How do you pass the CSS English Essay and Precis papers?
The short answer
The Essay paper asks for one essay of about 2,500 words in three hours on one of several topics, and the Precis paper asks for a precis of a passage to one third of its length, comprehension answers, and grammar, vocabulary and sentence-correction exercises. Both carry 100 marks with 40 to pass, and together they fail more candidates than the other ten papers combined, because they are marked on structure, relevance and accurate English, and most graduates have never written 2,500 words in English under time. The method that passes is unglamorous: an outline written before the essay with a thesis and sections that each advance it, paragraphs with topic sentences rather than headings and bullets, sentences short enough to be error-free, a precis that keeps to the length, own words, no comment rules, and twelve weeks of weekly timed writing marked by someone honest.
How are the English papers marked?
| Paper | Rewarded | Penalised |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | A thesis stated early and sustained; an outline that the essay then follows; each section advancing the argument with evidence; a conclusion that answers the question; relevance to the exact wording of the topic; correct, varied English. | Wandering from the topic; a list of points instead of an argument; quotations in place of thinking; bullet points and headings in place of paragraphs; grammatical errors in most sentences; length without structure. |
| Precis | Exactly about one third of the original; all main ideas and none of the illustrations; the writer's own words; a title that names the argument; a single coherent paragraph. | Too long or too short; sentences lifted from the passage; the candidate's opinion added; ideas omitted; a title that names the topic rather than the point. |
| Composition | Correct answers in grammar, vocabulary, sentence correction, punctuation, pairs of words, and idioms; comprehension answers in the candidate's own words that answer what was asked. | Guessing; comprehension answers copied from the passage; ignoring the instruction ("in your own words", "in a single sentence"). |
Forty in Essay is the whole examination
A candidate with 39 in Essay and 70 in every other paper has failed CSS. There is no aggregate rescue for a compulsory paper. The Essay is prepared first and longest for exactly this reason.
What is the method for a passing essay in three hours?
Ten minutes: choose the topic you can argue
Not the one you know most about. Read every topic and ask of each: what would my thesis be? The topic with the clearest answer is the one to write. Underline the key words in the topic; the essay will be marked against them.
Twenty minutes: write the outline on the answer sheet
A thesis in one sentence. Then four to six sections, each a claim that advances the thesis, each with two or three supporting points noted. Then the conclusion in one line. The examiner marks the outline and then checks whether the essay followed it; an essay that departs from its outline is penalised twice.
Two hours: write in paragraphs from the outline
An introduction that sets the context and states the thesis in its last sentence. One paragraph per point in the outline, opening with a topic sentence that makes the claim and continuing with evidence and explanation. Transitions carried by the argument, not by "moreover". Roughly 2,500 words; more only if the outline needs it.
Fifteen minutes: the conclusion
Answer the question the topic asked, in the light of what the essay argued. No new points, no quotation, no call to the nation. If the topic was a question, the last paragraph must contain the answer.
Fifteen minutes: read it back for errors
Articles, subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, sentence fragments. Fix them. Fifteen minutes of correction moves an essay across the pass line more reliably than fifteen minutes of extra writing.
- Write plainly. Long sentences with subordinate clauses are where errors live. A short, correct sentence beats an elaborate wrong one every time.
- Evidence over adjectives. A figure, a date, a named example, a comparison. "The education system is in a deplorable condition" is an opinion; "a quarter of children of primary age are not in school" is an argument.
- No quotations you cannot place. A misattributed quotation is an error; an unnecessary one is padding.
- Do not write about Pakistan on every topic. Some topics are about the world, and an essay that turns every subject into a national lament reads as one rehearsed essay reused.
What are the precis rules, and how do you keep them?
Read the passage twice
First for the argument, second marking every main idea. Note the count of words in the passage; your target is a third.
Write the main ideas as a list, in your own words
Leave out examples, repetitions, rhetorical questions and illustrations. Keep every idea the argument needs.
Join the list into one paragraph
In the order of the original, in plain sentences, with connectives that show the logic. Third person throughout, no "the author says" on every line, no opinion of your own.
Count the words and cut or add to a third
Write the count at the end as the instruction requires. A precis of 140 words for a 300-word passage is too long; of 60, too short.
Give it a title that names the argument
"The case against subsidies" not "Subsidies". The title is marked.
Comprehension follows the same rule
Answer in your own words, answer exactly what was asked, and answer in the form the question specifies. A comprehension answer copied from the passage, however accurate, earns little; the skill being tested is restatement.
Composition: the easiest marks in the examination
- Grammar and sentence correction: tenses, subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, conditionals, reported speech, active and passive. Finite and drilled in weeks from the English bank.
- Vocabulary: synonyms, antonyms, pairs of words often confused, idioms and their use in sentences. A list learned at fifteen minutes a day for three months.
- Punctuation: a passage to punctuate; commas, semicolons, apostrophes, capitals.
- Translation where set: a short Urdu passage into English, marked on idiomatic English rather than literal transfer.
- These are objective marks in a subjective paper. Thirty to forty marks of the Precis and Composition paper are earned by preparation alone, which is what makes the paper passable for a candidate whose precis is average.
What is a twelve-week writing programme?
| Weeks | Essay | Precis and composition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Read six past essays that passed and three that failed, side by side. Write outlines only, three a week, on past topics. | One precis a week, untimed, counting words. Daily grammar drill, twenty questions. |
| 3 to 6 | One full timed essay a week from an outline. Marked against the table above by a teacher or a peer who will be honest. Rewrite the weakest paragraph. | Two precis a week, timed at forty minutes. Daily vocabulary and grammar; one punctuation passage a week. |
| 7 to 10 | One timed essay a week on an unseen topic. Track the error count per page; the target is under three. | Two timed precis a week; one full comprehension set; sentence correction daily. |
| 11 to 12 | Two full three-hour papers under conditions. Read back for errors in the last fifteen minutes each time. | Two full three-hour papers under conditions. |
The other four compulsory papers, and how the writing skill transfers to their analytical answers, are in CSS compulsory papers explained. The place of this programme in the full year is in the CSS study plan.