Civil Service Interview

Name:

History behind my success

• I left so many questions in General knowledge paper I and II, due to improper management of time. I left many questions because of this and that reflected in my final marks. So in my second attempt I strictly followed the word limit for my answers and thereby effectively managed the time.
  
• In my first attempt, I didn’t prepare well for the statistics, but this time I really managed well to improve my score.
  
• One has to really concentrate on Essay writing. It will decide one’s rank in the final result. I didn’t give much importance to Essays, but this time, I worked hard to prepare well for the Essays
  
• It is not how much you read for the exam; it’s how you convert the knowledge into answers within the given three hour duration. So I learnt that one has to synthesis answers while reading itself and plan the answers within the given word limit.
  
• Good communication skill and clarity of thoughts are the two most important aspects for scoring better marks in the personality tests. Though I managed my first attempt interview well, I felt that I didn’t perform to my potential. So I sharpened my opinions and made up my mind with clarity of thoughts. I also later realized that to understand an issue better, one has to read letters to editors in News papers like, “The Hindu”, “Indian Express” etc.

Strategy for Subjects:

Paper I:

1. One has to really concentrate more on the lower Botany (unicellular, algae, fungi, bryophytes, pteridophytes, and gymnosperms). Though the syllabus is little difficult to cover, one has to be very thorough. It’s like mathematics, if understood you can really do well.
   
2. In the lower botany, we need to concentrate more on the evolutionary aspects of reproduction systems in plants. For this, one has to practice lot on the diagrams and scientific names. These answers should carry scientifically correct diagrams with appropriate examples. So need to work lot on this. Normally this paper fetch you more marks than second paper, so there is no harm in spending more time on it.
   
3. Systematics and classification also equally important as every year paper carries at least one or two big questions. Therefore one has to develop extra interest in these subjects.

Paper II:

1. This paper is very easy if you are very good at Genetics and Physiology. Since I am an Agricultural graduate, I managed it well, but for the future aspirants, it may be a uphill task. This full paper will test your depth in understanding. So one need to study twice or thrice.
2. This paper needs scientific answers with correct illustration. Therefore thorough understanding is very essential. In addition, one has to update his knowledge on current development like bio-technology and others.

Dr. Ulaganathan P