How I Cracked CSS in 1st Attempt by Zoha Shakir (PAS)

Aoa Everyone,

My name is Zoha Shakir. I got allocation in PAS through CE 2016. Today I’ll be sharing my
experience regarding CSS, how I cracked CSS in my 1st attempt and what are the basic
requirements to ace competitive exams. I hope this post will be beneficial for aspirants.

1. Table of Contents

English Essay
My Take on English Essay:
Important Elements of English Essay:
1. Outline:
2. INTRODUCTION:
3. BODY:
4. CONCLUSION:
How to Attempt the Essay Paper While Sitting in the Examination Hall

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Why and How To Read Newspaper For CSS

English (Precis and Composition)
General Science & Ability
Current Affairs
Pakistan Affairs
Islamic Studies
International Relations
Town Planning & Urban Management
Environmental Sciences
International Law
Psychology
Zoha Shakir

English Essay

My Take on English Essay:

Essay is the test of English writing skills so it should be tackled accordingly. The examiner
is much concerned about the language you’re using throughout the length of your essay
rather than the knowledge you’re trying to show off so be very careful what you write in
your essay. Some of the things you’re being tested for are:

Your knowledge of the topic;

Your argumentative and opinion based writing skills;
Your grip over English grammar and vocabulary;
The organization of whatever you put on the paper;
Clarity of expression;
Flow/Fluency in your writing;
The outline you make;
Your presentation;
Whether you have corroborated your opinion or stance with relevant stats or not.

Essay writing is not something that can be learnt overnight; one needs to practice a lot to
learn this art. It is said that before running, one needs to learn to walk properly so for the
beginners I recommend that they should start writing one-paged articles and get them
checked by some competent and sincere teacher/senior. After that they should start drafting
outlines on essay topics from the past papers as the pattern has changed in the recent times
and now more creative and unique topics are being asked in the paper. After drafting
outlines on diverse topics, you may start writing full length essays within the allocated time

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period of 3 hours.

Important Elements of English Essay:

I followed the following method while writing my essay and got 52 marks in it. I’m sure you
will find it useful as well.

1. Outline:
Outline should be written in bullet form. The outline should be written strictly to the point.

2. INTRODUCTION:
In the Introduction, directly hit the topic without going into irrelevant details. Your
Introduction should span around 85% of your 1st page. As Introduction gives a direction to
your essay so it should be interesting and captivating; you can start your introduction with
an interesting fact, an exciting quotation, a surprising piece of information, an anecdote or a
provocative question. Your Introduction should be thought provoking and extremely
relevant throughout. Present your thesis statement at the end of introduction.

3. BODY:

The sequence of your essay should be according to the outline that was written before
essay. Connectivity is the essence of an essay. Your essay should be coherent and well
organized. It should be holistic and multifaceted. You should critically analyze the various
aspects of the topic. You can put your weaker arguments in the middle but you must never
repeat your arguments as it gives a bad impression. Add relevant quotes, facts and
statistics. Avoid spelling and grammatical mistakes. Do not use abbreviations like WAPDA;
use the full form i.e. Water and Power Development Authority. There should be clarity of
thoughts through the entire length of your essay which can be attained by writing according
to the outline and using short sentences that are grammatically correct instead of going for
long sentences filled with verbosity.

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4. CONCLUSION:

Don’t introduce any new idea in the conclusion, justify the already stated content by
explaining in a few sentences. Always conclude with a positive note.

How to Attempt the Essay Paper While Sitting in the Examination Hall

1. Spend around 10-15 minutes choosing one out of ten given topics. Choose the topic
which you can elaborate well and you believe you possess most knowledge about.
2. Take around 45-50 minutes sketching a rough, crude outline. I recommend you draw it
on the backside of the question paper because if you do it on the last page of answer
sheet, you are going to have to ruffle through pages maniacally, while writing the
essay, looking for points, every now and then. That is going to waste a lot of time and
might take its toll on your mood. If you sketch it on the backside of the question paper,
you can keep it in front of you, in your one hand, while writing the essay, reading the
points and elaborating them on answer sheet.

Outline sketching is purely a function of brainstorming. The deeper, the wider you can
think, the better is your outline. Give your thoughts free reign, do not restrict your mind,
and do not refrain from putting on paper what you think. You might write irrelevant points
but mere writing them might cause you to come up with a more relevant one. Explore
various dimensions of the given issue, adding bits and pieces from every dimension, relating
them to your essay statement, coming up with stats, examples etc to justify your stance.

Make sure your outline is VERY COMPREHENSIVE, make major headings (1,2,3…), sub
headings (i, ii, iii …) and sub sub headings (a,b,c…) inside every major heading, just like you
add bullet points in MS Word file. Also if possible, use different colored markers/fonts for
Major headings, sub headings, and sub sub headings. (Mega font for major headings, minor
font for sub sub headings). Such organized presentation will make it easily navigable for the
examiner, plus will occupy lots of space, and will make your outline appear hierarchical and
organized.

A detailed outline, spanning around 4-5 pages, means that if you can expand each point into
4-5 lines in your essay, you are easily going to cross 2500 words threshold. Plus, once you
have a very detailed outline in front of you, you KNOW what you got to write, in what
manner, and you will not have to write and pause to think and again write and again pause.
This write-pause phase can be detrimental, do your best to avoid that, and the best way to
avoid that is to chalk out a comprehensive outline.

Practise drawing outlines of difficult and philosophical topics which are as distant from
current affairs, as possible. If you can develop outlines for such topics, you can cream the

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current affairs topics.

3. Once done with outline, leave few pages on the answer sheet, and start with your
essay. Elaborate each point in your outline in around 5-7 lines, starting from Intro to
Conclusion. This should not take more than 1.5 hours. While writing the essay you will
come across many points which you did not write in your outline. As it happens,
include those points in the rough outline.
4. With half hour at your disposal, now come to the beginning of your answer sheet
where you left blank pages and transfer the outline on those pages. The point of doing
this exercise in the end is that you will come across many points while inking the
essay, and had you written the outline right at the beginning, you would miss those
points. When you write the outline later on, it will include the points you missed while
sketching the outline and conceived later on.

The very best of luck to all of you. Essay, no doubt, is bane of every CSS aspirant’s
existence, but you got to take it by the scruff of the neck rather than allowing it to get better
of you. There is either Do or Die, no middle path, I suggest you take the former

Why and How To Read Newspaper For CSS

First of all, I’ll tell you “WHY” you need to read newspaper. Newspaper reading helps a
person to stay in touch with current issues around the globe. It helps to broaden the
perspective and analytical skills of the reader. When a person is reading Op-eds written by
eminent writers of Dawn, The News, NY Times, Guardian etc., he learns to analyze the
opinions of experts and then he is able to formulate his own opinions which are unique.
When he jots down his unique ideas in his papers, the examiner gets impressed by the
versatility of his ideas and resultantly he scores more than others. So, there is a marked
difference in the written expression of a person who reads newspaper and the one who
doesn’t read it.

For CSS aspirants, the importance of newspaper can’t be more emphasized as it helps in
both compulsory and optional subjects. The quality material that a person can get from
newspaper has no parallel and this valuable information can easily be reproduced in Essay,
Pakistan Affairs, Current Affairs, Islamiat, International Affairs , Political Science or any
other paper. The statistics, quotes, opinions, facts and figures quoted in the newspaper are
the latest ones and reading them saves a lot of time as you can easily note them down while
reading paper instead of searching them on google separately.

From the past five years, there has been a rapid shift in the pattern of question papers.
Gone are the days when a person could memorize the top 20 questions from each subject
and pass CSS. Nowadays, competitive exams demand more creativity and analytical

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reasoning which can only be developed by reading vigorously. The way you comprehend
what’s being asked in the paper and the way you write down your answer determines your
fate in CSS. Having said that, it’s not difficult to develop a sound written expression which
can easily be learned by reading quality papers and writing more and more. By practicing
this, you can easily learn to write an opinion based answer during exam under immense
pressure of time and nerves.

To be honest, when I started reading newspaper I used to feel that it’s a sheer wastage of
time as I was unable to comprehend what was written in there and it used to take a lot of
my time. But gradually I started enjoying reading it and now it’s my habit to read Dawn
newspaper daily. You all might have experienced this and it’s normal that at first you won’t
be able to maintain interest while reading newspaper but gradually you will start enjoying
it. At this stage, you might not find it beneficial but the massive information and statistics
that you read right now will make its way to your sub-conscious and you’ll be surprised to
notice that you’ll be able to produce quality material you never knew in the exam hall; It
comes through constant reading of good articles from reputable newspaper. To sum it up,
there’s no alternative to newspaper reading.

Now moving on to the “HOW” part. When I started reading it used to consume a lot of my
time as I didn’t know what was supposed to be read. For beginners I’ll recommend DAWN
newspaper because of its unbiased opinions. The portions that you need to read include:

Front and Back page to know about the current national events.
Editorials and Opinions to develop your own opinions regarding all national and
international events. (You can even take an article from the op-eds and make its precis
daily, this activity will help you in both Current Affairs and English as it will improve
your written expression).
The Friday Article in Dawn newspaper helps a lot in Islamiat paper as it helps in
formulating a reasonable opinion on pertinent religious issues.
The International pages to stay in touch with International Affairs (As majority of you
now have either IR or Political Science so these pages are a must-read).
The business page to stay in loop with the state of global economy; Monday’s
supplement on economy is very helpful to get an understanding on economic issues of
Pakistan (This one is especially important for those who have Economics or Business
Administration as one of their optionals)
Finally, in Sunday’s “Images”, articles by Nadeem Paracha, Anjum Niaz and Mubarak
Ali are very well-written as they are well researched and cover a lot of topics like
social issues, terrorism, national security issues etc.
Now after reading this stuff if your mind gets overburdened you may take a tea break
and read your horoscope on the metropolitan leisure page; you’ll get to know that your

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future is bright and something great is going to happen

Lastly, I’ll tell you about “How to make notes from Newspaper” from examination point of
view. You’ll be reading newspaper for months before exams but you won’t be able to revise
whatever you read. So for revising some articles you may cut them and save those clippings
in a folder or you may paste those articles on a register. You may make separate segments
in that folder/register and label them as:

National events: you can make further breakdown like

national security issues
water crises,
governance issues,
criminal justice system reforms,
CPEC progress,
Progress on Panama Inquiry etc
International events
American Economic crisis,
BREXIT,
America after Donald Trump,
Middle Eastern fiasco,
South China Sea Disputes,
War on Terror and IS,
Rise of China and OBOR,
Paris Climate Deal, etc.
Economy
Global financial crisis,
Foreign Aid,
Tax Avoidance and tax havens,
Rise of new economies like BRICS etc.
Geography
food and agriculture Issues,
climate change
and global warming, etc.
Social Issues
“Friday Articles” and so on.

When you read an article, try to summarize it in one line and write that on top of it. Now
whenever you feel like revising any topic you may take the clipped articles on that particular
topic. It will save a lot of your time and by the end of the year you would have made your
own special notes and you can circumvent all Dogars, IImis, Cram Series and JWT stuff. And

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believe me, hard work never gets wasted and you’ll be rewarded by Allah Almighty
InshaAllah!

2. English (Precis and Composition)

The books I used include:

Precis Writing by Prof. R. Dhillon

Precis Writing by Zahid Ashraf published by JWT
This book contains solved précis from CSS past papers- 1990 onwards; It’s very
useful for those who are preparing by themselves at home like I did. You can
easily solve any précis from past papers and then compare it with the solved one
given at the end. This way you can judge yourself and rectify your mistakes
Exploring the World of English by Sayed Saadat Ali Shah
High School English Grammar & Composition by Wren & Martin
This book can be used to cover parts of speech, nouns, verbs, pronouns,
adjectives, tenses, correct usage of articles, adverbs, idioms, prepositions,
conjunctions, interjections, active and passive voice, comprehension and rules for
precis-writing)

3. General Science & Ability

The books I used include:

Encyclopedic Manual of Everyday Science by Dr. Rab Nawaz Samo

EDS by Hafiz M. Hamid Raza
GAT Book

TIPS: Draw as many relevant diagrams, tables and flowcharts as you can in this paper. As
it’s a scientific paper so you need to be scientific and avoid going into irrelevant details. In
order to memorize various topics, you should make mnemonics. For example mnemonic
device for 8 planets is “My very educated mother just served us noodles” So you can always
use such techniques to retain information and it makes learning a fun based activity

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4. Current Affairs

I collected information from the following sources:

DAWN Newspaper
The News
The Diplomat
Foreign Policy Magazine
Center for Strategic and International Studies
PILDAT

TIPS: In order to score high in current affairs, you need to present a SWOT analysis
(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) for which you need to collect pros/cons
regarding that particular topic. While writing an answer, briefly write about the historical
background, then state the current developments after which you need to give the future
predictions if the question demands. To beautify your answer, write sayings of world leaders
and renowned authors for example I used a lot of sayings of Samuel P Huntington, Stephen
P Cohen, George W Bush, Noam Chomsky, Dr Shahid Masood, Ahsan Iqbal, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, etc.

5. Pakistan Affairs

The books I read include:

Pakistan Affairs by M. Ikram Rabbani

Trek to Pakistan by Ahmed Saeed

TIPS: Always keep in mind the current scenario/impact of various historical events for
example, when you’re reading the 14 points of Quaid-e-Azam you need to critically analyze
the impacts of Quaid’s 14 points in the future struggle for Pakistan. Add relevant sayings of
Quaid-e-Azam, Allama Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and other important personalities where
needed. Your answers should reflect your own opinion; it should not be copied from any
book or notes. Use data and statistics from the economic survey of Pakistan. You should all
learn how to draw a simplified map of the world, The Subcontinent, South Asia and
Pakistan.

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6. Islamic Studies

I read selected portions from the following books:

Lost Islamic History by Firas Alkhateeb

Islamiat by Farkhanda Noor Muhammad
Islamic Studies by Hafiz Karim Dad Chughtai
Islamic Studies by Zahid Ashraf published by JWT
Towards Understanding Islam by S. Abul Ala Maududi
Islam, Its Meaning and Message by Khurshid Ahmed

TIPS: Among the above mentioned books, I found the one written by Sir Hafiz Karim Dad
the most comprehensive and in accordance with the revised syllabus. While answering the
question, keep in mind not to overload your paper with references from Quran and Hadith,
rather use relevant references to back up your arguments. Secondly, avoid criticizing any
school of thought because you don’t know who’s going to check your paper.

International Relations
The books I read include:

International Relations by Joshua Goldstein & Jon C. Pevehouse

International Relations by Parkash Chander
The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations
by John Baylis, Patricia Owens, Steve Smith
Politics in Minutes by Marcus Weeks
The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington
Foreign Policy of Pakistan by Abdul Sattar

TIPS: This is a technical subject and demands a technical approach. Cover the theoretical
part well as it forms the base of your arguments. Consult multiple sources for this subject as
there is no specific book for this subject.

Town Planning & Urban Management

The books I consulted include:

Town Planning & Urban Management by Hassan Ali Gondal published by JWT
Town Planning & Urban Management by Haji Muhammad Shabbir

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NOTE: This is a technical subject so choose it only if you’re interested in this subject and
willing to work hard. I found this subject very interesting and I believe it can give a pretty
good score if prepared well. During my time, I couldn’t find any quality book on this subject
but for scoring good one needs to consult international books written by subject specialists.
Secondly, this subject demands a lot of creativity while solving paper so draw as many
relevant flowcharts and graphical demonstrations as possible.

Environmental Sciences
I consulted the following books:

Environmental Science by Imran Bashir

Human, Economic & Regional Geography by Imran Bashir

TIPS: A very interesting and knowledgeable subject which can easily be prepared within 15
days. I used the above mentioned books but as the outline is quite extensive so I used to
google the topics I couldn’t find in books. For scoring good in this subject, write to the point
and make relevant diagrams. The latest international conferences on Environment/Pollution
Control/Climate Change should be kept track of; for example when I was preparing for CSS,
the Paris Climate Deal was recently signed so I followed the latest developments on it (like
how many countries have signed or ratified this deal, what are the demands on those
countries under this deal, what are the future expectations after its coming into force etc.)
Moreover, latest statistics related to this subject should be quoted in the paper to score
good.

International Law
I consulted the following books and website:

International Law by DR. H.O. Agarwal

International Law by J.G Starke
International Law by Malcolm Shaw
https://sites.google.com/site/walidabdulrahim/

TIPS: I found this subject very interesting so I used to study every topic in detail. Most of
the topics can be covered from the above mentioned books; the remaining ones specially the
important cases can be searched on Google/international journals.

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Psychology
For psychology, I used the books mentioned below:

Essentials of Understanding Psychology by Robert S. Feldman

An Approach to Psychology by Rakhshanda Shahnaz
Processes of Psychology and Applied Psychology by Prof. Zarin Bukhari
Psychology by Tayab Saifullah (Jahangir Exam Cram Series)

TIPS: Make extensive use of internet for animations, graphs and critical analysis of
psychological theories.

I hope this article helps you all in some way. Best of luck everyone! Just remember:

“Don’t ever let somebody tell you can’t do something.

You have got a dream, you’ve got to protect it.
People who can’t do something themselves,
they want to tell you, ‘You can’t do it.’
You want something? Go get it. Period!”
~ Will Smith, Pursuit of Happyness

Regards,

Zoha Shakir
(45th Common)

Courtesy: CSS Forum

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