Here goes my first essay. It took me 3 hours 15 minutes, and still not more than even 2000! with outline prepared beforehand... worrisome.... please give suggestions on that as well
overall, it was a refreshing experience

I could not collect commitment and confidence to show the initiative to write even a single essay till now, 20 days to exam,

All the credit of it goes to Urooj...

Now looking forward for your detailed feedback


Terrorism

Terrorism is the gravest challenge faced by the world today. It has threatened the peace, security and even the very existence of nations and states of the contemporary world. Countries round the globe consider themselves to be in state of war against this enemy terrorism. The current waive of terrorism is a result of complex issues which have been mismanaged over time. Unresolved international disputes, economic and political exploitation, misadventures of the so-called super powers, extremism, absence of tolerance and understanding can be regarded as mainly responsible for the spread of terrorism. Owing to its devastating and far-reaching implications, urgent and formidable actions are needed to counteract it effectively. As terrorism is a global issue, so global solutions are needed. Global balance of power needs to be equated. Equitable resolution of international disputes, focusing on social issues, promoting tolerance and understanding, and above all, taking the responsibility and demonstrating commitment to tackle this issue can prove helpful. In the following pages, an attempt has been made to probe and understand terrorism, examine the current scenario and historical tends of terrorism, evaluate different perspectives on terrorism, throw light on factors responsible for it and its implications and suggest ways how to deal with it.

Terrorism is a vague term. Its vagueness explains its complicated nature. To put it simply, the word ‘terrorism’ means extreme and intense fear. Terrorism is using terror as a strategy to achieve some objectives. Death, physical harm, mental and emotional torture are its main tools for intimidation. Recently, various attempts have been made to define it precisely enough to obtain a common definition of the phenomenon. International summit on Democracy, security and Terrorism held in Madrid in 2006, defines it as ‘it is the intimidation of a population by an individual or group so as to force a legitimate government or an international organization towards or against an action. However, there has been no universally agreed upon definition of terrorism which remains a serious issue in talking the problem effectively. Consequently, it becomes difficult to demarcate clearly between terrorism and non-terrorism. The adage, “ One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” is an expression of this fact. In the same way, yesterday’s heroes are today’s terrorists and vice versa.

However, despite this controversy over definition of the term, the fact remains that it poses one of the greatest threats to human race. People in every continent of the world have been victims of terrorism. Violence, bomb blasts, killings and militant movements are common and ordinary phenomenon in today’s world. Almost every news channel every day would report these incidents occurring on almost daily basis. These terror incidents have become an inherent component of lives, of our world. And perhaps the saddest part of it is that there seems no limits to this phenomenon of terrorism. Bomb blasts, shooting, target killing and the like are not the only instance of terrorism. Television in specific and electronic media in general also subject people to terrorism. That is why it is said that terrorism has descended upon the whole world as a curse. We have become so used to it that perhaps we cannot now even imagine that the world can become free of terrorism. It shows the intensiveness and extensiveness of the problem.
Besides, terrorism so prevalent can be seen at different levels and of different kinds. It can be state-terrorism which means terrorism at the level of state, sponsored and executed by a state. Terrorism in Kashmir and Palestine are typical examples of state terrorism. And secondly, terrorism can be waged by Non State Actors; the most recent example of which is the Mumbay Attacks in November 2008. In non-state terrorism, individuals or groups are involved in the events of terrorism. Terrorism is also divided on the basis of the motivation that terrorists employ as cause are justification for their activities. On these lines, there are terrorists who are motivated religiously and others motivated politically. The former makes the bulk of today’s terrorists, although politically motivated terrorism is also very prevalent. Further, sometimes clear demarcation between the two is not possible. Al qaida, taliban and Zionism are primarily regarded as religious in nature while the Tamil tigers or even the Balochistan militants are considered political in nature.

Perhaps the most important part of the terrorism phenomenon round the globe are the victims of terrorism. These are the people who ultimately bear the brunt. The saddest fact about these victims is that mostly they are innocent. Among these victims, the people of Iraq and Afghanistan are towards the top of the list. Citizens of both these countries became victim to one of the history’s most ridiculous and ironic misadventures of the present day sole super power- the pre-emptive strikes. They were to eliminate WMD, instead, they destroyed the peace of Iraqi citizens.

History is replete with the horrible tales of terrorism. Obviously, terrorism is not a new phenomenon. So the Iraq or Afghanistan disasters are not the only instance of human misery at hands of terrorism. Human mind has not yet forgotten the horrific deaths and miseries brought by the two word wars. Before that, the colonialism had also brought unimaginable misery upon the innocent people in the colonized regions.
All these massive terrorism instances are apart from the terrorism inflicted by feudalism regionally, across the world. There are numerous examples of economic exploitation and violence in history as well. The bloodiest of all, the French revolution is the typical example. Then there are tales of religious terrorism in history which are no less in horror than any other kind of terrorism.

Coming back to the current scenario, one can observe similarities between today’s terrorism and that of the past. However, there are contrasting aspects also. One of the particular features of today’s terrorism is that it is generally widely associated with Muslims. It is generally believed that the concept of jihad in Islam results in terrorism. Most people consider Jihad and terrorism synonymous with each other. In fact, it is not true. Jihad has been misinterpreted by many, particularly west. Jihad is actually struggle against oppression, aggression and cruelty. While terrorism has no rules. Unfortunately, Muslims all over the world feel that they are being treated unfairly. Palestine, Kashmir and Chechnya are the most evident and obvious examples of it. That is why the people of the above mentioned regions are struggling for their legitimate right. Their struggle became violent because these issues have become chronic.

To look into the above mentioned long-standing conflicts and understand their nature can help us understand the root causes of terrorism today. Disputes like these are actually the breeding grounds for terrorism. If these issues have been solved immediately after they emerged, the world could have been different today. These issues must be solved equitably as soon as possible. Understanding and trust has been absent among nations, religions, and particularly between east and west, especially USA. USA and Europe are involved in the so-called great game to indefinitely dominate the world. They also went to get hold of the natural resources like oil in the Middle East and gas in central Asian region. It is believed that this oil politics is the reason why west is not showing the will to stabilize the danger zones of the world. The double standard of the west are also causing anger amongst many and turning them to terrorists. Extremism, particularly religious extremism is also one of the major causes of terrorism around the world. But the roots of extremisms can be traced to lack of social infrastructure i.e. poverty, education and the like.

What is the way forward? How to deal with terrorism? This is the most urgent and most important question. Following are some suggested strategies to reduce or rather eliminate terrorism:
- Balancing the global power equation.
- Equitable resolution of the world major disputes i.e. Kashmir, Palestine.
- Focusing on social issues like poverty & education.
- Rationally normalizing the danger zones of the world like Afghanistan.
- Finding economic resources other them oil, so that the west’s strategic and economic interests can be secured alternatively.
- Promotions interfaith harmony and understanding for peaceful coexistence.
- Taking responsibility for the mess created by our own hands and then showing the will to effect change, so that our future generation can be saved:
As Madiha Lodhi noted:
There is no silver bullet which can address the issue of terrorism in all its complexities, there fore, it is concluded here that by addressing all the above causes through the suggested strategies, there can be hope that we would see a peaceful world free from the menace of terrorism.


Thanks to Urooj

I'm really happy to see your work Farishta. You have done a real good job. Your expression is good and you incorporated maximum points in your essay. Keep the good work UP!

I have something to say about the Time issue you faced while writing the essay and few tips about grammar and stuff.

Time Management:

Most important key to write properly is time management. It is vital that you give suitable time to the various phases of essay writing. One thing that I felt was that you didn't save time for reading your essay after writing it. Save 10 minutes for sure for reading your essay so that you may cut the mistakes and set them right. This way you will save yourself from losing up to 10 marks due to grammatical errors.

Secondly, procure 10 minutes at least for writing the conclusion in which you will be re-phrasing the substance of your introductory paragraph including the Thesis statement.

Thirdly, be as quick as possible while creating the main-body of your essay. Don't stop for 20 seconds even!

Now I'm presenting few errors that I came across. These errors erupted due to not reading the essay again, I believe. In Line 3 the correct spelling is Wave. When you give thesis statement read it again to ensure that it is grammatically correct. You can do so by inserting proper punctuation marks.
E.g. Attempt has been made to: (I'm stressing on “:” or “;” here.)

Also when you give the definition of most important word of your essay; for this one Terrorism being the word. Use Quotation Marks when you open and close the definition, Paragraph 2 Line 6.

Also you need to capitalize proper nouns in your entire essay and also ensure that they are rightly spelled. For example Tamil Tigers, Al-Qaeda, Taliban and you need to use Zionists instead of Zionism in second last line of paragraph 4.

Line 2 Paragraph 6 you should have used “ARE” instead of “IS”. Also in line 3 "World Wars" is not rightly spelled. The same way you have to Capitalize Jihad in Line 3 Paragraph 7. In the same paragraph I find some grammatical mistake in line 4; Consider that Jihad and Terrorism are synonymous seems to be a better substitute.

In Paragraph 8 I would like to point out the use of person. You have used 1st or 2nd person as I remember. Use 3rd person instead. Also one improvement in the line might look like this: Research analysis of the long standing issues may help one rightly understand..... (And so on)

Great Game needs Capitalization as a proper noun Paragraph 8.

Very Important: These are the most important question (I think here too was grammatical mistake “Is” or “Are”; check that out.) (Paragraph 9 Line 1)

And do not give points in Bullet Form. Make it a paragraph of complete line. You might have done it in haste I believe.

One very important thing I wish to tell you about later. That has to do with moving from one paragraph to the next one.

Grammar tip:

Just to identify your mistakes automatically, type your essay in MS Word Document if you have Office 2003 or latest version of it. It will automatically underline your mistakes and you’ll be left thinking what is wrong here. I find out many of my own mistakes this way

If I were to mark you on this I might have given you 45- 50 marks on this. I am not examiner myself so don't take it as it is All the best to you.

Also tell me in writing how many pages you filled in?

Regards.

Thank you for telling that I can pass this paper and also thank you again for the detailed feedback.

I filled 7 pages in written, but they were blank, and a bit wide, and I wrote small with less space among the lines... I personally think I in next try, I should fill at least 13 pages. Right?

Also please let me know on thing; in the outline there are points in capital, A, B, C... and in in small letters, a, b, c... Are we supposed to make a separate paragraph of points A, B or a, b.

and second thing: You are right about the pauses while writing the body, I paused many times, and a few times quite longer, that wasted much of my time. I will try not to repeat that, but I am not sure why was I pausing...perphase for perfection or what?

And the saving 10 minutes for revision, and 10 min for conclusion is I agree the only to go out of the exam hall with dignity, but then we have left with very little time for body i.e. 2 hours & 10 min only, assuming the outline will take atleast 30 min? what was your actual practice, during your 2 paper attempts?

You have been very kind and generous, God bless you

Also what next? would you suggest another essay topic to work on? If yes then I will be waiting

About length:

Yes you need to increase the length of your essay. Try to take it up to 19; practice would do it so do not worry much on that; just keep practicing. You will be writing on blank pages there as well and paper size might be A4 or A5. If you write very small then14-15 pages may do that but increase the length. Write as much as you can. I don't say write 30 or 50 pages but 18-19 might make a good read for the examiner.

About Long pauses:

Yeah you cannot afford to pause even for seconds. You'll overcome this issue once you know what you are writing. When you write for A it means you are writing a,b,c and so on. A is just the theme of a,b,c.. you can write all of that in one paragraph. In case it's very long then you may divide in two paragraphs. I write a bit long paragraphs mostly. Some people even make very small paragraphs of 2 or 3 lines even. I don't encourage this way of writing.

I hope that I'll be able to write Essay on Terrorism by tomorrow then you may figure out from there how I would have written that. The point I wanted to make about moving from one paragraph to the next would be clear to you that way properly, I suppose.

Till then grab another topic and start writing. Also work for grammar paper as well. These two are the most important papers. After this I consider Islamiat paper that you have to qualify. If you have 20 days. Try to write 10 essays at least. Don't worry I didn't write any essay but one that too in a mock exam before my first attempt. I qualified that one too so don't underestimate yourself. Next time I could afford no risk so I practiced somewhat 4-5 essays. If you write 10-15 essays that will help you not only in your essay but overall you'll be able to write well in your optionals and PA and CA papers. You won't lose anything by writing essays
I may suggest few topics:

Women Empowerment
Energy Crisis
Global Warming
Globalization
Freedom of media
Institutiuon of Justice and Equality
Islam a religion of peace / Islam Vs West/ Fundamental Extremism
Pakistan in International World

I wish you all the best

P.s

Before writing on these topics do little research on them or read 3-4 articles online/ newspapers to get some background knowledge. This way you'll know more dimensions in which you can stike your pen. Also, do not waste a lot of time researching like days; it must be in hours.

Looking forward to your essay on Terrorism...

Are you also going to sit for this upcoming exam? I guess not because you nice enough performance on the previous one. No?

And please be kind to look at the Precis and Comprehension thread also, I believe you have in mind, so its okay if you need time...

Lastly, do you have something to tell about Islamiat paper as well, or its mentioning is just for the sake of emphasis? Or its that you are pointing towards other subjets' preparation?

Its true I am so occupied with Essay and Compostion that I think I have ignored other papers now...

The 19 pages seems huge, but I will try and see how many pages I can conquer

God bless you

Yeah I'll see to all the points you have made by tomorrow evening or Tuesday morning. What are your optionals? I won't be taking CSS again this year. I've some other things to catch up on
All the best to you.

Regards.

@ Urooj5

No Doubt that you are doing great for css aspirants by helping in Essay & Composition.

I wann to add my opinion here Regarding Essay Writting.

Emphasis should be given on quality not quantity...many friends of mine who just managed to write 6-10 pages in 3 hours But they scored 50 or above 50 in Essay.

its just my opine..Anyone may differ...

My optionals are:

Political Science
Constitutional Law
International Law
Public Administration
Pashto

Entirely different from yours...

Today in the evening, I'll draw a plan to begin their preparation for the final combat starting 25th of this month, of course alongwith continued practice of essay and compostion, if you could suggest on that, would be more than welcome :

God bless you

HELLO UROOOJ..
can we place headings while essay writing?

__________________
In politics... never retreat, never retract... never admit a mistake.

Well I gave my opinon against Headings previously and I still maintain, that there should be no headings in essay. I stayed busy for some reason and I wasn't able to add much today to the Essay session. Insha-Allah by tomorrow I'll try to come up with something helpful for all of you.

All the best to you all.
Regards.