• GS Prelims preparation is not only about how much you study but also about how you study i.e. about the strategy.
• Even though certain aspects of the strategy differ from one person to another, there are certain very important commonalities in the strategy of various toppers.
• 4 to 5 hours of regular preparation for 5 months is sufficient for preparing GS Prelims provided.

You know what the trend of the exam is
You read the right material for each topic
You know what areas to emphasis
You have your study material organized in such a form so as to facilitate the revision in the last month before the exam.

One of the major problems encountered by the students is due to the vastness of the terrain of the GS Prelims. It can be resolved by dividing the areas into - Core areas, Important areas and Optional areas.

Current Affairs (including India Year Book), Indian Polity and Modern Indian history must form the foundation of your preparation on which no compromises should be made. Not only the majority of questions in prelims are asked from these areas but they also form significant portion of Mains G.S. Paper-1. The question paper analysis of last 4 years shows that current affairs section is getting more and more important every year. This makes regular reading and compilation of newspapers indispensable .Various competition magazine are not at all sufficient; they can only supplement your daily self-made newspaper notes. While reading newspaper always keep a good Atlas (preferably Orient Longman) with you as more and more questions are getting location oriented e.g. instead of asking the venue of APEC meet they might ask you to locate the place on world map.

After the core areas, next on the list of priority are Indian Economy, Geography and Ancient & Medieval history. In case of Geography, physical geography especially Indian physical geography is very important. Map based questions and questions on locations, lakes, rivers, mountain ranges etc. are being increasingly asked. Map of India (particularly physical) should be properly studied. Same is true about world map albeit with lesser intensity. Economics along with basic concepts, study of Economic Survey and relevant chapters of INDIA Year Book would be helpful.

These are those tricky areas such as Science and Technology, GMA etc. which on ultimate cost-benefit analysis should come later on the list of priorities. Obviously the academic background of the student would play an important role in it.
For students having a non-science background, there is a note of caution. The analysis of previous papers points to the fact that the questions related to these areas are becoming more specialized and less general. Hence it is advisable to do only basic minimum on these areas. Also it should be kept in mind that you would be able to attempt questions successfully only if you had revised these areas thoroughly. For this NCERT unto 10th standard alongwith NBT's HUMAN MACHINE would be suffice.
Same is true for General Mental Ability wherein questions are becoming tougher year after year. Here student should analyze his/her own strengths and weaknesses. For those who are not comfortable with mental ability can put it last on his/her list of priorities.

The whole idea is that the Prelims marks are not added while making the final list of merit. Generally, a student scoring around 80 questions correct in GS is through with it. However, the ever toughening competition makes it mandatory to score 90+ correct questions to be on a safer side. It also offsets the variations in cut-off marks that happen year after year. Furthermore, this kind of score also helps even if you haven't done well in the optional. Our experience says that over the years, General Studies has become the deciding factor as far as Prelims is concerned.

Right Approach alongwith Right Material & Right kind of Notes holds the key to your success in Prelims.

Apart from focus on specific areas and subjects such as Polity, Constitution, Economy, History, Geography, Science etc., the need is to walk an extra mile to be successful. It is essential to be vigilant and cultivate an attitude of being receptive to the events and changes that are happening around you.

Remember "Eternal vigilance is price of success"!

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The strategy discussed here has been designed by the IAS officers. Their personal notes well incorporate this strategy. Crackias.com would avail these notes in a very compact & comprehensive form, making them handy and easily manageable for the students at the time of their examination.