Pakistan Studies and Islamiyat – 1-month revision plan!

Hi, everyone! We have been getting a lot of queries on how to prepare for Pakistan Studies & Islamiyat in 1 month. So, our student counselor gave the following response on tips for Pakistan Studies and Islamiyat preparation. We hope this helps answer most of the queries. Even then if you have any queries, feel free to email us, contact us, or leave us your queries in the comments section below.

Following are certain tips you should adapt to study Pakistan Studies and Islamiyat. Since you have a complete month left in your exams, you can revise everything easily.

Pakistan Studies (2059) – Paper 1

In paper 1 there’s a lot of repetition of questions. So just focus on mark schemes and see what is demanded by the examiner.

Paper 1 consists of a lot of facts and figures. Therefore, you need to memorize all of them.

There are two sections. Section A consists of 3-, 5-, 7- and 10-mark questions, and Section B consists of 4-, 7- and 14- marks questions.

For guidelines about how to answer Section A questions, please go to the following link. For section B, keep reading this article.

https://gceguide.cc/resources/notes/pakistan-studies/pk-2059-source-questions/

In 4-mark questions, you need to give at least four facts about the event/person asked. Just giving of four correct facts will earn you full marks here. For example, a question is: “What was the doctrine of lapse?” You may answer this by giving these facts:

“In 1852. (first fact) by Lord Dalhousie (second fact) According to it, if a ruler died without a natural heir, the British would annex his lands (third fact). So many states like Nagpur, Jhansi came under British control. (fourth fact)

However, in some questions, giving of four facts is not possible, so elaboration of a fact will give you 2 marks.

In 7-mark questions, you are to give 3 reasons with proper elaboration for the question.

In 14-marks questions, you can start by writing by a brief introduction of no more than 2-3 lines – this makes your answer look well-structured. However, it is not mandatory to write an introduction like this (and better to avoid if you are running out of time), and move on to explaining 5/6 reasons for the question, and at the end write a sound conclusion. Always make a short plan before attempting this question, as it will help you keep on track and not veering off the requirement of the question.

The basic requirement to get an ‘A’ in this paper is to follow the mark schemes. Almost every question is repeated in this paper apart from a few (which are usually the 4-mark questions.)

On the exam day, time management is key. Do not spend too much time answering a question; you get marks for relevance and quality, not quantity.

Pakistan Studies (2059) – Paper 2

Read the book completely from beginning to end. Focus on every line, and analyze each paragraph and understand what it is trying to say. By the time you’re done reading, you should have all the information in your mind. I can’t stress enough how important this reading part is. You won’t be able to do well without thoroughly reading the book because the CIE exam can be unpredictable. Believe me, every single question asked in the paper is made from this book. Even the pictures are mostly taken from this book!

Once you’re done with the book, straight away dive into the past papers. Solve the latest ones, the last 5 years are sufficient. And what I would say is that you should cram the points given in the mark schemes. Do the papers again and again. I can’t stress how important these past papers are. Do the latest past papers with time and mark yourself. See what you got wrong, and look at the answers in the marking scheme to know what exactly the examiner wants.

Focus most on Agriculture, Climate, Population, Water Resources. A question is bound to come from these topics every year. In the history of O-Level, there hasn’t been a single year when a question on Agriculture didn’t appear. It’s by far the most important topic, and you should know every detail about it. Topics like Fishing, Forests, Transport don’t come every year. There rarely is an entire 25-mark question about these topics. So, they shouldn’t be your top priority. If you spend all your time learning Fishing only to see that no question on it shows up, you’ll be disappointed and this will cause you to under-perform in the rest of the important topics. A complete 25-mark question comes on Agriculture most of the time.

So, my point is master Agriculture completely from the book. Know every single detail about it, enough that you can score full marks on every Agriculture question you face. Then master Climate, Population, and Water Resources. Then, if you have time, go through Topography (but topography chapter should be your least priority as mostly a map comes from it. I am not saying you to leave this topic completely, but should not focus too much on it), Power Resources, Forests, Fishing and the rest. You should know what’s important, tackle that first, then move onto the less important things.

Also, in recent years, there’s a trend that the examiner is asking mostly about the sustainability issues of natural resources. So, you should know every detail about sustainability.

Give the paper confidently and try to write eloquently and present your points clearly while answering the question. If you write 1 reason for a 5-mark question, obviously you’ll lose marks. If it’s a 5-mark question, try to present 5 distinct points. Finish the paper on time, and recheck.

Paper 2 is mostly general stuff, so you can even answer some questions by just using common sense and general knowledge.

Islamiyat (2058)

A similar methodology should be adapted for Islamiyat.

Go through the whole book of Islamiyat. Learn all the minute details, regarding different events. After completing a certain topic, see its past questions, and try solving them. Once you’re done with solving, see the mark schemes to know what you were the demands of the examiner.

As you go through the book, learn at least 2 verses, hadiths, or quotes about each topic. And try to mention these in your answers. Honestly, they give you an edge in case you mess up a complete question. Also, they are the mark discriminators between the weak and strong answers; they earn you many marks and an easy way to A*.

10-mark questions are the easier ones. You just need to mention all the relevant MAIN points only with + relevant quotes/references. Just these things will give you 10/10 marks in it. These are the 4-mark questions that are the real toughies here. They depend upon your analysis skills. If you’re good at analysis, they won’t be a problem for you, but if you aren’t you will need to work on them (Use mark schemes + examiner reports to help you here if you aren’t good at these 4-mark questions).

There are 15 set passages in Paper 1 and 20 set hadiths in Paper 2. YOU MUST MEMORIZE THEIR TRANSLATIONS.

I said that because mostly Question 2 of each paper comes on these set texts, so to score high you are required to cite these translations in your answer as support. If you aren’t going to mention them, you’ll lose marks, and you can’t expect a mark higher than 5. Though you don’t need to mention every single verse, you must mention them as required.

Also never start your answer straight away, always give some brief starting lines before writing down your answer.

The Final Revision Plan:

There’re 8 topics in Islamiyat. So, you must do at least 1 or 1/2 topic per day together with its past papers. If you follow up with this, you’ll be able to finish your syllabus in max 16 days. Then in the rest of the days, you can revise the verses, and practice past papers.

For Paper 1 of Pakistan Studies, do each section is at most 5 days. Though it depends upon your memorizing power, it should not exceed 5.

Do past paper questions side by side. There’s no need to write down whole answers while preparing. Just write down the answers in point form. When you’re done with your whole preparation, you may pick up any random paper, and solve that completely under timed conditions.

For Paper 2, go through the whole book in 20-25 days, doing 1 chapter or even a half per day. You must concentrate fully on the book of HUMA NAZ SETHI. This is an extremely good book. If you want an A*, you must read this book. Do the past papers in the manner as mentioned before in the last 5 days.

One day before every paper, just skim through the books, or mind maps you may have created while preparing. Don’t feel stressed out before exams, otherwise, you may underperform in your papers.

GOOD LUCK!


Additional Resources:

If you have time, also go through the following example candidate response file to get an idea of how your papers are going to marked.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

146 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Hasham

I am really 0% prepared for my CIAE papers

Hiba Kamran

hola, soye Hiba. Muchogasto!
hELLO I AM LOOKING FOR QUESTION PAPER TO SLOVE AS A PRACTISE FOR UPCOMING IGCSE 2021 EZAMS, SO IF YOU ARE AWARE OF ANY VALID AND USEFUL SITE LEMME KNOW PLEASE\!!

HOORAIN

I have just started with my syllabus and I am so confused. I have no idea on how to cover the syllabus

Tariq

I can give you online tuition for pakistan studies if you want

Zahra Rashid

can u also give the expected qs for this years isl pst papers plz

Zahra Rashid

i need to give my olevel cies this year 2020 may june plz tell me how i can manage my time in the history paper and can u suggest time table eg to study hist this chapter in these many days etc
can u plz help me out

Muhammad Ahmad Sohail

Can you give us some conceptual questions /and logical questions of o/a levels subjects and tell us their answers and give us some tips to answer them ! And give some tips for English grammar and post some grammar lectures to enhance our english grammar! I hope I could see these post soon on your website!!!!!!!!!

Saaam

Its informative. Basically i have to give cies paper in 2020 may/ june. And i had not prepared fully..kindly give me more instructions to follow. And i also want to ask that if we study only past paper no book then it will be fine or not…..

Areej

Very good. I have recently finished my O level exams and I was able to score top grades in this subject as well I have made a blog related to tips of a acing Your gcses.go check that out as well.” How to prepare for O levels Pak studies”…..at gcseareej.blogspot.com

Syeda Bibi

do i have to make notes for himalayas and hindukush if i have already made of karakoram

Ayan

the mark scheme is not the only thing that matters. the expression matters too otherwise we all could just learn the mark scheme and write it

tariq

marking scheme gives u clear instructions which a student and a teacher should follow unnecessary addition can spoil the time of a student thanks

Shahzaib Ali

Yeah they are necessary…..

tariq saeed

In pak.studies paper.1 u advised to write an introduction of 2 to 3 lines for 14 marks question but if u see the marking scheme there is no such requirement so plz dont confuse the students its my humble request thanksthanks.

Dua -e-Zehra

But the students are required to write a developed answer with proper beginning and conclusion. So introductory lines (atleast 2) are necessary to write before starting the answer. It also gives a good impression.

Ramish

Do I need to study geo now because we have 5 days gap for geo paper so i should study in those days or should I study it now

ANONYMOUS

what is the mark discriminator between an a* and a distinction for both pst and islamiyat?

Ramish

I got A’s in my mock exams and iam really sorry abt my cies specially isl plz can some one give me tips for how to get a* in isl

Laiba Noor

I have even less than a month left. Around 25 days. Due to a lot of extracurriculars and school requirements, I have not been able to study for CIE before now. But I am one of the toppers pf my school and my prior results are great. Now I have finally gotten a break from school to study. Please tell me honestly, is there still a chance that I can get A* in pst, islamiyat and urdu? And if so, what should be my strategy?

Hiba Atif

Okay, so as i am in the same situation i might be able to give you some tips on how i am preparing. In my view if you use the revision plan mentioned above, as a rough guide to make your own schedule it will be an excellent step. Secondly the books to use and tips on what to study mentioned above are also very helpful and these are the same tips i have heard from my friends numerous times so i would suggest you to follow them.In addition you may adjust the workload which is preferable for you and the amount of past papers you want to or can do according to your goal.Don’t worry or stress out because if you have been the topper in the prior years then this is not such a huge task the main goal here should only be to focus on what you have to achieve per day according to your schedule and you will be able to have an excellent preparation by the deadline.Remember prepare for the worst and hope for the best, InshaaALLAH you’ll be able to achieve your goal of getting an A*. Best of luck buddy.

Innosinned-Tehreer-s

Same here bro i can also not manage time properly in Isl and geo…May Allah help us…

hamza

uhh im so scared too. i got A* A B in mocks. but i feel like the stress is gonna ruin the cie paper for me. i dont work good under stress. oh and i face alot of time managment problem in Islamiat and history. im so scared uhh i just cant

Hiba Atif

it will be really helpful to divide your time according to the number of questions you have to attempt in the paper

Hiba Atif

InshaAllah you will get all 3 A* because the expected grade in your externals is always two grades ahead of the school grading system so if you got a b in any of the subjects it means potentially youll prolly get an A* hopefully . The rest depends on the threshold which for islamiyat and pakstudies is usually low (allhamdullilah) and for urdu it is kinda high but less than the threshold for the oct/nov urdu threshold.

hamza

InshaAllah. p.s r u doing syllabus a or b? im doing a and i can’t find time to prepare for urdu cuz islamiyat and pst are too lengthy themselves

hamza

HEY! how was ur result? I got A*AA

Hussain ahmed

i want reference guide

Arslan

Sir i am much depressed about the questions asked in CIE.I am not sure that wheather the common questions are important or the questions which have not been asked in exams are important? So please can u help me.

eVERYONE'S fATHER

you can do past paers and then ask your teacher to help you with the new questions.
In history you should do past papers which cover 90% paper. in geo do past paers if yo have time. in islamiyat past papers and neww question are equally important.

Anonymous 000

Are 2 months enough

Okasha Hassan

you may use muhhamad shoaibs topical past paper book i have also used it and it was very helpful it gives you sample questions and those that are repeated and gives model answers for each and every question in the past papers buy the latest edition i am sure it would be quite helpful

ABDULLAHABDULRASHID

from where

R.Z

This is extremely helpful. Thank you! But I’d like to know how to revise for the Geography Maps.

Okaha Hassan

Huma Naz sethis book

Somia Iftikhar

Which book for history in cie should be more preferable.

HJGVLFWEIAG

NIGEL KELLY

Alishba

Is one month enough for studying each of the topics history , geography and Islamiat? I’ve been ignorant towards studies in the previous months neglecting any sort of practice and now that I’ve finally realised there’s only 3 months left for revision. Do you think it’s too late?

Mohammad Qasim

no 1 month isn’t enough if yo haven’t studied before . You should at least have solved the past papers of 2010 and further.
You can ask me if you have any question on instagram it’s @od._.d

Anya

What to study to correctly answer the compulsory questions of islamiyat?