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Success story ESE2017 9th ranker

Author: BNSS Shankar, M.Tech (IITK), MIE

Dear Students,
I would like to share the experience of Mr. Koneru Kiran Babu. He got All India 9th rank
(Roll Number: 0156004) in Engineering Services Examination 2017 (first exam in the revised
pattern).
I am sharing this information to motivate and inspire the future aspirants of ESE and help the
students in achieving their success.
Please read the following Q&A (discussion between Electrical Mentor and Mr. Kiran).

Electrical Mentors Question 1:

How many marks you got in stage I, Stage II and PI?

Mr. Kirans reply:

Stage 1(Prelims): Paper 1 (Out of 200): 108
Paper 2 (Out of 300): 175.34
Stage 2(Mains): Paper 1: (Out of 300): 234
Paper 2: (Out of 300): 184
Stage 3 (Interview): (Out of 200): 124
Total: (Out of 1300): 825

Electrical Mentors Question 2:

How can you analyze the above scores?
Mr. Kirans reply:
Post Mortem of scores: [I know scores of only 2 other people, one of who was in final list and
the other missed it, so I could be wrong in my analysis.]
Stage 1: Paper 1 - I feel 108 is a good score in this paper.
Paper 2 - Very low score. Should have scored at least 20 more. Got majority of Assertion &
Reasoning questions wrong. Made at least 5 silly mistakes in problems.
Stage 2:
Paper 1: This was an easy paper and I attempted around 280. 234 is a decent score I guess.
Paper 2: This is very tough paper. I could attempt only 220. Lot of people told me they attempted
in the range 140-180. I was honestly surprised when I saw 184 in that paper. Got more than what
I expected. Despite very normal performance in Prelims, I guess Mains is what helped me in
getting a good rank.
Interview : If last years marks are taken as reference, 124 is just average in Interview. However,
this year a new chairman took interviews from all electrical candidates and everyone I knew
came out with sweat on their forehead. After looking at few other scores, I feel 124 is decent in
Interview. Overall, I could have done better in Prelims Paper 2 but a good performance in Mains
helped me. When I attended MOCK interview in ACE engineering academy, Shankar sir
awarded 125 marks for 200. In the final, I got 124. It is really surprised to me.

http://electrical-mentor.blogspot.in/ (Sept 25, 2017) Copy rights reserved 2017

BNSS Shankar, M.Tech (IITK), MIE
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Electrical Mentors Question 3:

What is your preparation strategy?

Mr. Kirans reply:

Reading Sources: I had my own handwritten notes for Networks, Maths, Analog, Power
Electronics, Control Systems and Power Systems, courtesy the coaching I attended at ACE. I
quit coaching mid-way because of some personal reasons. So, for other subjects I had to refer to
friends notes. I never referred to any textbook. Made use of internet for conceptual clarity in
some topics.
Problems Practice: practiced previous years questions 2 times. Marked all the questions that I
thought were tricky and difficult and focused more on them in 2nd round.
Revision: Prepared a short formula notes for all subjects. This comes in very handy during
revision time.
Test Series: This is one of the most crucial elements as we can identify areas where we need to
work on.

Electrical Mentors Question 4:

How did you manage general studies?

Mr. Kirans reply:

I tried to read GS 2 hours per day starting from 4 months before prelims exam. For current
affairs I referred Vision Monthly compilations [only social, economic and Industrial parts]. For
other topics, I referred to Ace printed material.
This year being the first time with new format, Paper 1 was a shocker to everyone. Questions
from topics like Standards & Quality, Design & Drawing, and Project Management were
completely alien. I had to rely on common sense to answer most of these questions.

Electrical Mentors Question 5:

What is your feedback on my lectures (on Power Electronics) and any message to your
juniors?

Mr. Kirans reply:

Power Electronics is one of the toughest subjects to understand and problems often are tough to
solve without conceptual knowledge. Tricky problems from subjects like Machines, Power
Systems and Power Electronics stand as barrier between students and top ranks in exams like
GATE and ESE. Without thorough understanding of concepts, its tough to solve such tricky
problems. I didnt have to worry anything about Power Electronics because I attended Shankar
Sirs PE classes. His classes were completely engaging and extremely conceptual. With clear
waveforms and detailed explanations, Sir made a very difficult subject easy to understand. After
attending Shankar Sirs classes, I didnt need to refer any other source except his notes. I could
solve all previous years problems without any difficulty as all of them were dealt by Sir in class.
In brief, Shankar sirs class is the best and benchmark for PE subject for GATE and ESE
in India.
Apart from classes, I used to visit Electrical Mentor blog to access various resources like
previous years questions, strategies etc.
So, I take this opportunity to thank Shankar Sir for his contribution in my success and his service
to student community through this blog.

http://electrical-mentor.blogspot.in/ (Sept 25, 2017) Copy rights reserved 2017

BNSS Shankar, M.Tech (IITK), MIE
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Electrical Mentors Question 6:

What are your suggestions for future ESE aspirants?

Mr. Kirans reply:

During Preparation stage, try to get thorough conceptual understanding. Dont just rely on
formulas without conceptual clarity. This year Mains Paper 2 was extremely hard and without
conceptual clarity, not more than 2-3 questions could be answered.
Stick to only one source while reading and revise from the same multiple times. Prepare a
formula notes. Try to practice derivations in subjects like Signals & Systems, Power Electronics
and Machines. For practice, solve last 20 years questions. No need to solve extra problems.
Try to be calm on Exam day as pressure can wreck you up. I had to tell myself after paper 1 in
prelims stage that it was tough not only for me but also to every other aspirant. So if I could stay
calm during paper 2, I could score more while majority of other students would probably be
worried about their paper 1 performance.
Paper 2 in Mains was also extremely tough, so instead of wasting time only on one question, I
tried to solve bits and pieces of every question. So you need to adapt yourself depending on
papers toughness.
For Power Electronics, refer Shankar sirs class room notes and solve PE Question Bank
available in www.electrical-mentor.blogspot.in.

Wishing that your dreams come true,

BNSS Shankar,
M.Tech(IITK), MIE
Expert faculty ESE/GATE/PSUs
Email ID: electrical.mentor@gmail.com
Blog: http://electrical-mentor.blogspot.in/

http://electrical-mentor.blogspot.in/ (Sept 25, 2017) Copy rights reserved 2017

BNSS Shankar, M.Tech (IITK), MIE