 Yeah. Good evening everyone and first of all, happy new year to those all who have been connected with us on the series of Beyond Law CLC. And amongst us, we have Dr. Dharpanalawariya, an IPS, and it gives us the pleasure that we have connected after around two years. And the much better part was that after she had joined the IPS, she became the topper and I was reading in the newspaper that after Mr. Gaurav Yadav, that is after long ages that someone from Punjab has done, so she makes us thampa chest with pride on this particular occasion. And like we did the sessions, only on the part of exams, we would keep on receiving the quiz that we should understand something, because the way she told us how there has to be hyperlinking, how you can understand and retain things, was the thing which was fascinating everyone, especially when the professionals like lawyers would like to understand the things as to what can be done, what are the proven strategies which she had actually worked for the purposes of retention and recalling. Because I was also watching one of the YouTube's, it was said that instead of just underlining and marking, do not actually have that retentivity which normally a common man would like to understand. But there's something, a concept which they said that if you actually try to recall and review within yourself, that gives you that flip. But rather than thinking and understanding from our own, why not let's understand from a topper of our batch and that is 73 RR. And we will also like to understand from her before she starts. What was that journey when she was honored with that sword and the revolver we would like to understand. What is that all journey over to you and we are glad and we are also happy that she has just joined to our Chandigarh in and around in the deep. And yeah, over to you. Good evening everyone. First off, I would like to give my best wishes to everyone for a very fruitful and prosperous 2023. Now coming to the concept of recall and retention. This, whatever funders that I carved out and learned from others journeys. This played a very pivotal role during my UPSC preparation journey and also in the National Police Academy as well. As you rightly said, I was able to leave a small dent in this NBA journey of mine and I was bestowed upon with the Prime Minister's baton and with the Home Minister's revolver. So now jumping on to the topic that has been given to me by you today that is recall and retention. This is something which will discuss across professions cuts across competitive exams. It is the most. It is the cornerstone of any preparation for any exam. So first off, the first and the foremost pillar in this would be to memorize your syllabus. Your syllabus is your religious scripture. So you should have memorized each and every word of the syllabus. So what are you writing from page one, page two, because, for example, in UPSC itself, whenever I used to read the newspaper, my mind could immediately recall that yes, this is an important topic because this was a part of the syllabus. So in this way, you are essentially able to filter out all the noise and focus on the task which is at hand. Is that once you have memorized the syllabus, what next, how do you make the interlinkages in order to make it a very comprehensive preparation of sorts. So for this, I resorted to making mind maps. So mind maps, it includes a vast gamut of things, right from causes, consequences, what are the various judgments related to that, which are the important constitutional amendment acts, what were their features, which committees have been formed, what suggestions they have given, and especially diagrammatic representations, graphical representations were also part of my mind maps. Because it helps you to retain the topic in a more cohesive fashion, even recollected months down the lane once you've actually drawn it with your own hands. Next is the use of, again, as you mentioned in your introductory remarks, use of hyperlinkages, which I used to call as reverse engineering during my preparation days. So what this essentially is, for example, if you're reading any topic or here I would like to give an example of newspaper, and if something catches your eye, I used to simply Google it. And then I used to find what else is related to that topic. So this is essentially going by the study via hyperlinkages, which makes it more interesting, it makes it less boring and also increases your retention power. Similarly, for like geography and international relations, I did the same. For example, if there is some pact between two countries, if there is some treaty between two countries, I used to simultaneously draw a map, and show the international relationship aspect part on itself. Then all this will ultimately lead you to another concept of muscle memory and hand-eye coordination, which was my strength, I would say during the exam in the real-time condition when I wrote it. So essentially in this, what is required is, for example, every exam has its own word limit, and hence you divide the total time divided by the total number of questions. So that time limit that you come to, in which you have to write that particular number of words is of a sense, because you have to complete the entire paper. If you have 20 questions, you have to have to write answers to all those 20 questions, because if you're writing 15 brilliant answers and you're leaving those five, you are out of the race, be it a written exam or be it an objective type of question exam. So for this, you should train your hands and eyes so much so that when you're writing the conclusion of the previous answer, your eyes should be on the question of the next answer, question of the next part. So this comes to hand-eye coordination and how can this be achieved by writing as much as you can? Because there is something called as muscle memory. As much as you write and revise, that much you will be able to retain. No need to write the entire answer when you're revising, just write the important keywords, because the keywords, like I said before, are of a sense when you're revising in the exam. So coming to keywords, a very important takeaway from my preparation, which I would suggest for you all, is the rule of ten. Essentially in this rule of ten, what I used to practice was, if I'm reading a 500 page long book or an essay, a long essay, what I used to do was I used to make notes of only one tenth of that number. So from 500, I used to reduce my notes to 50, reading, revising, writing the keywords as much as I can, developing that muscle memory, making graphical representation of the notes that I've made. Eventually that 50 number used to come down to five pages of notes, and that five pages of notes used to come down over course of multiple revisions to just half a page. Why this is important is that many people have this habit of just marking on the books, making small summaries on the sides, which I believe is not at all helpful one week before the exam or the eve before the exam. Why? Because you're already so psychologically and also physically so strained emotionally, you're so overwhelmed with the volume of the syllabus. So imagine a brain looking at a 500 page book, even if you've marked at it or a brain looking at just half a page with keywords. So that makes all the difference how you train your brain and how psychologically strong you are one day before the exam. So to be psychologically strong and mentally retain more substance, I used to write these keywords by following the rule of ten. And all this boils down to what kind of SWOT analysis you've done. In SWOT analysis, essentially, I believe that in any paper and every paper, it ultimately comes down to three things. First is your content. Second is your presentation, how you present the content, how you write it. Third is your speed. So you need to realize where your strength and your weakness are along the spectrum. So for me, it's an individual thing. I'm a medical. I've done MBBS. So for me, speed was never an issue. And then coming to the presentation part over the course of writing two to three mock papers, I realized that my presentation skills were also quite good. And even if they were average, they could be above average over the course of my preparation. So the only thing that I focused on amongst these three in my SWOT analysis was on content. So instead of spending too much of time on writing marks and getting them analyzed again and again, I focused solely on content, knowing that I stood in good speed with respect to speed and presentation. So you need to find where you lie in the spectrum. And then eventually what I another thing that I practice was that in the difficult topics or which required a lot of road learning. I used to make I used to just switch on my audio in my phone and I used to make voice recording I used to just record my voice explaining that topic to myself over and over again. Small, small slippings, which I used to hear on the go, like in my free time, if sometimes while getting ready or so. So that really helps because when you listen to your own voice instead of someone else's, your brain tends to retain it better. And ultimately, I think my last advice to your would be to understand. First, the nature of your mind like I said the SWOT analysis, and then even more important than it is to understand the nature of the mind of the examiner. How you can go about it is by two things. First, like I said before, is to understand the syllabus and to memorize the syllabus word by word. And then secondly, to evaluate what are the previous year questions that have been asked. Five year tenure doesn't matter as much evaluation as you do it's lesser at least five year questions should be evaluated by you and mark the important areas which are being asked time and again that will keep you in good state. Like there was a lot of emphasis by you SWOT for a common man in English and Hindi how do you explain SWOT. Okay, so SWOT is basically three things about any exam. Your strength, weakness, opportunity, threat. If I just short it, then there are three things. One is content, one is speed, one is presentation. Content related to your syllabus and what are the previous year questions. Because the paper is written on these two things. Second is your presentation skill. For example, a coherent beginning in which you have explained what exactly the examiner wants to ask. You have supplemented it with an important judgment, with a committee, with a statement in parliament, with a current affair. You have supplemented it very good. That is a strong beginning. And then you come to the content part of it. Content will depend upon what question has been asked. For example, someone's causes, someone's features. What are your pros and cons? Is there an article of something? It can be anything. So you write the content and you supplement it with a diagram. Diagram graphical representation, I think in each and every paper of mine, be it UPSC preparation or be it at the National Police Academy, I used to always stress on drawing something. It could be a graphical representation. It could be even a timeline. So I learnt most of my history part through making timelines. Timelines is visually very good and it also helps to break the monotony of your answer. For example, even in fact, if there is a law related question, you can show the progression of the law. And then concluding it with a very solid conclusion. In which you have shown your way forward. So this is basically the content. This is the presentation. So content and presentation is done. But to write this, you need to develop a speed up. For example, if you have a total hour divided by the number of questions, you have to ask a question in 7 and a half minutes. So that does not mean that you go up to 8 minutes. Because your 30 seconds quota, you will never be able to complete. Because 30 seconds into over a course of multiple questions, it will amount to so much, that you will definitely have a question at the end, be it objective or a subjective type of paper. So 7 and a half minutes means 7 and a half minutes. Your pen should come down. There should be a full stop at the end of 7 and a half minutes. So this was my strategy with respect to the SWAT analysis. Content obviously has to be developed. My presentation and speed wise was very good. So I focused on content rather than presentation and speed. So similarly, sometimes there is a lot of preparation in which they have developed content. But their speed cannot be developed. So that person should then not focus on content, but should focus only on writing answers quickly. And not waste your time on so much feedback solicitation. Because true feedback is with yourself. I know my content is good. It's okay. I will develop my speed. So I will write as much as I can. Like I didn't appear for mock papers as much as I should have. Because I knew that my speed and presentation is good. I focus on content. So that is what I mean by SWAT analysis. Number two, now we will take questions with normally come. Like you are saying that rule of 10 from 500 to 50, 50 to 10 and then a short page note. How will you tell a common person? 500 to 50 to 10. What should he do like what we call it as in the law we say that why you are presenting. There should be a funnel thumb rule for deciphering out the entire tracks what you want to speak. Like we say in the opening statement in the court, it should be good. So what should be done while making such notes in a rule of 10? What should we keep in mind? See in the rule of 10 like in the first phase that is when we are coming down from 500 to 50 words. Definitely you need to write like full sentences. You're copying it. You're actually summarizing that and then over 50 to 5 pages or 50 to 10 pages whatsoever. You will just write the keywords. So when you're in rule of 10, it all stands on the pillar of writing keywords. Because when you're making from say 500 to 50 words, you're actually understanding the concept. Once you have that conceptual clarity, that concept will stay with you, but those keywords will not. So you write those keywords. Just to remind you that this keyword means this. So that is the rule of 10. But then rule of 10 will fall flat if you have not done multiple revisions. Because making from 500 to 50 is easy. It's not a Herculean task. But 50 to eventually half a page that is a Herculean task. And that has to be supplemented and complimented by multiple revisions. And on the course of multiple revisions, you just come down to the keywords. So keywords is basically the meaning of rule of 10. Just remember the keyword. Before the paper, you just have to read the keywords. Yes, this is the word. And on this basis, I will write the rest of the paper. It is more akin to mnemonics, what we say. No, mnemonics is something else. Mnemonics can be made a part of it. But mnemonics can be a part of that eventual decreasing the content. But keywords are again, it's a separate thing. So we would like to understand how do you decipher that keyword and how do you keep in mind for a common man that you've done it. Okay. Keyword is, for example, if there is a big answer, right? And for example, if there is some international relations, there is no question, for example. So when you go to 50 from 500, you will explain the treaty. You will explain that this is MLAAT, this is the treaty, this is their bilateral, this is their multilateral level. Eventually, when you come down to that half page, you will write only the treaty's name. You will not write what is inside. So that is what I mean by the keyword. And the next question is, how do you recall and retain also? What can be, what is the formula for retaining and retaining? Retaining and recalling it. Retaining and recalling is that, as I said earlier, your hand has a muscle memory, which you won't feel that it is yours, but it actually comes into the exam somewhere. And muscle memory is that as much as you write, your brain will be able to retain as much as you can. So as much as you can write, do as much as you can. First of all, your hands, you will not get tired very easily in the real-time conditions. And so this is muscle memory. And then secondly, of course, do multiple revisions with which you can retain. Make mnemonics as much as you can. Through keywords. And eventually, you should have a paper that makes your syllabus look like an A4 size sheet. Make it a graphical representation or a pointer. But the rule of thumb is that every word and every sentence is different from every exam syllabus. You just have to make one page on an A4 size sheet that you can add or just keep on revising and reading that A4 size paper. And just one month or two months before the exam, that A4 size paper should come down again to just half of the paper. That is, you're just jotted down the keywords in it which you will reproduce in the exam. So this is the fund that I adopted in this. And how do you balance the time? Like for any exam, you know that this is the 10 year old. Let's assume three months, four months in the syllabus. Or what you ask someone to allocate time within your mind frame. How do you describe the chart? That how should you allocate the time syllabus wise or for any professional as we were discussing? Or should be the time management with the syllabus we allocated before we start? Because they say that well begun is half done. Yes. So what is in this that if you have four parts of the syllabus and so you prioritize that you don't have any knowledge, you don't have any background. So according to this you can prioritize yourself. For example, if a syllabus has part A, B, C, D. So if you don't have any knowledge in A, so you can focus on A and then subsequently you divide the number of hours according to that A, B, C, D. Secondly, you need to really stress upon the fact that our brain works differently during different times of the day. So what I personally used to do, if this A, B, C, D component, if this A component comes very well to me, then I would keep it for the night when my brain is tired and I would only revise A. So I would keep it for the night. And B, which is my prime component, which I don't know and I know that there are many questions in the exam. So if my exam duration was like 12 to 12 or 1 to 4, whatever is your exam preparation, so try to read B during that timing because this way your brain is actually exercising. Your brain becomes more active during that particular period. What many people do commit this fally is that some are nocturnal beings. They study at night. And in the morning when the exam time is 9 to 12, most of the exam times are there. So they are sleeping, which is actually wrong. And then they try to change their body cycle one month before the exam. So I don't think that you should fall into this trap. When your exam time is 9 to 12, then your brain should be most active during this. Because if your brain is tired of sleeping at this time, then definitely it won't be that active in the exam time condition. So according to this, the third point is that do your schedule in a detailed planner. Broadly, not every day. Because every day schedule will say I refrained because it used to create more tension in me rather than motivating me. Because at the end of the day I used to get so frustrated that I didn't have syllabus. You can do weekly schedule instead of this. Because what is in weekly schedule? For example, if Monday schedule I didn't complete it on Tuesday. So at least I have 5 days more of the I can complete it on Wednesday to Sunday. So make weekly schedules instead of daily schedules and read during the time of the day when your actual exam is going to happen. Along with this, an unrelated, however, very significant point that comes to my mind is that you should always mimic your real time conditions. When you are studying, for example, if during COVID, if your mask, if your masking protocol comes, you should always wear a mask and mock the exam. Be it objective or subjective. Because if you wear a mask for 3 hours, you are nullifying the environmental factors which have the potential to have an impact on the exam. So before my result came out, so my result came out in 2020 and during that time also I was preparing for the next UPSC prelims. So at that time also I used to wear a mask and appear for my mock prelims exams. So that way, if you have an interview somewhere, then also wear a mask and mock the interview. So all your environmental factors which may or may not impact your performance are nullified. You mean to say that one should be try to assimilate with the environment prior to going to that actual field. You should have the hang of that field. Absolutely. Because many people are used to what I observed during my preparation that they put ear pods or earphones while studying. Which is actually very deleterious. Which is actually very deleterious. Why? Because there is actually a concept also which is called music doping. So runners are actually not required to listen to music because that actually has the potential to increase your performance. So in the real-time condition, when you don't get a song, the brain won't get stimulus. It will actually not work the way you want it to. So you can talk something like hyperlinking in the YouTube etc. So those who are connecting for the first time, what will you say that like you had said that you can do hyperlinking from the YouTube etc. What is the concept of hyperlinking and how does it affect someone's progress? See, this concept it's like reverse engineering. So basically, if you are getting a new concept, definitely you will google it out. Or you will watch a video on YouTube explaining that very concept. To get a comprehensive picture of it, you should like, for example on Wikipedia also if you are searching for something, it will give you the related links, related hyperlinks related to that. So I always use to open it and see what else. So what happens is that your comprehensive picture becomes and you have made all the interlinkages. This essentially helps in making mind maps because for example, again coming back to international relations, there is a UN body and you have read a part of it or there is a related treaty which the body has made. Along with that, the rest of the body will also have a treaty. So that way it's called hyperlinking. So you basically learn more by following this concept. Okay, before we conclude since we had taken the entire session primarily where you had explained in English, if you have to submit for the audience who is watching in Hindi, I would just ask you to submit up in 5 or 10 minutes just like the rule of 10 for the Hindi audience that what should be the manner and procedure to back the exam and retain and review and then recall for the purposes of writing. The most important thing in any paper is your syllabus. So your syllabus should be word by word that it should also be what is written in the first line of the second page, you should also remember that. So wherever you are reading on your study table, on your table always keep your syllabus like a religious scripture, like a book, read it. The second one that I had told was my rule of 10. So always decrease it like if you have read 500 pages of a book then in subsequent revision then half of the page. So what will happen is that our mind is already so stressed physically and mentally we are not so stressed because of which when you look at the book of 500 pages then your mind will start spinning in a vicious cycle stress will increase because of which time will increase, when time will increase then you will have more stress so to get out of this vicious cycle your rule of 10 will be useful to you so from 500 pages just summarize the 50 pages. It is very easy to make 50 pages but to take the 50 pages eventually to half of the page you just write keywords, write a judgment, write an amendment, write a committee and also make a small diagram where all the pauses, consequences or if there is any other thing then make a timeline otherwise in different countries what is on it, make a raw map make a physical map of the world and you can show it on it so basically the less you write the better it is to put it in your mind there are exams one night first so with this we also discussed in today's video that if your every topic of your syllabus take an A4 size sheet and on it you have to make notes of the same page don't make notes of the same page that is wrong because it is actually wasting time and you will never be able to revise it there is no point in black and white pages if you don't revise it then it should eventually fit in half of the page after that after our mind maps how can you bring multi dimensionality after that your hand i which is the coordination that we talked about in this i told you as an example in the UPSC paper there are 20 questions so you have to do 20 eventually your mind should be trained when you are keeping the conclusion then your next question should be your eyes your mind starts working for the next question so for this you have to write as much as you want i was used to when i used to read the newspaper i always use pen to write because i know what i have underlined or written on the newspaper will always be retained in my mind why? because my muscle memory which is so strong then this comes over by practicing again by writing this is our SWOT analysis which is very important strength, weakness, opportunity, threat analysis basically there are three things one is your content what you have written in it second is presentation how you have written it and third is speed how much time you have spent in these three things like i am a doctor so my speed has improved along with this i have written my mock papers that my presentation skills are also good and over the course it will be good so for this i focused only on my content so many people's content is very strong and they are very good but their speed is not able to catch them so they fail in the exam and they also get less points which have a lot of skeleton but they write everything because their speed is good if there are 20 questions 15 questions you have written above average you have written excellent so if you leave 5 questions then your rank will not come so better is that 20 questions if you write average or above average then your rank or rank can come along with this whenever you write such paper then you write it in real time condition so that your variable factors can be removed for example i used to stay in paper for 3 hours because it happens that when you have half number when you have so many multiple ranks on your decimal then you have to give it your full so i used to write 3 hours of paper of my subjective type so i didn't drink water during my mock because i knew that if i drink water in real time then i wasted 1 minute and every question i had kept in 7 minutes so i used to not drink water along with this when corona is coming we can come again so those who have lined up entrance exam or competitive exams i will tell them to wear their masks so that our environmental variables are there may or may not impact but we mentally feel that i am not breathing so we have to nullify all of that and finally i will tell you that you are your best teacher so instead of taking any other feedback give yourself feedback it is like we keep listening to audio but instead of that record your own audio and explain the topic from your notes or from some other book and you will hear it again our brain catches our words rather than any other words so you can listen to audio when you are ready or when you are going so it will help you more thank you for that and when three things are done you get to know to succeed there has to be persistence and performance that leads to the performance and for making better notes you have said that it should be concise thank you everyone stay connected with us stay blessed and happy new year once again