Studying the subject...
Geography optional consists of 2 papers. First one dealing with World Geography and the second paper dealing with Geography of India. While Paper 1 deals with Processes and Theories, Paper 2 deals with application of Paper 1 in Paper 2 purely from India's perspective. For both papers, NCERT books of Class 11 and Class 12 form the basic foundations. Also refer to NCERT books from Class 6 to 10 if you feel the need.
However they are not enough. The syllabus is vast and requires you to know the concepts in depth. For this reason I joined Neetu Singh (Direction IAS) coaching in Delhi. Her explanation of concepts were excellent, especially Paper 1. I relied only on her class notes (her printed notes not advisable). That helped me score 204 out of 300 in Paper 1 alone. One book I did refer to was Spectrum Geography by Rajiv Ahir IPS for some selected topics and diagrams.
Paper 2 is totally based on India and the questions are generally open ended. Hardly any questions would be direct. There is no single material which can be referred to as source. Since they are application oriented, understanding of concepts is most important. Reading extensively will help. Everybody will know the answer to these questions, but do keep mind that to make any answer geographical, drawing maps, diagrams and referring to locations are important. Yojana and Kurukshtra may help. That will make the difference between a normal answer and a geography answer. I followed these points while writing.
The most important approach to studying geography is through maps. You may study weather, rainfall, soils, vegetation, agriculture. Make sure you study them and understand them through maps. Try to overlap them and understand how they are all related. Put up huge maps in your room and whatever you study, mark them on it. This approach will help you understand geography in a much better way."
- SH
