Getting Started with PSIR Preparation – for UPSC-CSE and State PSCs

Congratulations on selecting PSIR (Political Science and International Relations) as your optional subject! Choosing PSIR is a certainly a rewarding decision, but it can also feel overwhelming at first. This article will walk you through how to get started with PSIR preparation in a structured, manageable way. By the end, you should have a clear roadmap to tackle PSIR with confidence.

The Right Mindset

Before jumping into books and notes, it’s crucial to adjust your mindset for a humanities subject like PSIR. There are certain mental shifts you’ll need to make – especially if you’re coming from a science or engineering background. (Believe me, I went through the same transition, having done my graduation in B.Tech!) Here’s what to keep in mind:

In science, you’re used to fundamental laws and principles that are universal. Once you grasp those, you can solve most problems by applying them. Humanities, on the other hand, deal with opinions and interpretations. There are no laws that everyone agrees on. What Plato says about justice is completely different from Aristotle’s view, which in turn differs from what Gandhi would say about it. Theories and ideas conflict with each other and you must be open to studying multiple viewpoints on the same issue without expecting one “correct” answer.

Further, because thinkers have varied opinions, you might encounter ideas that clash with your own beliefs. The key is to understand each scholar’s perspective, the way that thinker told it. You can form your own opinion later, once you’ve grasped all sides of an argument. (In fact, developing your own reasoned viewpoint is important in PSIR – it shows you truly understood the concepts. Just remember to present it in exam without sounding too biased or insensitive.)

In technical subjects, one thorough reading might be enough when you’ve understood the core concepts – after that, practice is mainly about applying formulas or logic. In PSIR, however, repeated readings and revisions are your best friends. The first time you read, everything is new. By the time you come back for a second reading, you’ll start noticing connections you did not catch before. Each iteration deepens your understanding. In you second or third reading, something that initially felt confusing suddenly clicks. So, don’t try to master everything in one go. It’s neither possible nor necessary. Embrace the idea that you’ll revisit the material multiple times, and each pass will make things clearer. This takes patience, but it pays off.

Starting PSIR can feel like learning a new language. In the beginning, the terminology (sovereignty, realism, socialism, hegemony, etc.), the names of scholars, and the concepts will come at you fast. Don’t panic! Every expert in PSIR was once a beginner grappling with unfamiliar terms. As with any language, immersion and repetition will build your fluency. The more time you spend with the subject – reading, thinking, discussing – the more those strange words and ideas will become part of your vocabulary. Give yourself that time.

Unlike solving a math problem, understanding PSIR isn’t just an on-paper exercise. A lot of it happens in your mind between study sessions. Make it a habit to reflect on what you learn. Did a particular theory or idea strike you as interesting or odd? Ponder it when you’re walking, or discuss it with a friend or fellow aspirant. For example, after learning about the concept of liberalism, you might think about how it plays out in today’s society or politics. Such contemplation will deepen your understanding and also make the subject more personal and engaging.

Finally, remember that humanities subjects like PSIR are not purely objective. There isn’t a fixed answer key you can memorize for every question. Instead, success in PSIR comes from how well you can analyse and present arguments. You should know what various scholars said (yes, some memorization of key names/works is needed), but in the exam you’ll often be combining that knowledge with your own reasoning to frame an answer. It’s a bit of an art form. The bottom line is: be prepared to think for yourself. Unlike a physics question, a PSIR answer can’t be copied from a single source; it has to be assembled through understanding.

Interestingly, all of these differences actually arise from a single fundamental fact. Natural sciences like physics and chemistry and even biology, deal with dead matter which obeys laws of nature. Humanities on the other hand, deal with humans, their world views etc. The human thinking, although affected by surrounding, has an element of ‘freedom’ in it. This is the reason there is so much variety and that’s the whole reasons ‘humanities’ and ‘sciences’ are so different from each other.  Which one is better, that’s for you to judge.

With the right mindset in place, let’s talk about the practical process of covering the PSIR syllabus. We’ll do this in four readings (or iterations), each with a different purpose and approach. This will also parallel with iterations of answer writing.

First Reading: The Rapid Overview (2–3 weeks)

Your first reading of the PSIR syllabus should be a quick, bird’s-eye tour of the material. The goal here is not to grasp every detail, but to get a broad sense of what the subject covers. If you have a compiled a set of notes or if you are referring our PSIR notes, skim through the entire content once. Our PSIR Notes are comprehensive and are also arranged in easy to understand language.

Aim to finish this initial reading in about 15–20 days (roughly 2–3 weeks). You’re not memorizing or taking detailed notes yet – you’re just acquainting yourself with the territory.

In this stage, you will definitely encounter concepts that confuse you or terms you’ve never heard before. Resist the urge to stop and research every little thing. The idea is to keep momentum and complete the syllabus overview quickly. Even if you feel you understood only 20-30% of what you read, that’s sufficient for now. However, after reading a particular topic, you can try to extract the general idea or theme of it. You might not remember all the specifics, but you’ll know what the topic is.

Because the first reading has a tight timeline, set daily targets. For instance, if you have ~1000 pages to cover in 20 days (our notes have around 950 pages), that’s about 50 pages a day. It’s better to finish slightly fast (say in 18 days) than to drag it out to 30+ days.

After this first reading, you might feel like, “I hardly remember anything!” – don’t worry, that’s normal. The important achievement is that you now have a map of the PSIR syllabus in your head. You’ve seen the broad topics, different ideas, names etc. and you kind of know what’s where. This will greatly help in the next phase.

And just to be clear, do not make your own detailed notes in the first round. However, if writing helps you concentrate, you can jot down key points/headings etc. on rough sheets of paper. The goal of this first stage is – to get an overview of entire PSIR subject and have a brief idea about entire syllabus.

Second Reading: In-Depth Study (3 months)

The second reading is where the real learning begins. Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the syllabus, it’s time to dive deeper into each topic and understand the content thoroughly. We recommend following approach for second reading – think of it as a standard operating procedure (SOP) that you should ritualistically follow.

This SOP consists of three stages i.e. PYQ → Read → PYQ

1] Start with PYQs for the topic

For each topic you’re about to study, first skim through the Previous Years’ Questions (PYQs) related to that topic. This might sound strange (“How can I answer questions before studying?”) – but the idea isn’t to answer them right now, it’s to orient your mind. By reading the questions you get a sense of what aspects of the topic are important and how your reading should be directed. (To read PYQs, you can either refer our PSIR Unsolved PYQ Book which or just refer topic-wise questions given in this post)

2] Read the topic in detail

After scanning the PYQs, read the chapter or notes on that topic slowly and thoroughly. This is not the skimming of first reading – now you want to grasp concepts, arguments, and examples. Take your time to understand definitions and arguments.

At this stage, it’s helpful to underline or highlight key points in your notes. By the end of reading the topic, you should be able to explain the main ideas of it to someone else in simple terms. Don’t worry about memorizing exact words – focus on understanding at this stage. Stick to one primary source and only supplement if absolutely required for understanding.

3] Revisit the PYQs and mentally answer them

Now that you’ve read the topic, go back to those past exam questions. Try to answer them in your head, or even better, outline an answer on paper. You don’t have to write full-length answers for every question at this point, but at least think through how you’d tackle it.

By doing this exercise, you reinforce what you just learned. If you find you can’t recall much for a question – you can quickly flip back and check that part. This step really ties your preparation to the exam’s demand, making sure you’re not just reading for the sake of it but reading with purpose.

If you’re not able to address some questions even on basis of notes at this stage, just mark those questions and move on. Don’t try to look out for additional material in search for answers to such questions. We’ll deal with it in 3^rd reading.

By following this “PYQ → Read → PYQ” cycle for each topic, you ensure that you remain focused on relevant material and practice application of knowledge right after acquiring it, which greatly improves retention.

We recommend 3 months (give or take 2 weeks) for second reading. While it may look overwhelming, it is doable if you break it down. For example, our PSIR notes total around 1000 pages and doing it in 90 days means doing about 11 pages / day. It should take around 2-2.5 hrs/day and is therefore practical.

During this second phase, you’ll notice your understanding growing significantly. Concepts that were blurry in the first reading will start making sense. You’ll also begin to see connections between topics – for example, something in International Relations might remind you of a concept in Political Theory. This is a great sign that your brain is synthesizing information.

The goal of second stage is to understand the complete PSIR subject. However, even after this stage, do not expect to recall everything. That will start coming 3^rd reading onwards.

Third Reading: Making Micro-Notes (3 months)

After completing a thorough second reading, you’ll move to the third reading, which is all about consolidation. By now, you’ve been through the entire syllabus twice, and your understanding is much better. The third iteration’s main purpose is to distil the vast content into concise, handy notes – micro-notes. These are ultra-short notes that capture the essence of each topic, and they will be gold for quick revisions later.

[We’ll give a brief of how do do this now. A comprehensive article on making short notes, along with illustration will be published later in this series of PSIR strategy articles.]

When you revisit each topic for the third time, challenge yourself to summarize it in a very compact form. These micro-notes should include: the core idea of the topic, names of important scholars (with a word or two on what they said), key terms or theories, and maybe 1-2 examples or case studies if applicable. Use bullet points, short phrases, diagrams, charts – whatever works for you. You’re not writing prose here, you’re creating memory triggers. Think of it as creating flashcards on paper (or you can actually make flashcards if you prefer!). The test of a good micro-note is that when you look at any bullet or keyword in it, it instantly reminds you of a larger discussion or explanation.

Micro-notes are for you, not for anyone else. So write them in a way that you understand. You can use shorthand, abbreviations, even quirky mnemonics.

Spending roughly another 3 months on the third reading and note-making is reasonable. We’re suggesting 3 months even to this stage since writing and thinking takes little bit of extra time.

Once you create these notes, they become your go-to for revision. You should be able to literally visualize or quickly recall a whole topic by looking at a one-page micro-note.

Making short notes is a game-changer. Not only does it help in quick revisions, but the act of creating the notes itself is a powerful revision. It forces you to actively engage and decide what’s important. By the end of this phase, you’ll have a much tighter grip on the syllabus and a handy stack of personal notes. You’re essentially building your own PSIR handbook.

Fourth Reading: Active Recall & Revision (1 month)

Now comes the fourth reading, which is less of a “reading” and more of a rapid revision. At this stage, you should have your micro-notes ready. The goal is to be able to go through the entire syllabus quickly, reinforcing your memory of key points. This is the phase where you cement everything in your long-term memory.

In this stage, use the micro-notes as your primary material. For each topic’s micro-note, go point by point and actively recall the corresponding explanation in your mind. If you hit a point that you cannot recall or you get stuck, that’s perfectly fine. It’s good to find that out now rather than in the exam! Simply refer back to your detailed notes or books for that specific point, refresh your understanding, and then try to recall it again later.

By the end of the fourth reading, you should feel a sense of mastery: you’ve seen the material multiple times, made sense of it, boiled it down to its essence, and you can recall most of it when prompted. The idea is that the core content of PSIR is now sitting in your brain, well-organized, ready to be written in answers.

Now that we’ve covered reading and revision, let’s talk about another critical aspect of optional preparation: answer writing. After all, no matter how much you study, in the exam it all boils down to how well you can articulate your knowledge on paper. Writing practice should go hand-in-hand with your readings (with a slight lag in the beginning, as you’ll see below).

Answer Writing Practice: Sharpening Your Skills

At the outset, it’s important to recognize that reading and writing are two different skills. In PSIR (and any optional), you must not only know the content but also express it effectively in answers. Many aspirants make the mistake of focusing solely on reading and underestimating answer practice until very late. Don’t do that! However, we also don’t recommend diving into writing from day one, especially not before you have any knowledge base.

In the initial rapid reading (the first 2-3 weeks), don’t worry about writing at all. You’re barely gathering what the subject is about, so attempting to answer questions now might be discouraging. Focus on understanding the broad strokes during this time. If you want, you can glance at a few question papers to satisfy your curiosity, but there’s no need to write answers yet. Give yourself the freedom in first reading to not produce output, only intake.

Once you begin the second reading (the detailed study phase), it’s the perfect time to start writing regularly. Aim to write one question-answer per day, on the topics you are covering. Since you’re reading topic by topic, a good strategy is: after finishing a topic’s study for the day (following the PYQ→Read→PYQ method), pick one of the PYQs you saw and actually write the answer.

You can take up to 20 minutes to write a single answer and then around 10-15 minutes to analyse it. Writing an answer daily might feel tough at first – you might struggle to recall points or articulate well – but that’s exactly why you practice now and not at the last minute. Over the weeks, you’ll notice your answers getting richer (more points, better flow) as your knowledge and writing skill grow together.

You can maintain a separate answer notebook for these practice answers. Treat it like a journal of your progress. The two articles linked below offer great starting points on how to approach UPSC answer writing and how to self-evaluate your answers:

• UPSC Mains Answer Writing – Tips and Framework
• Answer Writing Self-Evaluation Techniques

After you have done the 2^nd reading, you should attempt sectional  tests and full length tests. You can either enroll in PSIR Test Series or simulate on your own based on some old test series papers or PYQs. The focus here is to practice stringing together multiple answers back-to-back, as in the real exam.

Another word of caution, don’t wait to revise syllabus before giving tests. A common hesitation is “I’ll start writing tests only after I finish the whole syllabus/revision, otherwise I won’t score well.” Fight that impulse. It’s actually beneficial to take tests even if you haven’t revised everything. Treat tests as part of learning, not just evaluation. If a test comes up on a section you feel under-prepared in, give it anyway. In the exam, you won’t feel 100% prepared for every question either; you’ll have to think on your feet. So, starting from the third reading phase, adhere to a test schedule religiously. The sectional tests should be followed by full length tests.

We’ll also post detailed articles on doing answer writing, self evaluation, joining a test series etc. later in this series. For now, this is sufficient to get you started.

It is also wise to keep your writing schedule and reading schedule somewhat separate. They feed into each other, but they use different mental muscles. Reading is absorbing and understanding; writing is recalling and expressing. Both are crucial.

By the time you’ve gone through these phases, you will have transformed from a PSIR novice to someone who can think, discuss, and write about political science topics with ease. It’s a gradual process, and at times you might feel like you’re not making fast progress – but trust the process. Consistency and persistence are everything in this journey. Even if you study a few hours every day and write a little bit regularly, over months, that compounds into a huge reservoir of knowledge and skill.

Scheduling Everything

If you are Starting Fresh

Assuming that you are PSIR preparation now, from Mains 2026 perspective, we will recommend following schedule for studying PSIR.

If you notice, we’re also recommending to do various sections of PSIR in following sequence i.e. 1A, 2A, 2B and 1B. You can change it if you want, but you should start with section 1A since it forms base of entire PSIR.

Further, inside section 1A, you can start with topic 10 i.e. Western Political Thought, followed by topics 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 2 and 8, followed by topic 9. This sequence should be followed for 1^st and 2^nd reading.. third reading onwards, you can change it if you prefer.

If you have Studied PSIR before

If this is not your first year of preparation, and you’ve studied PSIR before, the given schedule may need little adjusting. In such case, you can either skip first and/or second stage of reading. You can immediately start with making micro notes and giving sectional tests. You should improve from this stage. Accordingly, you should do fifth revision as well, which will be similar to the fourth one.

However, if you still don’t feel confident, it’s recommended to start from 2^nd reading – detailed reading stage. Parallelly, you can can writing topic-wise questions 1-2 answers/day and then later plan for micro notes and sectional reading.

In any case, make a schedule and ensure that you follow it.

Conclusion

In future articles, we’ll dive deeper into aspects like fine-tuning your answer writing (structure, introduction/conclusion strategies, using scholars’ quotes, etc.) and doing self-evaluations to keep improving. But the schedule and approach discussed above are enough to get you started on the right track. Remember, every topper was once where you are now – the difference is that they kept going, kept learning, and kept refining their strategy. You can do the same.

If you have any queries or doubts, feel free to reach out or comment. We’re here to help and would be glad to clarify any part of the process. Good luck with your PSIR preparation!

Regards,
Abhijeet Pimparkar