English Essay Paper for the CSS exams
Written by: Rai Asif Ahmad (PSP, 51st CTP)
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English essay has always remained a troubling paper for the CSS exams as most of the candidates fail in essay. Though I am not an expert in this paper, I am just sharing my personal experience to deal with it.
Common myths associated with this paper:
Extraordinary or flowery language is required to pass it.
You must have command of all facts and reports related to essay topic.
It can not be passed without studying a lot of books.
Rules that worked for me:
Outline should be carefully made. If you can make good outline, half of your work is done.
It doesn't matter whether the outline is in sentence form or in the form of phrases. Both categories have reasonable passing ratio.
It doesn't matter either you incorporate examples in outline or write it without examples. Again both ways worked for qualifiers.
Small sentences and simple language minimise chances of failure. So, stick to them.
Use balanced amount of facts and statistics to support your arguments but don't rely on them too much. Essay is just about language and arguments. It's not a policy paper or research report.
Don't remain limited to reading. Practice as much as you can.
Don't opt any radical or controversial approach in essay.
If you don't want to follow someone's strategy, please don't follow. Every strategy and method works in this paper, provided it's basic characteristics are not ignored.
Fundamental requirements: As per my humble opinion, followings are the basic requirements of this paper.
Reasonable structure of essay.
Relevancy.
Reasonable arguments.
Reasonable language which conveys your ideas.
Source to preopare this paper:
Online data.
Newspapers or journals.
Books, reports etc. (Just relevant portion)
Any source which is authentic and reliable and which is relevant to your shortlisted topics.
Postscript: Many mentors will ask you to write like Shakespeare or to start your essay in such a dramatic way as directors in South Indian movies introduce their heroes. Please avoid this temptation. Play safe!
PREPARATION OF CSS ESSAY THEMES & DATA COLLECTION: A very common problem faced by aspirants during preparation of essay for CSS is the data collection and preparation of essay themes (topics). There are some fundamental rules that can help in this regard as are given under:
A theme means a complete topic which includes some sub-topics. For instance, education is a theme (Main topic) and it includes multiple subtopics like women’s education, role of classrooms in nation-building, democracy and illiteracy etc.
There are multiple sources to collect data for a particular theme/topic which includes: ▪️ Books (Chapter relevant to topic only). ▪️ Newspaper (Relevant articles) ▪️ Online data (It is most important)
There is no limit to preparation of a topic. Therefore, if you get reasonable understanding of a topic, you are safe to go. Don’t try to read everything.
You’ll get satisfaction with respect to any topic if you know the basic facts related to that topic and some basic arguments. For instance, in case of essay on education in Pakistan, if you know the literacy rate in Pakistan, rate of female education, number of out of school children and other related figures and if you know arguments in favour of education and arguments related importance of education in Pakistan, you’ll get some satisfaction. Otherwise, merely reading won’t satisfy you.
Try to make essay notes in soft form in MS word files so that you can update data easily. But updating it doesn’t mean that you start adding everything in this file. Just add things which are very important.
ENGLISH ESSAY TOPICS FOR THE UPCOMING CSS EXAMS:
The most common question asked now-a-days is about the topics of essay for upcoming CSS exams. I believe that it is very absurd idea to enlist exact topics of essays. However, you can go for a broad perspective that can make you a better candidate and increase your possibility of passing the essay paper. You need to consider some important things as are given under.
Kinds of essays generally asked in CSS essay paper: There are various kinds of essays which you may possibly find in your essay paper. I am not talking about typical categorisation of essays like descriptive and argumentative easays. Rather, I am referring to areas which are related to essays.
Conventional topics: This category includes multiple themes (areas) which are traditionally prioritised by CSS examiner while making essay paper. Such themes include: ▪️ Education. ▪️ Climate Change. ▪️ Gender Equality. ▪️ Media/ Social Media. ▪️ Globalisation. ▪️ Economy. ▪️ Science. ▪️ Islam. ▪️ Literature. ▪️ Democracy. ▪️ Security/ Terrorism
Argumentative topics: Multiple names are given to such topics. Some people call them philosophical topics as well. Examples include:
▪️ Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.
▪️ Imagination is more important than knowledge.
There is no short cut to master the art of handling such topics. Obvioulsy, practice and general study can improve your efficiency.
Essays related to Pakistan and Current Affairs topics: Such essays are also very common and are predicted differently every year. Examples include:
▪️ COVID-19: A wake up call for Pakistani researchers. (CSS 2021)
▪️ Pakistan and the future of Kashmir cause. (CSS 2020)
Postscript: This is a comprehensive way to predict the topics of essay paper on your own. If someone is just giving you exact topics in the form of guess paper, please don’t buy his arguments. At the end, this exam is of paramount importance for YOU and you should decide which path is less risky and more rewarding. Practice as much as you can to polish your skills. Don’t just rely on luck.
WHY MOST CANDIDATES FAIL IN CSS ESSAY PAPER? Essay Paper in CSS is generally considered a gateway to the civil service. Most of the people are anxious to know about the tricks to tackle this paper. During my preparation, this paper was also my primary focus. I believe the following are common causes of failure in the CSS essay paper:
Many candidates fail to understand the basic requirements of essay writing. It is an incontrovertible fact that ‘To the point writing (relevancy), clarity and simplicity’ are requirements of essay writing. Never ignore them.
Attempting topics that are relatively challenging also leads to failure. Descriptive topics and most topics related to current affairs are easier to attempt and increase the chances of success.
Excessive research and consultation with CSS mentors and qualifiers can also lead to failure. Each person has a different perspective and strategy, so it's better to stick to basic principles.
Some people pass the essay paper without practicing a single topic, but practice helps a lot to stay on the safe side. It makes you feel more comfortable during the exam.
Fear is also a leading cause of failure. Fear often compels people to write overly complex content, ignoring the fact that examiners require relevant, well-written data in flawless English. Please don’t try to impress examiners; instead, focus on avoiding flaws in your writing.
Candidates sometimes fail to identify their strong areas. Some excel in argumentative topics, while others shine in descriptive topics. It's essential to identify your strong areas to tackle this paper more easily.