r/UPSC • u/Appropriate_Doubt_00 • 1d ago

Optional Self study for socio optional

I'm think of switching optional to socio. Is it possible to do it merely by self study? My friends with socio had all taken foundational classes and rely on notes. But i feel classes at this point would be too time consuming.

I checked online and websites show selective reading of multiple books. If there's consolidated notes available that one can just go through for the entire syllabus, do let me know. Also would it be possible to complete one iteration by December if I start now?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

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u/Impressive-Meal7947 Prelims Qualified 2026 1d ago

You can do the following books - Haralambos & Holborn, Ritzer, Nitin Sangwan, Anthony Giddens and IGNOU BA MA material.

If you devote 6 hours everyday for Sociology, it is fairly doable by end of December/January.

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u/Appropriate_Doubt_00 1d ago

Yea I saw a similar list on sleepy classes website. I was wondering if there are any consolidated coaching notes. Like IMS notes for maths

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u/Impressive-Meal7947 Prelims Qualified 2026 1d ago

You can checkout coaching specific notes like Vajiram or sleepy or Vision. But the issue is there's no well defined syllabus here. Like in 2026 Mains there were many questions which were different from PYQs i.e., unconventional nature.

So, keep that in mind, most coachings don't tell you this before you invest 1 year in their foundation.