Choosing the best optional subject for UPSC Mains: The Thumb Rule

The best part about UPSC Mains in Civil Services exams is that you can choose the subject that peaks your interests. Choosing your optional subject plays a vital role and will definitely affect your overall score and determine your value as an IAS candidate. No subject is superior over the other. But the subject you choose must compliment you and have meaning to it. Many IAS candidates make mistakes in this area and choose optional subjects that are sometimes beyond their reach or irrelevant to them as a candidate. Kamaraj IAS Academy is keen on teaching and guiding IAS aspirants to make the right decision by choosing the right optional subject for the UPSC Mains. As one of the top IAS Academy in Chennai, it advises IAS aspirants to follow what is called the Thumb Rule to choose their optional subject.

No optional is better than the other

As mentioned earlier, every optional carry equal weightage. The trick lies in how you as an IAS candidate use it as your strength. Finding a subject that interests you best is sometimes the best option for you. Going according to market rumors or a subject’s results in a particular year can become an easy trap if you choose an optional that does not pique any interest for you. A lot of IAS achievers suggest giving the subject relevant to your graduation subject a shot for your IAS Mains optional. Those subjects can give you an immense drive to dig deeper and explore into it, widening your knowledge as you get to know the subject more. The thumb rule is popularly used by the mentors at Kamaraj IAS Academy to help young IAS aspirants find their optional subjects.

The thumb rule for ias exam

According to several IAS aspirants and achievers, the thumb rule has been very helpful to choose their optional subjects. From 48 optional subjects, you need to find the subject that is more practical for you and fits right into your goals as an IAS Aspirant. While there is no such thing as “best subject”, there could be that one subject that hits the sweet spot just for you. The thumb rule is all about finding that subject to help you ace the UPSC mains exams. This is how you proceed with the thumb rule.
  • Optional subjects can be divided into science and humanities. First, decide which stream of optional subjects you want to opt for. Humanities subjects can be prepared easily and take less preparation time. Whereas science subjects take longer to cover and need expert guidance to complete the syllabus.
  • Take a thorough look at all the optional subjects available for you to choose from the UPSC CSE Notification. If you find any subjects that are not very appealing, you can discard them right away.
  • Your list must be narrowed down to at least 8-10 optional subjects. For these subjects, check the previous years’ question papers and mock papers. Also, check for study material and shortlist your subjects further.
  • If you are still left with two or three subjects, you can begin by going through the basic content for these subjects. You can simply consider the 11th and 12th books or NCERT books for reference. Take a day’s time to go through these study materials which will give you enough clarity on the subject that you must proceed with now.
Kamaraj IAS Academy has successfully trained and equipped students in both science and humanities with question papers, subject guides and matter expertise, vigorous training and equipping them towards efficiently applying the learnt information in the paper.

Choosing the Subject you Love

Some of the IAS achievers have stated that their optional subjects were mostly the subject they loved. As they had to spend a lot of time with the subject, they chose to opt for subjects they would bever get bored of and would never give up on easily. Choosing the most difficult subject does not necessarily score better ranks, nor does an easy subject give you lower ranks. Irrespective of the difficulty level, the relevance of the subject to you and your interests is what will peak for the examiners when evaluating and reinstating your ranks. When you study under Kamaraj IAS Academy, we try to observe the subjects that you are drawn to and ensure that you connect with them better. With individual training and mentorship, Kamaraj IAS academy can help to bring out the best in you using the subjects that work best for you. If for any reason your graduation subject is not relevant with any optional, it is good to go through the general studies subjects and explore your options. This is where the Thumb Rule to choose your optional subject comes in handy.

Kamaraj IAS Academy directing towards the path of success

Many students find it very challenging to choose the optional paper for 2 reasons:
  1. It carries 500 marks out of 2025 marks, making them vital for their overall rank
  2. The optional papers may or may not determine their success and scope in the field.
Finding the right optional subject has multiple factors that must be considered. Before finalizing your optional subject, it is better to have a good conversation about it with experts and mentors. Kamaraj IAS academy world best to understand your capabilities, your knowledge base and existing expertise on the subject matter and your interests. These insights help us identify the best suited optional subject for you. Apart from helping you find the right optional subject, Kamaraj IAS academy is one of the best IAS academies in Tamil Nadu which has the resources and adequate study material to help IAS Aspirants ac any paper. Appropriate study material, mentors and guidance, added support, helps IAS aspirants gain a wider knowledge on the subject, piques their interests even more and drives them towards the subject. It additionally, promises to help them score better ranks with carefully chosen optional subjects. Kamaraj IAS academy has tremendously helped IAS aspirants progress and become renowned officers by opening endless possibilities with credible study material and mentorship.