experience in Css 2017 written part
 

Hi everybody,
congratulations to everybody who passed and my sincerest well wishes to those who couldn't make it this time.
I just wanted to share my experience in this journey so far, hopefully, I can be of some help to someone. First off, let me say that css is a relative and subjective experience, it is different for everyone, so don't take everything that everyone says to heart. everyone is different and you should play to your strengths instead of trying to emulate everyone else.
I started off with 2.5 months in hand, it wasnt like i was completely clueless, i knew what i was doing. i had decided on my optionals but i was still apprehensive. everyone kept telling me you cant do it, people spend years on css, youre not going to make it. i put this negativity aside and started my preparation.
the preparation phase is hazy, but i do remember that instead of trying to cram and memorize everything, i focused on major concepts and made my own notes. if anyone is interested, i can do a subject wise analysis too, but i'll table it for now.
for me, the most nerve wracking part was the one week of exams. i ve never been more exhausted and emotionally drained. it is a real test of nerves and its a miracle i sustained through.
ESSAY: honestly, even though i was confident going in to the exam, i wasn't so much when i got out. I felt i didn't do as well as I could have and was pretty gutted. I attempted on feminism, which seemed to be pretty popular choice and everyone had different ideas, and i felt that my arguments didn't hold up as well.

Precis: at the risk of sounding too conceited, I was pretty satisfied with my precis paper. I sailed through the grammar portion and found the precis to be straightforward.

Current/ Pak affairs: these two papers were fun to attempt, they mainly focused on current topics including pak affairs. they were mostly argumentative and analytical in nature

GSA: To be honest, i wasnt well prepared for this exam and math is a sworn enemy of mine, but fortunately, i was able to attempt on topics i had actually prepared.

Islamiat: This is one exam, i had nightmares about. I was sure that if i failed, islamiat would be my undoing. looking back now, it was probably my mcqs and the terrorism question that saved me.

Political Science: Pol Sci was the subject, i studied for the most, mainly because it is worth 200. I was apprehensive, since very few people opt for this and the trend is mostly to go for IR; but i was genuinely interested in the subject matter and it also helped me in pak and current affairs. overall, i felt it was a decent enough attempt.

International Law: This is a technical but pretty straightforward subject to prepare, requires a little bit more effort, but from what i've heard, it is a rewarding subject.

History of USA: again this is a popular choice, but this was an interesting experience. i poured over the historical events meticulously but in the end, the paper was based on the current scenario and international situation.

Sociology: I had some degree of proficiency in this subject to begin with, having studied it previously in high school. Again, this paper had elements dealing with current issues.

Gender Studies: This particular subject really tested me. to begin with the reading material available was of poor quality and did not address the syllabus adequately. I had to make my own notes from scratch. on the bright side, all my research did help in my essay paper.

so, there you have it. I would just like to add i'm no expert, this journey was fraught with doubts and difficulties and I still have a long way to go. in this moment, i'm thankful and feel blessed.

my fellow candidates who've made it through, please share you experience, if possible. I'm sure we can learn a lot from each other.

Cheers:D

Can you plz tell about your english preparation?
Which teachers you went to?
Or prepared it on your own.

[QUOTE=saraimran87;1042653]Hi everybody,
congratulations to everybody who passed and my sincerest well wishes to those who couldn't make it this time.
I just wanted to share my experience in this journey so far, hopefully, I can be of some help to someone. First off, let me say that css is a relative and subjective experience, it is different for everyone, so don't take everything that everyone says to heart. everyone is different and you should play to your strengths instead of trying to emulate everyone else.
I started off with 2.5 months in hand, it wasnt like i was completely clueless, i knew what i was doing. i had decided on my optionals but i was still apprehensive. everyone kept telling me you cant do it, people spend years on css, youre not going to make it. i put this negativity aside and started my preparation.
the preparation phase is hazy, but i do remember that instead of trying to cram and memorize everything, i focused on major concepts and made my own notes. if anyone is interested, i can do a subject wise analysis too, but i'll table it for now.
for me, the most nerve wracking part was the one week of exams. i ve never been more exhausted and emotionally drained. it is a real test of nerves and its a miracle i sustained through.
ESSAY: honestly, even though i was confident going in to the exam, i wasn't so much when i got out. I felt i didn't do as well as I could have and was pretty gutted. I attempted on feminism, which seemed to be pretty popular choice and everyone had different ideas, and i felt that my arguments didn't hold up as well.

Precis: at the risk of sounding too conceited, I was pretty satisfied with my precis paper. I sailed through the grammar portion and found the precis to be straightforward.

Current/ Pak affairs: these two papers were fun to attempt, they mainly focused on current topics including pak affairs. they were mostly argumentative and analytical in nature

GSA: To be honest, i wasnt well prepared for this exam and math is a sworn enemy of mine, but fortunately, i was able to attempt on topics i had actually prepared.

Islamiat: This is one exam, i had nightmares about. I was sure that if i failed, islamiat would be my undoing. looking back now, it was probably my mcqs and the terrorism question that saved me.

Political Science: Pol Sci was the subject, i studied for the most, mainly because it is worth 200. I was apprehensive, since very few people opt for this and the trend is mostly to go for IR; but i was genuinely interested in the subject matter and it also helped me in pak and current affairs. overall, i felt it was a decent enough attempt.

International Law: This is a technical but pretty straightforward subject to prepare, requires a little bit more effort, but from what i've heard, it is a rewarding subject.

History of USA: again this is a popular choice, but this was an interesting experience. i poured over the historical events meticulously but in the end, the paper was based on the current scenario and international situation.

Sociology: I had some degree of proficiency in this subject to begin with, having studied it previously in high school. Again, this paper had elements dealing with current issues.

Gender Studies: This particular subject really tested me. to begin with the reading material available was of poor quality and did not address the syllabus adequately. I had to make my own notes from scratch. on the bright side, all my research did help in my essay paper.

so, there you have it. I would just like to add i'm no expert, this journey was fraught with doubts and difficulties and I still have a long way to go. in this moment, i'm thankful and feel blessed.

my fellow candidates who've made it through, please share you experience, if possible. I'm sure we can learn a lot from each other.

Cheers:D[/QUOTE]

Madam first if all congratulations on your achievement. Madam thankyou very much for sharing your experience. Madam kindly guide us about the way you attempted your essay paper in detail if it is possible.

Also tell us the way you tackled mcqs of every subject, what was your method of preparing the MCQs part?

Thanking in advance.

[QUOTE=Moon light;1042658]Can you plz tell about your english preparation?
Which teachers you went to?
Or prepared it on your own.[/QUOTE]
lol, no teacher. on my own. i didnt really prepare for English, just prepared some precis questions on my own and made sure to follow the rules.

[QUOTE=saraimran87;1042660]lol, no teacher. on my own. i didnt really prepare for English, just prepared some precis questions on my own and made sure to follow the rules.[/QUOTE]

How u crammed synonym and antonyms

Any advice on how to make one`s writing more [B]idiomatic[/B]? Any particular source ??? Plus, how can one score well in essay?
Thanks.

[QUOTE=Muhammad Daniyal Khalek;1042659]Madam first if all congratulations on your achievement. Madam thankyou very much for sharing your experience. Madam kindly guide us about the way you attempted your essay paper in detail if it is possible.

Also tell us the way you tackled mcqs of every subject, what was your method of preparing the MCQs part?

Thanking in advance.[/QUOTE]
my essay topic was feminism is not really a third world issue.
first off, i disagreed with the topic and argued that it should be a third world issue.


1.Thesis statement
2.evolution of feminism
3. implications of feminism
4. feminism and the first world
5.why feminism has been ignored by the third world
6. why feminism should be a third world issue.
7. Pakistan and feminism; what can be done to improve the cause, benefits for society

i apologize, i'm missing the finer points. i really cant seem to recall everything. basically, i centered my argument on the UN's sustainable development goals, according to which women empowerment is a precondition for fighting major development obstacles such as poverty and slavery.

Mcqs are always tricky, if you know the source material well enough, it wont be a problem. if you want an easier approach, many mcqs tend to be recycled over the years, so take a look at past papers and mcqs

[QUOTE=zabhutto;1042668]How u crammed synonym and antonyms[/QUOTE]
um, i didn't cram. i'm not trying to sound high headed but my vocabulary and expression are decent enough to start with and the mcqs in the paper weren't that difficult

[QUOTE=The Best Ever;1042669]Any advice on how to make one`s writing more [B]idiomatic[/B]? Any particular source ??? Plus, how can one score well in essay?
Thanks.[/QUOTE]
i would say reading helps with expression. i read a ton of fiction, so it has definitely helped me over the years

Hello,

From where did you prepare the political philosophers portion of political science? Especially the new philosophers and Muslim philosophers.

Wish you the best of luck for the interviews. :)

[QUOTE=GhazMar;1042680]Hello,

From where did you prepare the political philosophers portion of political science? Especially the new philosophers and Muslim philosophers.

Wish you the best of luck for the interviews. :)[/QUOTE]
for western political thought, the best book is by judd harmon. the other useful book i found was political thinkers by david boucher and paul kelly.

i couldnt find a good book on islamic thinkers so i made my own notes, i only prepared on allama iqbal, al mawardi, ib ne khuldun and al farabi. i had these notes from an academy in outline form, so that helped in making notes

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. I have some qs below please reply and give any suggestions and advice if any :)
1 How many hours did you study?
2 how did you revise all the subjects in that short time?
3 In how many days you prepared one subject?
4 Of how many pages you wrote one answer of optional and compulsory subjects?
5 Any tips you want to give us of studying, preparation, or during examination like do's and dont's during our preparation and examination.