How to Select the Optional Wisely?

• As the optional carries 500 marks, it's crucial to carefully consider which one to choose.
• The reason that the majority of beginners select an optional is because it is thought to be "scoring"
• However, should scoring be the only factor considered when choosing your mains optional, or are there other pertinent considerations? How do you decide between Popular and Scoring Subjects, then?
• Let us put it bluntly. Popularity has actually got nothing to do with the scoring potential of an optional. For example, Tina Dabi topped the 2015 IAS exam with Political Science as optional, whereas Gaurav Aggarwal, the 2013 IAS topper, chose Economics Optional and 2017 topper Anudeep Durishetty had Anthropology as his optional.
• What’s common to all these IAS toppers? Except one, all of them opted for optionals that are not-so-popular. And let us also mention that if you read their interviews, they chose the optional based on their interest and background and not because they were ‘scoring’ or ‘popular’.
• The fact that they have scored well in their optional (that’s why they topped) and not just the popular ones proves that all subjects are equally scoring.

choosing an optional based only on the scoring criteria is incorrect.