Importance of Making a Journal
This post is for ADVANCED LEVEL aspirants, although beginners may read this.
Many of the aspirants keep wishing to write a full fledged essay spanning over some 15 to 20 pages. That’s a nice ambition. But the glitch is that very few know how to write an essay that is that long.
What actually happens is that aspirants go back to either the past papers or think up a hot topic. And the next moment they start writing.
This is a WRONG STRATEGY.
To write a decent essay, you need to have MATERIAL (Besides grammar, expression and simple vocab.).
You should not write an essay if you haven’t done research on the topic. It might happen that you produce an essay successfully, but the quality of that essay would be compromised.
Therefore, I would strongly urge you to read the topic thoroughly before attempting to write on it. I know it’s an uphill task, but nevertheless it’s crucial.
So, how should you GATHER MATERIAL FOR ESSAYS?
It’s very simple. Make a Journal.
1. Just buy a journal with more than 400 pages.
2. Dedicate 15-20 pages to a single topic, so that you may give place to at least 20-30 topics in the journal.
3. Choose 15 topics on Pakistan such as water scarcity, disaster management, corruption, good governance etc, 5 Topics on Regional issues such as Kashmir issue and 5 international topics such a nuclear proliferation etc.
4. When you read the topic (I’ll mention the sources later in this post), jot down any new point, perspective or facts and figures in your journal. Keep noting them down over the period of last six months of your prep.
5. Review your journal every week.
Now, for the sources, I suggest these. And the priority would also be in the same order.
1. Books
2. International reports (UNICEF, WHO, ILO, CFR etc).
3. Journals
4. Magazines such as The Economist, Foreign Policy
5. Newspapers
Never rely on Wikipedia. NEVER.
Keeping the journal will give you the confidence of having enough information to write on any topic. It will also help you make connections with other topics as well. I had also made the journal but somebody stole it. That’s why do not take your journal to any public place. It’s a bonus tip. 😁
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