If you don't ve background of both then.....IR is quite comprehensive plus need to keep in view current changing scenario..better to opt IL as syllabus is limited & easy to tackle.

dear amna, i have background of social sciences and yet i have selected public add, sociology, journalism and international law, what should i opt in between british history and psychology with some reason help me.

if you ve interest in history only then go with it otherwise psychology is 1 of the best optional & scoring indeed..

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Your feet will bring you,Where your heart is!!

British history requires no background and easy to prepare within short span of time. i had opted BH this year and found it quiet good. on the other hand, psychology is also good but it needs much time, especially with background.

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"Our Lord, give us the good in this world and the good in the hereafter." (Al-Qur'an, 2:201).

so then with which recommendation should i go then, amna or faisal(seniors).

Psychology

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Fabi Aye Ala e Rabi kuma Tukezibaan :)

This confusion remains in the minds of aspirants that how to give time and priority to the compulsories and optionals, some people think that it will be safe to focus on optional as they give more marks as compared to compulsories, others ignore optionals and give all the time to their compulsory subjects as they think that there are more chances of failure in compulsories, but in reality the principle should be “creating a balance between both’’.

There is no hard and fast rule for the preparation of css, you have to manage your studies according to your own aptitude and style. It is not essential that you have to complete either compulsories or optionals first, but the best way is to take them side by side. If you have joined an academy then it is better to follow the lectures of academy in that particular time period along with some additional self-preparation, rely 40% on academy, and 60% on your own efforts.

I would personally suggest the following schedule/routine for creating a balance between compulsory and optional subjects, keeping in view that if you have 6 months for preparation (August 2012-January-2013)

• Start preparing one optional subject and keep English (both papers) in your schedule in any case. (1 month)
• Now we are left with four compulsories these are, current affairs, pak affairs, EDS and Islamiyat.
• After completing one optional, start another and keep Pakistan affairs with it in schedule, for English practice, you will need just one hour. So you can easily take two subjects side by side (excluding one hour of English). (1 month)
• Before starting third optional, start with EDS and Islamiyat, always keep those two subjects in the schedule together, which are of different nature, just case in this particular case, you will have to cram EDS topics and for Islamiyat you will have to give reading. For two similar kind of technical subjects you will get bored and finally the situation will come when you will no more be able to concentrate. (1 month)
• At this stage you will be left with two optionals (if you have four), or three (if you have five optionals) and just one compulsory, i.e, current affairs.
• Current affairs is the subject that will also be prepared along with the other preparation….because you would have to read DAWN (newspapers) on the daily basis.
• But at this stage give additional days to this subject. (15 days)
• Optional like Journalism, sociology, Punjabi….(15 days)
• One month is now easily left in which you will prepare remaining one or two optional. (1 month)

The above mentioned schedule is for five months which is giving a general sketch for preparation, keeping it as a base line, now start your work accordingly, following are the benefits of this specific way of preparation.

• You will not be having the panic attacks that while preparing one subject I am ignoring the rest.
• A balance of optional and compulsories will be created
• English and current affairs will be prepared with a slow but effective pace and at the end you will not get worried for their separate preparation.
• One month will still left for revision.

Best of luck dear aspirants!

P.S: Remember both optional and compulsory subjects have individual importance, so either can’t be ignored. What will be the use of getting 180 in Psychology if you will have just 40 in Islamiyat? Or what if you will get 60 in current affairs and 110 in geography? So the point is, always give equal focus and attention to every aspect of css exam.

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what humbugs we r,who pretend to live for beauty and never see the dawn :)

Go through past papers you ll find many most repeated topics..make a list of those and work accordingly..it doesn't mean that prepare only those but concentrate them more..

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Your feet will bring you,Where your heart is!!

kindly also guide about current affairs..

I am a newbie on this forum and an aspirant of 2013 CSS. I have embarked upon the preparation of pk affairs by consulting ikram rabbani's book which is indeed handy, yet i need some other reference fr making notes thoroughly.
Guide me plx as i got impressed by your ambitiousness.

Erudite Engineer

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'It is easy to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."