Rote Learning – The Roadblock on Your Path to Success in CSE

Imagine yourself as X

Given a choice between, studying and playing, X would always pick up playing. And when exams would ring the doorbell, with much difficulty, X would unlatch the door and then prepare for its arrival. Years passed by, and X would memorise the answers just before the exam and sail through.

While making his/her career choices, X's dad convinced to sit for the civil services examination. After going through the syllabus, X decided to start preparing for the same. As X had not just passed all the exams but had secured a rank in almost all of them, X was least bothered about failing CSE. All X wanted to do was memorise everything that he/she could, and everything else that he/she could lay his/her hands upon.

…and years passed by.

X could not even clear the first stage of the exam. There were times when X would take a peek into the prelims papers of the 90’s and think 'as to how easy the questions were'. Direct and no-brainer, at times. And still, X could not let go off his/her tendency to memorise the way he/she had always. It was difficult to break off. One day, X gave up feeling dejected, demoralized and defeated – the three D’s that can kill a life!

What do you think X was doing wrong?

Was it him/her? Was it his/her style of studying? Or was it the question papers of all those years when X sat to write the exam?

I will tell you – Rote learning, mindlessly reciting information – sort of a quick-fix solution to learning.

For some, math is never a process of logical discovery and thoughtful exploration, but a call-and-response game. Trigonometry and geometry are just a collection of non-rhyming lyrics to the dumbest sing-along song ever. Is the sine of π/2 really worth memorizing? Nah!

Many of us make a mistake of memorizing things even without having the faintest of ideas behind its very existence. To learn anything in isolation is like rote learning a sentence, “The rivers are dying”, without understanding if rivers can even die in the first place or why are they dying exactly – no reasoning at all.

This is what rote learning does to your personality – you know a way but you don’t learn, you know an answer but you don’t understand. How will you then be able to run a government institution or serve the society?

Knowledge matters, hands down! A head full of facts is better than an empty one. But is there really any logic attached?

No, I am not downplaying factual knowledge at all. As future civil servants, we must learn to reason critically with proper information. But one must understand that memorized knowledge isn't half as useful as the knowledge that's actually understood. And more than any other battleground, this conflict plays out at all the stages of CSE.

All of this begs the question: Do you want to succeed in the CSE by being your own slave and tolerating the regular "drill and kill" routine? Or you have what it takes to leave out your procrastination to understand and learn? To defeat the love that you harbour for rote learning?

Break the cycle – Defeat the 3 D’s

Some reality check!

ILP Plan is designed taking care of judicious coverage of the given syllabus. This is the least we could manage to effectively cover the portions. We have been consistently trying to provide quality assistance from our side. How far have you been able to reciprocate with it?

Case 1- Those who have joined ILP from Day 1

You have been doing everything of the plan since its inception. Introspect on below points and ask yourself

• Are the past current affairs covered through DNA, AIR and RSTV issues in your command? How many of them? Check your productivity, not coverage.
• How many times you wrote or practised the Mains questions or Essay?
• Have you tried reviewing others answers?
• Have you got command on Mains SET 1 and SET 2 portions and have done a thorough reading of Mains synopsis or tried clearing concepts through them?
• Till now 6 Prelims Tests have been conducted covering around 600 questions and more than triple concepts- Are you having strong command on all of them? Are all the concepts that you learnt through ILP Tests in your command?

Or you still contemplating that content provided in Babapedia/ILP Tests and other initiatives are not enough and won't be good enough to crack this exam?

Or you still busy doing something else in the name of personal satisfaction. But mind you, the same happened with many aspirants in past and they are still to understand the reason behind their failure.

Remember, you are part of this platform for some reason. Rejuvenate your faith to improve your learning curve and be different. Don't find yourself in the state of delusion over and over again because TIME won't stop for you.

Case 2- Those who have joined ILP recently

UPSC won't lessen the syllabus or allow some relief at any cost. The syllabus, format and other things remain the same for you.

Real competition is not with the availability of less time but determined effort. Those who have joined from Day 1 don't stand a chance just because of this distinction. If your determination is strong, this pressure will provide an extra push for you to give fierce competition to others who are still in a dream world thinking, they have all the time!

To succeed in CSE, one must be able to stop procrastinating and unlearn the habit of rote learning. There needs to be true learning from your end – not just understanding, but internalizing.

Comprehend and Recall: Treat your study material like a storybook, i.e., try to comprehend everything that you read. Read not just sentences, but gain an understanding of the overall topic. After studying, try recalling it at various intervals of time. The more you are able to recall, the more you have understood. And if you are not able to recall anything, instead of demotivating yourself, go back and revise the topic again.

Awareness: Be aware of whatever you are reading. Try to attach importance to the concepts and link them with things that you are already aware of. Connecting and integrating things with the knowledge that you have is the best way ahead.

Use your own words: In this examination, it is not about producing the very same paragraph of the editorial from Hindu. It is more about how well you are able to relate that paragraph with your understanding of the concept, and craft an answer that deserves nothing but a thumbs up. Using your own words after comprehending, recalling and relating – will help you learn the art of writing as well as sharpen your analytical skills, which is very much expected out of a civil servant.

Test yourself: Testing is a great learning strategy, as the more you struggle and take it up as a challenge, the more will it lead to a long-term learning.

Are you ready to break the habit of rote learning? Do you really deserve to be tested in deeper conceptual things? Can you really afford to apply your knowledge in the development of a better society?

So, question – innovate – problem-solve. 

After all, there is no one right answer – there could be multiple solutions and it might turn out that one of your ideas as a civil servant might lead to a better India!