Aoa Folks

I want to appear in 2011 CSS exams. This is my first time and i have graduated recently in IT. Journalism is one of my optionals. I have selected some books as well which most people recommended in this forum. I want to ask some questions to give me a head start in the preparation.


1. How do i start preparation? The deadlock occurs here.. How to start? Should i look at the past papers first? Should i go topic wise? Should i study 1 topic from different books as i have 3-4 books???

2. Should i make notes. If you look at the "Arena of Golden tips " Section, nearly every CSP recommends notes making. Now some people have recommended me not to make notes for EDS (just hightlight imp. points) and take short notes for Current Affairs? Should i make notes for this subject? Any other alternative?

3. Keeping in mind that i am consulting 3-4 books, in how much time i should be able to cover this subject fully??

4. Any tips in general... (for preparation or paper attempting)???



Waiting.......

hello,

Firstly, let me state the obvious...Journalism is a good choice as far as CSS is concerned...short syllabus and easy subject.

now lets attend to the questions that u have raised...

how to begin?

First, ofcourse have a look at the past papers,,understand the KIND of questions that are put in the xamination
3 or 4 books are too many...2 good books would do...but if you want to read all the books even then i would suggest you to identify two books as your mainstay and the remaining two as reference books for additional or different stuff.
second, if you are reading 3 or 4 books then it is only sensible to make notes so that you could put the best of all the books at one place.
third, with 3 or 4 books under study alongwith coupled with making notes, 20 days will suffice.
fourth, just go for it....

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Why not !?

Should i make detailed notes i-e for each topic, seperate notes... Or should i just note down quick notes?

@ camran

notes should be such so that u may never need to go back to books again.
they should be precise enough to go through just before the xamination and yet at the same time they should be comprehensive as to not leave out anything important...thus, they should neither be too short nor cumbersome.

__________________
Why not !?

dear wa alaikum aslaam
mene apki post parhi hy.do teen baten likhonga gor se parhna or samjna.
1.agr 2011 me appear hona chahte hoto apk pass boht kum time hy.
2.preparation srf 1 feb tk hoti hy phr revision or relaxation.
3.notes achi cheez hy lkn ye depend krta hy k subject kitna lenghty hy.
4.total months count kro kitne hen or rozana k studying hours nikal k calculat kro k kitna time rehta hy.
5.phr ap time management krte huwe 12 subjects ko divide kren.
6.agr itne time me ap jo bilkul unaware hen is field se ap nots bnane beth gae to ap khas tyari nh kr paenge.
7.journalism limited subject hy.ap study krenge to hope ap samj jaenge.
8.agr phr b koi confusion hoto reply krna

hi all.i read all post of u people.i think only six months r enough for preparation if u take long time,it is possible 4 u to b confussed and fed up.
yes i agree time managment is necessery.7 hours daily r enough for study,search on net for imp topics only for 2 hours then print them out,watching t.v news programes for 2 hours,discussion with fellows for 1 hour.2 days in weeek should b off.i think this should b time managment.
journalism s good,interesting and marks scoring sub.first read out the syllabus then topic from only 2 books than check that topic in past papers to know in what ways that topic had been asked make the notes of this topic.after comletionof full syllabus learn them and finally take test of them.

@out of place

Hmmm... I think now i am pretty clear as far as notes making is concerned. You said in your first reply that 20 days are sufficient for its preparation. Does that include revision as well? Can you give some tips for revision? The thing is that i am planning to give each subject dedicated time like 15 days so once i am done with one subject, how can i periodically revise it?


@HuRiRfAn

u mentioned that i dont have much time... I initially thought that this much time is enough. Can you please suggest some scheduling tips on how can i schedule my day so that i can make up?

@ seep

You said that 7-8 hours of work a day are enough while taking the weekends off.. I am also thinking that atleast one day of the week should be taken off other wise it can become too difficult. When you say 7-8 hours, does it include only one subject? The thing is that some people suggest preparing essay, current affairs simultaneously along with other subjects so how can i divide time to cover all (CA and essay) along with one optional?

P.S: I have posted similar threads in all compulsory subjects and in Sociology, IR, Islamic History and Civilization and Muslim Law. If any one can advice in that, please do

@camran

I am also appearing in 2011 and I have also started prepping recently. The time (6 months+) is more than enough and I have also opted journalism because if its easy nature and short syllabus. Unlike most people here, I would not advise making notes. Notes waste your precious time and in the end are not as useful as they are claimed to be.

What I do is underline important sentences in the text and revise them at the end. This serves dual purpose of 'notes' and refreshing the whole chapter in your mind

@mani1

Thanks mani for your reply. You are advising against notes making and you are advising in underlying and jotting down important points on book. Some people have recommended me this BUT for papers like EDS. May i ask how many books are you consulting? Have you started preparing Journalism?? The thing is that i havent started preparation as want to get advise from people before preparation...

As of now, I am only preparing IR, CA & PA. From Monday, I will start preparing for Journalism and Islamiat. I will be consulting no more than 2 books for IR/Journalism which I feel are sufficient for a thorough and effective preparation.

Which city are you from and what is your educational background?