Originally Posted by Jolie Dame

There are many aspirants who have been asking me how I prepared for CSS examination, in how much time and what were my strategies etc. I personally find it an obligation to pass on the experience and knowledge that I have got throughout my journey because once it was me, striving to get my hands on any useful tips or information that could help me in achieving my goal. So, here it goes!

The preparatory phase of an aspirant depends upon the factors like availability of time, ability to grab the concepts, level of motivation and sincerity to the aim. In addition to that, a very essential feature is the skill of planning and organizing. Every subject of this exam requires a proper planning to cover it efficiently and effectively. One should be very vigilant about the time in hand and necessary requirements to get through. I had the habit to write a lot. So, I was there, always making lists and organizing study material from different sources and then used to launch the final step of memorizing and understanding. It was like, I have my weapons in hand and I am ready for the war. Furthermore, the basic trick is to "MAKE A PLAN AND STICK TO THAT NOMATTER WHAT".

I would try to give a precise, yet, useful overview of my strategy for the preparation of different subjects. I started with the preparation of Pakistan Affairs and Punjabi. I would always try to take both compulsory and optionals side by side which kept me satisfied that I am not spending too much time on any single section while keeping the other one pending. I used to make a proper topic-wise plan for each subject with appropriate allocation of time as per my ease. I did thorough research before making every study plan. Once I had my checklist in hand, I used to give one comprehensive read to the book of subject under study. Important to mention here is the fact that i didn't go for too many books for a subject. It was always one book and may be another as a second reference, but never more than that. One can use CSS Forum and past papers to prepare the checklists which I also did and it proved helpful. After completing Pakistan Affairs (alongwith its notes) and Punjabi in a month or little less, I started Islamiat and Journalism. Punjabi in particular took less days like 10 to 15. I prepared full length notes of Islamiat because I couldn't find any single book that could satisfy the whole preparation. I completely relied on the past papers for the preparation of its study plan.

I finished Journalism in a short span of time i.e. 5 days so I started Everyday Science with Islamiat. Everyday Science is a type of subject which takes quite some time because its a little lengthy and you do not necessarily have to cover it in one go. You can always cover three to four topics in a day which helps in retaining the information easily without getting bored. Once I had completed Islamiat, I started British History with EDS. Soon, it was the month of October and I was done with EDS. Now, I was left with two entirely untouched subjects i.e. Arabic and Current Affairs and one partially completed subject i.e. British History. I accelerated the pace of my preparation because I wanted to reserve December and January for revision. I quickly finished BH and started preparing my own notes for Current Affairs in November alongwith studying Arabic. In November, the study was in full swing. And my full focus was towards a December, reserved for revision. It was only mid of December that I managed to complete all subjects.
I kept on doing English Precis and Comprehension and English Essay from time to time throughout the preparation and read Dawn Newspaper daily particularly focusing Page 1,3 and the last ones related to International affairs. I also read Editorials and used to keep the cuttings of important ones from the point of view of Essay. For Essays, I selected 10 hot topics of that year and prepared their outlines (sources were internet, JWT Magazine and Dawn Editorials). While I used past papers of 10 years for English P&C.

Sources for preparation:

Compulsory
1. English Precis&Comprehension (Past papers and notes on idioms, POW, corrections from STC, PU, Lahore)
2. Pakistan Affairs (Ikram Rabbani and Trek to Pakistan, prepared notes from these two books but major focus remained on Ikram Rabbani)
3. EDS (Dr. Rab Nawaz Samo and MCQs done from Sudha Publishers)
4. Current Affairs (Notes prepared from internet, JWT, Newspaper)
5. Islamiat (Notes prepared from internet and Anwar Hashmi's Islamiat)

Optional
1. Journalism (Ilmi's Journalism by Nadeem Abbas Baghoor and also read notes by Miss Saleha, got them from STC, PU, Lahore)
2. Punjabi (Punjab Rang by Faisal Hayat Jappa)
3. Arabic (Notes of Sir Hafiz Arshad, used for poetry and grammar while prepared literature from book by Hafiz Karimdad Dilshad Chughtai)
4. British History (Prepared Paper A from P.C.Thomas and Paper B from Norman Lowe and Top 20 questions of Jahangir's. For few topics on modern British History, I had to consult internet)

For Revision

Once you are done with your detailed first read, second read should be done along with preparation of short bullet notes. Almost every qualifier would suggest you this and it is an absolute fact that these bullet notes help you in revising the night before exam without putting you in much tension and trouble. We can safely say that two revisions can get you good marks in a subject but it can always vary person to person.

Moreover, you should have a very good writing practice because you are going to attempt two papers in a day and six papers in three days. There could be your optionals in the same row as well. So, mixed with the stress it becomes a very hectic and lethargic routine that can leave you completely devoid of energy. The plight is massive for a while and only the strong ones sail through it smoothly. You only need to have a firm belief in your abilities and have faith that true hardwork is always rewarded by Almighty Allah. Do your best and leave the rest to Him.

I would try to share the lists of topics and other related material soon, InshaaAllah.

Regards

Originally Posted by Jolie Dame

There are many aspirants who have been asking me how I prepared for CSS examination, in how much time and what were my strategies etc. I personally find it an obligation to pass on the experience and knowledge that I have got throughout my journey because once it was me, striving to get my hands on any useful tips or information that could help me in achieving my goal. So, here it goes!

The preparatory phase of an aspirant depends upon the factors like availability of time, ability to grab the concepts, level of motivation and sincerity to the aim. In addition to that, a very essential feature is the skill of planning and organizing. Every subject of this exam requires a proper planning to cover it efficiently and effectively. One should be very vigilant about the time in hand and necessary requirements to get through. I had the habit to write a lot. So, I was there, always making lists and organizing study material from different sources and then used to launch the final step of memorizing and understanding. It was like, I have my weapons in hand and I am ready for the war. Furthermore, the basic trick is to "MAKE A PLAN AND STICK TO THAT NOMATTER WHAT".

I would try to give a precise, yet, useful overview of my strategy for the preparation of different subjects. I started with the preparation of Pakistan Affairs and Punjabi. I would always try to take both compulsory and optionals side by side which kept me satisfied that I am not spending too much time on any single section while keeping the other one pending. I used to make a proper topic-wise plan for each subject with appropriate allocation of time as per my ease. I did thorough research before making every study plan. Once I had my checklist in hand, I used to give one comprehensive read to the book of subject under study. Important to mention here is the fact that i didn't go for too many books for a subject. It was always one book and may be another as a second reference, but never more than that. One can use CSS Forum and past papers to prepare the checklists which I also did and it proved helpful. After completing Pakistan Affairs (alongwith its notes) and Punjabi in a month or little less, I started Islamiat and Journalism. Punjabi in particular took less days like 10 to 15. I prepared full length notes of Islamiat because I couldn't find any single book that could satisfy the whole preparation. I completely relied on the past papers for the preparation of its study plan.

I finished Journalism in a short span of time i.e. 5 days so I started Everyday Science with Islamiat. Everyday Science is a type of subject which takes quite some time because its a little lengthy and you do not necessarily have to cover it in one go. You can always cover three to four topics in a day which helps in retaining the information easily without getting bored. Once I had completed Islamiat, I started British History with EDS. Soon, it was the month of October and I was done with EDS. Now, I was left with two entirely untouched subjects i.e. Arabic and Current Affairs and one partially completed subject i.e. British History. I accelerated the pace of my preparation because I wanted to reserve December and January for revision. I quickly finished BH and started preparing my own notes for Current Affairs in November alongwith studying Arabic. In November, the study was in full swing. And my full focus was towards a December, reserved for revision. It was only mid of December that I managed to complete all subjects.
I kept on doing English Precis and Comprehension and English Essay from time to time throughout the preparation and read Dawn Newspaper daily particularly focusing Page 1,3 and the last ones related to International affairs. I also read Editorials and used to keep the cuttings of important ones from the point of view of Essay. For Essays, I selected 10 hot topics of that year and prepared their outlines (sources were internet, JWT Magazine and Dawn Editorials). While I used past papers of 10 years for English P&C.

Sources for preparation:

Compulsory
1. English Precis&Comprehension (Past papers and notes on idioms, POW, corrections from STC, PU, Lahore)
2. Pakistan Affairs (Ikram Rabbani and Trek to Pakistan, prepared notes from these two books but major focus remained on Ikram Rabbani)
3. EDS (Dr. Rab Nawaz Samo and MCQs done from Sudha Publishers)
4. Current Affairs (Notes prepared from internet, JWT, Newspaper)
5. Islamiat (Notes prepared from internet and Anwar Hashmi's Islamiat)

Optional
1. Journalism (Ilmi's Journalism by Nadeem Abbas Baghoor and also read notes by Miss Saleha, got them from STC, PU, Lahore)
2. Punjabi (Punjab Rang by Faisal Hayat Jappa)
3. Arabic (Notes of Sir Hafiz Arshad, used for poetry and grammar while prepared literature from book by Hafiz Karimdad Dilshad Chughtai)
4. British History (Prepared Paper A from P.C.Thomas and Paper B from Norman Lowe and Top 20 questions of Jahangir's. For few topics on modern British History, I had to consult internet)

For Revision

Once you are done with your detailed first read, second read should be done along with preparation of short bullet notes. Almost every qualifier would suggest you this and it is an absolute fact that these bullet notes help you in revising the night before exam without putting you in much tension and trouble. We can safely say that two revisions can get you good marks in a subject but it can always vary person to person.

Moreover, you should have a very good writing practice because you are going to attempt two papers in a day and six papers in three days. There could be your optionals in the same row as well. So, mixed with the stress it becomes a very hectic and lethargic routine that can leave you completely devoid of energy. The plight is massive for a while and only the strong ones sail through it smoothly. You only need to have a firm belief in your abilities and have faith that true hardwork is always rewarded by Almighty Allah. Do your best and leave the rest to Him.

I would try to share the lists of topics and other related material soon, InshaaAllah.

Regards

Originally Posted by Adeel Afzal

I have some questions in my mind, I will be highly grateful to you if you will respond to them.
Q.1 What is your qualification/education?
Q.2 In what medium did you attempt your islamiyat paper- Urdu or English?
Q.3 What was your stance in islamiyat paper? Forward looking moderate Muslim or somewhat stick to fundamental concepts, especially in case of JIHAAD?
Q.4 You prepared full-length notes for P.A and islamiyat and short bullet notes for C.A, my question is, did you prepare short bullet notes for remaining 9 subjects or just used books for them and highlight and underline important things?
Thanks in advance, heartiest congratulations again

Originally Posted by Alice

sorry i did not get it
23 pages means
one page= just front
or
one page = front and back


and can you please mention what was your focus in newspaper . you told pages number but if u mention in sections like in form of national , international etc.
Thanks

Originally Posted by Awesum Farhan

Thank you so much for your valuable advise and suggestions..
Would you please tell me sister
1-How to analyse a topic. Because it's usually said that we have to write an analytical essay on any unseen topic.. Moreover what should be the sequence of writing best essay.??
2-Where did you prepare for English Vocabulary??
3- How was your interview experience?? Please share with us.

Jazak Allah ho Khair!

Originally Posted by Jolie Dame

You are welcome.

Originally Posted by Awesum Farhan

Sister as you said that we should be very clear that either we are expressing our views for or against the topic.. But I'm a bit confused because some csps say that we should be unbiased and express our views on both sides??
I don't know what to do..
Sorry for asking such a silly questions again and again..!!
Jazak Allah