Originally Posted by daniyalahmed

I would suggest dump Indo - Pak history and opt for IR or I Law.

Originally Posted by daniyalahmed

last year, the syllabus of IR was different. I just read economist, time, foreign policy, Research papers on IR on my own. I also read foreign newspaper like FT, NY Times and Washington Post etc. My pick would be newspapers but this year they have changed the syllabus so you might also need a textbook to support your preparation.

Originally Posted by daniyalahmed

It was in 2013, I had failed in my first attempt. That failure inspired me to work harder. I locked myself in a room and tried to figure out the reasons. I realized that I needed to have a proper strategy. To chalk out a strategy, I meditated for 3 days. In the end, I got illumination. CSS was not about reading books, it was not about preparing notes, rather it was about three major skills. One was the ability to write, the second was the ability to think and the third was the ability to speak. With these broader goals, I set out to read quality books and magazines that improved my expression. Moreover, I saw movies, painting, listened to music, solved puzzles, undertook GRE to increase analytical skills. I knew that achieving success in competitive exams was to be closer to perfection.

My four pronged strategy worked as in a single year, I managed to secure Fulbright scholarship, got allocated to PSP in CSS, cleared PMS and also managed to secure BS - 17 job as instructor in MPDD, the apex training body of Punjab Government.

My only advise is don't cram stuff, don't prepare notes, get the skills and you'll sail through. This piece of advise is not relevant to CSS but applicable to all aspects of life. Also, try to interact with all hues and shades of people, try to have novel experiences, test the boundaries of your sleep, patience, pain etc. All these things enhance our threshold level and broaden horizon. As mentioned, I had a totally different approach to CSS and it did work!!!

Originally Posted by daniyalahmed

Aztech, I never formally practiced writing essays. However, when I was in class 12, my brother was doing Masters in English. Due to some chance occurrence, I started to read his novels. I have studied the entire syllabus of MA English, even when I'm an MBA. But, on a serious note, I definitely believe anyone who has done MA English has a higher chance of performing better in competitive examinations. The tragedy is that most people don't read text, they just study from sub standard guides by 'kitab mahal'. So, many people who have MA English degree actually fail in CSS. This doesn't mean that CSS and MA English are not correlated, it's just that most people don't do MA English the right way. Same goes for CSS, the right approach is to delve deep and read excessively. Don't ever go for a short cut, try to be thorough in your approach.