Commerce and Accountancy Optional Strategy by Shivani Goyal (AIR 15, 2017)
Hi!
I am Shivani Goyal and I have got Rank 15 in Civil
Services exams in 2017. My optional subject was commerce and accountancy and I
would like to share my strategy for it through this article. My marks obtained
are 154 and 166 in Paper 1 and 2 respectively.
Paper 1
Paper 1 is a mix of practical and theory questions.
First, your best friends for Paper 1 preparation are the UPSC syllabus and the
previous year questions (PYQs). Please look at the syllabus and stick to the
topics mentioned there. Then move on to analysing the PYQs as there is huge
repetition in the theory questions and it would also enable you to understand
the trend/ type of the practical questions asked.
For practical, the books done during graduation or
IPCC will suffice. For example- I did not go beyond Rustagi sir’s book and
Ashish Kalra for financial management and costing respectively. Apart from
that, I referred to Rankers classes notes for small topics such as accounting
standards, financial institutions and mergers and acquisitions for which I was
not able to find content in the standard books.
Please try to do intensive practice for the
practical questions (after studying the type of questions asked from PYQs) and
leverage the scoring potential. I made a chart and wrote all the important
chapters from where the questions are expected in practical.
Then every day I
used to spend an hour on practice and this chart (where I used to mark on which
date I did practice of that specific chapter) helped me ensure that my practise
remains well distributed across all subjects. This is one of the techniques
which you may use if you find it convenient. Keep practising till the final
exams approach so that you do not lose your cutting edge. You can also make a
formula sheet for quick revision.
Then for the theory questions of Paper 1, start the
preparation by analysing the PYQs. This would help you recognise the topics
which you have to complete. You can create short notes for those topics and
keep revising them. Please do not ignore putting adequate time on theory
portion as around half of the paper will be from this portion.
Paper 2
Paper 2 is an entire theory paper with four major
topics- OT, OB, HRM and IR. I would divide the preparation of Paper 2 into two
parts- content and presentation. For the content, though standard books such as
Singh and Chabbra are available in the market, I would recommend that you can
go for more consolidated notes which are provided by the coaching institutes.
I
personally relied on Rankers classes material. Later if you get time, then you
can skim through the standard books or other coaching institutes’ notes to pick
diagrams or any relevant topic missed in the previous notes.
However, please
restrict the number of books you go through as management related topics are
endless and you might never finish your preparation if you think about covering
everything under the sun. Hence stick to few books, keep revising and
consolidating your notes. During the exam, there would be 10 marker questions
for which you will have no idea, so please do not worry about them and try to
attempt them with whatever knowledge you have.
Also, I had put a lot of
emphasis on consolidating my notes with successive revisions so that I could
revise maximum in the last few hours before the exam. I reduced my notes to 50
to 60 pages in the end from initial 500- 600 pages in paper 2 which helped me
immensely in the break between paper 1 and 2.
Next comes the presentation- which is the most
important thing in paper 2. You might have written the best possible content
but if your presentation is sub-optimal, you might not score well. Your agenda
should be to tell the examiner that you know about the question, give him/ her
something extra and differentiate your answer from other candidates.
Few general things to keep in mind while attempting
the questions in paper 2:
- First understand the question
properly. Answer according to what is being asked and not as per what
information you have.
- Divide your answer into various
parts you would like to address and give subheadings. Try to make your
answer comprehensive.
- Include recommendations in the end
if any problem is discussed in the question.
- Always substantiate your answer
with prominent thinkers’ names/ theories to ensure that your answer does
not look generic.
- Give real-life examples/ case
studies to make your answer different.
- Draw plenty of diagrams,
flowcharts and tables to give it a visual appeal.
- Try to avoid leaving questions. Do
not fool the examiner but try to attempt the ten marker questions (which
are sometimes new and unseen) with whatever relevant knowledge you have in
the best possible way. As an example- let us say the question is-
Informal
organisation is a necessary evil and detrimental to the interests of the
organisation. Hence it needs to be nipped at bud. Comment.
Now the
various parts which can be addressed are:
- What is an informal organisation (draw a diagram)
- How is it detrimental to interests of the organisation. Discuss the cons
- The positive aspects of informal organisation. (Be comprehensive, look at the other side, also give examples)
- How can the manager leverage the positives and supress the negatives (Be futuristic).
Now
along with this include plenty of diagrams, tables, sub headings and examples.
Visibility in an answer is of utmost importance.
Finally do attempt few mock tests as speed factor
is crucial in both the papers. Through mocks, make mistakes early and learn to
attempt and choose options wisely. Avoid the tendency to keep rereading the
paper before starting and move strategically.
I have also attached few of my mock tests’ answer
sheets on here for reference.
I hope the above article could be of some help to
the aspirants opting commerce and accountancy as their optional subject.
All the very best and keep moving forward!
ALSO READ-All the very best and keep moving forward!
