Singhal Yash Chandraprakash
AIR 37
UPSC IFS 2023
Secured AIR 37 in IFS. Sherlocking helped me streamline my preparation and focus on what truly matters. The strategy was clear, practical and effective.
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VIDEOSFILES
Sherlocking IFoS English Module
It doesn’t test whether you speak English well. It tests format.
by UnlockIAS3,377+ students across all courses11 Courses
1 Year
45+ Materials
16 Videos
29 Files
You Pay
₹7,510
Course Price₹7,510
Platform Fee₹10
Total₹7,510
Flat ₹1,500 OFF
You'll be redirected to the UnlockIAS app for payment
300
Marks (Paper I)
16
Videos
10 hrs
Of teaching
~1,000
Idioms & homophones
About this course
General English doesn’t reward fluency: it rewards a précis to a fixed compression, a letter or report in the correct form and register, and a passage answer that stays inside the passage. Fluent candidates lose marks on format and structure, not grammar. Every one of those is a rule you can learn in an evening and apply for the rest of your life, which is why it is the highest-return paper in the exam.
Built and taught by Neil Sir: HCS 2021, Rank 93.
What's included
- Précis, letter and report writing to the exam’s own formats
- A 6-part Essay course (3h 30m) that also carries over to the CSE Mains Essay paper
- ~1,000 idioms and homophones drilled
- General English papers, 2024 and 2025
The paper’s five blocks
Stable across 2022–2025
- Essay: 100 marks, 800–1,000 words
- Two short writing tasks: 50 marks
- Précis at about one-third length: 50 marks
- Comprehension, five questions: 50 marks
- Grammar & vocabulary cluster: 50 marks
The curriculum
The 10 core lessons
- Formal Letter Writing44m
- Report Writing55m
- Comprehension & Passage Reading1h 04m
- Précis: the longest lesson, where the most marks are quietly lost1h 12m
- Sentence Correction1h 06m
- Rewrite as Directed31m
- Idioms16m
- Homophones19m
- Adjective & Noun Forms21m
- How to use the Essay PYQ document13m
The Essay, developed in 6 parts
Theory, structures, frameworks and content enrichment, illustrated against every essay topic set since 2013: with a transitions document, a theory note and 11 worked supporting documents.
- Essay, parts 1–63h 30m
Who it's for
- Candidates who read and write English comfortably but have never drilled the exam’s specific formats: precisely the people who lose avoidable marks here
Frequently asked questions
My English is already good: why do I need this?
Because the paper doesn’t test whether you speak English well. It tests whether you can produce a précis to a fixed compression, a letter or report in the correct form and register, and a passage answer that stays inside the passage. Fluent candidates lose marks on format, not grammar.
Why is it called the highest-return paper?
Every skill in it is a rule you can learn in an evening and apply for the rest of your life, and it’s 300 marks. Ten hours of focused work here moves more marks than almost anything else in your prep.
What’s in the module?
16 videos (10 hours) covering letter and report writing, comprehension, précis, sentence correction, rewrite-as-directed, idioms, homophones and noun/adjective forms: plus a 6-part Essay course (3h 30m). You also get 13 documents, ~1,000 drilled idioms and homophones, and the 2024 & 2025 papers.
How is the essay taught?
As six sessions on theory, structures, frameworks and content enrichment, illustrated against every essay topic set since 2013: with a transitions document, a theory note and 11 worked supporting documents, so the essay stops being the paper you “hope goes well.”
Does the essay work help anywhere else?
Yes: the essay structure carries over directly to the CSE Mains Essay paper, so it’s a one-time cost that pays off in two exams.
What does the paper look like?
Five blocks, stable since 2022: Essay (100 marks, 800–1000 words), two short writing tasks (50), précis at about one-third length (50), comprehension of five questions (50), and a grammar & vocabulary cluster (50).
How long to finish?
About 10 hours: the fastest-converting of the two compulsory papers. Do it first if you’re writing this November.
Self-paced? How long do I keep access?
Fully self-paced, instant access, nothing drip-fed, 1-year validity. Taught by Neil Sir (HCS 2021, Rank 93).
Selections who used this module
Deepak Vishwakarma
AIR 71
UPSC IFS 2024
I secured All India Rank 71 in the Indian Forest Service Examination 2024. Your insights and the time you took to mentor aspirants made a significant difference in my journey.
Gaurav Pratap Singh
AIR 317
UPSC CSE 2025
Big thanks: I cleared IFoS this year after failing last year’s pre. It was down to Pre Sherlocking.
From the community
I cleared the IFoS cutoff in 2024 prelims, in my very first attempt: I scored 100.35, exactly hitting the IFoS cutoff, only because of you.
I was able to clear CSE 2024 and Forest prelims. Analysis of PYQs from the Sherlocking module helped me realise what to read, what to skip, and at what depth.
