Effective way to prepare for Current Affairs 2016 syllabus without academy

[anzabb]

Many people believe that an academy is must for CSS, but I think that CSS could be done without the academy help. For that one needs the right guidance, and there is a lot of that all over the internet. However, most of them will direct you to do typical things and that will waste your time and energy. Therefore, I have decided to make this post that will tell an effective way to prepare for Current Affairs without academy.
Why people feel that they need the academy?

• Many aspirants think that they need academy because they lack the background knowledge for the course.
• Then some of us think that we are great listeners and we understand better listening. There are also a group of aspirants that think that they can skip reading newspaper by taking classes.
• A lot of aspirants think that they are not good at analysis and they decide to take classes for it.

Why you shouldn’t take the academy?

• It slows you down as the teachers repeat the most basic information everywhere. This is especially a problem for those who have some background knowledge.
• There is a threat of repetition of information, which means that there could be similarity in various candidates’ papers and remember that unique analysis fetches more marks.
• A lot of candidates take their teacher’s analysis and miss the opportunity to have more informed opinions and a critical mind. Pakistan has really bad education system and CSS gives individuals a great opportunity to build their own opinions and a critical mind.
• However, if you feel like that you need the academy then you must go for it.

Understand the requirement to the CSS Current Affairs Exam

• The paper requires you to understand the contemporary world of the post 2000 era
• It wants you to analyse the events in the light of the emerging trends
• Current affairs tests you in three areas
  [

  *]Geopolitics

• Pakistan’s foreign policy
• And Domestic public policy problems
• This will not include issues like a certain politician said a certain thing about someone, but it will ask you to look at trends. For instance, accountability drive. In your answer you will not talk about what politicians are saying, but the strengths and weaknesses of this drive. It depends on the question.

How to read the newspaper?

• You don’t need to read a lot of sources, just 3 editorials from Dawn will be sufficient
• Al Jazeera Inside Story, Zara Hat Key at dawn. Foreign affairs mag. These sources are enough.
• Other than that watch YT videos for background
• You can find the list of YT channels in this thread in my reply to the original post http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-compu...irs-query.html
• Other than that, you don’t even need to buy or read the paper, just go online and past the text in an e reader. I have given information in the thread.

Other than Newspaper

• Use ISSI journals and IPRI journals
• No need to do UN reports and etc. Dawn paper and Inside Story covers them so that is already done
• YouTube and Routers app’s news bulletin

How to start Current Affairs preparation

• Read or listen to 6 month worth dawn! It will give you instant knowledge, and make you more confident
• Read Munir Akram in Dawn from 2013
• Read this year’s ISSI and IPRI journals

How to continue the prep

1. Solve last years past papers
2. At the end of each month do the whole months newspapers or do it every day, depends on your convenience
3. Build an informed opinion
4. Revise the previous
5. Do past papers (in the above thread I have answered how to do that, but I can elaborate further if needed).

How to end the preparation?

• Revise your notes and memorize facts
• Practice

How to make notes?
Make a wor

• d doc and organize all you read topically.
• Do not add more than a few lines for each news
• Try to memorize all the events as they appear on sp

ot.

I hope that this helps

[Acidius]

Munir Akram since 2013. Check! Thanks!