The biggest tragedy in UPSC preparation is a student who fills 10 registers with “Current Affairs” and never reads them again. UPSC Notes Making Strategy

Notes are not for storing information; they are for retrieving it 2 days before the exam. If your notes are bulky, they are useless.

At Trademark IAS, we teach the “10% Rule”: Your notes should be only 10% of the original text. Here is the ultimate UPSC Notes Making Strategy to save your attempt.

![Image: A comparison split screen: One side messy handwritten notes, other side clean Notion/Evernote digital notes]

1. The Golden Rule: “Read First, Write Later” UPSC Notes Making Strategy

Never make notes on the first reading.

• 1st Reading: Just understand the concept.

• 2nd Reading: Underline important keywords.

• 3rd Reading: Now, pick up the pen. Write only what you are likely to forget.

• Why? If you write during the first reading, you will copy the whole page because everything looks important.

2. Digital vs. Handwritten: The Great Debate UPSC Notes Making Strategy

Which one wins in our UPSC Notes Making Strategy?

Feature	Handwritten (A4 Sheets)	Digital (Evernote/Notion)
Best For	Static Subjects (History, Geography, Art & Culture)	Dynamic Subjects (Current Affairs, Science & Tech, IR)
Pros	Improves writing speed; better memory retention.	Easy to edit/update; Searchable (Ctrl+F).
Cons	Hard to edit later; bulky to carry.	Screen fatigue; distraction from notifications.

• Our Verdict: Use a Hybrid Approach. Use paper for History (it won’t change) and Evernote/OneNote for Current Affairs (it changes daily).

3. How to Make Current Affairs Notes (The “Issue” Approach) UPSC Notes Making Strategy

Don’t write “Date-wise” notes (e.g., 12th Jan News). That is a diary, not study material.

Make “Topic-wise” notes.

• Create Folders: Economy > Banking > inflation.

• The Method: When news comes about Inflation, open that specific page and add 2 bullet points.

• Result: By year-end, you have a single document on Inflation with all updates from the last 12 months.

4. The “Mind Map” Technique for Static Subjects UPSC Notes Making Strategy

For subjects like History or Polity, linear notes are boring. Use Mind Maps.

• Center: “Revolt of 1857”.

• Branches: Causes (Political, Economic), Leaders (Laxmibai, Nana Saheb), Impact (Crown Rule).

• Benefit: You can revise the entire topic in 1 glance (Visual Memory).

5. What NOT to Note Down

• Facts you already know: (e.g., “India got independence in 1947”).

• Political Gossip: (e.g., “Opposition leader criticized PM”).

• Temporary Data: (e.g., “Sensex crashed by 500 points”).

Conclusion

Good notes are the bridge between “Hard Work” and “Smart Work.”

If your notes don’t make revision easier, throw them away and start again.

Want to see what “Perfect Notes” look like?

We have scanned the actual handwritten notes of our recent topper (Rank 23). Download them to copy the format.

[Download Topper’s Sample Notes] | [Join Note-Making Workshop]