Swati Sharma

CSC: Heartiest congratulations to you from Civil Services Chronicle for your success. How are you feeling about it?

Swati: Clearing this exam is the most wonderful feeling. I feel very happy and satisfied. I am looking forward to future endeavours.

CSC: What inspired you to become an IAS officer? Whom do you give credit for your success? What is the role of family and others (teachers, friends) in your preparation and success?

Swati: The inspiration was my will to do something good for the underserved sections and serve the nation in any way possible. I credit my parents, my elder brother and friends for being an integral support in my success. My family has played a very crucial role by supporting me not only financially but also emotionally. My friends had been there with me to guide and motivate me whenever I felt that I might not be able to clear this examination. My school teachers were the ones who discovered that I can stand up to the expectations of this examination, so they also owe a lot.

CSC: What strategy one should follow for preparing General Studies (Prelims & Mains)? Did you integrate your Prelims and Mains preparation or was it separate?

Swati: In my preparation, I followed an integrated approach for Prelims and Mains. The books I referred to were mostly same but for Mains, some more reading material is required. For Mains, content enrichment with maps, data, names of committees, etc. are important. Hence, while preparation of Prelims and Mains go hand in hand, there are some specific needs that need to be addressed for both of them.

CSC: How much time did you devote for this exam – Prelims, Mains, Interview, and Optional? How did you manage your time in both Prelims and Mains examinations?

Swati: As this was my third attempt, I initially devoted a lot of time for prelims in my first attempt. After I failed Prelims in my second attempt, I started to prepare for Mains examination along with optional subject. While I used to give around 2-3 hours for GS and optional each, I also ensured that I give 2 hours daily for Prelims. When Prelims was around 4-5 months away, I devoted fully towards solving MCQs and doing previous year questions for the same.

CSC: Did you prepare notes? How helpful are the notes? What is your advice on notes-making?

Swati: I prepared notes for almost each topic mentioned in the syllabus. Notes are very helpful in revising the syllabus and structuring answers in the examination. While at first instance, notes can be bulky, but at the end, there should be around 2-3 pages notes for each topic. Also during Mains, we should try to further concise the notes for efficient and multiple revisions.

CSC: What was your optional? What was the basis of selecting this optional? What strategy one should follow for preparing?

Swati: My optional subject was ‘Political Science and International Relations’. I selected this due to my interest in the subject and it was also my honours subject in graduation. For this optional, static knowledge should be linked with the applied part by reading newspapers. Further, each topic should be understood fully and one should have notes of each mentioned topic in the syllabus. Analysing the previous year question papers is important to know which area should be prioritized more than others.

CSC: What was your preparation strategy for Ethics (Paper-IV) and the book you preferred?

Swati: For Ethics, I had read ‘Lexicon’ and prepared my self-notes (topic wise) using the syllabus. Ethics paper has two sections. For section A, which is theoretical, it is advisable to have understanding of the terms mentioned in the syllabus along with issues involved and way forward. Section B deals with case study that checks the theoretical knowledge and handling of issues, here the approach should be based on answering the question with human centric approach and using ethical terms wherever necessary. In Ethics paper, one has to show his/her ethical understanding while writing answers.

CSC: Tell us something about your preparation of essay paper.

Swati: For essay paper, I had written around 7-8 essays during my Mains preparation after Prelims. For this I joined a test series to get my essays evaluated and also sent some of the essays for peer checking. In this paper, I had referred to a lot of topper’s essays that helped to understand how to make a flow in essay, use of anecdotes and examples along with exploring various dimensions.

CSC: What was your style of writing in the exam? How was it distinct from the general writing style? How did you develop this writing style?

Swati: In General Studies papers, I used Introduction-Body-Conclusion style, where Introduction used to be of 3-4 lines, Body was in point format, along with flowcharts and diagrams. In conclusion, we can use SDGs, government policies, e.g. - Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, and it should be forward looking.

For optional, I wrote all the answers in paragraph form with Introduction-Body-Critical Analysis- Conclusion style.

CSC: How did you prepare for interview? Mention the type of questions asked in the interview. Did you answer all? Was there any specific area they emphasised upon?

Swati: For interview, I read newspapers (one national and one local) along with questionnaire given by some coaching institutions for preparing on my state and other inputs of Detailed Application Form. My interview was for around 25-30 minutes, where questions were asked from international affairs, women empowerment, elections, and issues of Jharkhand and how is it faring after separation from Bihar, sports (badminton) and hobby (mandala). I could not answer 2-3 questions asked in the end of my interview. Most questions were asked from international affairs.

CSC: What is the importance of coaching in the preparation of Civil Services examination?

Swati: Coaching can help in providing material and guidance. But the importance of self-study cannot be undermined at any stage. Apart from coaching, self-study is very important to develop conceptual understanding. I did not take any coaching for the preparation. However, I had enrolled in test series at some institutions for analysing my performance.

CSC: What is the role of Civil Services Chronicle in your success?

Swati: I had read a few editions of Civil Services Chronicle in my early stage of preparation where I read topper interviews to know about the process of examination and how they have prepared.

CSC: Which books, magazines, newspapers and online sources were used by you during your preparation?

Swati: My preparation was based mostly on books including NCERTs and some standard books. I used to read monthly magazine of Vision IAS for current affairs. Newspapers, namely ‘The Hindu’ and ‘The Indian Express’ have been crucial. For some topics, which I was unable to understand, I used to google them from any online video source.

CSC: Thank you very much and wishing you all the best for your future endeavours.