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A Blog by Neha Bhosle

My Booklist and Approach to Answer

Writing for the Sociology Optional of the
UPSC CSE
Neha Bhosle September 7, 2020 UPSC UPSC, UPSC CSE

Sociology ! While the marks are yet to come, I am very sure that it is Sociology that
has played the biggest role in me getting this rank. I had scored around 270 marks
in Sociology last year. And that too, after poorly written 20 markers on non-
positivistic methodology and Mills in Paper 1, and mention of very few thinkers in
Paper 2. After the Mains last year, I had spent almost three months studying only
Sociology. I completed whatever topics I had not been able to cover properly, did
value addition to whatever notes I had already made, and also wrote six tests of the
Vision Test Series. Hence, I had everything ready, and after the Prelims this year, I
just had to read and revise the same several times.
Coming to the beginning, before nalizing Sociology as my Optional, I had gone
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Papers of the past ten years. These two
activities provided a rough idea of what to focus on while studying.

I rst read the two Class 11 NCERTs – Introducing Sociology and Understanding
Society, and the two Class 12 NCERTs – Indian Society and Social Change and
Development in India once, and highlighted the important points in them. Later, I
added only these highlighted points to my notes.

Then I once read the entire ESO 13 and MSO 04 Blocks of IGNOU Sociology. This was
just a quick basic reading and I did not highlight any points or make any notes from
this rst reading.

Then I started selectively reading Sociology – Themes and Perspectives by

Haralambos and Holborn. This book is also known as the ‘Blue Haralambos’. The
book only looks huge, but it is actually written in a very simple language. In the rst
reading, I only highlighted the important points. And in the second reading, I made
notes from this book. These notes were my base material for Paper 1.

Following are the page numbers that I read from the Blue Haralambos (8th Edition):

Introduction: sociological perspectives – full

Chapter 1: Strati cation, class and inequality – pages 21-24, 30-34, 47-56, 80-82,
87-93
Chapter 2: Sex and gender – pages 95-101, 104-121, 130-138
Chapter 3: ‘Race’, ethnicity and nationality – pages 155-160, 174-187, 193-197,
206-210
Chapter 4: Poverty, social exclusion and the welfare state – pages 231-236, 246-
247, 259-264, 269-276
Chapter 6: Crime and deviance – pages 347-352, 361-367
Chapter 7: Religion – pages 431-437, 444-462, 473-475, 487-488, 491-499, 504-507
Chapter 8: Families, households and personal life – pages 509-525, 544-545,
566-569
Chapter 9: Power, politics and the state – pages 579-590, 593-603, 608-620
Chapter 10: Education – pages 663-671, 702-704
Chapter 14: Methodology – full
Chapter 15: Sociological theory – pages 953-998, 1013-1015

Here, I would suggest rst reading the Introduction, then the selected pages from
Chapter 15, then the entire Chapter 14, and then the remaining Chapters.
Once the notes-making from the Blue Haralambos was done, I did one reading of
Fundamentals of Create yourby
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Sir (5th Edition). From this book, I read
all the Chapters except Chapter 4 (Sociological Thinkers). The language of the book
is very simple, and I made notes in this rst reading itself. This book is helpful for
Chapters 6, 9 and 10, which are not covered much in the Blue Haralambos. And it
also helped in adding some more content and Thinkers for the remaining Chapters.

Once I had my notes ready from the above two books, I read the Class Notebooks of
Upendra Gaur Sir. These had been written by a friend’s friend, from Sir’s batch for
Mains 2016. They were very good and covered most of the topics of Paper 1. Even
some topics of Paper 2 had been covered in them, but I did not read those. I have
not read Sir’s written notes that are available on Telegram, so I cannot comment on
their quality. I did not make any notes from these Notebooks, as they were anyways
written in the notes-format only.

Then I again read the entire ESO 13 Block of IGNOU Sociology. I did not make any
notes from them, and instead only highlighted the important points.

I did not read Ritzer because Upendra Sir’s Class Notebooks covered Chapter 4
(Sociological Thinkers) in great detail. Plus, even my notes from the Blue
Haralambos had covered Marx, Durkheim and Weber quite well. And the remaining
gaps had been lled by ESO 13.

I started with Paper 2 only after completing all the above actions.

For Paper 2, I rst read Applied Sociology – Indian Society: Structure and Change by
Vikash Ranjan Sir (5th Edition). The language of the book is very simple, and I made
notes in this rst reading itself. For topics that were too huge to make notes, I just
noted down the page numbers from this book, and then read only those pages
multiple times.

Then, I read Mohapatra Sir’s Class Notebooks which I had ordered from Pankaj
Copiers. These were seven Notebooks from Sir’s batch that had started in December
2016. And they were excellent. I had initially planned to read only Paper 2 from
these Notebooks. But once I started reading them, I realized that, for many topics,
Sir had covered Paper 1 and Paper 2 in an integrated manner. Hence, I read
everything except the two Notebooks that covered Chapter 4 (Sociological Thinkers)
of Paper 1. I made notes in the rst reading itself. For topics that were too huge to
make notes, I just noted down the page numbers from the Notebooks, and then
read only those pages multiple times. I also added to my Paper 1 notes from these
Notebooks. I have not read Sir’s written notes that are available on Telegram, so I
cannot comment on their quality.
Then, I once read the Vision Test Series Model Answers for Paper 2, from the years
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Thinkers that I could nd in them, to my
notes.

Then I quickly read the entire MSO 04 Block of IGNOU Sociology again, and added
any new content or Thinkers that I could nd in it, to my notes.

And then I read Tusharanshu Sharma Sir’s notes for Paper 2. I did not make any
notes from them, and instead only highlighted the important points.

Most of the above was done from June 2017 to January 2018, alongside the GS
preparation. Then from February, I had started focusing more on the Prelims, and
did not study much for Sociology.

After the 2018 Prelims:

My own notes, Upendra Gaur Sir’s Class Notebooks and the highlighted points
from ESO 13 were what I read and revised several times for Paper 1 and
My own notes and highlighted points from Tusharanshu Sharma Sir’s notes
were what I read and revised several times for Paper 2

Also, for some topics in both the Papers, I referred to my own Class Notebook.

Along with all these, I also wrote the Test Series.

I had joined the online combined Lectures and Test Series Course for Sociology by
Praveen Kishore Sir. I have already written a detailed review of it in my previous
post – https://nehabhosleblog.wordpress.com/2020/08/08/my-experience-with-
upsc-cse-coaching-institutes/

Unlike PSIR, there is no one amazing Teacher available for Sociology. Hence, no
matter which Coaching Institute you join, you will have to refer to multiple notes
and books. However, honest advice – if you are planning to join of ine classes, I
would suggest Upendra Gaur Sir. Not sure if Sir plans to start online classes, but if
he does, that would be really helpful. Else, for the online mode, you can consider
joining Shankar IAS (Rajitha Shivashankar Ma’am).

This is all that I had done for Mains 2018.

The day Mains 2018 got over, I was sure of narrowly missing or narrowly clearing the
cutoff (when the result came, it was the former). So, after taking some days off, I
geared up for the 2019 attempt.
As stated in the beginning, now I spent almost three months studying only
Sociology. Here I Create your website
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in those three months.

First, I quickly read my own notes again.

Then, I read Essential Sociology by Nitin Sangwan Sir. The language of the book is
very simple, and in this rst reading itself, I added any new content or Thinkers that
I could nd in it, to my notes.

Then I quickly did some very selective reading of those IGNOU Blocks which I had
not read before. This is what I read:

Paper 1 – https://reliableandvalid.com/2017/07/22/upsc-sociology-paper-1-ignou-
topic-wise-notes/

Paper 2 – https://reliableandvalid.com/2016/06/05/upsc-sociology-paper-2-
ignou-topic-wise-notes/

The language of IGNOU is very simple, and in this rst reading itself, I added any
new content or Thinkers that I could nd in it, to my notes.

Then I read Tusharanshu Sharma Sir’s notes for Paper 1. In this rst reading itself, I
added any new content or Thinkers that I could nd in them, to my notes.

And then I went through all the past rank holders’ Sociology Test Series Papers that
I could nd. You can download them from:

Vision – http://www.visionias.in/resources/toppers_answers.php

Lukmaan – here I went through the papers of both, the past rank holders, as well as
the Test Series toppers – https://lukmaanias.com/topper-best-copy/ and
https://lukmaanias.com/current-series-best-copy/

Triumph – https://www.triumphias.com/pages-toppers-answer-sheet.php

GS Score – https://iasscore.in/toppers-copy

I added any new content or Thinkers that I could nd in these papers, to my notes.

For some very few topics of Paper 2, where I still felt that I did not have enough
content, I referred to the printed notes of Praveen Kishore Sir. In this rst reading
itself, I added any new content or Thinkers that I could nd in them, to my notes.
Once all this was done, I wrote the Vision Test Series. My marks and the feedback
that I got showedCreate
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on the way to 300+ marks in Sociology.

Then, after the 2019 Prelims:

My own notes, Upendra Gaur Sir’s Class Notebooks and the highlighted points
from ESO 13 were what I read and revised several times for Paper 1 and
My own notes and highlighted points from Tusharanshu Sharma Sir’s notes
were what I read and revised several times for Paper 2

Also, for some topics in both the Papers, I referred to my own Class Notebook.

While this is same as what I had done for Mains 2018, my own notes were much
more detailed by now.

Some additional things that I read once, just before Mains 2019, were:

Sociology Value Added Notes by IAS Baba

Triumph IAS Compilation of Sociological Articles from EPW, Yojana and Kurukshetra
– https://www.triumphias.com/pages-epw-yojana-kurushetra.php

Some of the current affairs related articles shared on the Website –

https://reliableandvalid.com/. They also have a paid programme, which I had not
joined, so I cannot comment on it. But the free content available on this Website
was good too.

These three sources gave some very good examples and case studies from the
current affairs, especially for Paper 2.

And I also wrote the Shankar IAS Test Series.

Besides all these, my Class Notebook from the Society and Social Justice Lectures
by Smriti Shah Ma’am, and the Vision VAMs for Society and Social Justice were also
useful for the Sociology Optional preparation. Also, from my ‘The Hindu’ reading, I
had tried to make a list of examples and case studies that could be used in
Sociology, especially in Paper 2.

Now coming to Answer Writing.

First, please ensure that, in your notes, you have content of at least 400 words, for
every topic that has been mentioned in the Syllabus. All the sources I have
mentioned above are almost enough for this. For Chapter 4 (Sociological Thinkers)
of Paper 1, apart Create your
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by the Thinkers and its criticism, also have
content ready on the current relevance and current examples of those concepts.
And if possible, also have content ready on the current relevance and current
examples of concepts given by Thinkers from the other Chapters, of both Paper 1
and Paper 2, as well.

Also, please have content ready for everything that has been asked in the Question
Papers of at least the past ten years (except for those topics which are no more a
part of the Syllabus). For very few questions, whose answer content I did not have
in my notes, I referred to the solved previous years’ Sociology papers by Chronicle
Publications. The answers in this book are not that good, and hence please use it
minimally.

As mentioned above, in these two attempts, I wrote three different Test Series for
Sociology. The feedback I got for my answers was very helpful, and I worked on
whatever improvements they suggested. If possible, do please join a Test Series,
preferably after you nish your own notes-making. However, the most important
thing is to work on the inputs and the suggestions received.

The key to good marks in Sociology is to write the answers ‘sociologically’.

Firstly, try and quote as many Thinkers as possible. My target was to quote at least
four Thinkers in a 20 marker, and at least two Thinkers in a 10 marker. But please
quote only those Thinkers which are relevant to the question that has been asked.

If Thinkers are not available, especially in Paper 2, wherever possible, try and quote
facts, statistics, government schemes and their outcomes, government reports and
their recommendations, committee recommendations, details of judgements and
other such data. The Social Issues Vision Mains 365 document, and the Government
Schemes Vision PT 365 document, are what I referred to, for this type of data.

You can also use examples and case studies from the current affairs, wherever
possible, in both Paper 1 as well as Paper 2. For these, besides my own notes from
the newspaper, I referred to the three sources already mentioned above.

Make Paper 1 your strength because it is largely static, questions do get repeated,
and there are enough Thinkers available for almost all the topics.

You can quote some Paper 1 Thinkers in Paper 2 as well, but please do not overdo
it. Likewise, Indian Thinkers from Paper 2 can be quoted in Paper 1 too, but again
sparingly.
In the exam, try and select those questions which are based on the static portion,
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and Thinkers to write.

For static questions, generally this standard framework ts really well:

Explaining the sociological concept, its criticism, its current relevance and
current examples or case studies related to that concept.

Even for questions that are based on the current affairs, or questions that seem to
be from the GS, make your answer ‘Sociological’. This is what you need to do for it:

First remember every topic mentioned in the Syllabus. Then, for the given
question, analyze how the core issue that the question is asking, has an impact
on, or is impacted by, the different topics of the Syllabus.
or
Analyze how the core issue that the question is asking, is interpreted as per
some of the theories like the Structural-Functional Theory, the Con ict Theory,
the Feminist Theory, the Symbolic Interactionist Theory.

These three frameworks can be used together as well, especially for the 20 markers.

Let me explain this with examples from Mains 2019 –

In both Paper 1 and Paper 2, apart from the compulsory Q1. and Q5., I attempted
Q4., Q6. and Q8.

Paper 1 – Q. Discuss the issues of access and exclusion in higher education in India.

This seems like a question from Paper 2, but it was asked in Paper 1. So quickly
recall the Syllabus topics of Paper 1. Some topics that t in here are:

Alienation – the curriculum is based on middle-class values and is alienating for

students from the other classes. Also, many courses are not available in regional
languages, again causing alienation.

Suicide – discrimination in higher education institutions led to suicides by Rohith

Vemula and Dr. Payal Tadvi.

Pattern Variables – education system is part of the AGIL framework.

Deviance – due to lack of access to higher education, some students may become
deviant.
Social exclusion, poverty, class – lower participation of poor, Dalits, Tribals and
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Gender – lower participation of women in STEM courses.

Social mobility – higher education can be a source of social mobility. Lack of it

perpetuates poverty.

Informal organizations – they see a large participation of those who could not
access or were excluded from higher education.

Power elite – they use entrance exams or other such criteria to restrict the access to
higher education for the masses. Also, increasing privatization of higher education.

Religion – students who have completed basic education from the Madarsas, may
face dif culty in accessing higher education.

Education and social change – without an inclusive and accessible system of higher
education, social change is not possible.

You can similarly think of points related to some other topics of the Syllabus. Not
all the points are equally important, and the more important points should be
written in the beginning. If required, points can also be written from the Syllabus
topics of Paper 2.

Migration – migration towards urban areas is seen due to lack of access to higher
education in the rural areas.

Social Movements – student movements arising from higher education institutes

have played an important role in India.

Some data that can be quoted here are the Sukhadeo Thorat Committee, Xaxa
Committee and the Ranganath Misra Commission.

Paper 1 – Q. What is af rmative action? Substantiate theoretical positions on

af rmative actions with examples.

Af rmative action is a form of sponsored mobility as stated by RH Turner.

Here we need to analyze af rmative action as per some of the Sociological

theories.
Structural-functionalism – af rmative action provides opportunities to the various
deprived sectionsCreate
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avoid protests or a revolution, thus
maintaining social equilibrium. Example – once the EWS reservation was
announced, a dominant caste stopped the protests demanding reservation for their
community.

Con ict – af rmative action only provides mobility to a limited number of people.
Thus, it is like a safety valve used by the bourgeoisie. Due to some successful
examples, it perpetuates the false belief that the system is an open system. It thus
prevents true class consciousness from emerging. Example – rags-to-riches stories
are over glori ed using the ideological state apparatus, to give the proletariat a
false hope that anyone can achieve the same.

Feminist – af rmative action only gives token representation to women. The true
power is still wielded by men, and structural inequality remains. Example –
Sarpanch pati.

Some data that can be quoted here are the Indra Sawhney judgement, the M.
Nagaraj judgement and the Sinho Commission.

For additional points, quickly recall the Syllabus topics of Paper 1 and write on the
topics that t in here.

Paper 2 – Q. Highlight the main features of the ‘Inter-linking of Rivers’ project in

India. What could be its probable advantages to Indian agriculture.

This was a 20 marker, and the points we know from GS can barely ll two pages.
Thus, recalling the Syllabus topics of Paper 2, some topics that t in here are:

Land tenure system – can lead to a rise in capitalistic farming and bullock cart
capitalists, as land hitherto unutilized due to lack of water, can also be brought
under cultivation.

Tribal communities – may lead to their displacement, alienation, loss of tribal way
of life, ecological imperialism.

Agrarian class, caste system – large farmers, most of whom are from the dominant
castes, are more likely to bene t.

Middle class, social mobility – farmers bene ting from assured water availability
will rise to the middle class. Also, tourism, logistics and other such activities that
will see a boost due to the inter-linking of rivers, will see a class of small
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Family and marriage – case study on ‘water wives’.

Religious communities – religious ceremonies, which were performed in the river or

on the river banks, may face dif culty if the course of the river is diverted.

Rural development, poverty alleviation – self-explanatory.

Regionalism – inter-linking of rivers is a long duration project, and if the state

governments change, issues may arise. Past example of the Cauvery water dispute.

Peasants and farmers movements – may decline.

Environmental movements – may rise.

Migration – migration towards urban areas may decline as opportunities may come
up even in small towns and rural areas.

Environmental problems and sustainability – climate change in the future may raise
a question on the feasibility of this project.

Also, using the Sociological theories:

Structural-functionalism – the project will contribute to maintenance of social

equilibrium. This is because agriculture may become more remunerative and other
employment opportunities may also rise, thus preventing any protests or a
revolution.

Con ict – it will only perpetuate false class consciousness. All the bene ts will be
garnered by the in uential land-owning class and the urban bourgeoisie. Also, it
takes away the attention from the other structural issues like declining soil fertility,
over-use of fertilizers and pesticides, poor skill training opportunities, lack of
access to capital.

Please do not force- t any points. Not all Syllabus topics or Sociological theories
may apply to a particular question. Also, not all the points are equally important,
and the more important points should be written in the beginning, and in case of
space or time crunch, you can skip writing the less important points.
If needed, these standard frameworks from GS can also be used. But please use
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if the above three frameworks do not
seem to work.

5 Ws and 1 H – Who, What, When, Where, Why and How – not all of them may be
applicable, so choose only those that are relevant to the question
past, present and possible future
positives, negatives and possible improvements
structural issues, functional issues and their solutions
short-term, medium-term and long-term view
PESTEL (political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal)
issues
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)

Even for Sociology, I wrote all the answers in the Introduction – Body – Conclusion
format. And I wrote all the answers in the point format. Many prefer using the
paragraph format while writing the answers in the Optional papers. So please
choose whichever method suits you the best.

In the Introduction, I mostly de ned, using some Thinker, whatever the most
important term of the question was. Or I just rephrased the question statement in a
simpler manner.

The Body of the answer consisted of addressing each part of the question. For
every part, I wrote one line, explaining what that part is about, and then wrote
some 3-4 points addressing that part in detail. This format of one sentence, then 3-
4 points, then again one sentence, then again 3-4 points and so on, makes the
answer visually better than simply writing the whole answer in only points or only
paragraphs.

If the question did not seem to have any parts, I divided the question into parts
using either the Sociological frameworks or some of the GS frameworks that I have
already mentioned above.

Please do not force- t any of these formats in your answer. Instead, depending on
the question, see which one ts the best and use the same. You can also combine
two or more of these formats. And even if the question already has parts, you can
still use these formats to further write a more detailed answer. There is no standard
way of deciding which format ts which questions the best, and only by
experimenting while writing the Test Series can you get a fair idea about it. But do
please remember to add as much avour of Sociology as possible, in whatever you
write.
And I wrote a short and optimistic Conclusion, restricted to two or three sentences
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regarding the most important term
of the question.

In the exam, in the beginning, I quickly read all the questions and selected which
sets of questions I would be attempting. I tried to select those question sets where
I knew the 20 markers really well. And as far as possible, I tried to select those
questions which were based on the static portion. In the rst 90 minutes, I
answered all the 20 markers, and in the next 90 minutes, I answered all the 10
markers.

Thanks to big handwriting and good spacing, I also managed to ll all the pages. I
even lled all the four pages for all the 20 markers. I am not sure if this translates
into more marks, but lling all the pages does seem to give an impression that a lot
of content has been written.

I have already shared my Sociology Own Notes, Sociology Class Notebook and
checked Sociology Test Papers on:

My Telegram Channel – https://t.me/All_About_UPSC_CSE and

My Google Drive –
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dNQwXCJWWMvOD9NmZ6fs_yn9LF4-
33Hk?usp=sharing

If you cannot nd the PDFs of any of the above-mentioned material on the of cial
websites of those institutes, you can almost certainly nd them, free of cost, on the
Websites – https://freeupscmaterials.org/ or https://upscpdf.com/ or the Telegram
Channels – https://t.me/UpscMaterials or https://t.me/UPSC_PDF or
https://t.me/sociology_optional

The approach I used is neither the most perfect nor the most exhaustive one to
study for and write the Sociology Optional Papers of the UPSC CSE. Do please use
your own discretion, and if necessary, do please refer to some other sources and
strategies as well.

All the Best !

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