Here i want to share an old post by Adnan Younis,CSP-2004

I have provided this to facilitate people who have yet to see a CSS essay paper.
This will tell them a bit about the nature of the paper.

One is required to write an essay on a single topic. Essay paper is of 100 marks and also it is compulsory. You need to score 40 to pass this paper. Fail in essay means fail in CSS.

Million dollar question: How could one cross this obstacle named essay paper?

There are many ways to do this.

In the first place, one should be quite sure of the fact that he/she could write correct English. No body is totally immune to mistakes but one has to try to learn to write correct English.

Work on basic Grammar is helpful. But in my personal opinion, it is much better to practice writing. Remember a maxim, "The more you read, the better you write".
Try to read as much as possible especially newspapers and magazines. Literature would also be helpful but some people are not interested in reading Lit.

Second, one should have fair bit of knowledge on the type of topics that regularly appear in the examination.
If I am asked, I would broadly categorize them in;

1) Literature Related
2) Philosophy
3) International Politics
4) Economics related
5) Social issues
6) Religious Issues

A candidate in my personal opinion should atleast be able to write on three of the categories. Like, I was quite at home in the latter three.

You should also work on specialization.

Third, how exactly to write essay on the day of paper?
There are debates like of egg and chicken going on in the CSS since eternity and shall continue. Like outline/no outline, large essay/ short essay, even heading/ not heading etc
In my personal opinion, Outline should be preferred on no-outline, no heading on heading and short essay (800 to 2000 words) to large essay (More than 2000 words).

Two plus two makes four so does three plus one. So surely you are going to meet people with different opinion.

One of the finest sources to prepare for CSS in general and essay in particular is Dawn (www.dawn.com).

You are advised to consult other sources as well.
For further on the minute techniques of writing essay for examination, consult A-Levels General Paper book.

Note: This is a piece consisting of my personal opinion. You are free to agree or otherwise with this.

Adnan Younis-Commerce and Trade