Quote:
Originally Posted by Aime
Dear Seniors,
I am 28 years and a few months old at present. I have been working in the development sector for the past 3 years. Recently I have decided to sit for CSS and therefore decided on quitting my job. Even tho my job position is really good in a reputable firm with a good salary package, I want to sit CSS and try my luck.
I am taking a risk here. I have only attempt to avail which is ce 2018 and afterwards I'll be ineligible. This will be my first and last attempt. Time is short therefore I have decided to join NOA academy in Isl. My chosen subjects are IR, IL, US HIS, ENVIRON SCIENCE & PUSHTO. I will be taking a start from a scratch and I'm giving in all to make it a success in sha Allah.
Point is, I have heard several different views of aspirants/seniors regarding subject selection and academy joining and all however lastly I chose to filter these subjects and join academy. I have often heard many of you saying 'smart study'. A recent qualifier who got in FSP told me to do smart study and not go about covering everything as it will leave me doomed in the end. I dont have much time left now rather need to put things to practical asap. I'm starting study in July.
Please guide me to the best of your knowledge which should be my starting point?
I have only 7 months. How to get the most out of it?
What is smart study? Please elaborate in detail on this ?
What is the best strategy to cover syllabus in shorter period of time?
I dont have any books in hand as yet as I need to know best recommended books for the above selected. Help?
Notes, as I dont have much time to prepare my own notes and mostly heard many saying its the only thing to get you ahead of others, should I be doing this or not or any source for ready-made good recommended material?
I am a mediocre student with average IQ. I need to go about the best way possible to compile everything in less than 7 months but Im finding it a challenge plus its my only last attempt  considering the fact that i'll be even quitting my job  (I wish I could do it along with my job but my job is extremely demanding and tough I hardly get time for my self)
P.S I am looking out for Gov jobs and hoping to secure one till end of dec which will give a leverage and my age bracket would increase until 32, allowing me for another attempt at 31 post two years continual service completion.
Any sincere advice/suggestions/recommendations would be highly appreciated !
Thank you. |
I am not a CSP yet
but I am kind of senior person who also happened to have experience of preparing CSS in a very short time. CSS-18 is going to be my 2nd and hopefully last attempt.
Firstly yes, according to your age you have only 1 chance left. There are exceptions for getting age relaxation and for that check rules to see if you are eligible.
I can give you some suggestions. My first recommendation for you is to get leave from job if you can till end of February. You really need to think this through. If you are satisfied with job or not. Makeup you mind. Everyone can do CSS no matter in which category of intelligence one falls. Time taken by each individual can be different and it ranges from 6 months to a year. So if you really want to try your luck for CSS, that means you need to quit all your other activities. You can apply for FPSC and provincial management service jobs. Mostly people up to 35 years of age with general age relaxation are acceptable. They might not be better incentive wise if you compare with private sector but permanent government jobs have its perks too like retiring benefits, job security etc.
It is good that you have joined academy. Since you are beginner, you need all the help you can get. Only take classes of subjects which you think are worth taking and your precious time is not getting wasted in academy.
Your subject selection is excellent. A highly scoring combination. Besides Pushto we have other subjects in common. I do not have notes since I am making mine in bullets or as outlines for exams. This is recommended practice and there is no need to waste time on making comprehensive notes specially when time is short. Also it is not recommended to use notes of others as everyone makes them according to their own ease. Syllabus was changed for exams 2016 & onward so, notes according to new syllabus are not available.
You have chosen your subjects wisely. Now I am going to recommend you books for your preparation. I am not going to recommend you too many foreign books as I do not think it will be suitable for you as time is very short. You need 1 to 2 books for each subjects as core books so that you do not have to waste time on studying from too many sources. I am leaving there names if you want to consult them but it is not my recommendation. I am only recommending foreign books for subjects in which you have no other option.
Compulsory subjects:
English Essay:
No book is required. Just practice one essay every week and get it checked from a competent teacher who should have experience of teaching CSS aspirants. Two things are important for essay i.e. concepts and grammar. 10 essay topics will be given in exams from different fields like current affairs, literature etc. See past papers you will get the idea. Select one topic from latest past papers or current affairs topics, gather material and start writing. See essay section of the forum to get guidance about writing essays. Many model essays are available on this forum. For grammar portion, I am going to guide you in English precis & comprehension section. Your teacher in Nova must equip you with knowledge to write essays and must check your practice work. Otherwise quit English essay classes there and get help from competent teacher who can help with that.
English Precis & Composition:
Buy following book:
English Grammar & Composition by Hafiz Kareem Dad Chughatai by Caravan publishers.
He has covered everything in his book and no other source is required. Practice exercises are also given along with past papers. Learn tenses, change of voice, narration and grammar so that it can help you with all the subjects as in CSS they check you English in pretty much all the subjects. Practice precis, translation and comprehension on weekly basis from past papers. Divide list words according to 6 months time. Leave rest of the time from January onward for revisions. Start memorizing the lists. Then revise them on weekly and monthly basis if you can.
Islamiyat:
Again buy book by Hafiz Kareem Dad Chughatai. He has written books in both languages Urdu and English. Choose in which language you are going to attempt.
Current Affairs:
Read daily dawn news paper
JWT monthly magazine
Current affairs by Waseem Riaz Khan by JWT for past topics
Pakistan Affairs:
Book by JWT. Latest topics will be covered in CA.
General Science & Ability:
by book by Mian Shafique of JWT publishers. For G.S portion it is enough. You can add extra info from internet on book if you want. For ability portion book is not enough. Some links have been recently shared on General Science & Ability section of this forum very recently. Check them out and practice.
Optional Subjects:
For IR:
You need to consult 2 books:
1- Joshua Goldstien (core book)
2- JWT book (For topics not covered by J.G)
(3- Globalization of world's politics as an excellent book if you want to consult)
For IL:
Buy S.K kapoor's book. It is enough.
If want to consult more than 1 books buy JWT as it is according to syllabus.
E. Sciences:
JWT book + internet whenever required
US history:
1- Book by Majumdar
2- Sir Naveed Bhutto's notes
3- You can also consult JWT book. I am doing it.
(4- People's history by Howard Zinn an excellent book if you want to consult)
Pushto:
Take help from someone else as it is neither my optional nor my regional language. All I can tell you is that it is very scoring. You just need guidance for that. Go through threads of Pushto at this forum for help. Else go with recommended books.
You need to quit pretty much everything for next 8 months. Social contact as minimum as possible. At least 12-18 hours study is required on daily basis. Your routine should be like study--eat-sleep--study---eat---sleep....!! Get a room all to your your self. Bury your self in books and make sure no one disturbs you. For keeping your self fresh and interested you can spare a little time daily after studying in which you can read other books according to your interests. Movies, seasons etc are some of the ideas.
About smart study. It is recommended practice to finish all the syllabus at least once and two revisions are also recommended. I will suggest you to make schedule of days you have till 31st December. Allot days to each subject and try to finish till dead line. Do not make any lengthy notes. Just outlines so that you can revise in examination. Next 1.5 months are for revisions. You can finish revision in 1 month and consider extra 15 days a shock absorbing cushion if you do not finish your task on time. You can cover topics or subjects which you were unable to cover in allotted time.
In CSS, one should not leave any topics. We do not have liberty to leave many topics. Since we have choice, one can leave a certain chapter if time is short. Chapter should be the one from which question is least expected. It had worked for few people but it is not recommended.
You can do smart study in few things. Like absolutely no need to study full news paper. Just scan headings. Pay special attention to hot news. Note only extremely important points from other kind of news.
You need to prepare English and CA continuously. For other subjects divide days. There are no hard and fast rules to study subjects. Pick 1 or 2 at once according to your ease and start studying.
I have received you email for US history notes. I am going to send you few other notes and books that I have as well.
You can buy most of the recommended books from this online website:
www.cbpbook.com
Good luck for your preparation.