Originally Posted by maliasghar

Subject to repeated queries on the books and other material, I consulted during the course of my preparation for the CE-2010, I am noting down my observations below. You might not be reading every single line/page of the books I have mentioned down here, but in some cases selected portions.
Here is the list:

English (Precis & Composition):
- Exploring the world of English by Saadat Ali Shah (for idioms, and pair of words)
- Active Passive made Easy
- Direct Indirect made Easy
- Tenses made Easy
(These are small books worth 30~40 rupees each, written for the younger classes of Matric. Though mostly written in urdu language, these are very good to clear the concepts)
- Any other grammar book, if the need be felt. (One other good book is English grammar book by OUP)

English (Essay):
You simply cannot expect to write a full length essay on day 1. Start practice to write a paragraph daily on simple day to day topics like 'cleanliness in your street', 'traffic chaos in your city' etc, increasing this to a couple of paragraphs, and eventually being able to write full length essays.

Pakistan Affairs:
- Pakistan Affairs by Ikram Rabbani [Caravan Publishers] (Good initial reading to get a summarized idea about all aspects of this paper)
- Trek to Pakistan (A must bible for CSS Preparation of Pre-Partition)
- Constitutional & Political History of Pakistan by Hamid Khan [Oxford University Press] (Though this book is really thick and too much a read, but I guess after this you would not require any thing else to rely on. It is a complete solution to Post Partition Pak Affairs course as well as the Indo-Pak Paper II. Also, do not be intimidated by the thickness of the book, for you do not need to read every single thing in it. Instead just selective portions)

Islamiyat:
- Islami Nazriya-e-Hayat by Prof. Khurshid Ahmed (For attempting Islamiyat in Urdu. Even if attempting in English, read this book)
- Towards Islamiyat [Dogar Sons] (Pathetically done English translation of the above book)
- A Document on Islam [Caravan Book House] (Good for modern and contemporary portion of Islamiyat especially the latest paper trends)

Everyday Science:
- Everyday Science by Kashmiri (It is very poorly written and difficult to read, but most of the paper is set from this book.)
- General Knowledge, internet and O level/Matric science books.
- Solve the last 20 year EDS papers from Internet or other sources

Current Affairs:
- Start reading newspaper (DAWN preferred) on daily basis. Initially try to understand the major stories going around in the world and Pakistan, focusing mostly on front and back page, international pages and the editorials. You don't need to read everything about local news like robbery, accidents etc, or political rivalries b/w PPP and PML, but the news and articles on social issues and of national/international importance like economy, Afghanistan war, terrorism, water, energy crises etc.
- For a start, read one issue of Contemporary Affairs by Imtiaz Shahid. It will give you a basic understanding of all current issues.
- With more passing time, you can try to read advanced issues from quarterly journals of Institute of Policy Studies, Institute of Peace Studies, and Institute of Strategic Studies.


Indian History Paper I:
- Indo-Pak History by K. Ali
- Indo-Pak History by Sohail Bhatti (This is a very lengthy book, but you don't need to study all of it, for there is a lot of repetition)

Indian History Paper II:
No preparation as such, for it was covered in the preparation for Pakistan Affairs.

Geography Paper I:
- Physical Geography by H. J. DeBlij
- Physical Geography by Safdar Bajwa (Emporium). (This book in fact contains a lot of copied material from the book mentioned above + some other material copied from other books. This book might not be very good for understanding concepts, but it covers all aspects of the CSS syllabus. I think this book should be treated as ready made notes once understanding has been achieved from other sources.)

Geography Paper II:
- Human Geography by H. J. DeBlij
- Economic & Commercial Geography by Fazle Karim Khan (Oxford Publisher Pakistan). (Get the book which is written for Intermediate and BCom students and not O Levels)
- Human Geography by Prof. Mian Muhammad Anwar (For BA Classes)

For Geography you do not have to write really long. Your answers can be precise just like in any other science subject. The key to paper I are the diagrams. Almost every single topic has diagrams and illustrations associated. So you need to practice these diagrams and illustrations. If you simply write all the headings, basic facts under each heading and the diagrams, your answer is good enough to score high marks. And this would make your paper outshine too, for not many people give importance to figures.

For paper II, you need to read beyond these books too. The Yellow Pages of Dawn on Monday, and general Pakistan economy related articles would help you a lot in beautifying your answers. But do not sacrifice other subjects at the cost of Geography. Just continue to read newspaper and other current affair articles as such and note down points related to population, economy of Pakistan and these will ultimately help you in Geography Paper II.

Public Administration:
- Public Administration by Dr. Sultan Khan
- Public Administration by Dr. Liaqat Ali Khan Niazi
- Notes/Lectures by Virtual University

Journalism:
- Competitive Journalism by Abid Tehami
- Exploring Journalism by Safdar Mehmood.
- Notes/Lectures by Virtual University

As for the notes formation, I prepared short notes (i.e. point form), for at the end you would not have the time to go through long lengthy notes. Plus, I don't see the need for such as the books are already available with you. Through the course of preparation for CSS, you would not have the time to repeatedly go through those books you have already gone through as there is so much to read in a limited amount of time.


Hope it helps. Cheers.