How to Read NCERT Geography Books for IAS Preparation

We all know that NCERT books are the holy book when it comes to preparing for UPSC Civil Services examination. It contains valuable information in the most simplest form. What I personally like about NCERT books is it's simplicity, in terms of language and words. It is easy to comprehend and one can quickly understand the gist of the matter in one reading. 

Now, there are some methods I want you to follow in order to successfully understand what you are reading. I get emails from aspirants regarding what to read and what not to read. And i totally understand, looking at the huge list of chapters that needs to be read is both visually as well as practically an exhausting task. 

So here I am going to share an easy method that you can try while reading Geography. You can do this with any subject, but right now I am going to cover Geography. A classic advice by any of the coaching institutes would be to start reading from class 6th NCERT, all the way till class 12th NCERT. Now that's a daunting task! 

So what I want you to first do is, have a list of all the NCERT Geography books from class 6 - 12 ready. Something like this:-

Class 6th – The Earth : Our Habitat

Class 7th – Our Environment
Class 8th – Resources & Development
Class 9th – Contemporary India I
Class 10th – Contemporary India II
Class 11th – Fundamentals of Physical Geography
Class 11th – India – Physical Environment
Class 12th – Fundamentals of Human Geography
Class 12th – India – People & Economy

Note:- Class 11th and 12th have two parts in Geography.

Once you have the books ready, find out how many chapters are there in each book. Then, write down the name of the chapters on a paper. You will notice a pattern, most of the chapters are repeating year after year. Try to stitch them together and read accordingly. This will make your reading so much easier. Your learning will be efficient, plus you will not feel demotivated looking at the huge syllabus.

Conclusion:- Instead of reading the NCERT Geography books class wise, read them topic wise. It will make your job so much easier. This method will increase your power of retention (i.e. ability to recollect easily) and help you build strong connections about an individual topic.

I hope you found this post informative. To help you boost your learning, I have a YouTube channel containing crisp and clear video lectures on NCERT Geography class 6 - 12. I want you to check it out and see how it supplements your learning.