Are you still opting IR?
 

After 2019 CE result, how do you see International Relations scope for CE-2021? Major flock of candidates have shifted from International relations to Political Science. Political science's syllabus is lengthy but marks rewarding, questions are somewhat straight forward. One of the questions was to explain elements of fascism for 20 marks.(Something like that)
It has also been mentioned in the forum that 2020 IR paper 2 was tough and confusing. So may be history is going to repeat for IR in upcoming months.

I have only covered introductory topics and realism from IR, and after watching these videos and scoring trend, I am having doubts about IR. Some 2019 qualifiers have stated that they didn't have level playing field with IR.

How many of you are still preparing for IR? Are you doing something different to rectify problems in examiner's reports?

Still I.R
 

I.R is love although it cheats every year 😂
It is still my optional because I am comfortable studying it. Planning to create a WhatsApp group for I.R students only (interested people can dm me). I have Joshua Goldstein's and Kegley's books. Preparation from these renowned books can fetch us high score.

[QUOTE=Ken adams;1113392]After 2019 CE result, how do you see International Relations scope for CE-2021? Major flock of candidates have shifted from International relations to Political Science. Political science's syllabus is lengthy but marks rewarding, questions are somewhat straight forward. One of the questions was to explain elements of fascism for 20 marks.(Something like that)
It has also been mentioned in the forum that 2020 IR paper 2 was tough and confusing. So may be history is going to repeat for IR in upcoming months.

I have only covered introductory topics and realism from IR, and after watching these videos and scoring trend, I am having doubts about IR. Some 2019 qualifiers have stated that they didn't have level playing field with IR.

How many of you are still preparing for IR? Are you doing something different to rectify problems in examiner's reports?[/QUOTE]

I am preparing for IR, and I am not scared of the marks in the past couple of years. I firmly believe in strong preparation and understanding the requirements of a question before attempting it. There is similar hubbub every year. Before my first attempt in 2018, people were going on about the demerits of opting IR, but I opted it, prepared diligently and scored 122. Whenever there is chatter about trends, I feel that it does injustice to those who scored high where the majority scored low. All this fussing asserts that the people who scored high on IR were either lucky or were favored by examiners. The best things to do for preparing IR (and this is coming from a person who has gone through it before) are:
1. Preparing from books recommended by FPSC.
2. Having a strong grip on the theoretical base of IR and using it copiously in both Parts 1 and 2.
3. Attempting questions from past papers to strengthen grip on the ways of attempting questions.
4. Making sure that your grip on English Grammar is vice-like. Believe me, having flawless writing skills does wonders to your marks. Presentation doesn't matter as much as your writing style. I hardly gave any headings or drew any maps or charts, but my writing style was imaginative and completely my own and it showed in my marks.

I implore you to not switch subjects just because of trends. If you feel you are not comfortable with IR and more comfortable with Political Science, then switch it. If you are genuinely interested in the subject, prepare it like it is meant to be prepared. It might take some time but that happens in CSS. Everyone has subjects that vary in difficulty and the time it takes to prepare them properly. As an example, I will share my journey so far. I found Sociology and Criminology to be ridiculously easy and prepared both within 25 days. However, it took me a month just to prepare GSA. The key is to not get disheartened. Carry on and you will find good things happening to you soon enough.

Hope this helps!!

I have started from John Baylis book, and will try to incorporate kegely from time to time. Isn't Joshua's book concise?

[QUOTE=Muhammadwd;1113400]I am preparing for IR, and I am not scared of the marks in the past couple of years. I firmly believe in strong preparation and understanding the requirements of a question before attempting it. There is similar hubbub every year. Before my first attempt in 2018, people were going on about the demerits of opting IR, but I opted it, prepared diligently and scored 122. Whenever there is chatter about trends, I feel that it does injustice to those who scored high where the majority scored low. All this fussing asserts that the people who scored high on IR were either lucky or were favored by examiners. The best things to do for preparing IR (and this is coming from a person who has gone through it before) are:
1. Preparing from books recommended by FPSC.
2. Having a strong grip on the theoretical base of IR and using it copiously in both Parts 1 and 2.
3. Attempting questions from past papers to strengthen grip on the ways of attempting questions.
4. Making sure that your grip on English Grammar is vice-like. Believe me, having flawless writing skills does wonders to your marks. Presentation doesn't matter as much as your writing style. I hardly gave any headings or drew any maps or charts, but my writing style was imaginative and completely my own and it showed in my marks.

I implore you to not switch subjects just because of trends. If you feel you are not comfortable with IR and more comfortable with Political Science, then switch it. If you are genuinely interested in the subject, prepare it like it is meant to be prepared. It might take some time but that happens in CSS. Everyone has subjects that vary in difficulty and the time it takes to prepare them properly. As an example, I will share my journey so far. I found Sociology and Criminology to be ridiculously easy and prepared both within 25 days. However, it took me a month just to prepare GSA. The key is to not get disheartened. Carry on and you will find good things happening to you soon enough.

Hope this helps!![/QUOTE]
Excellent. Thanks for response. I like this subject and have no difficulty in understanding. I even made an account on academia.edu to download research papers of renowned theorists to diversify my knowledge. And I will try to learn and practice application of theories in questions of both papers.

What put me off was the implication from CSS gurus that even though political science is lengthy and tough subject, everyone will be able to get 140, others won't even understand the IR questions.

Can you suggest a combination of optional subjects
1. International Relations
2. Us history
3. Environment science/Gender studies (leaning towards environment science)
4. Punjabi /sociology (not sure about Punjabi, especially memorizing poetry)
5. I.Law (doubt about it, suggestions )

[QUOTE=Ken adams;1113411]Excellent. Thanks for response. I like this subject and have no difficulty in understanding. I even made an account on academia.edu to download research papers of renowned theorists to diversify my knowledge. And I will try to learn and practice application of theories in questions of both papers.

What put me off was the implication from CSS gurus that even though political science is lengthy and tough subject, everyone will be able to get 140, others won't even understand the IR questions.

Can you suggest a combination of optional subjects
1. International Relations
2. Us history
3. Environment science/Gender studies (leaning towards environment science)
4. Punjabi /sociology (not sure about Punjabi, especially memorizing poetry)
5. I.Law (doubt about it, suggestions )[/QUOTE]

CSS gurus are just there for the money. They will tell you whatever they perceive you want to hear. You are much more likely to get genuine guidance from forums such as this because people have nothing to gain or lose by helping others on such forums.

As far as your optional subjects are concerned, I can share my views regarding Environmental Science and Sociology. Sociology is a very easy subject, short in syllabus and doesn't bother you a whole lot. I covered it in 8 days. The only part that can take time is the Sociological Theorists and Theories, but it is just lengthy and not too difficult.
Environmental Science is a tricky subject. I have had a love-hate relationship with this subject. Some aspects of it I find very easy and genuinely interesting, others I find tedious and time consuming. However, its syllabus is structured in a way that allows a lot of leverage. You have the option of focusing on the core aspects of Environment while picking and choosing between the international agreements and historical developments in this field. It is a technical subject but straight forward.
History is completely based on your preference. If you feel that you can remember all the different events and dates and provide adequate commentary based on the question asked, then go for it. If you are not good at cramming, I would suggest a subject along the lines of IR where you can and are occasionally needed to improvise.
I do not have sufficient experience of I LAW, however I would recommend that if you are uncertain about it, take a look the syllabus of Criminology in the same group. It is very interesting and easy to prepare. It took me only 11 days. It is also quite similar to Sociology, whereby you will find a lot of overlapping points between the two and both in turn help with a variety of other subjects.

Bear in mind that the above is based on my opinion garnered from experience. This may not hold true for you, so do remember to put your interest and aptitude first while deciding between optional subjects.

Hope this helps!!!

Salam Muhammad bro,
could you please answer 1-2 queries of mine regarding IR? will be very thankful. :)

Sure you can ask what you want. Sorry for the late reply; I was a little busy.