When you think about UPSC, you automatically think about History. Both UPSC and History go hand-in-hand. For this reason alone, History Optional Paper is one of the most popular choices out there. The portion for UPSC Prelims, UPSC Mains General Studies Paper, and UPSC History optional is almost the same. Choosing History is an easy option for many as the portion for Prelims and Mains does not change. The subject hype is high, and scoring becomes a little difficult. You need to devote time and effort to clear the Optional History Paper with flying colours. Aspirants of all undergraduate backgrounds have a solid chance of clearing the Optional Paper. You must be aware of what the subject entails before you commit yourself to this option.

The Advantages of History Optional Paper

• Interesting Subject: History is a very interesting subject. It leaves you with a constant feeling of ‘How?' or ‘Why?' something happened. You can never get bored with history as it gives us an account of who we are today. It talks about all the important events in the world and interestingly discusses them.
• Easy to Understand: The subject matter is very straightforward. There are no concepts, theories, or formulas. There are only facts. Detailed accounts of what, why, and how things happened. It is story time when it comes to History Optional preparation.
• Overlap with General Studies: The portion of this paper has a lot of overlap with the portion of General Studies in UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains. This overlap will make your preparation easier as it reduces the chunk of portion. Also, with appropriate knowledge of history, you can add a historical perspective to answers to other subjects. This will help you upgrade the level of your answers.
• Lots of Study Material: For this subject, you will find a lot of books ready to be picked up by aspirants like you. You do not have to go in search of different books.
• Helps in Essay Writing: When you study history, you automatically strengthen the most important part of essay writing, the historical perspective. Once you understand the history, the present becomes clear, and the future options become visible. This way, your essays will stand apart from those of the rest of the aspirants.

The Disadvantages of History Optional Paper

• Vast Syllabus: Even though studying history will help you with multiple papers, studying history is daunting. The syllabus content is large and will take a lot of time. You may not get a chance to prepare well for other subjects.
• Lack of Interest: The lack of interest in this subject will make it a very monotonous event. Your preparation excitement levels may drop completely.
• Memory Intensive: You have to remember as much as humanly possible correct factual data as you can. Adding relevant dates, events, and places to your answer will upgrade its level.

Tips For General Prep

These are tips for your overall preparation. Do not forget these pointers. They will be helpful to you. Follow these to prepare thoroughly.

• Start with NCERTs

  The biggest question while preparing for history is, “Where do I start?”. You start with History NCERT Class VI. This will help you understand the flow of events that took place. Once you have the time frame crystal clear in your mind, you can get into the specific details of the events for your prep.

• Make a Plan

  History is a vast subject. You must be able to keep a detailed track of what you have finished and what you are left with. To do that, you must divide history into sections. For example, Indian History is divided into ancient, medieval, and modern. Similarly, divide the subject into sections that make sense to you, and slowly conquer each section.

• Analyse Question Papers and Make Notes

  Firstly, read the books once. After your initial reading, go through the previous year's question papers and see the questions asked. It will give you an idea of what to prepare and how to prepare. For a vast subject like history, you cannot always go back to the textbooks to refer to or revise a topic; you must make notes! The notes must contain causes, features, importance, comments on any events (good or bad), impact, etc. This way, you can connect the dots in history.

• Compare Personalities

  You can make comparisons between different prominent personalities to understand world events better. This will also help you get a more clear picture of why things were happening in that period.

• Use Maps and Atlas

  You must use as many world physical and political maps of India as you can. Mark down the places where the events took place. This will help you visualise the ground reality of the situation better and help you remember the correct facts. Maps are also important from the exam perspective. The UPSC has asked a lot of questions about map work. Practise as many maps as you can to be able to answer all questions.

• Previous Year's Papers

  You must never forget to solve as many previous year's question papers as you can. You will get the official papers on the UPSC website. Solve all of them in a time-bound, exam-like condition. This is the way to prepare for any exam.

Books You Can Refer To For History Optional

Any good book on history can provide you with properly articulated information from the exam perspective. However, finding good books is a challenge. There are many books out there that claim to be the ‘best book for history.' We have mentioned all the books you must refer to for your history optional preparation.

• NCERTs of Classes VI to XII
• History of Modern India - Bipin Chandra
• India's Ancient Past - RS Sharma
• The Wonder That Was India - Al Basham
• Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas - Romila Thapar
• Medieval India: From Sultanate to Mughals (Part 1 and 2) - Satish Chandra
• History of the World - Arjun Dev
• Mastering Modern World History - Norman Lowe
• Indian Art and Culture - Nitin Singhania
• Historical Atlas of India
• A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From Stone Age to 12th Century - Upinder Singh

These books will be helpful for your prep. Read them thoroughly. Make sure you have taken notes. Remember to revise the notes regularly. Solve practice questions to prepare thoroughly.

Commonly Asked Questions

• Is History Optional Easy?

  The History Optional Paper is not difficult. However, the portion is very vast, which makes the preparation harder as you must remember many facts like places, names, dates, etc.

• How do you start the prep for the history optional paper?

  To start with your prep for history optional, go through the syllabus of the subject. The syllabus of the History Optional paper is everything in the NCERT of Classes VI to XII. Then, start with NCERT and follow the rest of the tips mentioned in the article.

• Is there any specific undergraduate background required to choose the History Optional Paper?

  The optional history paper requires no undergraduate background for your preparation. The subject matter is direct and easy to understand. That being said, aspirants with a degree in B.A. History or B.A. History (Hons.) definitely has an upper hand.

Conclusion

You need to put in a lot of time and dedication for the history optional paper. As easy as the subject is, the factual details of the subject require you to put in a tremendous amount of effort to clear the paper with flying colours. All the details have been mentioned. Make sure to prepare well and diligently follow the steps mentioned above. They will give you the confidence to score well. Your persistent dedication will define your results. Make yourself proud of your efforts. All the best for your preparation.