History MCQs for UPSC Preparation: Tips and Techniques To Do Well in Your History MCQs for UPSC Prelims

The Indian history and culture are considered to be a massive piece of the upcoming UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2021. A considerable portion of the complete MCQ’s posed in General Studies Paper I for UPSC examination come from Indian History. So, what are some awesome guessing techniques in MCQ questions of UPSC prelims?

Firstly,

Indian history is divided into three parts. They are:

1. Ancient India.
2. Medieval India.
3. Modern India.

Reference Books for Indian History

1. India’s Ancient Past – R.S. Sharma
2. History of Medieval India – Satish Chandra
3. India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
4. A Brief History of Modern India – Spectrum
5. History of Modern India – Bipan Chandra.

Few UPSC MCQ Technique to Follow

1. Elimination Technique

The process of elimination is a technique to distinguish a choice of interest among various decisions. It involves barring the unfamiliar alternatives depending upon your knowledge. With elimination, you can attempt a larger portion of the questions, whether you have ever known about it or not. This technique is great to be used for clearing NCERT MCQ for UPSC.

2. Extra Detailing Technique

After analyzing thousands of MCQs, one can figure out a pattern of the language used in the correct answers.

If any authoritative terms like ‘100%’, ‘0%’, ‘always’, ’absolute’, ‘never’— appear in the option, it’s more likely to be incorrect.

Following a similar approach, if the options or questions have terms like; ‘rarely’, ‘can be’, ‘maybe’,’ may not be’, ‘shall be’, ‘more often than not’, ‘most of the time’, then it’s more likely to be true.

The above method is particularly useful for Humanity subjects like Geography, Economics, Polity, History, etc.

3. Facing “All of the Above” and “None of the Above”

At least 20-40% of the questions have ‘all of the above’ (AOA) or ‘none of the above’ (NOA) options. Empirically, in both cases, the chances of those options being correct are 25% only.

This technique is used on the off chance that you haven’t attempted enough questions, or when the question qualifies the technique because of its trouble level.

UPSC MCQ Tips

1. Keep a calm state of mind.
2. Keep a uniform speed.
3. Read the questions cautiously.
4. Learn shortcuts.
5. Try not to sit around perusing the entire inquiry paper.
6. Become familiar with the art of elimination.
7. Have a decent handle on the subjects.

Important Focus Areas to Prepare for Excelling in History MCQ for UPSC

As mentioned earlier, Indian History is divided into three parts. Further, we will discuss important areas to focus on with respect to every part:

1. Ancient History

Ancient history is divided into 4 parts namely:

• • Prehistoric Period: Ancient Age alludes to the time where there was no writing and advancement. It comprises five periods – Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Iron Age. It is one of the significant subjects under Ancient Indian History for the UPSC Exam.
  • Indus Valley Civilization: Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) prospered around 2500 BC, which is regularly called the period of developed IVC. It shapes the foundation of India as it is one of the significant civic establishments of the world. As it is a significant subject for the UPSC Exam, students should concentrate on various topics like important sites related to it and the reasons that led to its decline.
  • Vedic Period: The Vedic Age was between 1500 BC and 600 BC. The Vedas lived in this period and this gives the current age its name. The Vedas are likewise the central wellspring of information about this period.
• Kingdoms and Empires of Ancient India: Ancient Indian kingdoms and rulers are an important area for the UPSC exam. One should learn about the name of the ruler, his realm, his significant changes, and their commitment to the general public, workmanship, culture and so on  UPSC has posed loads of inquiry from the Mauryan and Gupta rule.

2. Medieval History

Medieval History begins from the mid-eighth century to the start of the eighteenth century AD. The questions based on Medieval History are different from Ancient and Modern History. From 2011, UPSC has posted just 1-4 questions from this territory. Nonetheless, we can’t be neglecting this section along with the trend. Religious movements, rulers and their reign, Art and Architecture are three main topics to cover in this section.

3. Modern India

As per the current scenario, there are heaps of questions asked from this section. Aspirants should concentrate on the freedom struggle and independence area. We can divide the “Modern India” section into various parts which will make it easy to study.

1. The emergence of the foreign rulers in India.
2. East India Company and related events.
3. Takeovers and resistances.
4. Economic policies during the British era.
5. Freedom struggle and independence

Conclusion

The history topics discussed above are some of the most frequently asked topics for history in the UPSC Prelims. In the above discussion, we went through some of the beneficial tips and techniques to use in the UPSC Prelims. These MCQ tips and techniques are also useful to be applied for polity MCQ for UPSC and geography MCQ for UPSC.

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