A short guide to this bundle
Anthropology is a favourite optional among candidates who like a compact syllabus and the freedom to write with diagrams and field examples. Here you get three archived papers from the Civil Services Main Examination: the first paper for 2010, the second paper for 2010 and the first paper for 2009. All are bilingual, with English and Hindi appearing together.
The files at a glance
| File | Content | Size note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leading paper of the series | Page count not reported |
| 2 | Companion paper | 8 pages |
| 3 | Companion paper | 6 pages, the largest of the three |
As with the other series on this site, the first file is the leading page and the rest follow in grouped order.
How the optional is organised
Paper I of the subject deals with the foundations: human evolution, primate studies, social and cultural anthropology, theory, methods and the study of archaeological and biological variation. Paper II turns to Indian anthropology, covering tribal society, caste, village studies, and policy issues linked to scheduled and tribal populations. Seeing both across two years shows how the examiner moves between theory and applied Indian context.
Putting the papers to work
- Underline every thinker, concept or case study that appears, then check how many are already in your notes.
- Rewrite two questions in your own words as a shorter, sharper prompt to test whether you understood the demand.
- Add a map or sketch to an answer to see how it changes the look of a page.
- Time yourself: the question paper gives you only a few minutes of thinking before pen needs to touch the sheet.
Who might skip it
If you have no background in the social or life sciences, expect extra weeks for terms and theory before the papers feel readable. That is not a reason to avoid the subject, but plan your first month around reading rather than writing.
What is missing
No answer keys or marking guidance come with these scans, so use the standard textbooks of the subject to verify your responses.
Writing style that scores
Anthropology answers are best when they name a thinker, define a concept in a line, and then apply it to an Indian tribe, village or institution. Use these three papers to collect such pairings, and keep them in a quick-revision sheet that you can read in the last week before the examination.
Printed route
Printed anthropology notes and previous year question books are listed under the optional section of the Competer store for those who prefer paper.
