MAINS 2020 : Plan Document : Atish Mathur
Congratulations on doing superbly well on an incredibly challenging paper. The battle is only half won. This document has four parts; Rules, Timeline, Sources, and Guidance. Please be sure to read every line till the very end.
Part A : Rules
1. The Trinity : On an average, everyone gets more or less the same band of marks in GS I, II, and III. The extremely variable yet rewarding areas are Essay, Ethics, and Optional. You must set your eyes on a minimum of 125-130 in Essay, 115-120 in Ethics, and 250 in the Optional.
2. Data Sets including Judgements, Statistics, and Examples (Case Studies) etc. are your strongest armour. These are recyclable in nature which means the same Data Sets can be used across all your papers including the Essay. I would also provide the same on the website* going live this weekend.
3. It is advised that you do not write more than 10 Essays and 5 tests per GS Paper. This is enough to acclimatise you and doing more than this would simply diminish marginal utility.
Part B : Sources
Part C : Timeline : 7 October 2020 – 5 January 2021
Spend 2 Days and please make a weekly plan keeping these broad parameters in mind
GS Subject Specific Timelines :
Total History : 2-3 Weeks
Total Geography and Env : 2-3 Weeks
Total Polity, Governance and Social Issues : 2 Weeks
Total Economics : 2 Weeks
Total Ethics : 1 Week
Total IR and Internal Security : 1 Week
Total: 10 – 12 Weeks
Part D : Guidance
1. Starting 14 October 2020 Monday, I would be conducting the following :
a. Ethics Case Studies (To be or Not to Be) every week until the Mains Exam with 3 case studies released on Monday and the discussion of the same on Saturday/Sunday.
b. 1 Essay paper every fortnight (each paper contains 2 questions) released on Monday which would be discussed on the Saturday or Sunday of the next week.
c. 5 Full Length Tests for Paper II and Paper IV with answers.
d. The discussion for Ethics Case Studies and Essay would be done using Unacademy’s platform and links would be shared on the Telegram Channel. Comments during class would be turned off and only be opened at the end of discussion so that precious time is not wasted.
e. Like the Magna Carta series for Prelims, a similar Magna Carta for Paper II would also be conducted. I will shortlist issues that seem highly likely and conduct a maximum of 3-5 sessions covering all such issues.
f. You are always welcome to send in your answers of ANY test series that you may join and I will correct them for you. Please send uncorrected copies if you are sending me a test series evaluation. Please bear in mind, I am only equipped to correct Essay, Paper II, and Paper IV in depth. However, if you really need me to, I would be happy to look at Paper III as well.
g. If you want me to correct your answers, please send them to mains2020@atishmathur.com and I would be happy to. Please write the subject as Mains 2020 Paper (Name) and always send in your answers as a single PDF file named as (Your Name)_GS_Mains2020. It will take me a minimum of 72 hours as I like correct answers myself instead of outsourcing them.
Please Note : All of the points mentioned above are entirely free of cost. At no point of time, would your details ever be used in any advertising form. Your answer copies and feedback would remain strictly confidential and would never be released to anyone but you, no matter what. These are my principles, and I always stand by it. Your essay, Paper II, and Paper IV are my responsibility, and I will work as hard as I can to ensure you are at ease during this phase. All I need from you is to give this all you have got and I have got your back.
Free Classes Schedule : bit.ly/atishmathurclasses
Thank You,
Atish Mathur
contact@atishmathur.com
t.me/csepaper2atish
www.atishmathur.com