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Strategy for ESE Objective and Conventional exams

23

Sunday

P K S AIR IES , AIR GATE ET

C
Tags
1200, 2012, 2013, 2014, books for ECE, conventional, Coomunication, E&T, EC, ECE, Electronics, Electronics &
Telecommunication Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Engineering, ESE, GATE, IES, Indian Engineering
Services, Kunal Srivastava, objective, Rank 1, Rank 44, subjective
ESE OBJECTIVE and CONVENTIONAL PAPERS
Since both papers have common syllabus so it is advisable to prepare for both together, one
subject at a time.
First categorise subjects as GATE and Non-GATE subjects and take one standard book per
subject. I have mentioned books I referred to during my preparation.
GATE Subjects must be focused upon most for technical section.
Booklist is mentioned below:
RANK 1 IES 2012
RANK 44 GATE 44

1.NETWORK THEORY
SADIKU (or) VALKENBURG + SCHAUMs SERIES

2. EDC
MILLMAN, HALIKAS + STREETMAN +SCHAUMs SERIES
.
3. ANALOG ELECTRONICS
MILLMAN, HALKIAS + SEDRA SMITH (or DONALD NEAMEN)+SCHAUMs SERIES

4. DIGITAL ELECTRONICS
MORRIS MANO

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5. EMT
SADIKU

6. SIGNALS & SYSTEMS

OPPENHEIM + SCHAUMs SERIES
..
7. COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
SIMON HAYKINS (or) BP LATHI + P SRI HARI (for Digital Modulation) + SCHAUMs SERIES
..
8. CONTROL SYSTEMS
BS MANKE + SCHAUMs SERIES
..
9. MICROPROCESSORS
R. GAONKAR
For non-GATE subjects, books are not recommended as the syllabus is selective and books are vast. Still some topics are
important, so the list is as follows:
10. MATERIAL SCIENCE
S.P. SETH
11. MEASUREMENTS
A.K. SAWHNEY
12. OPTICAL COMMUNICATION
SENIOR
13. SATELLITE COMMUNICATION
PRATT & BOSTIAN
14. COMPUTER ENGINEERING
STALLING
15. MICROWAVE ENGINEERING
SAMUEL L. LIAO
But I had mostly used dierent coaching institutes class notes for these non-GATE subjects available in market and
selected numericals from books.
All GATE subjects are core ones must not be ignored and prepared thoroughly for both Objective and Conventional.
Non-GATE subjects must be prepared for conventional. Focus more on important derivations and numerical questions
must be thoroughly studied. For example Microwave by Samuel Liao has many solved examples that come as it is in ESE
conventional. But for Objective papers too-much in depth knowledge may be required which may not be feasible in an 8
to 10 months preparation time, so it can be left out. Anyways, if conventional concepts are strong one can expect to

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score above average marks in Objective questions from these Non-GATE subjects.
How to prepare?
12 months of preparation for 12 hours of exam.
Go one subject at a time. Preferably start with GATE subjects. The order of the subjects which I felt most comfortable
with is the same as mentioned in the above list. Mark the relevant chapters/topics from syllabus. Read the theory rst
from book. Make point wise notes and mark the points you are not comfortable with. Read and solve solved examples
and objective questions rst from book. Then go for past years question banks of ESE, rst Objective then
Conventional. Mark the questions you are not comfortable with and whenever possible discuss with friends or teachers.
None of the notes available from various sources are comprehensive. Mostly they are made keeping view of past 5 years
questions. I have seen cases where after reading notes you can solve past years questions but not unseen questions. So
notes are not exhaustive. And if everybody is reading from same notes, where is your advantage? Remember that there
is no absolute cut-o. So, reading books is a much beer option.
Coaching classes are not absolutely required if you can prepare from books. Self developed style of answering adds
weightage to your answers and may even get bonus marks. But if you feel you must join any coaching institute, do not
always go by their published results. First enquire about the who is going to teach you. As many coaching institutes
falsely claim famous faculties. Also inquire about student-to-faculty ratio because if you dont get doubt sessions and
personal aention from faculty, then you are wasting your time and money. Also it is beer to have faculty who have
themselves cleared exams like GATE, ESE with good ranks because they are beer at understanding your doubts and
problems.
One subject after the other is the best strategy. Roughly, 3 to 4 weeks is sucient for any subject. Do not mix up. After
having nished one subject, make a short summary of your notes which must include marked points, marked
questions and any silly mistakes if done. This will serve as a ready-to-revise and time-saving content in the last phase
of preparation.
It is highly recommended to NOT study the whole book but selectively deal with topics.
About 6 to 7 hours dedicated to one technical subject per day, apart from 2 to 3 hours for GS + English, will suce in a
12 month preparation time.
It is not required to study all the time. But mind should be always with your notes and questions and doubts. Do not
doubt your doubts, they are always legit. A friends circle with like-minded aspirants where you can put your doubts
and discuss is highly recommended. Keep asking. If possible upload them on Facebook, we will be more than happy to
help if we could.
How to practice?
First nish books and solved examples.
Since objective papers lay more emphasis on speed than accuracy, so practise accordingly. 45 seconds per question
is sucient. Try nishing 120 questions within 1h 30minutes.
Conventional papers must be practised with good-writing on plain white sheets. In fact, choose one pen and use it
till exam for lasting grip. Write legit answers. Roughly 5 marks questions require th of space on one page surface
and in that proportion. Always write point wise.
Mark questions not answered and note them in your summary sheet.
Revision
Keep at least last 2 to 3 months for revision. First revise your entire notes and then revise only your short summary
prepared earlier. Textbooks should not have any role in revision. The more you revise, beer you get at recalling
concepts in the exam.
Now no need to see more practice question. Focus more on past years questions bank. Ideally, 10 or 15 years
questions bank is more than sucient.
Identify your strong and weak areas during preparation. Revise weak areas more than stronger ones.
It is highly recommended to join some test series to gauge your preparation. Treat it as real test. The more the
number of aspirants in a given test series, the beer you will realize where you stand. For example I consistently got
within top 5 in every test I gave at M.E.
Dos and Donts during exam
Read the instructions carefully.
Objective papers require more speed than accuracy. Limited number of calculated risks can be taken. While
aempting objective paper, turning pages for rough work will consume unnecessary time. Prefer doing rough work
with pencil on the side of the question and then if required with a red pen over the pencil. Do not encircle bubbles

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immediately. Mark answers in question paper with red pen for visibility and before the end of exam encircle
sequentially. Mark questions you think you can answer later. Try nishing all known answers in 1h30min (45 seconds
per question) keeping 20 minutes for aempting marked questions and 10 minutes for encircling. Do not look at
watch frequently.
Conventional papers require in-depth knowledge, style of presentation and relevant content in answering.
a) Write answers serially as per question numbers. Usually, 1st question is compulsory. Aempt all parts. Then read the
rest of questions and mark the questions you wish to aempt. No need to show calculations in detail or irrelevant
knowledge.
b) Write answers with question numbers sequentially. Random answering is annoying for the person who checks your
sheet.
c) It is always beer to write answers point wise. Draw neat diagrams, preferably with pencil, with proper labels.
Derivations or results if used must be mentioned. Draw a pencil line after every question to demarcate answers.
d) Rough work must be crossed out.
e) Try to make your answer sheet error free.
f) Make index on the front sheet with question and page numbers.
My marks were:
Paper

Marks

General Studies +English

117/200

Objective 1

112/200

Objective 2

111/200

Conventional 1

132/200

Conventional 2

122/200

Interview

122/200

Sum total

715/1200

Wishing you all the best.

KUNAL SRIVASTAVA
AIR 1 ESE 2012
AIR 44 GATE 2013.

Strategy for GS+English

23

Sunday

P K S AIR IES , AIR GATE ET

C
Tags
2012, 2013, 2014, books for ECE, Coomunication, E&T, EC, ECE, Electronics, Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering,
Electronics and Communication Engineering, Engineering, ESE, GATE, IES, Indian Engineering Services, Kunal Srivastava, Rank
1, Rank 44

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General Studies + English

In my opinion, this paper produces dierences in the nal rank because most people get too
busy while preparing for technical papers.
Scoring in this paper is easy if youve studied selectively as there is no syllabus dened here.
For GS part, divide the syllabus in contents like History, Polity, Geography, Economics, Life
Sciences and current aairs. First refer to the past 10 or 20 years question papers of ESE and
CDS exams of UPSC. Mark the topics mostly asked. For example History has nearly lost its
importance in ESE nowadays. But anyways refer to the standard books like NCERT of +2 level
and read only the topics asked. No need to study the whole book. After youve nished
selectively reading the textbook, keep on practicing these past years questions. Ultimately you
RANK 1 IES 2012
will memorise and form a paern of choosing the right option. If you wish more practice refer
RANK 44 GATE 44
to Lucents GS book containing only the past years questions of various competitive exams.
Even though current aairs is not important for ESE but you can read newspaper headlines
from front page, sports, and national and international sections. No need to make notes just read carefully once. The
Hindu is highly recommended. Else reading one magazine a month is more than sucient. I would suggest Frontline
magazine. One can read them online also.
English section must be focused upon more than GS section. For English part, more emphasis must be given on
grammar part like spoing errors, sentence & paragraph arrangements, word substitution and comprehension.
Antonyms and synonyms are not that important because if you cant recall exact words, then you cant take risks in
exam. I would suggest Hari Mohan Prasad book for competitive English. It is a complete book covering all the aspects
required in a very good fashion and large number of practice questions. Even questions come directly from there.
GS + English should be dealt on a daily basis because basically you have to memorise. So 2 to 3 hours a day is sucient in
7 to 8 months of preparation time.
Notes available on GS and English are not exhaustive. Beer read books and magazines.
100/200 is more than good. I was able to score 116/200.
Wishing you all the best
KUNAL SRIVASTAVA
AIR 1 ESE 2012, AIR 44 GATE 2013

Strategy for GATE exam by Kunal Srivastava

23

Sunday

P K S AIR IES , AIR GATE ET

C
Tags
2012, 2013, 2014, books for ECE, Coomunication, E&T, EC, ECE, Electronics, Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering,
Electronics and Communication Engineering, Engineering, ESE, GATE, IES, Indian Engineering Services, Kunal Srivastava, Rank
1, Rank 44
Since the syllabus for GATE and IES is common so it is advisable is to prepare for both exams comprehensively.
GATE
Gate questions are purely conceptual, test candidates on technical skills and numerical aptitude and in my opinion,
without strong concepts and good link-up of subjects, scoring good rank in GATE is impossible. GATE exam has now
opened doors for PSUs making it all the more competitive. Over 2,56,000 candidates appeared in GATE 2013 in
Electronics branch only.

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65 questions in 3 hours make it nearly 3 minutes per question. But if concepts are not clear even
this much of time is not sucient. So clearly more emphasis is on accuracy than on speed.
Large number of candidates gets caught in a very narrow band of marks. One should not take
chances while answering. So answers which are not sure may be left.
Developing concepts comes from reading books and applying them in a variety of practice
questions to gain condence. One standard book per subject is sucient but often students are
confused and use multiple textbooks. A standard book explains theory and follows it up with
ample number of practice questions, but the book must be properly chosen. List of suggested
books is given below.
Notes borrowed from dierent sources may not be that much helpful because they are
prepared keeping in mind latest exam questions and not syllabus. Paern may change but
syllabus is well dened, so book reading is highly recommended. Also Ive seen cases where
after reading notes one is able to solve past years questions easily but not comfortable with
unseen questions. So thats why I think notes available in the market nowadays are not

exhaustive.
Also if everyone is reading from notes, then where is your advantage?
Coaching classes are more benecial to aspirants because time spent with a good teacher is always more fruitful than
time spent with books. A teacher is himself a summary of various books and with experience can give proper guidance.
People who have themselves cleared these exams with good ranks are far beer at understanding problems of the
aspirants and guiding them in the right direction than those who have not appeared. So rst inquire about faculty
proles, if possible ask their past years students then only join. Results nowadays are published almost everywhere.
Also keep in mind the student-faculty ratio of the institute. If you are not geing your required time, doubt sessions
and personal aention from faculty members due to whatever reasons, you are not beneting from them.
One of the most common mistakes while practicing questions is that students very easily refer to the solution manual if
they are not geing answers right. Rather a habit of thinking properly and thinking over and over again must be
developed. Do not rush to answers, think properly and answers will rush to you.
Roughly 10 months is sucient time to prepare for GATE. While studying a subject, focus rst on theory, then
summarize your learning in hand-wrien notes, then practice questions from standard book and then from past years
GATE questions. Mark the questions which you could not solve and keep thinking over them. Re summarize your notes
in as less space as possible. Keep these short notes with yourself and spend time reading them whenever youre free like
while traveling in bus. It is not required to study over 10 hours a day but your mind should be busy with concepts and
questions 247. A friends circle with like-minded aspirants where you can put up your doubts and discuss is highly
recommended.
Dedicate at least 2 months for revision. Do not panic if you forget previously studied topics rather revise them whenever
you get time. Revise the entire theory and practice only those questions which you were not able to solve in the past or
you feel are the tricky ones. The more variety of unseen questions you have practiced, the more are your chances to
solve GATE questions under examination pressure.
There are times during preparation when you would feel low, tired or depressed. Do not allow this to continue. Talk to
your parents or friends or teachers. Do not spend much time in a slump. If required avoid studying for a few days and
then come back fresh.
BOOK LIST
S. No.

Subject

Textbook

1.

Electronic Devices and Circuits

Millman & Halkias

2.

Analog Electronics

a) Millman & Halkias b) Sedra Smith (or) Donald Neamen

3.

Digital Electronics

Morris Mano

4.

Control Systems

B.S. Manke

5.

Signals & Systems

a) Oppenheim b) Schaums series

6.

Electromagnetic Theory

Sadiku

7.

Network Theory

Sadiku

8.

Microprocessor

Gaonkar

9.

Communication Engineering

a) Simon Haykinsb) Schaums series

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10.

Engineering Mathematics

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HK Das

11.
Quantitative Aptitude
T. S. Jain
*Mathematics & Aptitude book may not be required for most aspirants.
Wishing you best of Luck
Kunal Srivastava ( ECE )
AIR-1 ESE-2012
AIR-44 GATE-2013

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