Choosing an Optional for Mains in Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a critical task. With a share of 500 marks out of the total, the right choice of optional will enable you to achieve the success you desire.
The Common Parameters one looks into while Choosing an Optional Subject are:
- Whether the Subject has High Scoring Potential
- How Lengthy is the Syllabus
- How hard it is to Study
- Whether it is to your liking or not
The subject Sociology fulfills some of the above parameters. But, there are more reasons why you should select this subject as your optional. Here are the reasons why Sociology is one of the best optional subjects the toppers choose. here you can find the Sociology optional syllabus.
A High Scoring and Safe Optional
Sociology is a high scoring optional and at the same time a safe optional. Safe in the sense that you will get marks even if you write something relevant to the topic asked. A score of 180-200 is always possible with this optional. Also, a high score of 350+ is possible.
Popular Choice
The subject is popular among the IAS aspirants. Among the top ten rankers, you will find at least one candidate with the optional sociology. It is also performing consistently over the years. Other popular subjects like Public Administration and Geography are seeing high and low-performance years. They are becoming unreliable.
Easy Syllabus
Sociology is essentially about society. The way people play their roles, the consequences of their actions on the overall society, the various institutions of the society, the impact of government decisions on various communities etc are dealt with in the subject. Studying and understanding such issues is easy as they happen in our day-to-day lives. Even a person without prior knowledge in the subject can study it. Also, the subject is very interesting to study.
Limited Syllabus
Some of the optionals listed in the CSE syllabus have a lengthy syllabus. They are exhaustive. Unlike them, Sociology has a limited syllabus which you can cover in 3-4 months time. This is an advantage considering the amount of time required for studying general studies papers.
Helps in Essay Paper
The essay paper is the most dynamic paper among the mains papers. Cracking this paper needs an extra understanding of various aspects of the world and India. Sociology helps here. Be it women related issues or the impact of artificial intelligence on the society, sociology will enable you to provide diverse viewpoints.
Aids in General Studies Papers
In each paper of general studies, some elements of sociology are present. In GS paper I, the optional will help in answering questions related to Indian society, women issues and topics like social empowerment, communalism, socialism etc. Similarly, in GS paper II, development and management of social sectors, welfare schemes for vulnerable sections, NGOs, SHGs etc have some sociological connotation. In GS paper III, economic and ecological impacts on various sections of the society, spread of extremism etc can be answered. And many more concepts of Ethics paper can be answered with sociological knowledge.
Helps in the Interview
Awareness of various flaws of the society and the impact of governance on communities will come in handy during the interview. It will make you be grounded and be realistic in the interview round. Sociology will help you in having that knowledge.
Resources and Coaching
A tonne of resources for studying are available for Sociology. You only need to be wise to select those that are necessary for the IAS Exam. In the same breadth, coaching institutes for the subject are abundant. How to choose optional coaching subjects for Civil Services Examination? those that add value to your preparation.
Post Selection Advantage
As a civil servant, you will be dealing with diverse people. Each one’s circumstances vary and the solutions you provide should match it. Having read sociology, you will have a clear picture on your mind that there is no one-size fits all solution. You will be realistic in your approach and deliver better service.
To Conclude
In the end, you are the better judge of what your interest is and how you want to approach an optional paper. We can only say that 8 out of 10 times Sociology is a better optional choice.
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