Sociology strategy: How to prepare for sociology optional for UPSC

Sociology is a highly recommended optional for UPSC mains. The reason behind this is that by following a right sociology strategy, the amount of efforts put in can result in disproportionally far greater results.

This is because the syllabus of sociology is limited. Within 3 to 4 months, a student can complete the entire syllabus thoroughly. One need not even be a graduate in this subject. This is because sociology is the study of society. Society is something we observe every day. Hence, unconsciously, we study sociology ever day.

The only think we have to understand is how to put our observations into words. Of course, you have to study about all the major sociological thinkers and trends in sociology. But with the right sociology strategy, you will be not only complete the entire preparation very fast. But you will also enjoy the entire process and fall in love with the subject.

Sociology strategy: some tips

1. Get comfortable with the subject:
An aspirant can start their sociology preparation by reading the NCERTs for class 11th and 12 th . This will give you a brief understanding of sociology as a subject.


2. Read and memorize the syllabus:
Syllabus forms a very important part of the sociology strategy. Reading the syllabus thoroughly and memorizing it completely will help the aspirant understand what UPSC demands from the subject. It will also help you interlink the topics in the syllabus with your daily study of the subject. This will in turn increase your retention.


3. Get proper guidance:
Getting the right guidance forms an important part of the sociology strategy. Getting Coaching in optional subjects helps since most of the students are not graduates of their optional subject.

However it is also important to find the right teacher for sociology who can be a mentor in the entire process. A right mentor can help guide your preparation in the right direction. Building concepts in sociology is more important than cramming facts. Hence a right mentor will give you a solid foundation of sociology. You can then add on to it or build on it further.

However, due to any reason, if an aspirant is not able to get coaching, one should not lose faith. An aspirant can find guidance with even other senior aspirants or anyone else with experience in UPSC. Online mentorship options have also become available now.


4. Finalize your sources:
The IAS Gurukul toppers have stressed over the years on the need of limiting the sources for sociology optional. It is thus important to finalize the books you will be reading for sociology. Pranay Sir always discusses the various important books you need to consult for sociology in his classes, apart from his class notes. However, should you wish, Sir always is more than willing to provide personal mentorship to his students.


5. Study the previous year’s papers:
Your sociology strategy should also consist of studying the previous year’s question papers. This will help you understand the kind of questions that are asked in the examination.

It will also give you an idea of which parts of syllabus to stress on. You can find this out by observing the frequency of questions from certain topics. For example, multiple questions are asked every year from sociological thinkers. Hence an aspirant can then infer from this that it is an extremely important area of the syllabus.

Also, you can start your answer writing practice by writing answers to previous year’s questions first.


6. Make notes for sociology optional:
Making notes should be a cornerstone of your sociology optional. Do not, however, start making notes from the beginning of your preparation. You should first complete reading Pranay Sir’s class notes at least one. You can then further make notes from books suggested by him.

After you have completed your preparation for sociology optional, you have to make another set of notes for the day just before the examination. This should be a shorter version of your notes. It should consist of key words and important points only. It should be concise enough so you can complete them in just few hours the day before the examination.


7. Answer writing:
Answer writing is another keystone of your sociology strategy. Sociology is one optional where good writing skills can be a huge asset for you. Answer writing does not need to be an in born talent. You can acquire this skill with regular and sincere practice.

Answer writing will also help you in learning the art of time management and limiting your answers to the word limit in the examination hall.


8. Join a sociology test series:
Another important facet of your sociology strategy will be to join a good series. It is important to do a thorough research while joining a test series.

Many test series in the market get their checking done from other UPSC aspirants. Hence you might not get a genuine feedback because of lack of experience on their part.

Pranay Sir personally checks each and every question of the sociology test series and personalizes the feedback for every student. This helps students in assessing their strengths and weaknesses in detail.

Thus a good test series help you in decreasing the pressure on the main day of the examination. This is done by making the student write multiple question papers in a simulated pressure situation. Thus a student is also able to develop a personal writing strategy for themselves. They also learn time management with respect to the examination.


9. Keep adding on to your notes:
It is important to keep adding on to your notes from current affairs and newspapers, especially for sociology paper 2.You can also selectively read reputed magazines like EPW to enrich your notes with the current sociological case studies.

You can also read Pranay Sir’s booklet of Current Affairs for sociology to get a rough idea about what is relevant for sociology while making current affairs notes.

A right sociology strategy will never let you down in the mains examination. A 300 plus score is not just a probability, but has a very high possibility if aspirants work sincerely with the abovementioned strategy.