Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
For all your queries about CSS, PMS, PCS and other Competitive Exams, please write to us or email at the following address: CSS GURU Jahangir’s World Times 121-D, Gulberg II, Lahore. email: cssguru@jworldtimes.com
Dear Guru
Assalam-o-Alaikum
God willing, I am going to appear in the CSS-2014 exam but I am facing some problems in the preparation especially in English Essay and Precis & composition and last but not least, in Zoology. I want to get your advice for the preparation of these subjects and also your recommendation for the books on these subjects which would be quite helpful to me.
Waiting for your golden guidance on these subjects.
Irfan Malik,
P.O. Box Thana
District Malakand
Dear Irfan,
For English Essay I would suggest you to first list your topics that you intend to prepare for the exam. Next, you should divide these further into sub-topics covering all important aspects of that topic. Once this study list is prepared, you should start working on outlines for each sub-topic. Moreover, you should prepare important quotations for each topic, gather important data and statistics and add suitable examples from society that would support your arguments.
English Precis and Composition paper comprises two segments. Segment ‘II is grammar and vocabulary and is mathematical, as your correct answer would accrue full marks. Here it becomes key to success as if you manage to score 30 in this segment your chances of clearing this paper become high. For this purpose practice this segment from the past papers and please do not cram sentences written in common guide books available in market.
For Segment ‘I (Precis, Comprehension, and Expansion), try to solve all past papers questions of precis and comprehension passages. Try to make it your habit as time management is very important in this paper. The precis passage mostly consumes around one hour. Practice can help you save time in other parts.
Zoology has one of the highest percentages; 60% and above marks. Being a Science subject it demands a better understanding of concepts. You need to grasp basic terminologies and understand them well in order to be able to assimilate all topics. Moreover, diagrams and figures are crucial in this subject. You need to practice drawing properly labelled figures and diagrams to support your answers in paper. You may consult:
Zoology by Miller and Harley
Zoology for Competitive Exams by Caravan Publishers
Intermediate Books for Biology
Discovering the World of English Grammar by JBD
Competitive Essays by Prof. Muzaffar Bukhari
Contemporary Essays by
Prof. M. Usmani and Salman Kazmi
Dear Guru
I am doing B.E. in Civil Engineering and getting prepared for CSS. Can you guide me on optional subjects? I have chosen Forestry, Sociology, Punjabi and Indo-Pak History. My query is that are these subjects scoring in prevailing trend? And sir, please also tell that which history is preferable. What will you recommend among British History & Indo-Pak? Kindly suggest books for both, their scoring trend and current paper pattern. I have Indo-Pak Department in my city not British History.
Willow Mjb
Dear Willow,
You subject selection is fine. I would advise you to consider Geography as a possible choice for being more relevant to your studies. As far as selection of history subject is concerned, British History is preferred for it has generally been more scoring than Indo-Pak History. Whereas the candidates of IPH are many and all of them rely on same and limited books available, BH is opted for by fewer candidates and there are a few good and new books available on this subject. Moreover, British History helps the candidate with General Knowledge as its syllabus introduces to the candidates the political developments in world history of last four centuries. For British History, you just need to consult these books:
British History for CSS by Dr. Waheed Asghar
Modern English History by G.W. Souhtgate (Vol. I & II)
Salam Dear GURU
Please tell me in detail about the paper of Business Administration, its trend, marks-orientation and preferable books for the same. Has Jahangir publications compiled any book on the same subject?
Muhammad Fayaz khan
Sherpao, Charsadda
Dear Fayaz, ‘To the Point Business Administration’ by Sibtain Afzaal is the only available CSS-specific book written on this subject and it has been published by JBD Press. For a detailed guidance on any optional subject, you may refer to CSS Beginners’ Guide by CSS Guru.
Dear Sir,
I will appear in CSS 2014 Insha Allah. I have started my preparations but I face difficulties in current affairs. I am reading some quality books on current affairs and I am also a regular reader of newspapers, but after reading all the material, I face difficulty in memorising the things. I feel like forgetting and mixing all the facts and figures. Please help me how to tackle this situation and please help me how to prepare for current affairs in a better way.
Regards,
Bilawal Bin Afzaal
Dear Bilawal,
It is not uncommon an experience to have during initial stages of preparation for Current Affairs. You need to first chalk out a study plan for Current Affairs paper enlisting all important topics as well as the issues related to those topics. As you prepare these topics from Current Affairs Quarterly Journal, JWT, or any newspaper, note down in your short-notes all important stats and dates relevant to each topic. Once you are done with this exercise, you will feel comfortable with these facts and figures. You may refer to CSS Beginners’ Guide by CSS Guru for a complete guidance on all compulsory as well as optional subjects.
Assalam-o-Alaikum Guru
I am Aftab Ali, a fresh BBA from Preston University Karachi. Sir, the purpose of my e mail is to ask that I have decided to attempt CSS and I have to attain maximum possible marks. Kindly, advise me that which subjects I should choose and what preparation techniques should I use because there are only 6 months left for preparation?
Dear Aftab,
Subject selection is a decision that must be YOURS only. You need to peruse the syllabi and past papers for each subject before arriving at any decision. For a complete guidance on all optional subjects, please refer to CSS Beginners’ Guide by CSS Guru. I can suggest you subjects like Business Administration, Geography, Journalism, Sociology, British History, Mercantile Law, and International Law, etc.
Assalam-o-Alaikum Sir
It is said that professional degree holders as MPA, MBA, BE and MBBS are not eligible to appear in competitive exams, is it true?
Please let me know, I will be very thankful to you for this kindness.
No! I’ve never come across such misconception before. In fact most of the top position holders in recent years have been Doctors, Engineers and Business graduates.
Dear Guru,
I have done my A-levels in sciences and have studied from University of London external programme LLB. My results are due in August. I am a CSS aspirant as well but I am a bit confused about subject selection. I am thinking about choosing Constitutional Law, International Law, Psychology, Journalism and Public Administration. I have never studied Journalism, Public Administration and Psychology before but the syllabus seems interesting and I think I should be able to do it. I keep hearing that subjects related to law (e.g., Mercantile Law) are not scoring. Is that so? Moreover, what is the scope of scoring well in International Law?
Also, I would like to ask you, is it too late for me to study if I hope to get good scores in CSS-2014? Can I still manage it?
Regards
Maheen
Dear Maheen,
International Law has been a good scoring subject but it demands a sound grip on concepts of International Law. You should opt for this subject. However, considering your choice of Psychology and Public Administration, I would suggest you to add Sociology to this combination as these subjects have many topics in common which help you understand these concepts well.
Of course, you can still manage to get a good position but for that you will have to work harder as well as smarter. Five months are barely sufficient for those who burn the midnight oil. Good luck!
