With exam season in full swing, here is a list of techniques you wouldn’t want to miss out for wrapping up compulsory subjects in these last few days if you are taking Competitive Examination of 2021.
Seven hours of sleep and three good sized meals a day will definitely help your mind and body perform well in the exam hall.
It can’t be stressed enough but the paper presentation matters, a lot! Neat handwriting, diagrams, references, facts and figures, maps and, quotes will definitely make your paper stand out from the rest of the candidate’s.
Finally, If you are still wondering where to prepare MCQ’s from, you’ve got to get a handbook of past papers right away because they are repeated very often.
With that final suggestion, here is a quick over-view of each subject and things you should keep in mind while strategizing your last week action plan for CSS-2021
1. English Essay
Focus, Predict, & Practice! These are the only three words that you need to keep in mind.
-Focus on past papers and trends.
-Identify major areas such as climate change, democracy, I.T, A.I. and good governance.
Then brainstorm on all possible dimensions of these identified domains. Once you’re done identifying the domains, start gathering relevant data such as statistics and quotes, and then prepare sample outlines and get them evaluated.
If you still face the difficulty choosing topic on the exam day, draw Lexical Resource at the back of your answer sheet. You’ll instantly notice your flow of words turning into ideas that could be expanded for a certain topic. An example:
2. English Précis and Composition
Since you can’t really predict about the MCQ’s portion as well as synonyms and antonyms asked in the paper, and at the same time memorizing the whole Merriam Webster dictionary isn’t humanly possible, but there still is something that can be done to crack this paper.
Here is How: Précis, Composition, Translation, Grammar (Punctuation, Narrations and Sentence Correction) contain some real solid marks and the best part is, they have a definite set of rules, abiding by which ensures your safe landing, unlike the rest few questions.
But here is the crazy part,
If for some reason you aren’t good at memorizing those fancy synonyms/antonyms, analogies, or pair of words, it is never too late to focus on the basics of your Grammar and refresh your basis with the basics.
3. Islamic Studies
After Essay and English (Précis & Composition), Islamic Studies is considered the scariest of all. Yes believe me!
By the end of January, all of you will have enough content to produce on the paper but it needs to be propped up with facts and narrations. In case of Islamic studies Ayahs, Hadiths and references act as those supplements that add up to your marks.
In a nut shell, staying focused on the syllabus and gathering about 40-50 Quranic verses in Arabic along with references that would generally cover all the topics in the syllabus would prove a key to success.
So get that list ready now!!!
#Pro Tip: Since Islamic studies isn’t as difficult as we assume, but at the same time it isn’t as easy as we take it so, all topics must be covered in light of the present day scenario and its implications on the society.
4. Current Affairs
As the name indicates, the most predictable paper among all is current affairs.
Don’t forget to dive into your favorite Newspaper’s #Yearender Magazine. Dropping down a list of some of the most important reflections you should know about before sitting in CE-2021
Pro Tip: Always prepare an outline at the back of your answer sheet as to how you would start, analyze and conclude each question.
There are four essentials that needs to be kept in mind while attempting a current affairs' question: Foreword, Critical Analysis, Conclusion and Way Forward.
Don’t Beat About the Bush and No extra History Details Please!
Quit Reading the Newspaper Already! Revision time, Guys!
5. Pakistan Affairs
The revision process for Pak Affairs can be tiring and tedious, but it can be made easy if the subject is divided into two major portions: Pre- Independence and Post- Independence.
Post- Independence portion can be further divided into Pakistan’s Domestic Affairs and Pakistan’s External Affairs. This structured breakdown of topics will make things appear less intimidating.
Here is a little secret that would let you recall most of what you had seen and read.
All you have to do is to take a few white papers and permanent markers, draw tables for important statistics and facts and classify them in form of rows and columns respectively for each topic of Pak Affairs to grab maximum score.
Paste these pages on your room wall so each time you enter your room you know exactly what to look at.
Also, you can visit Nearpeer Social Media Pages which is regularly updated with the latest information from authentic reports, such as reports from UNDP, UNHCR, Amnesty International and Pakistan Economic Survey to name but a few.
According to Milton’s approach, all you have to do is divide your question in four tiers T1-Definition; T2-Causes; T3-Effects, T4-Recommendations. Apply this technique to divide your question in smaller chunks and write your answer according to examiner’s demand.
Pro Tip: Don’t get nervous on the exam day after seeing the length of a particular question instead sit back, relax and apply this simple trick called Milton’s conceptual Analysis.
6. General Science & AbilityGSA never fails to bring back those school memories of basic Math and colorful science pictures. Yeah! That’s right.
The beauty of this subject is that the entire paper filled with innocent short questions each of 5 marks. This breakdown of marks and all the choice part extended to students definitely makes it the least vicious of subjects.
But here's a catch!
In GSA, you either know the things or you don’t–so a good preparation really counts here.
If you, like a lot of others, haven’t had an enduring heartfelt connection with Math since the 10th grade, you should spend more time on polishing that portion. Because some solid marks there are awaiting!
Note: Don’t forget the diagrams and figures while attempting this paper.
Final Thoughts:
In short, narrow down your notes by picking up important stats, facts, quotes, phrases, hadiths etc. It's the time for the revision, use flash cards to write all the mentioned things and keep those flash cards with you all the time, so you can recall the information from time to time.
Apart form that, don't forget to attempt full length mock exams of each subject and figure out your mistakes for the one last time because after that,
you do or you die.
Good luck!
How you do your last minutes preparation? If you have any important tips that you follow, do let us know in the comment section below.
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