Acing Pakistan Studies

Let's start with Pakistan Studies.

It comprises of two papers.
1- History of Pakistan
2- Environment of Pakistan

This is one of those subjects which demand a lot of cramming. Especially paper 1. You just have to learn the facts and learning takes time. Partly why I said you won't have a day to waste.

Paper 1

Start attempting the past papers for History right away. You can start with one question daily. Make a journal and write your questions and answers down in it. Start from 2010 since the paper pattern was very different before that. The method of answering questions is simple:

1- Read the topic from the books you have. Yes. Books with an 's'. You can't trust just one book. So go with Nigel Kelly's and Nigel Smith's.

2- Write the answer using the references from the books. You need references to support your answers (correct dates and figures and names of Acts and Personalities). Put as many in as you can. But they should be relevant to the topic.

And there's one thing which most of the teachers say and I totally disagree with:
Never trust redspot.
That is not true! If you ask me, I'd say buy it along with your endorsed books.
But do so for History only. For Paper 2, the official mark scheme is enough. Even in the case of History, don't consider it the Bible. Just read it once after you are done with attempting one question and if there's any reference you are missing out on, add it to your answers from there.

Paper 2

This is a relatively easier paper since there is relatively lesser cramming in it.

There are two skills you need in order to ace it.
1- Knowing the book inside out.
2- Linking whatever you have learned. You see, the examiners won't ask you questions straight away.

They will put you into situations completely foreign to you and will shape the statement of the question in such a way so as to confuse the candidate. They will throw graphs and statements at you which you might need time to comprehend.

They do give you an advantage of choice, though. But don't let it relax you. You can't leave a few portions of the book out just because there's a choice. You see in a few papers, things have been coming in papers which are not really part of the endorsed book. And sometimes, a single question demands answers from different chapters. Which means that the choice is limited anyway.

So, in order to save yourself from being forced to do the question that you are not familiar with, I'd suggest you try to keep your options open and do everything from Huma Naz Sethi's book. At least 4 of the questions are wholly from there.

AND DO PRACTICE PAST PAPERS. This is important in learning application. You might also notice that the questions in several papers seem to have the same answers but are worded differently. So practice might also prepare you for some of the questions which might show up in the paper. Don't memorize them. Just notice the types of questions that are being asked and ponder over the mark schemes. Also try answering them yourself.