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’ve attached my DMC along for those who are continuously
asking me my marks. I hope this post will be beneficial for aspirants.
1. English Essay
I have already written a detailed post on English Essay and Newspaper reading in this group so you may
consult my previous posts:
https://www.facebook.com/…/22504…/permalink/252240891933515/
https://www.facebook.com/…/22504…/permalink/242855379538733/
Following are some links which you may use for English Essay:
http://mtsrvc.blogspot.com/…/css-repeated-essay-topics-1999…
http://www.cssforum.com.pk/…/ess…/54974-jwt-essays-csps.html
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 precis 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 precis 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 Sayyid 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 :)

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.
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 S. 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 P. 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
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.
=>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.
PS. I hope this post 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