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Applying logic in UPSC General

Studies Prelims
No, the heading of the post is not incorrect. You may think that logic
is to be used in paper 2 (informally CSAT) and not in general
studies. However, we can and we must use logic in general studies
prelims paper as well. Given the vastness of UPSC syllabus, its just
not possible to cover everything. Nevertheless basics can be covered
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and then we can apply logic to answer what may seem a

difficult/advanced question.
What I call logic here, is essentially a composition of three
techniques
1. Applying basic knowledge to solve advanced/difficult questions
2. Avoiding extremeties
3. Calculated guess and risk
Lets try to understand these by taking examples from actual UPSC
paper.

1. Applying basic knowledge to solve advanced/difficult questions

When you come across a question that may seem difficult or is from
a topic/area that you have not covered, NEVER EVER think that you
wont be able to answer it. Most people, however do exactly this. If
they had left any topic and a question comes up from that , they
already have formed an opinion that they wont be able to answer it
and in most cases skip the question without reading/trying it.
For e.g consider that you have not read in detail about animals
found in India. This question then comes up. Its from UPSC prelims
2012
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Consider the following:

1. Black necked crane
2. Cheetah
3. Flying squirrel
4. Snow leopard
Which of the above are naturally found in India?
a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 1, 3 and 4 only
c) 2 and 4 only
d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Now, you havent even heard of animals like black necked crane or
flying squirrel. So, you thought you dont have enough knowledge
about these and it will be better to skip it. But read the options
properly. Now, cheetah is not found naturally in India and this fact
is something which you might be knowing even if you have not read
animals in detail. So, if you just eliminate cheetah, statement 2 that
is you get only one option remaining and that has to be the
answer.
Actually, UPSC just wanted to test your basic knowledge that
whether you know about cheetah being not found naturally in India
or not. It just made the questionm a bit complex to scare you. So,
the advanced and difficult looking question was infact just a basic
and easy one.
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Another one, again from UPSC prelism 2012

Lead, ingested or inhaled, is a health hazard. After the addition of
lead to petrol has been banned, what still are the sources of lead
poisoning?
1. Smelting units
2. Pens and pencils
3. Paints
4. Hair oils and cosmetics
select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 1 and 3 only
c) 2 and 4 only
d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Now you are no chemistry expert and have no idea where all lead is
used and therefore decides to skip the question. But wait, UPSC is
not looking for a chemical expert either. The question itself states
that lead has been banned from use in petrol as its toxic. So now
just think if that is the case, will lead be allowed to be used in pens
and pencils which are used by children and most of them put it in
their mouth? So, eliminate statement 2 about pens and pencils and
there you get your answer.

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Okay, another example again from chemistry. This is from UPSC

prelims 2013
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Due to improper/indiscriminate disposal of old and used computers

or their parts, which of the following are released into the
environment as e-waste?
1. Beryllium
2. Cadmium
3. Chromium
4. Heptachlor
5. Mercury
6. Lead
7. Plutonium
Select the correct answer using codes given below.
a) 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 only
b) 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 only
c) 2, 4, 5 and 7 only
d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
OMG. Such a long question with so many elements, better leave
this. But again, just apply some common knowledge. Plutonium is a
radioactive element used for nuclear purposes. Will that be used in
computers? No, never and there you get your answer by eliminating
plutonium
The technique here again is eliminating options on the basic
knowledge we have.

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Lets take another example from UPSC prelims 2012

If there were no phenomenon of capillarity
1. it would be difficult to use a kerosene lamp
2. one would not be able to use a straw to consume a soft drink
3. the blotting paper would paper would fail to function
4. the big trees that we see around would not have grown on the
earth
Which of the following statements given above are correct?
a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 1, 3 and 4 only
c) 2 and 4 only
d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Read statement 2 again. Now, even if capillarity was non-existent,
we could still use a straw to drink isnt it. So, statement 2 has to be
incorrect, and that also helps us give our answer.
Remember, most of time if a question is complex, UPSC itself will
give you enough hints to get to the answer. The point is are you
smart enough to deduce that hint.

2. Avoiding extremities

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UPSC seeks a candidate with balanced thought, right? Many times,

UPSC gives such extreme statements in its question which cannot
be true. You need to find this out which can immensely help you in
answering the question. Statements with all, only, completelt etc are
in most cases incorrect. I am saying most cases and not always.
Lets try to understand this through examples. This is from UPSC
2011 prelims
At present , scientists can determine the arrangement or relative
positions of genes or DNA sequences on a chromosome. How does
this knowledge benefit us ?
1. It is possible to know the pedigree of livestock.
2. It is possible to understand the causes of all human diseases.
3. It is possible to develop disease-resistant animal breeds.
Which of the statements give above is/are correct ?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1,2, and 3
Read statement 2 again It is possible to understand the causes of
all human diseases. ALL human dieseas. Is that possible. Does your
rational mind allows you to say that this statement can be correct.
Its not possible, statement is incorrect, eliminate 2 and you get your
answer.
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So, you see again UPSC gave you enough hint for a complex
question.
Okay, now a question on history from UPSC 2013 prelims
The Chinese traveller Yuan Chwang (Hiuen Tsang) who visited India
recorded the general conditions and culture of India at that time. In
this context, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. The roads and river-routes were completely immune from
robbery.
2. As regards punishment for offences, ordeals by fire, water and
poison were the instruments for determining the innocence or guilt
of a person.
3. The tradesmen had to pay duties at ferries and barrier stations.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
So, you left ancient history as it was too much to cover and UPSC
asked you some in depth question from it. You thought of skipping
it. But for a moment just read statement 1 The roads and riverroutes were completely immune from robbery. COMPLETELY
IMMUNE ? Again is that possible? As an UPSC aspirant you need to
avoid extrmities, so things like completely, fully, all does not hold
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good for you. Even the most peaceful countries of Europe does not
have anything like completely immune from crime places. So this is
incorrect, eliminate statement 1 and get your answer.

3. Calculated guess

This is just a further step of technique 1 and 2. Many time you

wont be able to eliminate 3 options, but only 2. You may then need
to put a calculated guess.
For instance, consider this from UPSC 2012 prelims
What are the reasons for the peoples resistance to the introduction
of BT brinjal in India?
1. BT brinjal has been created by inserting a gene from a soil fungus
into its genome.
2. the seeds of BT brinjal are terminator seeds and therefore, the
farmers have to buy the
seeds before every season from the seed companies.
3. there is an apprehension that the consumption of BT brinjal may
have adverse impact on health.
4. there is some concern that the introduction of BT brinjal may
have adverse effect on the biodiversity.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
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a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 3 and 4 only
d) 1,2,3 and 4
BT is related with bacteria and must be known to you. So you can
eliminate statement 1. But still you have two options left. C has
more chances of being correct as you might have read about GM
crops causing loss to biodiversity. So, as you can see, you did not
get exact answer, but you came closer. You now only had two
options, and can go on to take a calculated guess.
Lets take another example. This is from UPSC 2013 prelims.
With reference to the usefulness of the by-products of sugar
industry, which of the following statements is / are correct?
1.Bagasse can be used as biomass fuel for the generation of
energy.
2. Molasses can be used as one of the feedstocks for the production
of synthetic chemical fertilizers.
3. Molasses can be used for the production of ethanol.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
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Now you may not have much information about these, but you can
sense that its related to biofuels and organic products. So, from
where would synthetic fertilizer crop up here in statement 2.
Therefore, statement 2 is false that is certain. This eliminates two
options. You can then take a guess and your knowledge will tell you
to guess for c) 1 and 3 which is the correct answer.
Another one
With reference to stem cells, frequently in the news which of the
following statements is/are correct?
1. Stem cells can be derived from mammals only.
2. Stem cells can be used for screening new drugs.
3. Stem cells can be used for medical therapies.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Again following the technique of avoiding extremities, you can
eliminate statement 1- Stem cells can be derived from mammals
only. Still you have two options left and can put up a guess. Most
people will mark b and that is the correct answer.

Now, after knowing all these techniques, can you answer the
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following question from our GS Prelims Mock Test Series 2015

Moderator is used in which of the following type of nuclear
reactor?
1. Pressurized water reactor
2. Fast breeder reactor
3. Boiling water reactor
4. Heavy water reactor
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
a) 1, 2 and 3 only
b) 1 ,3 and 4 only
c) 2 ,3 and 4 only
d) 1 ,2, and 4 only
All you needed to know was that fast breeder reactors are called
fast because they do not used slowed down neutrons. So no
moderator there. Even if you had no knowledge about other types
of reactor, you can still answer this by using the techniques
described above

Caution

However, you need to be careful and please do not depend overtly

and exclusively on these techniques. This is to be used only as a
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supplement and not as the main tool to answer questions. Read

more, broaden your knowledge base, develop conceptual clarity as
much as you can. These techniques will then become more and more
useful.
The main point of this post was to give you hope that even though
the syllabus seems huge, you can cover it by just covering the basic
aspects, developing conceptual clarity and then using
few techniques like these.

However, as I said, beware of its drawbacks and do not over use it.
Your first choice for answering the questions should be knowledge
and not these techniques. Take this question from our GS Prelims
Mock test Series 2015 and see how this technique fails totally
With reference to stem cells, consider the following statements:
1. Stem cells are found only in multi-cellular organism.
2. Placenta is a rich source of stem cell.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
You may eliminate statement 1 because of the word only and since
you may be avoiding extremities, but the fact is that statement 1 is
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correct.

As I always say, there are no shortcuts. You need to work regularly

and work hard enough. However, things are not as difficult as it
may seem. Syllabus is not as huge as it may appear. Questions are
not as tough as they may seem at first reading. Just combine your
hard work of gathering knowledge with some smart techniques
given above, and you will easily sail through prelims.

Please read these two important articles about UPSC prelims

preparation
1. How UPSC asks current affairs in GS Prelims
2. How to practice prelims MCQs for UPSC
Self Study IASs GS Prelims Mock Test Series 2015 ( 10 full length
mock tests @ RS 500 only). For details, click HERE.
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This entry was posted on May 25, 2015

11 Comments

selfstudyias

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IAmRC1

a month ago

This post gave me a good feeling just before the JUDGEMENT DAY

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Chetan

a month ago

Really Awesome...U have just bowled me ;)

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Upendra Singh

2 months ago

maza aa gayo

drt

Reply Share

2 months ago

nice

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Neeraj Yadav

2 months ago

fantasting ...amazing ....nyc work ..overwhelmed by ur work ...

Dc

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4 months ago

superb article...although i am using some of the above techniques already..but it was comprehensive info. here.
thanks :)

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Chandan kr Roy

4 months ago

HEY MAN , U R GETTING INTO MY NERVES NOW.

REALLY BRILLIANT WALKTHROUGH. I MUST TRY THIS. AS YOU SAID WITH CAUTION. ALTHOUGH I AM DOING
GOOD WITH THE 2ND POINT OF EXTREMES.
.
THANKYOU
BTW YOUR TEST PAPERS ARE GOOD. HOPE TO SEE THE MAINTAINED QUALITY
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Seeker

4 months ago

thank u so much!!!

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Sri charan Das Goswami

4 months ago

Really smart article..........:)

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Rajesh

4 months ago

Great one.

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Jimboomba

4 months ago

Superb Article

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s.kavitha When economy has slower growth rate(i.e

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production slows down =less tax collection)

true that All recognized

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