Dear All,
Assalamoalikum,

For all those who are really ambitious to join the civil services and also for those who want to take the exam to test their caliber (or destiny), and even for those, like me, who think of giving it a shot just because they do not find any thing else to do __ I would like to share my experience of CSS exams I took in the year 2005.

Not being an exceptionally hardworking student who would sit up late at night, studying till the clock ticks 3: 00 a.m.; emptying as many mugs of coffee as could be possible, to keep the eyes wide open; spending twelve to fourteen hours skimming and scanning through those thick dry books in the tiniest print __ I used to wonder at the people who pass this exam. The very term ‘muqable ka imtihan’ has such a frightening air about it that one thinks many times before taking the leap.

It was just four months before the exams when my teacher (himself a CSP officer) gave me the really ‘big push’ for the much dreaded exam. The twelve paper drill, without enough breaks to reclaim your energies, the most unexpected questions that appear despite extensive and thorough study, the shortage of words you face just when you are about to wind up the last paragraph, the facts and figures that simply vanish from your mind the moment you sit for the exam, and most importantly the agony of writing non- stop for three tiring hours, all loomed before my eyes and I said___ No!
After all I had never dreamed of becoming a CSP officer. I was the one who while taking any annual exam used to say: ‘This is the last exam of my life and I am never going to study further.’ How could I suddenly turn so ambitious to sit for CSS exam? To this I have yet not found an answer. My plan was only to avail the first chance. I thought that if I clear __ well enough, if I don’t __ still OK. CSS is such a prestigious exam __ it’s glorious even to fail. With that, I reassured myself that if I fail, I won’t take it to my heart__ but in case, I pass __ I won’t take it to my head. And finally, I sat down to study for the ‘muqable ka imtihan.’

A Master’s degree in Economics helped me a lot. Though the minimum qualification required for appearing in civil services exams is bachelors, it is much better if you appear with a higher degree. You will be amazed at how the number of candidates shrinks by with thousands applying in the beginning, a little less thousand appearing to take the exam, a few hundred being lucky enough to pass the written and even fewer, luckier to clear the interview and viva voce and perhaps the luckiest few to get the allocation in the service of their first choice. What is it that takes to reach that final allocation list? This is what I would like to comment upon.

To be precise it is a blend of your background knowledge, retentive and recalling capacity of your memory, command over language, clarity of thought and the ability to get your ideas across with the same clarity and intelligibility. If you have these qualities, you only need to give a thorough study to your subjects and all is fine.

As far as the optionals are concerned, in my opinion, if you are genuinely interested in a subject and like to grasp its concepts and meanings and are willing to explore a little further than the few books meant to ensure you passing marks, it does not matter how theoretical your subject is, you would still score well. Going for a subject just thinking that it is scoring; having least interest in it, might not be a good approach.

In the choice of optional subjects, obviously you would consider your past fields of study or areas of specialization; however certain subject might be new to you. Get a thorough understanding of those before you sit down for the final preparation. It helps a lot if you take your own notes, summarize them in a few points and go through them regularly. This combined with your ability to relate newer concepts with your previously learned ideas would help you have a quick grasp on the subject.

One thing I would like to make mention of is that, it is extremely important to distribute your time between the twelve subjects. At times the optional subjects are given so thorough a study that little or no time is left for the compulsory papers. This costs heavily during exams as in CSS failing in one means you have to take all papers again.

This is my observation, that no matter how many wonderful suggestions you get for doing well in the examination hall, in the final analysis, you are the best judge of yourself. Your study style, concentration span, learning pattern, comprehension power, notes-taking method, revision procedure and your approach towards attempting the paper all are your own and have developed over the years. They cannot change over night. You can take ideas and suggestions from others but see to it you go for the method that suits you best.

The syllabus for the CSS exams is so vast that if you do not have ample time, there might be some topics that would remain out of your reach. So you have to be very careful while being selective. Keep a booklet of past papers with you. List the topics that appeared in the past, say, ten years. You will find that certain topics appear almost every alternate year. Highlight them. Then there would be those that appear after few years. Place them on the second ranking. And then there would be those that are entirely new. Put them on third ranking. Now with this list you can create guess papers of your own. I have used this strategy since my Metric exams and it really works. In fact, I used to spend more time making my guess papers than actually preparing for them.


As for the answering styles, students vary in their methods of replying a question: some pay more attention to the factual side other would emphasize the theoretical content. In descriptive papers, I think, a well-attempted answer ought to have a brief introduction and background, a comprehensive and methodical elaboration of issue you have been asked in the question, augmented by facts and figures, and finally your comments and analysis ending in a meaningful conclusion. Quoting and referencing is a strong plus and is highly recommended provided done with relevance. You should be extremely vigilant about spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. No matter how well attempted your paper is such flaws leave a very bad impression. Use your time well and keep a balance in the length of your answers. Make use of headings where appropriate and do not stuff your answers with too many of them. This breaks the flow and connectivity of your answer. Once you have done the paper and you are lucky enough to get a couple of minutes, read through the paper again and correct any errors. These suggestions have proved to work well with the descriptive papers both compulsory and optional. For the subjects of technical and computational sort you will need a different approach. Be careful of formulae, calculations, signs and symbols and the logical continuity of your solutions. In subjects of scientific nature, it is as easier to lose marks as it is to gain them.

The schedule for CSS exams is quite hectic. You may not get enough days off in between the papers. So do not leave anything to the last moment. That is not the time for preparation. What you couldn’t do in months how can you do in minutes. You might have noticed that at times you are well-prepared for the exam but just because of nervousness, tension, a sleepless night, or a missed meal __ you do poorly in the exam. A nice breakfast, backed by a good night sleep, tension-free and relaxed mind, a few inspiring quotes that you read out aloud to yourself __ these are the ingredients of my recipe for attempting a good paper.

Once you clear the written exam, there still remains an up hill task. Yes! the interview and the viva voce. You wrote well. Good enough! That has got you through the written exam. Now you got to speak well too. And how do you do that? Remember the A, B, C rule of interview. It is accuracy, brevity and clarity. Begin preparing for the interview well in advance. Work hard on your areas of improvement. Get command over the basic concepts of your optional subjects and keep yourself up-to-date regarding current affairs. Having a good general knowledge is very helpful and being witty, a real strength.

Practice having dummy interviews with your friends or by yourself. Imagine what could be asked. Raise questions yourself and find answers to them. Think what you would like to ask the candidates had you been in the interviewing panel. Do this hot-chair exercise. Reply to that as a potential officer. Analyze again as a panelist. Keep practicing. You might have heard, first you fake it then you make it.

When you appear for the final interview, keep a few things in mind. Almost ninety percent of your judgement would take place in the initial five minutes. If you don't prove your potential then, its difficult that you would do in the rest of the interview. So, listen to the question carefully and comprehend the question thoroughly before replying. Say what is factual. Do not state anything you yourself are not sure of. Be brief and to the point. You might get trapped by your own statements. Avoid sweeping statements and generalized remarks.

Most importantly be who you are. Be original and genuine. They are going to judge you on the basis of the information you have provided them in your psychological profile. Do not be hesitant in admitting if you do not know something and do not be apologetic of any areas of improvement. Neither be rigid and unyielding nor try to appear to be excessively agreeable. Your language should be lucid and your statements well-articulated. Avoid flowery or slang language. Pay special attention to your attire. Dress professionally and carry yourself with grace. Your appearance, gestures, posture, facial expressions speaks more than your words. Let it speak good of you.


So folks, don’t let this ‘muqable ka imtihan’ send a shiver down your spine. One of the stanzas I often keep on repeating to myself is:

If you think you are beaten you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win but think you can’t
It’s almost certain that you won’t
For out of the world we find
Success begins with fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind!

And last but certainly not the least: ‘Prayer should be our first resource rather than the last resort.’ Who knows, someday you might be landing in the service of your first choice. Wouldn’t it be like a dream come true? __ May be a dream you had never dreamed of!

Wishing you all the best
Farhana

Dear All,
Assalam-o-alikum,

Success in exams has a lot to do with your preparation method and paper attempting style. Good material availability, organized study behavior, realistic goal setting, effective time and stress management, willingness to work, facilitating environment and most importantly an ever-rejuvenating faith in God ___ with all these things there is no reason of not doing well in exam.

I appeared in the CSS-2005 exam. With four months for preparation (which included subject selection, material gathering, concept building, notes-taking and revision), without joining any academy, coaching class or study group, limited access to library or internet, and without much habit of hardwork, I was, Alhamdolillah, still able to clear in the first attempt. Based on my experience, I have the following suggestions for preparation and paper attempting.

Preparation Tips

1st Stage – Know Thyself
• Choose the optional subjects carefully keeping in view your aptitude and background knowledge
• Discover the areas in which you have an edge and also those in which you need improvement. Design a study pattern accordingly.
• Develop the necessary skills such as:
o A good grammar base and a sufficient vocabulary
o Ability to grasp, analyze, relate, simplify and generate ideas
o Reading and writing with speed, accuracy, fluidity, clarity and comprehensiveness
o Ability to motivate yourself, maintain focus, get things done etc.
• Get a general (text book) understanding of the subjects that are entirely new to acquaint yourself to the basic concepts

2nd Stage __ Select and Collect
• Go through past papers and choose 20-25 topics (not questions) for each 200 marks paper and 10-15 topics for each 100 marks paper.
• Gather relevant material on the selected topics through books, newspapers or journals, internet.

3rd Stage __ Notes-taking not Notes-making
• Give an extensive and intensive reading to the gathered material
• Jot down the definition, meaning, historical background, relevant facts and figures, practical application, future prospects, etc. related to the topic.
• Select 6-7 suitable quotations relevant to each topic.

4th Stage __ Familiarize, Memorize and Revise
• Familiarize yourself to the various aspects of the topic
• Memorize the quotations, facts and figures
• Revise the points you had made while note-taking


Paper Attempting Tips

• Give the question paper a careful reading for first 5 minutes, and choose the questions you are going to attempt.
• Try to complete the objective part in first 10-15 minutes.
• On the last page of answering sheet pen down the main points regarding each question you are going to attempt. This should not take more than 10 minutes.
• Having done this, relax yourself, as all the key information you have to deal with is available.
• Now you can begin answering the questions, maintaining the flow and connectivity of your writing, without the fear of getting off the track or forgetting any important idea.
• You have with you almost two and a half hours for the subjective section which should be divided equally among the remaining questions.
• First attempt those questions that are well-prepared, leaving for the end those for which you have to dig deeper in your mind.
• Maintain a balance in the length of answers. All questions carrying equal marks should cover more or less the same pages.
• Give your self a break after completing every question.
• Save last 5 minutes for correction of spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.

For theoretical and descriptive answers

• Begin your answer with a relevant quotation
• Define the key terms
• Give a brief historical background if needed
• Discuss, describe, explain, elaborate, enunciate, elucidate __ do whatever has been asked
• Support with facts and figures, examples, references
• Give your personal comment and analysis
• State a comprehensive conclusion based on arguments of previous section
• End with a suitable quote


These were few tips and tecniques that haved worked well with me. Hope they prove helpful to you too.

Wishing you all the best.

Farhana

Such a useful information and very much helpful for an aspirant like me who is going through the same phase you went through , but the tips you provided are helping me out , I have started preparations for css 2011 exams and have started spending my time in the library , however I am still confused about the subject selection , only few months are left and I am quite worried , should I join a css Academy in the city or should I prepare by making my own notes and reading alot of material regarding the subjects I will opt , please guide me about the subjects I should take and please note that I am an anti - math person , it would be highly appreciated if you help me choose my subjects.

Thankyou,
Regards,
Asif Raza

Dear Farhana,

U had prepared all that stuff in just 4 months?

__________________
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
.::Be Different::.
M$. L!|y

Dear Farhana

Your preparation strategy & tips are really helpful and a source of inspiration for any CSS aspirant. Please share your notes here for further guideline & facilitate more.

__________________
Allah (SWT) says: “And there should be a group amongst you who invite towards good, order for acknowledged virtues, forbid from sin and these it is that are the successful ones” (Ale Imran: 104).

Thanks Farhana ....I really got Inspiration from your study tactics, the whole expierence what you shared with us its very helpful....Can you please also share that how many hours each day you gave to your preparation as you did only in 04months.......!


Stay Blessed...!

dear farhana mam,

u have really made my mind and whatever u said i'll keep that in my mind and dear thank u sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for sharing ur experience with all of us.
i just only wanna ask a simple question.
how hard was exam for u and did u clear the exam in the first time?
ur earliest response would be highly apprreciated.

regards,

M Rameez


******


dear farhana,

could you please tell us that what were ur optional subjects?

regards,

This thread is too old, it was created four years ago. Farhana Asif made last post in 2006. Clearly she is not actively participating in the forum anymore.
Kindly consider these issues before making any new post in old threads.

Thanks for your tips.... I sense a lot of optimism

One last question, as a serving FSP, what do you suggest aspiring starry eyed females who dream to join foreign services? Majority of the advice comes from male FSPs and they all verdict against it for young women.
Your view (or any other serving FSP's) will be of great help!

__________________
“Get busy living or get busy dying.....there ain't nothing in between” Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding

Assalamo Alaikum Ms Farhana Asif, here goes my First ever comment on CSS Forum.

Thank you. Your story was very amusing, light on the ear, delight for the heart and made me feel like wow, I also have just 4 months, wow I can really do it too perhaps. But I must add, then you made my heart race with terror the moment you mentioned the tough points of the interview. That part was really scary and now I'm more scared of the Interview rather than the exams itself.

May Allah help us all.
A wonderful read. Thank you once again for sharing.