UPSC Preparation: Anthropology optional tips by Ashish Kumar

              Ashish Kumar
              Rank 697
              Optional: Anthropology
       Scored the highest marks in Anthropology in CSE-2013: 244 (125+119)
 

1.      Why I chose Anthropology as an optional?

·         I’m a post-graduate in Zoology from University of Delhi.

·         Because of Biology background it become easy to understand one very important and marks fetching portion of Anthropology called as Physical/Biological Anthropology which incidentally also make-up about 25% of the syllabus.

·         So those candidates who have read Biology as a subject in graduation or those who are doctors can certainly consider Anthropology as an optional, although many engineers are doing reasonably well.

·         Further, I have a bit of interest in reading and learning about tribal issues (as I’m from Jharkhand which has a substantial tribal population) and the issues pertaining to Indian society (as Anthropology is close to Sociology but more scientific in approach).

·         Finally, I feel a good understanding of Anthropology helps in Essay paper.

2.      Recommended books or sources of study materials

·         Printed notes from Vaid sir as base and built upon that wherever it is necessary. For that matter, any notes can be taken, for example, Braintree, Srinivas, Reddy etc.

·         Basic recommended books:

a. Books by Nadeem Hasnain on Indian Anthropology and Tribal India

b.Ember and Ember for general understanding of Anthropology

c. P. Nath for Physical Anthropology

·         For both paper 1 and 2, I made short and crisp notes on areas like Archaeology and hominid fossils which are very probable areas of asking questions, and you must have conceptual clarity here.

·         The Physical Anthropology of paper 1 is marks fetching, therefore questions from this area must be attempted in examination. Make short notes on each sub-topics of this area.

·         Paper 2 has become dynamic for the last 2 years so keep watch on the current happenings in newspapers which are related to the topics in syllabus.

·         I also took help of internet for making short notes on various topics.

·         Annual reports published in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and other governmental reports concerning with the welfare of SC, ST and minorities should be looked upon once.

3.      Role of coaching

·         I had taken coaching at Vaid’s ICS by N.K. Vaid. But coaching has a limited role to play. Anthropology can be done without coaching too.

·         Real hard work and smart study has to be done by the aspirant.

·         Some portions of the Anthropology syllabus can be left untouched as probability of asking questions from them is very less. This saves your precious time and energy.

·         One should do answer writing practice. Here some guidance by any teacher or expert can be helpful.

4.      Problems faced during preparation

·         Keeping the motivation level high despite few failed attempts.

·         Very high cost of living in Delhi.

5.      Answer writing in Anthropology

·         All answers must have introduction and conclusion. These two things make your answer different from others. Conclusions should be something contemporary or optimistic.

·         Questions in Archaeology should be answered in four parts:

a.  Time period, Tools and technology

b. Regional variation

c.  Cultural advancements

d.                         Social life of humans living at that time period

·         Questions in human fossils should be answered in four parts:

a.  Meaning, time period, species

b. Anatomical features

c.  Cultural developments

d.                         Position in evolutionary line

·         Insert any current developments such as governmental programs or incidents into your answers if question has been asked from related topic from Anthropology syllabus. This will give you edge over others. This applies especially for paper 2. 

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