Question : How To Select The Optional Wisely?

Answer :

• The optional paper fetch you 500 marks, so it’s important that much deliberation is put into the fact on which optional, one should select.
• Most CSE beginners choose an optional simply because it is considered to be ‘scoring’.
• But should score be the sole criterion for selecting the Mains optional or are there other related basis for selecting your mains optional? So, how do you choose, whether between, Popular or Scoring Subjects?
• Let us put it bluntly. Popularity has actually got nothing to do with the scoring potential of an optional. If you want proof, read on. Tina Dabi topped the 2015 IAS exam with Political Science as one of the optionals, second being 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 opted for one non-popular optional. 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 both the optionals (that’s why they topped) and not just the popular ones prove that all subjects are equally scoring. So choosing an optional based only on the scoring criteria is incorrect.