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COMPREHENSION

HowtoCrackCompulsoryPapers EVERYDAYSCIENCE
SeparationofPowers
HumanTrafficking
ThecandidatesmustkeepthisfactinmindthatsuccessintheCSSdemandsa QuaidsShiftfromUnityStance

goodindividualeffort. toSeparation
HowtoattemptOptionalpapers
PakChinarelationshipNewHorizons TheArtofAttemptingPaper
Saturday,January01,2011
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CSSisgenerallyconsideredthetoughestexaminationinthecountryandplainlyitis.Mostofthepeopletheaspirantsof
CSS2011thatIhavebeenaskedtoaddressthroughthiswritingmusthavebeenpreparingforthisexamforatleastpast
fewmonths.IshallalsobespecificallyfocusingonthemythsandfalsenotionsthathavebeencreatedinthemindsoftheCSS
aspirantsbythemushroomingindustryoftheCSSpreparationacademies.

Theirpurposebehindcreatingsuchfalsenotionsistoconfusetheaspirantsinordertoensurethatthecandidatesjointheir
academy.Thisnotonlycauseswasteofmoneyandtimeofthecandidatesjoiningtheseacademies,butalsocreatesconfusion
inthemindsofmanytalentedcandidates,whocannotaffordtheirskyrocketingfeestructure.

However,thecandidatesmustkeepthisfactinmindthatsuccessintheCSSdemandsagoodindividualeffort.Buttheireffort
mustbehonestandwelldirected.

Inordertobesuccessfulinacompetitiveexam,acandidatehastoputsomeextraefforttomakehis/herpaperbetterthan
others.So,studyinggoodbooksenablesacandidatetobebetterpreparedandgivingtheanswerswithanexcellent
presentationisequallyimportantforscoringhighermarks.

Inthispieceofwriting,Ishalltrytodiscusssometipstoattemptthecompulsorypapers.Ithasbeenobservedthatmost
peoplegetlessmarksincompulsorypapers.However,withaneffectiveapproach,acandidatecangetreasonablyhighmarksin
thesepapers.

Myownscoreinoptionalsubjectswasverylowascomparedtomyfellowcandidatesofhigherrankingsbutahigherscorein
compulsorypapersbroughtmeintop10candidates.Alsoveryoftensomebrilliantcandidatesmissoutinonecompulsorypaper
despitegettingveryhighscoreinallotherpapers.

SothecompulsorysubjectscarrykeysignificanceintheCSS.Ishalldiscussthesepapersonebyone.

EnglishEssay
Essaypaperisconsideredasthetoughestnuttocrack.Itisbelievedthatthisveryfirstpaperdecidesoneisgoingtopassthe
examornot.Mostofthecandidatesfailedinthispaper.AglanceatpastpapersofEnglishessaywouldrevealthattheessay
topicsonwhichacandidateisaskedtowritearegenerallyonlyoneaspectoftheissuesthatthecandidatemayhaveprepared.

Ifthecandidatedoesnotmakeadistinctionbetweentheissueandthespecificaspect(s)ofthatissuebeingaskedinthepaper,
heislikelytoannoytheexaminer.HereitprovesmypointwhenIcriticisethecommercialaspectsofsocalledpreciousnotes
andessayasthecandidatescramtheseanswersandwritethemassuchinthepaper.

Forinstance,oneveryhotissueofthepastthreefouryearsisWaronTerrororTerrorism.Letushavealookatthelasttwo
yearspapers:

2009PakistanswaronTerroranditsimpactsonournationalpsycheandpoliticosocioeconomicfronts.

2010Dialogueisthebestcoursetocombatterrorism.

Inboththesepapers,onlyoneaspectoftheissueisaskedandanygeneralisedanswerwouldnot,therefore,accrueanymerit.
Thiswasthereasonwhymostpeopleattemptedtheseessaysandfailed.Theveryoutlineoftheseessayswouldbeenoughto
depictwhetheracandidatehasattempteditinacorrectway.What,then,wouldbetheproperoutlineforessay?Letustryand
solvethe2009essay.
PakistansWaronTerroranditsimpactsonournationalpsycheandpoliticosocioeconomicfrontsanalysisofthis
statementrevealsthattheexaminerhasaskedustowriteontheseissues:

1.PakistansWaronTerror(ThewordPakistansiskeyhere)
2.Itsimpactsonnationalpsyche
3.Impactsonpoliticalfront
4.Impactsonsocialfront
5.Impactsoneconomicfront

Nowmakeanoutline.

Introduction
PakistansWaronTerror
Abriefoverviewofthiswar.
IsthisreallyPakistanswar?
Arewefriendsorfoesofourallies?
DronesandDomore.

ImpactsonNationalPsyche
Demoralisationandpessimism
Depressionandfreightreactions
Desensitisationanddisinhibition

ImpactsonPoliticalFront
Divisionofpoliticiansovertheownershipofwar
Ahalttopoliticalactivitiesinthecountry
Militarisationofradicalgroups
Alienationofnationalistleadership
Leadershipcutawayfrompeople

ImpactonSocialFront
Wideninggulfbetweenradicalsandliberals
Societyisleastintegrated
Socialsectordevelopmentbeingignored
Publiclifestyleisthreatened

ImpactsonEconomicFront
Shatteringblowtotheboomingeconomy
Driedupforeigndirectinvestment
Soaringsecurityexpenditures
Halttoindustrialprogressandunemployment

Suggestions
Waronmilitaryfrontimprovingdefencecapabilities
Waronsocialfrontamorevibrantcivilsociety
Waronpsychologicalfrontdemandsaconcertedresponse
Waroneconomicfrontachallengeforthegovernment
Waronpoliticalfrontdemandspoliticalmaturity
Waroninternationalfrontimprovingourtarnishednationalimageandprotectingoursovereignty

Ifthecandidatedoesnotmakeadistinctionbetweentheissueandthespecific
aspect(s)ofthatissuebeingaskedinthepaper,heislikelytoannoytheexaminer.

Conclusion
Anotherimportantaspectisthelengthofessay.Inmyviewitisqualityandnotthequantitythatmatters.Examinerusually
setsalimitof25003500wordslimittotrapthecandidates.Butitwouldnotbotherhimmuchifyouputupagoodeffort
whichfallsshortofthewordslimit.

Myessaycontainedaround1700wordsandwiththisquantityandtheabovementionedfairlysimpleoutline,Igot72inessay.
Sosurelythelengthofessaydoesnotmattermuch.

TipsforEssay
1.Carefullyreadallessaytipsandselectthoseissueswhichyouhavepreparedthebest.
2.Nowselectthatessaywhichyoucanbestattemptconsideringthoughtfullytheaspectwhichisasked.
3.NowturnyoursheetandcrossthepageNo.25thelastpageandstartdoingyourroughworkonthatpage.
4.Thoroughlyexploreyourmindandbringoutallrelevantpointsofthatissueonpaper.
5.Nowpickthosepointswhicharemostsuitableforyouroutline.
6.Makealogicaloutlinedependingsolelyuponthestatementortopicofessaysetbytheexaminer.
7.Reconsidereachpointforitsrelevancyandorderintheoutline.
8.Reviewyourpointsandseeiftheusedwordscanbereplacedwithmorecatchyorstrikingwords.Remember,outlineislike
acoverofyouressaywhichclearlydepictswhatiswrappedinside.Sogiveitdueconsiderationandtimebeforestartingyour
essay.
9.Onroughpages,writeanintroductionfortheessay.Articulateitwithbestwordspossible.
10.Nowreconsideryouroutlineandintroductionandassesswhetheritfulfillsthedemandsofthegivenessay.Onlyifyou
aresatisfiedwiththatroughdraftproceedwiththeessay,otherwiserejectitandattemptyoursecondbestessayonsimilar
pattern.Thisisimportantbecauseyouwouldnotgetasecondchancebeforeoneyearifyoufailinthispaper.

Thisexercisewouldcertainlytaketimebutdonotbepanicevenifittakes4045minutesbecauseyouhavedoneallthehard
work.Allyouhavetodoistowritethatoutlineandintroductionneatlyonyouranswersheetandthenproceedwiththeessay
followingtheoutlinethatyouhavealreadyprepared.

Asfarasimportanttopicsforessayforthisyearareconcerned,itisusuallysafetoattemptanessayoncurrentissuesasyou
haveampleknowledgebasefortheseissues.Icanmentionafewtopicsbutpleasedonotlimityourselftotheseandusethem
asaguidelineonly.

1.GovernanceandthecrisesinPakistan
2.Roleofmedia:freedomversusresponsibilities
3.Extremism/TerrorisminPakistan
4.Globalwarming
5.ProblemsofeducationinPakistan
6.Statusandrightsofminorities
7.Corruptioninsocietyandpolitics
8.Womenstatusandrights
9.DemocracyinPakistan

EnglishPrecisandComposition
Youcandividethispaperintotwosegments:
SegmentI:65marks
Precis25marks
Comprehension20marks
Expansion20marks

SegmentII:35marks
Changeofnarration5marks
Correctionofsentences5marks
Idioms5marks
Pairofwords10marks
Antonyms/Synonyms10marks

(Theexaminermay,however,askothersegmentslikechangeofvoiceaswell)

SegmentIIismathematicalasyourcorrectanswerwouldaccruefullmarks.Hereitbecomeskeyforsuccessasifyou
managetoscore30inthissegmentyourchancesofclearingthispaperbecomehigh.Forthispurposepractisethissegment
fromthepastpapersandpleasedonotcramsentenceswrittenincommonguidebooksavailableinmarket.

SegmentIissignificantasitisatestofyourcommandoverlanguage.However,thisfactshouldbekeptinmindthatthisis
anexaminationfortheCSSandnotapaperofEnglishLiterature.Soyoushouldbeveryclearaboutwhatisrequiredofyou.
Youhavetodemonstrateyourskillsofcomprehendingapieceofwritingandcommunicatinginwritinginapreciseandeffective
manner.

Practiceisakeyinthissegment.Youhavesufficienttimeavailable.Trytosolveall40pastpapersquestionsofprcisand
comprehensionpassages.Trytomakeityourhabitastimemanagementisveryimportantinthispaper.Theprcispassage
mostlyconsumesaroundonehour.Practicecanhelpyouservetimeinotherparts.

Asfarasimportanttopicsforessayforthisyearareconcerned,itisusuallysafeto
attemptanessayoncurrentissuesasyouhaveampleknowledgebaseforthese
issues.

EverydayScience
Ithought,aftergoingthroughjustlastfiveyearspapers,thispaperisapieceofcakeandIwouldeasilyscore9095marksin
it.So,Ididnotpreparewellandthepaperwasanightmare.Soforgetaboutyourbackgroundofscienceandprepare
schematicallyforthispaper.

EverydaySciencepaperisauniqueofallpapersinthesensethatitawards595markstothecandidates.YouwouldfindDMCs
ofallocatedcandidateswhoobtained3040marksinthispaper.Anextrainthispapermayproveakeyfactorindetermining
yourfinalstandinginmeritlist.

Attemptingthispaperisskillofwhichselectionofquestionsisveryimportant.Generally,EverydaySciencepaperconsistsof:

ObjectivePortion
50MCQs(attemptthemintheorderofsuretyshouldbeexclusionformulaandlogicalguessing)

SubjectivePortion
Twoquestionsusuallyconsistsofpartscarryingonemarkeach
Twothreequestionscomprisefivepartseachcarryingtwomarks
Twoquestionscomprisingtwopartseachoffivemarks
Onequestionusuallycarries10marks

Inobjectiveportion,thereisnochoicesoyouhavetoattemptall.Fromsubjectiveportion,preferthosequestionswhichcarry
onemarkbecausechancesofgettingfull10marksinthatquestionaremore.Similarly,secondpreferenceshouldbetwo
marksquestionsandlengthyquestionsshouldbeavoided.

Onemarkquestionsareusuallyofscientificunitsandabbreviationsandreasoning.Thesequestionsarefairlysimpleandvery
oftenrepeated.Ifyougothroughpast10yearspapers,youwouldfindmanysuchexamples.

Insciencepaper,diagramscarrynearlyhalfmarksofeachquestion.So,practisedrawingthemasmuchaspossibleandtryto
drawneatdiagramswithproperlabelinginpaper.
DoconsultthepastpapersasthebooksonEverydayScienceintheCSSmarketaretoovoluminous.Theycarryalotof
unnecessarymaterialandtherefore,confusethecandidates.

Onemarkquestionsareusuallyofscientificunitsandabbreviationsandreasoning.
Thesequestionsarefairlysimpleandveryoftenrepeated.Ifyougothroughpast10
yearspapers,youwouldfindmanysuchexamples.

CurrentAffairs
Scoringhighmarksinthispaperdemandsthatthecandidatemustbewellpreparedhavinguptodateknowledgeofallcurrent
topics.Toensurebetterpreparation,candidatesmaydividethispaperintofollowingsegments:

1.ForeignPolicy:ForeignPolicyandPakistansrelationswithChina,India,Iran,Afghanistan,US,RussiaandMuslim
countries.
2.Internationalorganisations:UN,OIC,NAM,SAARC,ECO,SCO,EU,ASEAN
3.Internationalissues
4.Domesticissues

Inthispaper,candidatesshouldtrytowritetothepointanswersinaprecisemanner.Drawingamapisarequirementofmost
ofthequestionsofthispaper.Acandidateshouldpracticefourmapsinthisregard.

Pakistansmap
CentralAsiasmap
SouthAsiasmap
Worldmap

Mapsprintedatthebackofdiariescanbeusedforpractice.

Forthisyearspaper,organisationsandforeignrelationsshouldbethoroughlycovered.Ithasbeenatrendinforeignrelations
questionsthattheexamineraskstheimpactsoftwocountriesrelationswithPakistan.Sothisaspectmustbekeptinmind.On
internationalstage,Wikileaksandglobalwarminghavegatheredalotofattention.

Moreover,thevisitsofPresidentObamatoIndia,etc.andChinesePrimeMinisterstoPakistanandIndiashouldbethoroughly
covered.ChromicissueslikeAfghanistan,Palestine,KashmirandIranarealsoimportant.

Domesticissuesinclude
Disastermanagementandfloods
Crises(energyandsugar)
Badgovernance
CorruptionandNRO
Problemsandsuggestionsforindustry,agriculture,exportsandtourism
Roleofmedia
DemocracyinPakistan
NaturalandhumanresourcepotentialofPakistan
Problemsofeducationandhealthsector

PakistanAffairs
Thispapergenerallygiveslowmarksbutsomecandidatesdoscore65plusmarkseveryyear.Soitisachallengeforevery
candidatetoscorehigherinthispaper.

Thispapermayalsobedivided,forschematicpreparation,intofollowingsegments:
Historicalperspective:onetwoquestions
PakistanMovement:onetwoquestions
Pakistan1947Present:threefourquestions

Thispaperdemandsacriticalapproachineveryattemptedquestion.Moreover,suitablequotationsfromgoodsourcesmaybe
giventosupporttheargument.Forthispurpose,selecttwothreegoodbooksandreadthemthoroughly.Thecandidatesmay
evenpickanalyticalargumentsfromthesebooksandusetheminpaper.

Thecandidatesshouldfocus,apartfromothertopicsmentionedinsyllabus,onthesetopicsaswell:

MuslimSocietyinSubcontinent
IdeologyofPakistan
ReformmovementsSheikhAhmadSirhindi(RA)
SirSyedAhmadandAligarh
ComparisonofDeobandandNadwa
PakistanResolution
ConstitutionmakinginPakistan
GeostrategicsignificanceandnaturalresourcesinPakistan
AgricultureandexportsofPakistan
Problemsofhealthandeducation

Scoringhighmarksincurrentaffairsdemandsthatthecandidatemustbewell
preparedhavinguptodateknowledgeofallcurrenttopics.

Islamiyat
Lastyearsresultsurprisedmanyasmostofthefailedcandidateswereavictimofthispaper.Purelyforthesakeofpaper,set
asideyouconfidenceinyourcommandoveryourfaithandseizethisopportunitytostudyIslamindetail.Thefailureofso
manycandidatesdoesnotmeanthattheirfaithisincomplete,rathertheyfailtounderstandtheessenceofquestions.

Therearealsomanyfalsenotionsandmythsaboutthispaperthatthecandidatesmustgivemoderateviewsinpaperor
otherwisepreparetobefailed.Thesenotionsarefalseandabsurd.ThereisnoroomforconfusioninIslamsogiveyourclear
cutviewbutdonotforgettoproveitwitheffectiveargumentationandexamples.

PakistanAffairpaperdemandsacriticalapproachineveryattemptedquestion.Moreover,suitablequotationsfromgoodsources
maybegiventosupporttheargument.

Moreover,trytounderstandcontemporaryproblemsfromIslamicpointofview.

OnemoreconfusionaboutthispaperisaboutattemptingitinUrduorEnglish.Thisisnoissueasthemainpurposeischecking
yourknowledge.EnglishorUrdudoesnotcarryanymarksoftheirown,butyourargumentationandpresentationdoes.So
choosethelanguageinwhichyoucanbestattemptthepaper.

OnemoreconfusionisaboutthenumberofAyatsandHadithreferencesonehastoquote.Itpurelydependsonthequestion.
Ifyourememberanyrelevantreferencesyoushouldwritepreferablywithotherpenandsomeextramarginleftonsides.

Butevenifyoudonotquoteanyreferences,thiswouldnotmeanabigdifferenceifyouanswerthequestioneffectively.Many
candidates,includingthewriter,couldnotquoteasinglereferenceinIslamiyatpaperlastyear(2009)andstillscored70per
centmarksinit.

Similarly,useofheadingsispurelydefinedbythequestionasked.Ifyouhaveanysuitableheadsforyourarguments,use
themwithmarkerinboldstyle.Butifquestionsdemandcriticalanalysis,youmightnotneedmorethanafew.

Islamiyatpapermayalsobedividedintosegments:
Islamicconceptandpractices
ContemporaryproblemsfacedbyMuslims

Thecandidatesshouldfocusonbothsegments.Sometopicsforguidelinemaybe:
IslamicconceptofUniverseandHumanity
ProblemsoflifeandIslamicsolution
BeliefsonRisalateandAkhiratBlasphemyquestion
SocialandmoralcodesinIslamvsWesternEthics
Islamicpoliticalsystemincomparisonwithmoderndemocracy
WomenrightsinIslamandlegislationsagainstveilinWest
PoliticalandeconomicinstabilityinMuslimWorld
SectarianviolenceandterrorisminPakistan
SourcesofShariahIjtehad

Intheend,Iwouldliketoremindthecandidatesthatthisisjustanexamforajob.Successorfailureinitwouldnotmeanan
endtolife.Justkeepfaithinyourabilitiesandtrytogiveityourbest.

LeavetheresttoAlmightyGodasHeisthemostMerciful.ButmakesurethatyoupresentAlmightyGodyourhonesteffort.I
wisheveryoneofyoureadingthisaverybestofluckinallfutureendeavoursoflife.MayAllahblessyouall.

Email:whackky@gmail.com

DrWaheedAsghar(CSP)
Articleviewed27649times.

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