High scoring & low scoring - Whats the reality?

[DEADLYDOCTOR]

high scoring ---low scoring
css aspirants and beginners think that few subjects are high scoring and few are low scoring.

what is high scoring in css?i believe if you can score above 60% in all subjects in css thats high scoring not in a single subject at cost of other.

i look into this issue and come to this result i am writing here.
first one thing need to be cleared:

css is not an easy and simple game.its not child's play and there is no formula which leads to high scoring except hard working,wide study and luck.
every aspirant has a different approach and aptitude.so individual scorings and exceptions are always there.examiners in css can never be dodged.they are strict in marking.

main reasons for low scoring:

difficulty in attempting paper
improper preparation
wrong approach
wrong books selection or substandard book selection or single book study
over -confidence or losing nerves
not referring to recommended books
poor expression
atypical paper
bad day


Group A
Accounting & Auditing:
weak concepts,weak application of principle and rules,weak practical knowledge,selected study,weak book study,average preparation
but after covering above problems scoring can made high as to 70%+

Economics:
over confidence,relying on notes,not consulting recommended books,weak application skills,weak facts and figures presentation

Business Administration:
weak study,not referring to many books,theoretically weak approach,problems in application of knowledge,weak preparation of marketing and management part,wrong figures in financial part

Public Administration:
average study ,referring to books available in market but not referring to standard sources and recommended books,poor expression,weak understanding or difficulty in conveying points,no teacher or guidance available


Group B

Political Science:
substandard books,non-availability of teachers and notes,insufficient data in books ,practical knowlege lacks,poor expression and understanding,especially muslim political thought and paper2,overall a lengthy course
can be high scoring if greatly covered and strong understanding with correct analytical approach

Agriculture:
easy,overconfidence,lacks update knowledge of agriculture in Pakistan,weak analytical approach.
can be high scoring as upto 82/100 marks are seen in exams

Forestry:
substandard preparation material,poor figures,referring to guides which has wrong data
Sociology & journalism:
both are thought to be high scoring,reasons for it are ,good guide books,various sources,majority studied in their academics,proper guidance,limited syllabus,easy analytical approach

causes of low score in these: one book study,poor english,weak analysis,writing irrelevant i.e not focusing on question(how and what is asked)


Group C
overall very high scoring subjects as candidates have scored above 80% in these subjects

reason for low score:
improper guidance,notes are not easily available,require efforts,weak grip over syllabus,lacks interest,difficult to handle questions,recommended books are not easily available,weak approach and aptitude.

Group D (Science Subjects)
can be very high scoring if properly handled
physics,botany,zoology and chemistry can only be opted by those who have strong base of these subjects.
reasons for low scoring: poor understanding,weak preparation and understanding,lengthy syllabus,guidance not easily available,difficult to handle concepts,requires cramming

Geography :
opted by many candidates
it is high scoring but can be a nightmare as well
reason of low score:
reading substandard books,recommended books are not available or available in very old editions,weak understanding,poor diagrams,overall lengthy syllabus,ha to cove some history and current affairs of various regions,poor guidance,following typical pattern

Geology:
opted by only those who have done something in geology
poor guidance ,book issue,weak concepts,lack of interest.

Group E (History Subjects)

most candidates opt indo-pak or islamic history
can be high scoring as 160 in indo-pak and 188 in islamic history are evident results
reasons for low score:
1-2 book study,weak critical analysis,poor grip over comparisons,lengthy syllabi,questions demand extensive study,irrelevant material in answers,poor expression,stereotyping,difficult to answer with different perspectives,difficult and substandard material.
overall in history subjects above 90% students pass easily but high scoring may become an issue.

British History,European History and USA history all are easy and high scoring
reasons for low scoring:
poor english expression,weak concepts,substandard books,question in paper demands a lot,irrelevant writing by candidates
one of biggest problem history papers have to face is that immediately after compulsory papers next papers are of history so less time for revision and one is almost exhausted on that day.
other problem is many candidates are opting it so one has to stand above others to score high so requires a lot for effort.

Group F
law subjects and international relations
overall candidates easily pass but high scoring is difficult because of in-depth study,improper language,poor guidance,difficult to cope law issues,overconfidence,constitutions are poorly understood,bad critical approach,not oriented to problem based questions,selective study,typical approach

Group G
both philosophy and psychology are opted by less number
philosophy:
poor knowledge, expression and mostly depended on low standard short books/crammed and superficial material,guidance for preparation is rarely available
can be high scoring as candidates scored above 70%

psychology:
it is high scoring,one must have aptitude
reason for high scoring: guidance available,typical questions,questions repeat ,limited book study,majority who score high may have done M.Sc in psychology
reason for low score: lengthy syllabus,difficult to cope by those who have no background knowledge,sometimes questions demands a lot but answered improperly,requires cramming to some extent


Group H (Regional Languages)
regional languages are all high scoring if rightly attempted,books are easily available,guidance is also easy,many aspirants opt regional languages.
why low score then: weak writing expression,requires cramming,detail study required,writing problem,grammatical errors.
regional language papers demand that one takes it seriously. even who have their mother tongue ,fail to perform well

Group I:- (National and Foreign Languages)
all papers have lengthy syllabus and require a lot of hard work but are very high scoring as Arabic showed above 75%,persian showed above 70%, urdu above 60%,english literature above 60%

reasons for low scoring :
English literature:
lengthy course,difficult language,weak expression,lack of in-depth study,depending on notes and guides,substandard material,lack of criticism and analytical approach,inability to link literature with history,weak literary remarks
Arabic:
arabic language is not well prepared,problem in compulsory question,guidance available in limited areas
Urdu:
poor notes,not reading recommended books,weak expression

Persian:
grammar problems,guidance,insufficient prep by oneself,needs text study

many points seem similar but are facts and one can verify it from various sources.

After reading this ,following can be said:

no subject is high scoring or low scoring
availability of proper guidance is necessary
recommened books are must in some subjects
those subjects which are opted by many candidates each year improve in scoring because notes and books are improved each year because of demand
good english expression with correct grammar and vocabulary is must
examiners check each and everything
aim is to check knowledge as examiners immediately know from where you are writing in paper
proper aptitude and interest are necessary
only hard work ,covering syllabus with recommended books and keeping in view past papers can lead to high scoring.
finally luck and prayers can really boast score

so its time to get out of this myth of high scoring and low scoring subjects
best of luck

[intelligentgal]

There is just one rule for getting outstanding marks in CSS, reading reading and extensive reading. It is a competitive examination so one ought to have sufficient knowledge of each subject knowing the different aspects and dynamics of each topic. Selective study would never ever yield good results in CSS.

[SikanderHayat007]

@All

@DeadlyDoctor

Salam brothers.i agree with you(deadly doctor) that low scoring subjects is a myth.Every subject is scoring in CSS.Yes,candidates don't study all the books that have been recommended by FPSC in its book suggestions.These books are of standard quality and expression.In order to earn good marks we need to study at least 10-15 books for a subject so that we develop critical analysis and reasoning techniques.FPSC is a very fair institution and it provides equal opportunities to all candidates

Regards,

Sikander.

[Saqib Riaz]

@All

I think its useless to think about the scoring and non scoring subjects....Well I believe no subject is scoring.........Scoring is in fact ourselves........if we have passion, determination,aptitude, have knowledge to deal with any specific subject, stamina and lastly believe in own self then we can score high even in dry subjects......So this is the lame excuse to go with easy and scoring subjects.....I have seen people who suffered alot even in such easy and scoring subjects......just because they have one thing in their mind that this specific subject is easy and will not take much time so we can do it at last .......Ye to koi masla nai hai................will badly suffer.........
Each subject needs time..concentration and some tricks to cover......And after applying these things to even driest subject we can take much more marks then expectations......

[mani1]

Every now and then, I hear someone ask whether a particular subject is scoring or not and then we have all sorts of opinions flying around which creates confusion for the questioner who then vociferously tries to infer the sea of opinions and make some sense out of it.

I write here to dispel the popular notion regarding subjects. There is no such thing as a high scoring/low scoring subject! There is no empirical evidence around (read DMS) which can prove that a candidate, who other wise was academically brilliant & scored fantabulously in all other subjects, scored low in a particular subject. Not to mention that a single such example can't constitute a trend as one must have several such cases, all of whom, have one thing in common and that is that particular subject.

The scoring capability of any candidate depends upon his or her interest, knowledge and preparation of a subject. If one studies religiously and puts all the requisite hardwork then he or she can score in any subject.

I would suggest all aspirants to go through at least 10 years past papers of their short listed subject and then decide their optionals on the basis of their interest, background and dedication towards a subject instead of relying upon opinions whether a subject is scoring or not

[rizvan]

wot would u guys say for islamic history dis year?dere are many students who didnt even crossed barrier of 60 in any other subjects crossed 80's barrier in both paper 1 and 2 sum even got more den 85 having low marks in all remaining subjects? it aint rare every 2nd or 3rd person having islamic history got high marks and den u ppl say that dere is no high or low scoring subject?

[Raz]

Originally Posted by rizvan

wot would u guys say for islamic history dis year?dere are many students who didnt even crossed barrier of 60 in any other subjects crossed 80's barrier in both paper 1 and 2 sum even got more den 85 having low marks in all remaining subjects? it aint rare every 2nd or 3rd person having islamic history got high marks and den u ppl say that dere is no high or low scoring subject?

You are right Rizvan. You are talking about low score in other papers but high score in Islamic History. We have examples of those candidates who could not pass even a single paper from compulsory as well as optional except Islamic History. They have scored 100 plus in Islamic History but could not pass even Islamiat Paper.



Roll#87

Essay: 21

Composition: 24

GK:69
>EDS: 14
>CA: 30
>PA: 25

Islamiat: 35

English Literature: 33
>Paper-A : 13
>Paper-B: 20

Islamic History and Culture: 105
>Paper-A: 45
>Paper-B: 60
LAW: 39
>Paper-A: 11
>Paper-B: 28


All papers fail except Islamic History in which she has scored 100 plus



Roll# 1097

Essay: 18

Composition: 16

GK:52
>EDS: 15
>CA: 16
>PA: 21

Islamiat: 35

Urdu: 32
>Paper-A : 12
>Paper-B: 20

Islamic History and Culture: 77
>Paper-A: 30
>Paper-B: 47

Political Science: 54
>Paper-A: 28
>Paper-B: 26


All papers fail except Islamic History.

[DEADLYDOCTOR]

@raz and rizvan
css is a game of luck and uncertainity.
css 2009 is full of upsets or new trends as evident from result.
islamic history really got great scores. exceptions are always there.
but basic trend of all other papers remain same.
look at all history subjects -all score well.ameican history,indo-pak all history subjects score well.
scoring has one biggest factor --- examiner.
its a matter of luck that islamic history got good scoring. but what about css 2008,2007 ,2006 and so on.
Raz bro css 2009 is an exception in itself.i still believe there is no high scoring-low scoring subjects.

[dr.ali.zaidi]

As far as Subject selection is concerned, i have come to the conclusion that there are certain subjects that are scoring like psychology but then these are really difficult to get a grip on. i tried giving psychology a reading but found it really tough and very vast requiring the amount of hardwork. The same hard work if directed to some 100 marks subject can help you yield better marks. Hence I's be substituting my subjects with IR, Cons Law, Muslim Law, Sociology and indo pak history

Regards
Dr. ALi

[DEADLYDOCTOR]

There is no alternative to hard work.
each subject demands it.
each subject also demands correct approach.
some subjects are technical,some are not.technical subjects may give you good score but they can also prove to be nightmare.
knowing too much is not enough,one needs correct approach.
now comes examiner issue. examiners can give high or low score but it depends on examiner only. not subject not fpsc is responsible for it.here it comes to luck.