Pakistan Studies and Islamiyat – 1-month revision plan!

preparation

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.com/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.

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Anusha Randhawa

Hey there!
I m going to appear in caies in april may 2019 and I m very stressed about islamiat and pst. I have always been getting awesome grades in these subjects since I have started o levels but still, i want someon eto answer my some queries.
If I have mastered my course book that is farkhanda noor muhammad’s for islamiat amd nigel kelly for pst 1, and practising past papers with mark schemes, is that enough for my preparation, or shud i consult other resources like books of other authors or notes of tution teachers? Almost all my classfellows have joined tution academies and I havent, just bcz my teachers say that they shudnt be the guarantee of having a* and self study is more effective. What shud I do? Are botes of tution sirs a must for a* or shud i just go on with coursebooks? Anybody tell me please….

Anusha Randhawa

Thanks a lot! I will surely try out practising past papers..

areesha

i will also be appearing in my caies this april. for islamiyat i would prefer you to have the following books: Dr.Iftikhar and Maulvi Jahangir, Yasmin Malik, Dr habib ur rehman and for history my teacher recommended me Bajwa she says it is an excellent book and it will definitely help you in achieving A+.

eVERYONE'S fATHER

TRY YASMIN MALIK ITS BETTER

Hamza Arshad

Ughhh just 6 months left for CAIE’s!! im dying srsly. The thing is that Farkhanda Noor Muhammad’s notes are very difficult to understand and usually written in a style difficult to comprehend. Techically ive beeen using my lecture notes simce to past year and got a B in Final Exam of 9. However the feeling that others are using so may reference books is awakening some guilt in me… what book is best for 1; Caliphs and 2; Early Muslim Community.. Speakin of that can u leave out Early Muslim Community by memorizing life of Prophet by heart? If not, what topics are the most important in early islamic community which i can memorize to be on the safe side? I really want this a* in my hand!!!

Aie

Hamza Arshad you could use Yasmin Malik’s book “Islam Beliefs and Practices”
It is a good reference book along side Farkhanda Noor Muhammad ..

eVERYONE'S fATHER

YASMIN MALIK’S BETTER AND EASIER TO UNDERSTAND

ayzakhan

Hii. Im a private candidate appearing for pak studies & islamiat in 2019 April/may session. the thing is, I understand islamiat a lot more than pak studies. Can someone give me tips on studying for it?

Hamza Arshad

Do as many past papers and mark schemes as u can and memorize everthin according to the assigned pattern (for history) meaning that learn 4 point for 4 mark qs, 3 reason for 7 mark qs, and technically all the info plus success and failure for 14 mark qs

Hajra Tiwana

Hi, I have to give my pakstudies and islamiyat CIE in May/June 2019 session. I have almost 8 months left in my CIEs. I would like to ask that should we learn the theme and importance of passages and Ahadith word to word though the translation is provided in paper. How to attempt this specific part in islamiyat paper?
Secondly, about geography how sould we learn the descriptions of types of trees and types/uses of minerals as I have always skipped this part in every monthly and Final. Is this important?
And what notes do you recomend for each of the subjects?
I have always been scared of these CIEs despite scoring good grades throughout my OLevels, how not to stress for CIEs?
Hoping for a quick reply answering all my questions. By the way this shedule looks great and I have decided to follow it.

Ayesha

Hello,
I gave my exam 4 to 5 days ago of islamiyat and pak studies… I was also really stressed and worried about these exams but my teacher helped me alot..I would suggest you to read the book thoroughly and try to solve as ,many past papers as possible. this is the only way to get A*… N regarding the theme and importance of Ahadith, dont learn it.. just try to understand the passage and you will be able to write it yourself… learn how can it help us with our daily lives today.. how can we implement it in our lives… Just answer these questions for each surah and read the mark schemes over n over again….
Now regarding the geography chapter forests…. u have to learn the key factors of the trees. (coniferous, rakh trees and tropical shrub) these r the most important ones and yes Mangroves also….a few point for each tree are enough for eg..Mangroves are found near the coast of Arabian Sea..and they filter salt through their roots and learn where they are found on the map..the map for the trees is given in my book…ive seen that map in a few past papers as well soo its important to go through that map.
I hope my explanation would help u.Best Of Luck

Hamza Arshad

Oh was the paper easy? what question came compulsory in history? and islamiat? Can u plz tell cuz past papers get uploaded pretty late

Ayesha

Okay.. I will try to tell you whatever i remember.. soo in the history paper. the compulsory question was of Section 2 as i remember.. It was not of section 3 cuz when i saw the paper i was like thanks god compulsory question is not from section 3 and apart from the compulsory question ..there was a question abt the Round table conference…N for islamiyat I don’t really remember the compulsory question but there was a question regarding jihad (not compulsory tho) , n question regarding the ways in which the quran was revealed to the prophet. Overall both the papers were easy

mishal malik

hello, how was your result?

Ayesha

I got a A in Islamiyat

Ayesha

n B in pak studies

Nadir Ali

I want A* in Pakstudies and Islamiyat , only 9 months are left for my CIE EXAMINATION

Give me any idea of books of pakstudies and islamiyat from which should i prepare for CIE EXAMINATION. ALSO give some tips how should i prepare

Nadir Ali

Please help anybody

shahbaz ali

brother..just prepare SIR ASIM’S NOTE{head of the bench mark school

shahbaz ali

and by the way no need to worry about the cie’s exams ..because they all knows we r kids ….not scholars

Aie

Nadir Ali you could use Yasmin Malik’s book “Islam Beliefs and Practices” alongside Farkhanda Noor Muhammad..
You could use HumaNazSethi along with Fazle Karim Khan for Geography .
And Farooq Bajwa , Nigel Kelly and Nigel Smith for History ..
They all are very good books and it’s easy to prepare from them too ..
Good luck ☺️☺️

Nadir Ali

I want A* in Pakstudies and Islamiyat , only 9 months are left for my CIE EXAMINATION

Stressed of CIE's.

Sir,I am a private student appearing after two months for cie’s,I am studying History from nigel kelly,Geography from huma naz sethi and Islamiyat from Dr.habib ullah khan.Are these books good enough to help me score an A*???

Ayesha

Yes, these books r enough….i gave my exams by preparing through the same books

Aie

Brother , you could use Yasmin Malik’s book “Islam Beliefs and Practices” alongside Farkhanda Noor Muhammad..
You could use HumaNazSethi along with Fazle Karim Khan for Geography .
And Farooq Bajwa , Nigel Kelly and Nigel Smith for History ..
They all are very good books and it’s easy to prepare from them too .. Good luck ☺️☺️

Ali

My cie is in October 2018, and I am preparing for islamiyat studies 2058 ,Pakistan studies 2059,I am using all type of sources
Like internet, books to make my concept clear, if anybody who has given did recently can advise me something, thank you!

Bookworm

Kindly give some humble advice for these days as in what to do and what to prioritise
Plus how exactly do ppl who get A*s and distinctions study and get them ??
Some key points for that too pls hurry
No time left now

bookworm

Pls i need some help now. Im done with this plan now and have done all but still feel something is empty. past paper practice isnt really helping. i seem to have mastered the whole course from my side but i keep on feeling that im forgetting stuff which worries me with only 13 days to my cie now and im unsure what to do
pls some humble advise …

SniperCheif ™

Same here, 13 days left and i don’t know what to do with Islamiyat, it’s too difficult, the Surahs, Hadith and p2 is difficult

muhammad taha

reply please, can we write more sepecifically in both pak.studies and islamiyat, or the length effects the marks of question?
hurry plz

Agha Mohsin

You guys are just awesome, thanks a lot this really helps, I’m going to try it, thanks a lot!!

bookworm

please give me a quick reply

bookworm

I have a certain query…….for islamiyat paper 2 i have always left articles of faith and prefer doing pillars of islam to depth so i could answer any question i get for pillars with not doing articles. Now being familiar with the paper pattern that we are certain that there are always one or two questions on caliphs and one on pillars and one on articles, with the option to do 2 of the 3 last questions, is it possible i continue this ignornace for articles while preparing for cies???

Hamza Muhammad Khan

I’m gonna be honest with you, I’ve been doing the same exact thing as you, always leaving the articles of faiths. However, keep in mind that those were the mocks exams and not the real deal. The cie can give you anything as they haven’t officially stated that you’re not gonna get 2 questions from the articles of faith. Plus sometimes questions of the pillars can be very challenging. I personally advise you to master the pillars of islam and do the articles briefly, if not in depth, and make just one last struggle for it. Good luck btw!

muhammad taha

hey, i want to know that length of a question effects the question? i mean it is neccesary of writing 1.5 pages for 14 marks question in history nd islamiyat or we can right it more sepecifically in order to manage the time..

in need of help

aoa…its just less than 2 months left in my cie…plz help i cannot cram these subjects..help me

warda

can you tell how to solve the compolsory section in history

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Dua Un Nisa

it was really helpful. but is vocabulary important for cie papers?

Anna

One thing I would like to mention…plz don’t mix the usage of vocabulary with the usage of subject terminology… Which is rather necessary

Anna

Thanku soo very much…this is a quite helpful article addressing almost every question of a student appearing for these exams….i find section 3 of history quite difficult …can u please help me by guiding me the way to prepare all those ministeries….thanking u in advance

Shehreen

Its just less then two months left to prepare for IGCSE exams. Can you please help me out with a study plan. I am not a single percent prepared for exams and stressing out so much. I have to take my other subjects along as well and I am unable to manage time. Please guide of when to do past papers and marking schemes. I have a habit of not remembering dates and other informations (specifically the facts), just the basics of events. I do not wish for an A* as I know my position but at least an A.
P.S I am using Nigel Smith, Nigel Kelly and Huma Naz Sethi for Pak. Stds and Farkhanda Noor and Yasmin Malik for Islamiyat.
P.S Your tips out there are extremely helpful but I can’t manage in my schedule.
Looking forward to your reply ASAP.