CSS MPT cheat sheet

The CSS MPT (MCQ-based Preliminary Test) is a screening test of 200 marks, 200 MCQs, to be attempted in 200 minutes; it is qualifying only and does not count toward the final CSS merit list.

FPSC does not publish a domain-weighted breakdown on its homepage; the widely used preparation split is approximately: English 20%, General Knowledge/Everyday Science 20%, Current Affairs 20%, Pakistan Affairs 20%, Islamic Studies 20% (varies by year).

Negative marking is not applied in the MPT; a blank answer and a wrong answer score the same, so every question should be attempted.

Passing the MPT requires 33% (66/200) for general candidates; allocated-quota candidates (e.g., scheduled castes, disabled) have a lower threshold set by FPSC each cycle.

Only MPT qualifiers proceed to the CSS written examination; MPT marks are not carried forward, so the written exam is scored independently.

Each MCQ has four options with a single correct answer; there is no subjective component and no choice within a question.

The MPT syllabus topics mirror the written exam's compulsory subjects: English (grammar, vocabulary, comprehension), Islamiat, Pakistan Affairs, Current Affairs, and Everyday Science/GK.

Time per question averages 60 seconds; calculation-heavy Everyday Science or Current Affairs items should be flagged and revisited rather than stalled on.

Vocabulary items test synonym/antonym selection and one-word substitution; correct choice depends on the word's precise register, not just rough meaning.

Grammar items cover subject-verb agreement, tense sequence, articles, prepositions, and pronoun reference; the rule, not the sound of the sentence, decides.

Idioms and phrasal verbs are tested as fixed expressions; meaning cannot be inferred compositionally from the parts.

Sentence correction items: identify the smallest grammatical error; if no error exists, the 'no error' option is correct.

Reading comprehension: answers must be supported by the passage text, not by outside knowledge or personal opinion.

Direct/indirect speech and active/passive voice conversions follow fixed transformation rules (tense backshift, pronoun and time-word changes).

Spelling items test commonly confused pairs (e.g., affect/effect, principal/principle, stationary/stationery).

Punctuation: semicolons join independent clauses; commas set off non-restrictive clauses; apostrophes mark possession, not plurals.

SI base units: metre (length), kilogram (mass), second (time), ampere (current), kelvin (temperature), mole (amount), candela (luminous intensity).

Water boils at 100 °C at 1 atm; boiling point falls with altitude because atmospheric pressure drops.

Photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O + light → C6H12O6 + 6O2, occurring in chloroplasts using chlorophyll.

Human body: 206 bones in adults, 32 teeth in adults (including wisdom teeth), heart with four chambers, blood groups A/B/AB/O with Rh factor.

Planets in order from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune; Pluto is a dwarf planet.

Speed of light in vacuum ≈ 3 × 10^8 m/s; sound travels ≈ 343 m/s in air at 20 °C and faster in solids.

Chemical symbols and atomic numbers: H=1, C=6, N=7, O=8, Na=11, Fe=26, Au=79; pH below 7 is acidic, above 7 basic.

Major organs: liver produces bile, pancreas secretes insulin, kidneys filter blood, lungs exchange O2/CO2 via alveoli.

International organisations: UN (1945, New York), IMF and World Bank (1944 Bretton Woods), WTO (1995), WHO (1948, Geneva), SAARC (1985, Kathmandu).

UN Security Council has 5 permanent members with veto (US, UK, France, Russia, China) and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

Pakistan joined the UN in September 1947 and is a member of OIC, SAARC, SCO, and the IMF/World Bank.

Climate frameworks: Kyoto Protocol (1997) set binding targets for developed states; Paris Agreement (2015) uses nationally determined contributions.

Nuclear suppliers and treaties: NPT (1968, entered into force 1970); Pakistan and India are non-signatories; CTBT (1996) bans explosive nuclear tests.

Global economic indicators: GDP, inflation (CPI), and policy rate are set by central banks; Pakistan's central bank is the State Bank of Pakistan.

Major recurring current-affairs themes in MPT: CPEC, IMF loan programmes, Kashmir, Palestine, and appointments to heads of international bodies.

Dates and headquarters of summits (G20, BRICS, SCO, OIC) are commonly tested; headquarters location is more frequently asked than summit theme.

Pakistan became independent on 14 August 1947; Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the first Governor-General; Liaquat Ali Khan was the first Prime Minister.

The Objectives Resolution was passed by the Constituent Assembly on 12 March 1949, laying the ideological foundation for later constitutions.

Pakistan has had three constitutions: 1956, 1962, and 1973; the 1973 Constitution is currently in force and establishes a parliamentary system.

Allama Iqbal's Allahabad Address (1930) proposed a separate Muslim state in north-west India; the Lahore Resolution was passed on 23 March 1940.

Pakistan's provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan; Islamabad Capital Territory; Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK have special administrative status.

The Indus Waters Treaty (1960) between Pakistan and India was brokered by the World Bank and allocated western rivers to Pakistan.

Pakistan's nuclear tests were conducted on 28 May 1998 at Chagai, Balochistan, following India's Pokhran-II tests.

Key institutions: Supreme Court (apex court), Parliament (National Assembly + Senate), and the President as constitutional head of state.

The Five Pillars of Islam: Shahadah (faith), Salah (prayer), Zakat (almsgiving), Sawm (fasting in Ramadan), and Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah).

The Quran has 114 surahs; the first revealed surah was Al-Alaq (96) and the longest is Al-Baqarah (2).

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born in 570 CE in Makkah and migrated to Madinah in 622 CE, marking the start of the Hijri calendar.

The four rightly guided caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali; the Quran was compiled into a single codex under Abu Bakr and standardised under Uthman.

Zakat is 2.5% of accumulated wealth above the nisab threshold, held for one lunar year.

Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime for those physically and financially able; its key rites include Tawaf, Sa'i, and standing at Arafah.

The six articles of faith (Iman): belief in Allah, angels, revealed books, prophets, the Day of Judgment, and divine decree.

Major hadith collections include Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and the Sunan of Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah.