General Science &

Ability
1- KIPS General Science & Ability Book (Both parts are good)
2- Mian Shafiques book (Science portion is okay but Maths & Ability portion is not sufficient)
3- Caravan Aptitude Tests (Only relevant topics of Mathematics and Ability)
4- Past papers both Objective and Subjective (I will advise you to solve past papers of last 4
years). Questions do repeat in science portion. In Maths portion, they are giving same kind
of questions. Solve past papers and prepare similar category questions.
5- About objective, in 2017, all MCQ's were from Matric and FSC books of Biology,
Chemistry and Physics. In 2018 and 2019, this was not the case. They were surely from
general science portion but not from that books. Questions were general and from syllabus.
Most of them were in easy to medium category according to difficulty level. 4 to 5 questions
were of difficult level. You can prepare them online easily. If you prepare MCQs from books,
you can find and buy one. I had not found any useful book for MCQs. Available ones had a
lot of mistakes. However, some portions were done by Caravan GK book since I was
preparing for PMS GK from that book.
6- Write to the point in this paper as you will get less time to solve that many parts. Make
diagrams, flowcharts etc.
7- Choose questions of which you can solve maximum part. Do not fell in trap by choosing a
question in which he asked asked your favourite topic but you are not well prepared for
other parts of same question. If you think you can solve all questions, solve those you know
the best and which has potential to present well in subjective writing as well as by diagrams
or by flow charts.
8- In Mathematical portion, forget what you used to do in Mathematics at Matriculation or at
other levels. You not only have to solve it in Mathematical form but you will also have to
explain it in theoretical form. You can make small phrases or sentences with each step. You
might have to make a diagram or flowchart in this portion as well.
9- Some overlapping theoretical portion topics were prepared from Environmental Sciences
book by Imran Bashir. MCQs of same topics were also prepared from his MCQ book.
English Precis &
Composition Paper:
1- First learn grammar from scratch. You can use any book. Wren and Martin is a good
option. You can learn at home without any help. If you feel any difficulty, you can consult
any good English teacher who teaches at Masters level. Keep practicing exercises.
2- Start memorizing word lists for both synonyms and antonyms. There is absolutely no
need to learn extensive lists like GRE master list of 3500 words. 1000-1300 word should be
sufficient. I memorized two lists:
i) Manhattan 501 word list
ii) GRE high frequency list
Words of both lists are not above 1000 if we compile them together. They should be
sufficient.
Usually synonyms and antonyms are not repeated in papers. You can solve past paper
objectives to see patterns which can help you. They put eye catching options. Sometimes
there are three similar options and one different. Usually the odd one is the answer etc. It
does help in choosing when you absolutely have no idea about the word being asked.
3- Lists of idioms and pair words. I did them from Hafiz KarimDad Chughatai's book
published by Caravan. Give tests at weekly and monthly basis. Keep revising after you are
done. Do past papers of this portion. They do repeat it.
4- Do learn change of voice and narration. Practice dialogue narration as it is being asked.
5- For above all steps any good Masters level teacher can help you. When you are done with
these, time for most difficult and technical portions come.
At this point, you should go to professional CSS English teacher. They will teach you
techniques of all subjective questions. Get them to check your practice at regular basis.
First, learn the basics of each subjective question. After that, start practicing past papers of
these subjective portions i.e Precis, Comprehension and Translation. Get is checked from
professional.
1- Translation: They expect you to write in idiomatic expression. If you know the right
one, do write it. If you do not, go for literal translation. Use as many idioms as you can fit
according to urdu paragraph. It does help in scoring more. Do not write wrong if you do not
know any. Just do the literal translation. Write neatly. Do not erase or cut otherwise, you
will lose marks.
2- Comprehension: They ask from the paragraph. Sometimes they ask your opinion or
what you have understood from the passage. Occasionally, they give few underlined words
and you will have to write either meaning or explaining sentence. Never write copy pasted
answer from the passage. Write in your own words. Each question carries 4-5 marks
normally. Write accordingly. You can write a part of the question to increase length of your
answers. Half page is a decent length for these type of questions. It can be more or less
according to question. If it straightly asks yes or no, do not you ever write only yes or no,
explain why you wrote yes or no.
3- Precis: Make only one title. Do not make multiple. Try to write a phrase in title and not a
complete sentence. Length should be between 3-7 words. It should be well thought and self
explanatory one. It should be the main theme of the entire passage. Give 10-15 minutes for
selecting a title. Give heading "title of precis" at start with marker. After that, start precis.
Give heading of precis. For precis, read the paragraph at least thrice. Make two rough drafts
at the end of the paper. In first draft, write the extract of paragraph. In second, write all
important ideas and omit unnecessary and repeated ideas. Adjust the word count here
roughly in the same draft. When you are done with that, write final draft neatly in section
where you started solving precis. At the end, give two heading. First, world count of original
passage. Give sign of = and write counted words for example (=350 words). If you have
time, count each and every word. If you do not have, just count words of one sentence and
multiply by number of rows. Sometimes they give word count in question. Check if it is the
case. Second, heading of word count of precis. Try to count all words and write it. They
should be 1/3 of original passage. +/-5-7 words is allowed but the closer you are the better
is your precis. If count is less, you might have omitted some important concept. If count is
more, you might have repeated the same idea. If words are 350, word count should be
117+/-5-7.

Try to solve entire objective portion including MCQs and objective questions of subjective
paper such as idioms in first 1 hours. After that you should solve either translation or
comprehension. Comprehension usually takes 30 minutes. Translation paragraph can take
about 20-30 minutes. 1 good hour is required for best precis. 15 marks for title and 45
marks for precis. Do this question at the last. Try to solve paper 10-20 minutes early. Use
your presentation skills to give good looks to your paper. Read you entire paper at least
twice and correct mistakes if there are any. Do not create mess by cutting too much. Just
draw a line on word and write above it. It is better not to make any mistakes. If mistakes
have been made, make sure you correct them.

Here, some people will ask me why I am suggesting to go to Masters level teacher for
grammar. The answer is that professional CSS teachers do not give you that much time. If
you will go blank, I am afraid they will keep on correcting your mistakes in basic English.
You will not be able to learn anything productive about CSS English paper. You should be
going to them to learn techniques, tips, tricks and paper attempting strategies. Also, your
aim should be to get your practice evaluated and not to get your English corrected.

My expression is different but I do not write perfect English. I do a lot of mistakes too
including grammatical and spelling mistakes. I did invested a lot of months in improving
these things. I read a lot of books and novels in British English. Watched a lot of movies and
TV series with subtitles. It improved my English. Still there are a lot of mistakes which I do.
They are generally so minor that examiners usually ignore them. Your English should be at
least of that level. I went to learn and practice only when I was ready. You should do the
same. Otherwise, you will only waste your time, money and chances.
Islamic Studies
Those who have been following me since last year know that the only subject which I failed
in 2018 was Islamic Studies. This year, I have scored 69. I have been receiving emails to
share my strategy which helped me fetch such good marks after my failure. Here is my
story with reason behind my failure and what I did to get better marks:
I appeared in 2017 without any preparation at all. I attempted it in Urdu and I got 69
marks. I became over confident. I did prepare the subject for my 2018 attempt but I did not
prepared as much as I should have. I did not took proper guidance for that. In my
overconfidence, I went to the examination hall and wrote all the questions satisfactorily (in
my opinion only :p ). I was sure that my 16+ MCQs are correct which was verified by me
after the paper. Before the official declaration of result, there were rumours that many have
failed in Islamic Studies. I literally laughed at the rumour and said, "I can fail in all subjects
but not this one". I was so sure about success in that paper but when the result came, I
was only failed in this subject. I kept wondering that why I failed? Even if it was on target, I
should have passed it at least.
One senior by name of RAZ on this forum helped me realize that what can be the reason
behind my failure. It can be approach or it can be content. I told him my approach was not
the problem and also, I did not write any controversial stuff. However, I realized that the
reason behind my failure was inadequate content. In all papers, I write 6 to 8 pages per
question. I attempted Islamic Studies paper in Urdu. My Urdu writing is good but I write
with speed of a tortoise and I barely wrote 4-5 pages per question in Islamic Studies paper.
Papers checkers of such subjects are from government universities mostly who see both
quality and quantity. My paper had quality but not quantity.

Soon after that, I saw a post from another senior member of the forum TASSAWUR. He
shared his experience from his failure in Islamic Studies to getting exceptional score. He
shared what material to consult and how one can improve score. I interacted with him to
get some ambiguities cleared.

Please read his strategy here:

http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-compu...-68-marks.html

After getting guidance from him,

1-I read 4 books of Prof. Khursheed Ahmed (Also available in one compiled book in pirated
edition).
2- I consulted Hafiz Karim Dad Chugatai's book (English Version) published by Caravan for
different ideas and points which can be included in questions to increase length and also, to
improve quality. His book is good but too lengthy.
3- I bought to the point Islamic Studies in English published by JWT. I started to add points
on this book from Caravans book.
4- I have problem with cramming especially Arabic verses and Hadiths. Seniors suggested
that one should write verses in Arabic. I started searching for relevant verses and Hadiths
which are short and one could easily remember. I added those in my book as well. To avoid
any mistake, they were written without phonetics(Arbi Araab). Wherever I did not have any
verse or hadith to quote, I simply wrote English translation.
5- Switched to English (Wrote 7-8 pages for each question)
6- Improved presentation. I wrote Arabic in Arabic style and not in Urdu style. (I was
familiar with that as I have studied subject of Arabic in middle school). Used a lot of
different simple and cut markers (Only blue and black)
7- As suggested by Tassawur, I bought one point MCQs notes of Professor Zaka from STC
photocopy shop inside Punjab University.
8- Solved MCQs of all available past papers of CSS+PMS
9- Solved all 3 subjective past papers of CSS and 3 of PMS. Syllabus is same so was trying
to get idea that what can they ask by connecting Islamic Studies to current era.

Tip 1: Avoid controversial stuff. Here are few examples in which one can fell prey and can
be compelled to write such stuff:
i) Recent wave of feminism and Islam
ii) Islamic and Western Society comparison
iii) Do not criticise other religions
iv) Do not write about sects.
v) No political debate
etc.

Tip 2: Select the medium in which you are comfortable. If you can write eleven papers in
English, you can write twelfth too. Only go for Urdu if you have good handwriting and good
speed. Some people give excuse that their English is not good. Buddy then why are you
appearing in CSS examination?

Tip 3: Write as many headings as you can but they should be relevant and there should be
reasonable material under each heading

Tip 4: Write verses and Hadiths but do not flood your paper with them. Relevant
explanation of the topic is also required. If you cannot quote them, memorize their
translations in medium you are going to attempt and just quote them in paper. Do not write
anything wrong. You will not lose many marks for this. Difference can be of 2-4 marks not
more than that. Usually 3-5 verses or Hadiths per question are considered good.

Tip 5: You can give references of other people as well. For example, if Imam-e-Kabbah has
given Sermon on occasion of Hajj and you think that it is relevant and can be quoted,write it
in answer and give reference of him by writing his full name and also who he is
(Designation).
International Law
I am not an expert in this subject but still some of you have asked me for my strategy as I
have passed it twice . They asked me to share because papers of last two years were highly
unconventional and tough and scoring trend was generally very low but still I was successful
in getting a stable score both times. I have medium low to medium scores in this subject
which are given at end. It was my subject in 2018 and 2019 attempt.

I do not have much to say about this subject but still sharing what I have done to fetch
stable score despite being low scorer/targeted subject this year. Moreover, it might give you
motivation to write even if you have not prepared those topics.

1- Major book was S.K Kapoor's book. You can also use Agarwal's book. Both are pretty
much same. They are from Indian Authors and I have found them better than International
Books.
2- If want to go for other International Standard authored books, Malcolm & Shaw is best. I
had soft copy of this book. I did few topics from this book.
3- Law of seas from online sources. Just google it. You will find it easily. Rest of the subjects
are covered in above books. Remember, those books are not according to syllabus. Find
relevant topics and study them.
4- I did not have time to make notes but I came across a book by JWT written by a CSP
(Rahim Baksh Maitlo) which was a mini book with solved questions. I bought it and it
certainly helped me in revising.
5- For MCQs, please memorize past paper MCQs from forum. Almost half of them are
repeated every year.
6- For More MCQ practice, you can practice from Indian Civil Service preparation websites
or other online sources. You can also buy a book if it is available.
7- Do solve subjective papers of last four years to see the variety of questions being asked
by examiner these days. Highly unconventional and difficult papers for majority
8- Do prepare articles and famous cases since they are being asked in papers. Also, by
quoting them you can fetch good marks
9- Solve questions according to statement. I remember, in 2018 paper, there were 3
questions related to United Nations. People wrote the same stuff in all without
understanding the topic and demand of examiner. Many of them did not solve them because
they were unable to produce content for all questions. I solved all three of them because I
did not have option to attempt other questions (Muje UN ka aik question theak sa ata tha
aur aik he doosra topic so, muje paper nhe ata tha. MCQ b 10 k ass pass he theak thay per
meine phr b himmat nhe hari aur kch na kch likh k paper pass kia). I tried to understand
the topics, then made points according to statement and lastly, I worked on those points to
make them different from each other. I was not prepared for it either but in examination
you have to write with the little knowledge you have. For me, they were general topics. I
love to solve them if I have no other option. When I was attending academy, there was one
person who was teaching International Relations there. He was an excellent teacher for
International Relations. Those topics were covered by him in his classes (According to IR off
course but I tried to convert them in Law language) but I did not revise them for
examination. I wrote with a little knowledge in my memory.
You should solve all questions which you know the best first. After that, at least try to write
about topics in which you think you can write a little. Go for general topics in this situation.
Complete all four questions and do not leave your paper blank. You can tackle difficult and
unconventional papers this way. Mostly, general questions give people tough time. You
should not panic. You should understand the topic and write with the knowledge you have.
You can solve it. Just a little effort is required. I did the same this year( Iss bar 3 question
atay thay. 2 full and aik gunja kaana. Mein phr b 4 question pooray kar k aye. Jo nhe ata
tha uspay b 5 page create ker k likh he deay :p ).
I was sure about my failure in this paper after hearing rumors. Still, I passed. Score in
MCQs certainly played its part.

History of USA
A lot of you have asked about my strategy in History of USA since I have got good score in
it in my 2019 attempt.

Majumdar book was read by me at least twice. I had read it like a story book to get sense of
the events. It helped me understand the main events occurred and the reasons behind their
occurence. Since book is not according to syllabus, I bought History of USA by Umair Khan
published by JWT. I prepared from that book. That part was done for 2018 attempt. Did not
pay any attention to past papers and MCQs. Subjective paper was easy but MCQ paper was
hell difficult. I only knew answer of 1 MCQ. It was hard to apply any technique for guessing
the answers because each MCQ had 3 dates with fourth none of these option. I randomly
marked all of them and managed to get 8 answers right. I was not that well prepared but I
passed that paper when even the best prepared ones failed in it.

My marks were very poor and I wanted to improve them for next attempt because I did not
want to change the subject at that stage. Therefore, I started searching for more books and
sources to achieve my purpose.
Few of the high scorers and qualifiers of 2018 suggested to watch US history crash course
on youtube. They are good. I will advise everyone to watch those lectures. It will certainly
help you tackle unconventional questions which are not present in usual books. I bought
book of Sir Zulqarnain (teaches at KIPS academy) on US history. I liked his book for some
of the topics. They are well written. If someone want to see contents of his book or want to
buy, please follow this link. It is of his page from where you can get the addresses of book
shops which keep his books.

https://www.facebook.com/AcademicCounsellingForCss/

Before result, I also read a book on American history by Howard Zinn. It was a wonderful
book. I also solved MCQs of past papers. Also, Umair Khan from JWT has solved MCQ book
which I used for MCQ preparation.

Prepared recent events/current topics especially about Trump and his policies from articles
published in Dawn and different journals and magazines (Both national and international).

Now, here is honest story of 2019 paper. Like I law paper, despite good preparation, I was
only able to fully solve 3 questions i.e. Question number 3,6 and 7. I could not solve
question 8. To solve question 3 and 4, I needed to scratch my brains out. I am not good at
cramming. I was sure that I will commit blunder if I attempt any of the two since people
around me were well prepared for the two and were writing tons of pages on those
questions. Now, only option left for me was question number two which I had not prepared
at all. Still, I dared to attempt it. Being a Commerce graduate, I had knowledge of
Economics (I have studied four subjects of Economics at various levels of my degrees). I
had a slight idea that what could have been the challenges of that area. I created around 12
points on economic issues by using Economic terminologies while keeping the timeline of Bill
Clinton's presidency in mind. In second part, I tried to connect the issues with some of the
steps taken during that time and just mentioned that Mr. Clinton did that. (Still not sure if
those were the real problems or Mr. Clinton took those steps. :p) In short, I did not leave
my paper blank and tried to solve it with my existing knowledge even if I was not prepared.
If someone has studied all topics, he will be able to solve such twisted questions because
we do have some knowledge about the things being asked. We are used to straight
questions and crammed stuff which do no work anymore. Now, questions are twisted.
Therefore, you need to twist your knowledge to give answers of such questions. No need to
panic. Solve what you can solve easily. Rest, use your brains to come up with the solution.

About MCQs, all 20 were from past papers. Got 19 right since one was incorrect due to
accidental filling of wrong bubble. It certainly helped in getting that score. They do repeat
MCQs of past papers. Eat them; drink them. They are available on forum. It does not mean
you should rely on those. Prepare as much as you can. Examiners are unpredictable. In
2018, MCQs were like hell and in 2019, they were like Sweetest Halwa. Do not push your
luck. Prepare well.