Thursday, May 10, 2012

Sociology Paper - 1




Here is how I approached Sociology paper-1. I began with the old edition of Haralambos. It is a fantastic book for understanding the subject and its scope. I did not read the book from cover to cover and confined myself strictly to the syllabus. This initiated me into the realm of sociology. I then moved on to IGNOU’s BA notes which are an extremely useful compilation of sociological knowledge. I also scanned through a few chapters of Giddens to get a hang of the subject. Before Prelims, I had made some notes for the first 3 chapters of paper 1 and had read some of the thinkers. I had by then acclimatized myself with the subject and also understood that the old edition of Haralambos was necessary but insufficient. After prelims, I started filling the gaps and expanding my notes….I began referring to the new updated version of Haralambos, internet, etc. (The topic-wise sources are given below). Though my notes were pretty extensive, I remained alive to the problems associated with inclusion of every topic in the notes. Therefore, at certain places, I left “flags” -  page nos. or references in my notes so that the topics best read whole from the book could be referred in a logical and sequential manner during revision – (For example, Talcott Parson’s pattern variables – to be read from new Haralambos, pg.xxx). The end result was that by the end of my preparation, I had a bunch of notes that could be revised in a single day – It consisted of my notes of around 200 pages, old and new Haralambos (for referred pages), and a couple of booklets of IGNOU BA (out of many). I must have revised this bunch 4-5 times. I must also emphasize the importance of keeping a copy of previous 10 years’ questions handy, along with the syllabus. I made sure that there wasn’t a question asked in previous 10 years that I couldn’t answer.



Here is what I could manage for Sociology Paper-1



1. Sociology - The Discipline:-------IGNOU BA, old NCERT, old Haralambos, internet

2. Sociology as Science:------old & new Haralambos

3. Research Methods and Analysis:-----New Haralambos, dictionary of sociology by WP Scott / oxford dictionary of sociology

4. Sociological Thinkers:--------Old & New Haralambos, some comparative analyses and remaining topics from IGNOU BA (only what is not covered by Haralambos)

5. Stratification and Mobility: Old Haralambos, IGNOU BA

6. Works and Economic Life: IGNOU BA, Giddens, internet.

7. Politics and Society: Old Haralambos, Giddens, IGNOU BA

8. Religion and Society: Old Haralambos, IGNOU BA, internet

9. Systems of Kinship: IGNOU BA, dictionaries, (minor portions from Giddens and Haralambos)

10. Social Change in Modern Society: IGNOU BA, previous years’ questions, internet

34 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the strategy and booklist for socio paper 1..could u plz tell me the difference between haralambos old &new(i had onl the new one-orange covered) and how u got acquainted to sociological thinking without any coaching or formal education in socio...Thanks in advance

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  2. Hi Prudhvi

    1. The old Haralambos was a smaller version (Haralambos and Heald I suppose orange cover, published by oxford). The new version is a 1000 page tome (Haralambos and Holborn if I remember correctly) - I had its photocopy bought from Jawahar Book Depot. The new version has many contemporary case studies and extra topics which are of relevance to the exam. But some topics are best read from the old version since you do not have much time by your side if you want to finish it off in two odd months.

    2. For initiation into the subject, NCERTs and Haralambos are good enough. I also watched a few videos of IGNOU uploaded on the net for some of the topics.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks a ton brother.....NCERTS---old or new ones?? which classes??

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  3. r u going to update for paper 2 also????

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  4. Excellent blog. Waiting for paper II.

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  5. Hi Kshitij,
    I am just starting sociology now.... How to do it 4 months... Hoping to clear prelimns this time??
    Please suugest a plan/books for speedy preparation.....

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    Replies
    1. Limit yourself to the sources I've mentioned, and revise them repeatedly/make notes. It is possible to do it in less than 4 months. All the best.

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    2. Thank you sir for your good suggestions. Few guys confusing us with lots of books(particularly Costlier and different and each topic wise). But I hope IGNOU and Old haralambos and internet usage is enough. But your point is clear to get good score. Thank you once again

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    3. I've also given new haralambos in my list (for some topics). You can buy its xerox which is available at many bookstores. In case you are not satisfied with a source for any topic due to some reason, come back to this blog and I shall try to sort it out for you.

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  6. Hi Sir,
    Please clarify that Harlambos you mention ....Is it authored by Harlambos and R Heald or is it Harlambos and Halborn since both have the same title of Sociological Themes and Perspectives ??

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    Replies
    1. Didnt read earlier queries...Thanks indeed Sir :)

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  7. Kshitij Sir, can you please post the topic wise booklist of Sociology - Paper II. I found whatever you wrote very helpful, I already had the materials which you suggested for Sociology but am finding it difficult to zero down the topics from the IGNOU BA and MA notes as they are quite vast. Thanks.

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  8. Sir, You mentioned that you read Haralambos not " from cover to cover and confined myself strictly to the syllabus". Plz explain me in details. Haralambos me se konse topics / chapters karne hai? aur konse nahi karne hai. Also I am confused with some of the topics. like Work and Economic Life, Politics and society which are mentioned in syllabus. Which chapters of haralambos covers these topics. Also Books has few chapters not explicitly mentioned in syllabus like Women, poverty, education. To which topics of syllabus do they correspond.

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  9. can you please provide notes of paper 2 also for socio.

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  10. Hi Kshitij,

    Congrats!!!! I would be grateful if you could suggest any coaching institute for sociology (Vajiram or Upendra).

    Regards,
    Akhil

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, no experience with coaching institutes - so can't comment on this.

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  11. Hi Kshitij,

    So exams are just around the corner and i was hoping if you could give me a few suggestions on how to write an answer for sociology. Basically in terms of case studies that have been cited in Haralambos and Heald which pertain to the western context and are quite outdated - for eg. Goldthorpe and Lockwood and STephen Hill's studies on the working class in Britain.
    I have not taken any coaching and so am at a loss if these studies can be cited.
    Thanks in anticipation! :)

    Radhika

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    Replies
    1. They are classic studies and can definitely be cited where necessary. You should also be aware of the studies that were later conducted, for example, the one which led to variations from observations of goldthorpe et al (these also given in new haralambos. As long as your answer is coherent, logical and supported by relevant case studies, you're doing fine.

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    2. Thankyou very much! And loads of good wishes for your time in the service :)

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  12. Hi Kshitij, seems like you have used UIAS notes, I have also bought them, but not sure how much they are useful, can you please comment how much of your preparation was through UIAS notes (printed or class) and their usefulness in general?

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    Replies
    1. stay away from them....I had left indicators in my notes so that i could refer to them at the end for some topics - but when I did in the end, they turned out to be pretty useless. (I had the printed ones). Some friends who've been selected recommended praveen kishore's notes - I haven't seen them - you wanna check them out too. But I could manage 146+147 which is a very modest score without any of these notes - may be some value add could fetch more marks, but then I didnt have the time

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    2. Thanks a lot, your help is much appreciated.

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  13. Sir,
    I belong to OBC creamy layer.how many chances are there for me?please tell me the code number of ALL sociology book of IGNOU THAT HELPS FOR IAS EXAM.
    advance thanks

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  14. Sir,
    I belong to OBC creamy layer.how many chances are there for me?please tell me the code number of ALL sociology book of IGNOU THAT HELPS FOR IAS EXAM.
    advance thanks

    ReplyDelete
  15. HI Kshitij,
    I am wondering about the notes on IGNOU sites. I dint't able to find out BA course syllabus for Sociology, but got only MA course pdf, can you guide me from where can i get this(if possible provide link).

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  16. Dear kshitij

    How is Sociology: An Integral Part of Preparation for Civil Services and Other Competitive Examinations. is it worth reading. please get back at the earliest.

    Regards
    Aliya

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  18. dear kshitij,

    your sociology notes for paper I were of immense help .i ve tried checking for sources for paper II in net.i ve read the ignou material. but every site has got different books, I ve gt the common books that is specified like y.singh, m n srinivas. but I don have clue of where to start it from. and I ve gt tons of cover in gs cause this is my first attempt at this.. it would be of much help if u suggest me a strategy to finish paper II as early as possible..

    regards,
    ramya

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  19. Hi,

    I just started with the old Harlambos.Can you please tell the specific Ignou BA material? They are like 11-16.Do all of them are relevant to the exam rest the essay?

    Thanks
    Keshav

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  20. hi kshitij,
    i want to inquire about how to approach in case of sociological thinkers and the books i should refer for that?

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  21. sir how thick is the old Haralombos. i haven't been able to find it. plese help me out.

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  22. Sir is ignou notes more than sufficient for sociology or should we go through the ignou ma notes ?

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    ReplyDelete