Originally Posted by Hamza Salick

Hey friends,comrades n aspirants..I have cleared the written portion this year n have been teaching CSS classes at KIPS..I will share with u some tips of scoring well in each paper,and some general ones..small things,that can make a big difference..I shall start discussing them paper by paper
ENGLISH PRECISE:
Not many ppl wud know,but passing or failing this paper actually depends on ur passing the Precis itself..if u fail in it n get decent marks in other portions,u most probably wud be declared fail..its not a written rule,rather a custom.so allocate atleast 50-60 mins to the précis alone..I did it at the end of the paper..nw is the question of how to go about it..first make a rough draft..take the 1st four lines of the passage,n try compressing them..use ur own words 99% of the time..replace the passage’s words wid synonyms..u need to do sum thinking for that..thats y u need an hour for précis alone.ok u did the first 4 lines..now go to the second four lines and so on..dis way ull have compressed or summarized the whole passage,in a ruff format..do not quote any direct speech as such.try avoiding examples.try n replace phrases n sentences wid single words if possible.Ok so nw Uv got a rough draft of ur précis.go over it again.see where u can improve it,replace wid better words n expressions..try n build up connections in the patched up parts..precise need not be a beautiful piece of writing;it shud be easily comprehensible simple piece of summary..try n remain within the word limit..dont do it too short or too long..Ull most probably need to make 2 rough drafts b4 writing down a neat one..tip:make the rough drafts not at the back of ur paper,but in the normal sequence..like u write down the questn number of précis,n do all ur rough work under it..crocc it n do the neat one on next page.benefit;the examiner wud be impressed by ur approach.he shall knw uv done it systematically n hve put in a lot of effort in it..after all,u need to impress him don’t u??

Now to comprehensionppl will tell u to first read comprehension in detail a couple of tymz n blah blah blah..bollocks!U dont have tym for dis..Ill say,read the questions first..read em twice..n now start reading the comprehensn passage..whenever u stumble across an answer to the questions(that u read in the start)underline it,or better still,write it down..then go further along..this way less time wud be consumed n by the tym u end reading the passage,ull have answers to all but 1 or 2 of the questions..y dis??coz answers to 1 or 2 questions isnt given there in the passage at all..U have to read between the lines for them..deduce them from the information given..they are concealed sumwhere,n they r the ones that differentiate b/w a gud candidate n an average one..U can see this trend in the past paperz as well..

Originally Posted by Hamza Salick

Current Affairs:
Ok comrades..u need to keep one thing in ur mind while attempting this paper..its very name!!’Current’ affairs..this means that u shud emphasize on the current n future developments,information and analysis of a problem/situation/topic presented 2 u in the exam..no doubt Ull have to give a lil background n history of the topic,but the emphasis n space shud be given to current developments n future trends n predictions..I must admit it is one of thje trickiest papers in CSS..U can b ezily caught out!
How to prepare:
Ofcourse DAWN is the bible of current affairs..make it a habit to read it daily..atleast u shd read the 1st page,opinion pages n the international news page daily..wid the economic review on Tuesdays..the examiner loves dawn..sumtimez he gives questions strait off dawn..I remember in 2007 or 06 there was an essay in the paper named ‘end of cheap oil’..a column by the same name had appeared in dawn a few mnths back!!
Make a scrapbook of sorts..Ill tell u wat I did..I had a big register..in that I wrote down the title names of important current affairs topics,n left a space of 4,5,6 pages between each topic..whenever I came across a column,editorial or feature,even a news story on sum particular topic,I read it,highlited it,cut it n pasted it in that register under its appropriate title heading..benefit:whenever I revised,I cud go thru the developments n evolution of that problem in the last few months..it really helped me a lot..Do one more thing..any points u find in c.a books,write them down in this register..then make a structure of ur anwer on the register..i.e if a question cmz regarding dis topic.how shall I structure my answer in the paper..wt headingz n points shall I use..just like u make an essay outline!got dat??
There are no proper books for current affairs..but I will advise u to read ‘Current affairs journal’ by imtiaz shahid..it gts published every 2 months..most of thje articles in it r worth reading..wat dis buk does is dat it gets articles n essays frm around the world n collects them in one place..makin it convenient fr u..plus u can also refer to ‘current affairs digest’ by safdar mehmood..also if u can,get updated C.A notes of Dr Shahid Wazr Khan from KIPS..they are excellent,but vry hard to get!!
Try watchin DAWN news English channel..its gud..geo,ary,express etc r crap..

@redmax..Ill be posting a ruff outline for a sample question in a lil tym as u askd for..
@competitive..we ll tawk abt essay tommorow..alryt?we l disucc every subject dnt u wry sis..

Originally Posted by Hamza Salick

My email ID is *******@hotmail.com
My optionals were:
Indo -Pak History
Journalism
Muslim Law & Jurisprudence
Sociology
Business administration

U can see my hotmail id on my profile info

bro tell me in what aspect of outline ur having problem..Then Ill clarify dat Inshallah

Size does not matter
The issue of Length of an answer..
M@terial and the quality of the answer u give m@tters alot in CSS..no doubts in it..but according to my view(n dis iznt only my personal opinion..I hve been told dis by sum positn holders as well),length of the answer m@tterz in getting u gud scores..remember,we are taking a Pakistani civil service examination,n the 'gitthey naapna' culture can never be eradicated frm our educational system..I think that a question in CSS paperz is usually so multi-faceted and demanding dat u cant do justice to it in 3-4 pages(when I tawk of pages,I mean the sides..so 1 page=1 side)
Ofcourse how m@ny pages u write dependz upon the size of ur writing..but lets assume that u write 7 words per line,n ur writing isnt too minute as well as not too huge,i.e its mediocre in size(The quality dznt m@tter much in CSS..My mentor had 5th positn in CSS-2008 n sumtimez he wdnt even comprehend his own handwriting:p)..
so now lets answer that what shud be the length of the answer..In my view,an ideal answer in histories and Pakistan affrz+current affairs+C.Awud be 9 pages long..ofcourse it can go to more than it..some of my answrz in CA n PA were 14 pages long..n for a fact I can tell u dat one of my teachers who is in Customs group nw wrote answers in CA that were on the avge 15 pages in length..in Sociology and Business Add I guess 7-8 pages are gud..In islamiyat 5+ pages(as they are 16 m@rk questions)..In EDS,answers are normally short n to the point as the credits(M@rks) are also small..questions are divided in2 small parts here n u hve 2 give short answers..in Muslim Law,the Law questions are normally short..u canr write much..even 1-1.5 pages are gud enuff(n that M tawkin on a higher syd),while the answers of jurisprudence can go upto 8+ pages..as far as english essay is concerned,to be on the safe side,Ull have to write 20-22 pages at most times..My friend wrote 35 pages n got 66 m@rks..but I knw sm1 who wrote 12 n got 60..its quiet unpredictible in essay paper..bt still..to be on the safe side..u need 20-22 pages of solid m@terial..I repeat.."Solid M@terial"..

Originally Posted by Hamza Salick

Prepare ur own notes.I am not saying make detailed notes and write each and every thing down.U don't have to do it.Read a topic from a couple of books.And make bullet points for it.Like if u are doing sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi the bullet points might look like this:
1.Born in:
2.Educated at:
3.Went to Hajj in:
4.Problems with Muslim society:Akbar's heterodoxy,diversion from Islamic values,Emphasis on Peeri Faqeeri and karishmat etc
5.Steps taken by Sheikh A.S to counter these:
i.emphasized upon following basic tenets of Islam
ii.Teachings to folllower
iii.Wahdat ul Shahood
iv.Call back to Muhammad(SAW)
Books written

This is just an example to demonstrate as to how to go about this task.I remember these bullet notes I made for Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi were over 1.5 pages just.This way make important bullets for every topic.Write down 2,3 quotations with every topic.By reading this again n again u will be able to memorize the important points and I am sure u wud be able to write the explanation and details urself.I noticed that on 45h revision,I seemed to remember everything on my fingertips.I did 8 revisions and by then I cud tel about any topic in my sleep.This is natural.If u do 8 revisions of a topic,u would realize that u have ended up memorizing it indeliberately.And remember there are some things in css papers that u will have to memorize at any cost.But trust me,when u revise it time and again,ur brain will automatically start remembering things.I am very bad at 'ratta' honestly.But I revised everything so many times that up till now I remember the place on my book or notes where I wrote a particular thing.
p.s:Try using a highlighter or red pen to underline important things in ur book too.This would also help.Another thing that I found useful was that I made small chits of paper,wrote important points on them and stapled them on the book on the specific page of that topic.That helped me in final revisions.U can try this too.Try and write things.If ur sitting idle pick up a register,and try writing the points about Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi,Sir Syed,Cripps Mission etc..This would not only sharpen ur memory,but also give u the confidence that U can reproduce things.Dont take it lightly this is the single most important thing I discovered during CSS prep.Whenever I was down or depressed abt my preparation,I did the same.It really lifted me and freshened up that topic in my mind.
Please remember me in ur prayers thats all I ask for in return.

Originally Posted by Ainuddin Kibzai

Dear Bro.
I appeared in the CSS exam of 2011.
I have experienced many things never witnessed before.
I have a huge confusion regarding Arabic Paper.
Its paper I was quite unexpected that was totally different from the trend of last ten years.
I am in a huge fix whether to go with it or opt for psychology. My other subjects are Islamic History, Journalism and Pashto.
What to do?
Awaiting your expert opinion.[/QUO
i SHALL ADVISE U TO GO WITH PSYCHOLOGY..

Originally Posted by Muhammad Jawad Ali

Hamza bhai this is Jawad trying to appear in css 2012 inshaALLAH. mine optionals are
Physics
journalism
sociology
but i am confused whether to opt indo pak or not. some of the respected members have advised me not to go with indo pak as it is not a scoring option now a days. they have suggested me to go with international law and us history. but i want your valuable suggestions as i always follow you.

Originally Posted by Naeem Haider

Dear Hamza Salick
Sir, Please help me out in my optional selection.. I am MBA fresh (2013) and CE 2014 aspirant.. This is my first and last chance.. Over age problem….
I have Business Adm (100) and Pashto (100) confirmed
But let me help in selection of 400 marks subjects from the following….
Sociology (100)
Journalism (100)
Islamic History and Culture (200)
Or
History of Pakistan and India (200)
Or
British History (200)
International Law (100)
Psycology (100)
Sir, I have economics and statistics in my BA, means having little know how of these subjects also
Will be thankful for ur consideration

Originally Posted by Tehman Khan

phsychology is not of 100 rather its 200

Originally Posted by drshumaila

thanks hamza , great effort,
i hv choosen opt subjects , psychology, sociology , journalism, geography, also give me guidance fr hw to attempt them, im a bigginer as css aspirant,as well the remaining compulsary subjects, and also share ur email adress. plz

Originally Posted by Hamza Salick

SIr please reason for your this statement or suggestion.
I wont endorse you.


Jawwad BHai what about your physics result, please.