Guidence to opt from Indopak/USA/Islamic History
 

Salam. Dear members.

I'm relatively new at this forum and seeking guidance for optional subject selection.
I have engineering background and So far I'm going with IR( Don't have a choice)
Applied Maths/Pure Maths ( I guess I can do this)
Punjabi ( Pretty close to me)

I'm bit tangled between Indopak, Islamic and USA History.
I've read different threads and concluded that its subject length vs scoring capability. Indopak does cover Pak affairs but is less scoring than US or Islamic history. But I wmy basic inspiration to go for Indopak is get knowledge about your continent where you've been living.

Can someone briefly guide me from CSS prospective?

It would be obliging.

Walaykum assalam Tracker,

Welcome to the forum dear member. I will try to help you according to my own knowledge and first hand experience.

Regarding history subjects, try to go for the one which has shorter syllabus, trust me. It will be help you a lot in the end.

Firstly, let me discuss Islamic History. I opted Islamic history and did well. My score was 73 in paper A and 68 in paper B. BUT i dropped this subject later :) the reason was its lengthy syllabus. Now, IHC has been reduced to mere 100 marks only and the length is approximately same. IH will help you in Islamic studies paper and especially in objective portion.

Secondly, Indo Pak history is also lengthy. No doubt it will help you a lot in Pakistan affairs but if you analyze Pak affairs paper from the past couple of years the trend of asking historical questions in Pak affairs is close to naught.

Thirdly, Us history's syllabus is short as compared to others. There is a great deal of current US affairs in its syllabus which will help you a lot in Current Affairs as well as International Relations paper2. So i will suggest you to go for US history.

Best of luck.

P.S. Punjabi is an excellent choice and it can give you outstanding marks, if you prepare it well.

Gratitude Mr. mmawaqar,

Thanks for your time. Surely I will consider your guideline. Now here it comes the second thing; Preparation.
Should one go for academies or study by himself or should take classes of selective subjects? e.g Essays, English, IR, Maths.

Take classes of Essay, Composition, IR etc from competent teachers or seniors (not academies) and make your own notes.

Academies do provide you with notes and stuff but self study is a necessity in CSS preparation. Do make your own notes.

Dear senior,

i am taking sociology, gender, and criminology.
confused between history subjects. should i go for Indo pak, european or US history??

also, can you suggest me one between public admin and urban town planning please??

USA History is a good subject with short syllabus outline...It also gives you a world perspective in the background of American thoughts.