Proper guidance helps you in getting higher marks

First of all, I would discuss the optional subjects. The scoring subjects are: Islamic History, Geography, Psychology, International Law, Regional languages like – Punjabi, Pushto, Sindhi, Balochi, Journalism, International Relations, etc.

Before preparing the CSS, the candidate should keep in mind that the CSS is the exam to compete with thousands of the candidates. So, the first step is how to compete with them. The best strategy is to opt for those optional subjects which are scoring and marks giving as I mentioned in the beginning. But without proper guidance, the candidate will live in the dark having a little ray of hope and when he finds the light it will be too long to surpass the exam. My underlying message is to take proper guidance from a single teacher which helps you in getting higher marks within a short span of time and one remains on the track.

Take Islamic History first. This subject is very scoring and most of the syllabus we have been studying since our childhood. The topics of Islamic History are the early life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), major incidents of his life, Khulfa-e-Rasheedin, Umayyad and Abbasid. This is the syllabus of the paper-I of Islamic History. Preparing the first paper is quite easy and one can prepare it within seven to 10 days.

Whereas the Paper-II is concerned, students are confused what to do and where to start its preparation. A number of students complained about the lengthy syllabus of the Paper-II. But the thing is quite contrary. Through proper guidance and coaching, one can easily prepare it within 10 days no matter the syllabus is lengthy or easy.

For paper-II, questions relating to the preparation are the Umayyad caliphs like Abdur Rehman al Dakil to Abdul Rehman al Nasr, Fine arts and minor arts, Renaissance movement, Muslim seminaries and its contributions, dissemination of the Muslim learning in Europe, short notes on the important battles and Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Sina, Rushd, etc.

Now comes the technique how to attempt the paper. It is recommended that dates and quotations from the Islamic History authentic books should be written in order to get higher marks. Besides, there should be a proper introduction and conclusion of each question.

Whereas Geography is concerned, students usually ask me a question that they do not have geography background and it is not possible for them to opt for this subject. My answer is simple that geography is related to our daily life. For example we see rivers, mountains, glaciers, deserts, movement of water in the oceans but we never bother to know how these processes are happening. If we take rivers we should at least have the knowledge that from where these rivers originate and where they end. How is it rained? The answer is that there are 10 topics related to the syllabus and one can easily prepare geography with the help of guidance. So opt for geography because of its scoring trends and the way one prepares world map, he/she is in a better position to get command of the world map. It will also help the candidates not only in geography but also in the papers of English Essay, Current Affairs, Pakistan Affairs, International Relations and other subjects.

The topics of paper-I are following: rivers, glaciers, deserts, coasts reforms, earthquake and Plate Techtonic Theory, rocks, internal structure of the earth, mountains, ocean currents, rainfall, cyclones, anti-cyclones, the hot wet equatorial, monsoon region climate, etc.

The way how to attempt geography is to draw a map of the related topic and write down the features of the map in your topic. Practicing world map together is very helpful for many questions.

Whereas paper-II is concerned, this paper is not complicated at all. The topics are related to population, wheat, rice, oil, steel, industry, geography of the world and geography of the South Asia.

In short, Geography and Islamic History are scoring subjects. Sometimes, there are few subjects every year when the pattern of scoring is very low. My advice is that one should prepare the syllabus completely. Solve the last five years papers and in the end and before the commencing of the final exams of the CSS/PMS, then one should take test and write more and more which helps improve your expression and writing skills and get these tests checked by a CSS expert. Besides, do not consult too many people for guidance, take guidance from a single and qualified person as sometimes candidates take guidance from too many people and get confused. The writer is a lecturer, Sub-Editor and author of various books, including ‘English Precis’, ‘Islamic Studies’ & ‘Pakistan Studies’.