If you have not cleared the Preliminary Exam 2010, don�t buck down by the results. It happens in competitive exams like IAS. It is a part and parcel of the exam process. In a scenario of cut throat competition, someone has to loose. This time you were little bit unlucky.
But before putting all blame on your luck or your friends or teachers, you need a serious retrospection of your past performances. So now time to analyze yourself. Analyze that while preparing for the last PT exam, you have studied the right books, right materials; you have done smart hard work; you have gone through previous year UPSC questions; you have practised a lot of questions before the exam etc. If you are really honest to yourself, you will definitely find some wrong in you only. So mark those areas where you have failed in your last attempt and promise to yourself that you will never repeat those mistakes. After all, failure is the pillar of success, if you learn from your past failures.
It is time for reconsolidation. Consolidate yourself and make a full-proof strategy for coming PT in 2011. As all of you have heard that most probably UPSC will introduce Aptitude Test from next year, you need slight changes in your preparation this time. First focus on Mains as it covers around 70-80% of your PT requirements. From now onwards you should concentrate on your second option for Mains exam along with General Studies. Devoted two month (September and October) for your second optional for Mains and General Studies Paper I for Mains. Next two months (November and December) should be devoted to first optional for Mains and General Studies Paper II for mains. This is just a broad outline; you may change it according to your needs and suitability.
However, make sure that while preparing for Mains, you prepare your own notes which will help you in timely revision of your syllabus in the last munities. Also ensure that you are doing timely revision of what you have studied, otherwise that will be of no use.
UPSC notification for PT normally comes in December. By that time you have already completed the Mains syllabus. So after notification you should focus on PT.
