No Toru, it's about Nothing! I am merely trying to extract sense out of sheer nonsense

[QUOTE=Aik Admi;878019]No Toru, it's about Nothing! I am merely trying to extract sense out of sheer nonsense[/QUOTE]
I really hope we come across some glaring flaws (across the board) in the candidates approach to help distract ourselves from what we have hitherto been doing. At least that way we're in control of the factors determining the outcome than merely criticizing those out of our control.

Lol its actually funny. A candidate who wrote below 2500 and fails thinks because he didnt meet the word count. Those who wrote in the prescribed limit think the examiner didn't bother going over the entire essay. I'm not entirely sure how much to write lol...2500 dot? Haha

Must be the outline. Definitely the outline. But given the CSS standard...i think we'd need to "beautify" our papers with flowery hand writing and some nice colourful roses to border our pages...may be then we'd just end up being lucky.

[QUOTE=Aik Admi;878001]How many pages is 2500 words in your handwriting King? Just to get an idea of how much I should be writing :)[/QUOTE]

About 10 pages. I think they just count the pages and give marks accordingly.

When I did my O/A Levels, there was a fixed marking scheme according to which marks were awarded. That scheme had explanations for each and every mark being awarded. They followed those marking schemes strictly so nobody objects as people get what they deserve. I think FPSC should also publish a marking scheme instead of keeping their checking obscure. They should let people see their marked papers as well, nothing should be secret in a democratic country. There is a right called Right to Information.

Lesson 1 from this thread:

40 pages of nonsense is better than 10 pages of sense.

[QUOTE=kingfalcon;878027]About 10 pages. I think they just count the pages and give marks accordingly.

When I did my O/A Levels, there was a fixed marking scheme according to which marks were awarded. That scheme had explanations for each and every mark being awarded. They followed those marking schemes strictly so nobody objects as people get what they deserve. I think FPSC should also publish a marking scheme instead of keeping their checking obscure. They should let people see their marked papers as well, nothing should be secret in a democratic country. There is a right called Right to Information.[/QUOTE]
Lol i hardly find anything democratic in this democratic country.

Yes the marking schemes in the entire british/american stream of education are followed to the letter.

The much needed improvement for essay falls on the people who write the annual reports of FPSC...unless of course that is the css standard.

Hahah sir Toru i hope your write. i too am waiting to find fault with the candidates than to think of it as misfortune and rather tragic. You should write to the member abdul waijd rana. He replied telling me my grievances were noted and he would work to rectify the problem. At least baat puhunch tow gayi ooper tak.

[QUOTE=Justice;878031]Lol i hardly find anything democratic in this democratic country.

Yes the marking schemes in the entire british/american stream of education are followed to the letter.

The much needed improvement for essay falls on the people who write the annual reports of FPSC...unless of course that is the css standard.

Hahah sir Toru i hope your write. i too am waiting to find fault with the candidates than to think of it as misfortune and rather tragic. You should write to the member abdul waijd rana. He replied telling me my grievances were noted and he would work to rectify the problem. At least baat puhunch tow gayi ooper tak.[/QUOTE]

Democracy is a culture but we are far from it.

By the way, I guess you guys would find these articles interesting:

CSS aspirants, take a seat:
[url]http://www.dawn.com/news/1144705[/url]
Civil service in decline:
[url]http://www.dawn.com/news/744770/[/url]
From kindergarten to CSS: The 'cram to pass' model abounds:
[url]http://www.dawn.com/news/1140928[/url]
Plagiarism detected in CSS paper:
[url]http://www.dawn.com/news/1094742[/url]

Some of you have asked me to share my experience. I have already shared it with all of you in another thread, about a month ago. I'm quoting it here because it seems relevant.
[INDENT]

CSS 2015 was a fairly pleasant experience for me. Apart from the usual nerves I really enjoyed taking the exam. This is not to say that I have very high expectations for the outcome; I am cautiously optimistic. This was my first attempt and I primarily relied on my work ethic instead of following coaching centres and tutors. The voice in my head was my sole mentor.


Essay:
I picked the first topic, "The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights." I spent about ten minutes deciding a thesis statement and it took me another 35 minutes to write down a relatively dense outline for my thesis statement. My basic argument was that terrorists are deliberately shaping 'the war' in such a way as to increase human rights abuses so that there is more and more instability and chaos in this society. The resulting chaos creates an environment that fuels recruitment for the terrorists thereby increasing their chances of winning and seizing power, which is their ultimate goal.

In my writing I discussed social, political and economic rights that were being abused due to WOT. I included the right to fair trial, the right to life, liberty and property, the right to move freely, the right to free expression, the right to be free from discrimination, the right to practice religion freely, the right to vote, and the right to social welfare.

My essay did not start with mundane information about how terrorism or human rights can be defined. I didn't even bother with historical significance. My essay was focused on my thesis, which was focused on the topic. I began my essay with an attention grabbing quote from Aimen Al Zawahiri and ended it with an ordinary quote from Winston Churchill. Beyond this I did not use a single quotation or statistic. I tried to maintain good structure, relevance and clarity to the best of my ability. I may have made a few spelling and grammar mistakes, but nothing out of the ordinary. I wrote 2050 words in all, including a 250 word outline. I am expecting 40-45 marks; there's no tax on dreams. [/INDENT]
I wrote this seven months after taking the exam so all the fine details are missing. Passing this exam does not suddenly make me an expert, so please don't take this as a model for writing essays. Each topic has its unique requirements.

Welcome Tupac. Congratulations for the badge. I am sorry for the weird question but how do find your handwriting? Is it joining? Size? I am hoping to tease out the 'right' essays from the 'wrong' ones.

Cogito, Lee...where did you get it 'wrong'? Any idea? It's not my result but I have lost most of the motivation to appear for this exam. If I do appear, it'll be from the lack of choice...

King, did you present and then stuck to your thesis statement till the end of the essay? Did you argue for ir against something? Your response means a lot to CE 2016 candidates

[QUOTE=Tupac Shakur;878066]Some of you have asked me to share my experience. I have already shared it with all of you in another thread, about a month ago. I'm quoting it here because it seems relevant.
[INDENT]




[B]My essay did not start with mundane information about how terrorism or human rights can be defined.[/B] [B]I didn't even bother with historical significance. My essay was focused on my thesis, which was focused on the topic.[/B] I began my essay with an attention grabbing quote from Aimen Al Zawahiri and ended it with an ordinary quote from Winston Churchill. Beyond this I did not use a single quotation or statistic.[B] I tried to maintain good structure, relevance and clarity to the best of my ability[/B]. I may have made a few spelling and grammar mistakes, but nothing out of the ordinary. I wrote 2050 words in all, including a 250 word outline. I am expecting 40-45 marks; there's no tax on dreams. [/INDENT][/QUOTE]

So if that's how you approached it, omitting 'mundane' details...I believe I am on the right track then. I have since the very beginning naturally been oriented to responding to the topic directly, like a discussion.

There should be a contrast between an rigorous, academic and a general essay no? where in the former we include all the mundane details to usually define variable in the context of the working papers, mostly academic research. IF that is not the one major point...it must be one of them majors!

But yes you did define human rights when you mentioned political, social, economic, right to fair trial, right to vote, right to liberty and life etc....but again, that's relevant and makes for the body of your essay! Well done.

Cogito, Lee, Falcon, Aik Admi...did you people include definitions and all the ''mundane'' details in your introduction? and the others who were unsuccessful?

Comprehension, relevance
 

cSs essay is not a mere test of English writing. It requires you to first comprehend the topic and then write the relevant mateial. Most of aspirant pick question paper and start writing immediately out sheer pressure. They seldom try to comprehend the topic. For instance, take the essay Labour saving devices..... How many of you have explained the environmental phenomenon or role of labour saving devices in globalisation and subsequent threats to the state and society?