How to score 300+ in Anthropology Part 2

 Part(2/4) : How to do answer writing of anthropology 

Format of answer writing : section wise 

Socio cultural : Paper 1

1. Basic introduction is essential, some scholarly definition can be quoted. For instance if you are writing about Religion, quote Durkheim. 
2. Basic content should be written first, supplemented by examples .
3. For answering this section command on Chapter 6: theories/ schools of anthropology is very essential. Use these theories and scholars in answering questions.
4. Interlink : sydnemic was in news article during pandemic , I used that in my answer. 
5. Linkage with paper 2: if you are writing about religion, kinship etc why not include scholars of ppr 2, write work of MN Sriniwas ( Religion and society among Coorgs of south India), about SC Dubey and Irawati Karwe ( kinship ). 

Genetics & allied( Chapter 9)

1. Here questions are very objective and should be answered as such with a tinch of organic content as well. 
2. Everyone would write same content here, it is important to differentiate yourself from others.
3. Firstly, write as many subheadings here as possible. Don’t miss out on limitation/ criticism, application, significance part. After that I used to write some administrative dimension to make the answer more organic and real. 
4. Here one should avoid being too technical, writing deeply about genetics won’t help you much and it can be counter productive, always try to make your answers organic and anthropological . If possible interlink it with socio cultural part. 

1. Wherever possible I used to draw some graphs, diagrams etc. 

Chapter 10-12: 

1. These should not be ignored at all and should be prepared very thoroughly. Give as much time to these chapters as you give to socio cultural section. 
2. Answer writing here requires more use of examples .
3. Uniqueness here is highly rewarded, prepare them carefully and make your content unique.

Illustration1: here in sports anthropology question, I have carefully included one small diagram without explanation, it is self explanatory and giving a good impression.

Illustration 2: I tried to make my conclusion organic and link it with core concepts of anthropology (like EMIC view ) 

Illustration3: see here I have used current news as an example for anthropometry. Utilise newspapers the fullest. Content is there, just extract it and use it as per your convenience. 

Archeology: 

1. Drawing map to show site location and discoverer name. For example in real exam there was question on Burzahom, and by simple map you can show the location. 
2. It requires lot of content to be remembered to write a good answer. 
3. Remember content in various subheadings so you don’t miss out on any subheading for ex: Excavations, duration, , tool diagrams, tool techniques , significance etc. 
4. practice drawing diagrams in less time, tool diagrams of axe, stones can be drawn

Indian village (Ppr2)

1. This part requires a decent intro mentioning the crux of question /some explanation/ scholarly definition.   Illustration 1: here I used Marc Gallenter when starting a question on untouchability. 

Illustration 2: 

Here I have mentioned the crux of the question with some data. 

1. 3. Use small diagrams to write your content in a better way. Here, I have written 1 case study without mentioning it as case study and depicted it through one diagram.  

4. The issue with this section is content is very generic, to make it more anthropological I used scholars and and their studies .  See here I used multiple scholars in a single answer, writing their viewpoints. 

5. If you are writing about caste system , write viewpoints of Dipankar Gupta, Gail Omvedt , Louis Dumont etc. 

Tribal section: 

 1. Here answers should be more organic and sensitiveness towards the tribes should be reflected in your answers. Try to connect to the real problems and write accordingly.

2. Use of diagrams, small pie charts, graphs , trend chart is highly appreciated.

 

3. Give suggestions for tribal development, use some reports like MoTA annual report, XaXa report. Use current examples and schemes . Here I have used that sickle cell case (in news) as an example. 

 4. Write some data and success story to show your understanding 

5. I used newspaper to the fullest to write some examples which many people miss out. Writing current examples shows your genuine interest in the subject. Also try to write administrative dimension, like how

anthropology can help in administration. 

Always  remember content is king.

In part 3 I will cover how I improved my score in anthropology from 232 to 273 to 315. What mistakes to avoid and what things should be done. 

“Lite hai”!