teaches the aspirant not just the functional aspect of an
institution or process, but its dysfunctions as well. A realistic approach to issues is an acquired quality of
a sociology UPSC aspirant and this is reflected in their interview performance as well.
Sociology UPSC also has an added advantage that because of being a popular optional, you will never
face any issue for acquiring course material for it. Since so many aspirants select it as an optional, you
will be able to access guidance for it even if you are not able to attend your classes completely because
of any personal or professional reasons. Of course, Pranay Sir always welcomes and even encourages
students to get their sociology UPSC doubts cleared from him on a one-on-one level.
Sociology UPSC is a term that has become synonyms with success in the UPSC examination. It has
withstood the test of time and changing UPSC patterns. Its success rate is not a onetime phenomenon
but in fact has been replicated batch after batch by students of IAS Gurukul.