Top Methods to Crack Sociology as a Subject

IAS is considered one of India's highly reputed and most challenging exams. It falls within group A belonging to the central civil services under the executive branch of the Central Government. Quite similar to different types of civil services, it is expected to prepare for the UPSC’s CSE, through which the IAS cadre gets filled. 



Stages of IAS examination-

Stage 1- Preliminary written test- 2 compulsory papers of 200 marks each

Stage 2- Main written test- Paper 1- General English- 300 mar

  Paper 2- General knowledge- 300 marks, 

 Paper 3,4,5,6- Any two subjects from the list optional subjects- 200 marks each paper

Stage 3- Interview for personality test

One such optional subject is sociology, which is relatively safer and popular while dealing with UPSC exams. No particular academic background is needed for sociology and maybe requires just a brief study of our society. 

Also, sociology optional online coaching options are pretty abundant in Delhi or any other country's megacities. It can fetch up to 315 to 350 marks in the main examination. It can also be valuable during the interview round as well as post-selection fieldwork. Some students may prefer this for a short syllabus and the presence of good coaching/notes. 

The main thing as considered by many good students is its answer to writing skill. These skills are not grown overnight, and you have to get proper guidance or coaching to make them sharp. But since the pandemic situation has turned many tables upside down, online classes for sociology optional are an excellent option. Few premium institutions plus local institutions have started providing online sociology classes for UPSC at an affordable cost. 

These online classes interact with teachers like 1-to-1 and help take notes by pausing the video mid sentence adequately.

Methods to crack sociology as a subject?

1.Sociology is an exciting subject and easy to understand. It can be completed within four months due to its short syllabus. Firstly, go through every topic of the syllabus and try to memorize them.

2.Keep a note on the happenings in society and try to focus on sociological theories of different thinkers.

3.Prepare notes. Nothing can beat the preparation made by handwritten notes. Make them concise and to the point.

4.For paper 2, keep focusing on the authoritative sources as questions asked here will be dynamic while having a sociological perspective. Try to blend your ideas with current aspects of society properly. 

5.While making notes, highlight the important topics such as demonetization, child labor, harassment on women, feminism movements, development in the IT sector, formation of slums in urban areas, decentralization of power, etc.

6.Keep an eye for the different case studies conducted by various social researchers and make notes on their reports.

7.Instead of following 100 different books, it's advised to go for 2-3 good books. Some preferred sociology books are-

a. Ritzer

b. Haralambos

c. IGNOU study material

d. Sociology by Anthony Giddens

e. Indian society by S C Dube

f. Handbook of Indian sociology by Veena Das


8.Coaching Institutes- Now there is a high debate on whether to join coaching classes or not. Though there is no hard and fast rule to join, it's always good to guide and follow your strategy in a particular direction. Also, these help in solving doubts rather quickly. These days' sociology optional online coaching is quite helpful due to the pandemic situations coaching institutes provide. 

9.Answer writing pattern- Answer writing in sociology holds a good point hence few tricks to master them-

a. Please focus on the keywords in the question and address all the parts of it.

b. Make your answer dynamic and multidimensional, think a little deep, and provide extra insight into the crisis. Try to link different theories or facts.

c .Remember to mention the views and statements of various sociological thinkers and researchers.

d. Always try to present your theory in points and a well-structured format. Give a proper introduction and conclusion. 

e. Diagrams can also be included according to the needs of the question. A pictorial visualization always leaves a good impact. 

Conclusion-


To master sociology:

1.Start with attempting previous year's questions and keep a strict practice. 


2.Keep on practicing good answer writing and try to maintain suitable structures of your answers.


3.Follow only classic books and authoritative sources, don't over bump yourself with lots of information and data. Once you complete your syllabus, you can start with any online or offline test series.


4.Always remember these test series can be only helpful when you continuously do your revisions and analyze where you are lacking.


5.Keep a good sight on your growth and performance throughout the test series, evaluate your weaker areas of sociology and overcome them. 



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