PPSC Lecturer key terms

A testable statement predicting a relationship between two or more variables, framed so that evidence gathered through observation or experiment can either support or contradict it.

The factor a researcher deliberately changes or manipulates in an experiment, so that its effect on the outcome being measured can be observed and analysed.

The systematic set of principles and procedures a scholar uses to design a study, collect evidence and analyse results, allowing others to judge and repeat the work.

A quality-checking process in which independent specialists in the same field examine a manuscript or proposal for accuracy, originality and methodological soundness before it is published or funded.

Presenting another person's words, ideas, data or creative work as one's own without proper acknowledgement, whether done deliberately or through careless note-taking and citation.

A formal reference showing where information, a quotation or an idea came from, giving readers the details needed to locate the original source.

Original material produced at the time of an event or by the person who created the data, such as a diary, official record, experiment or interview, rather than a later summary.

The idea that Muslims and Hindus of the subcontinent formed two distinct nations with separate cultures, histories and interests, and therefore required separate political arrangements and eventually a separate homeland.

The 1940 resolution passed by the All-India Muslim League at Lahore demanding that Muslim-majority regions be grouped into independent states; it became the political cornerstone of the Pakistan movement.

A 1949 resolution of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly setting out that sovereignty belongs to Allah, that elected representatives will exercise authority, and that minorities' rights will be protected; it shaped later constitutions.

Pakistan's current and longest-lasting constitution, which established a parliamentary federal system, distributed powers between centre and provinces, and provided for fundamental rights and an independent judiciary.

A 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank dividing the Indus basin rivers between India and Pakistan, allotting eastern rivers to India and western rivers largely to Pakistan, with dispute-settlement mechanisms.

A 1972 pact between India and Pakistan after the 1971 war, committing both sides to settle disputes bilaterally and peacefully and converting the ceasefire line in Kashmir into the Line of Control.

The grammatical rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person, so a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject a plural verb.

A group of words containing its own subject and finite verb; it may stand alone as a sentence or function as part of a larger sentence.

A verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun in a sentence, as in 'Reading improves vocabulary', where it can act as subject or object.

Two qualities of good writing: cohesion is the linking of sentences through pronouns, connectors and repetition, while coherence is the logical, easy-to-follow arrangement of ideas overall.

A concise, faithful summary of a passage that retains its main ideas and essential tone while cutting length sharply, usually to about one-third of the original.

Restating a passage's meaning in different words and sentence structures while keeping the original sense, often used to demonstrate understanding or to avoid direct quotation.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a multi-billion-dollar programme of roads, ports and power projects linking western China to Gwadar, intended to boost trade, energy supply and regional connectivity.

The Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental body that sets standards against money laundering and terrorist financing and publicly lists countries whose safeguards are judged deficient.

The International Monetary Fund, a multilateral lender that provides loans and policy advice to countries facing balance-of-payments difficulties, usually attached to conditions on fiscal and monetary reform.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, a grouping of eight South Asian states formed to promote trade, social progress and cooperation, though its summits are often stalled by political tensions.

The United Nations organ of fifteen members, five permanent with veto power, responsible for maintaining international peace and security and able to impose sanctions or authorise force.

System software that manages a computer's hardware, memory, files and running programs, and provides the interface through which users and applications interact with the machine.

Random access memory, the fast, volatile working storage a computer uses to hold programs and data currently in use; its contents disappear when power is switched off.

Uniform Resource Locator, the address that identifies the location of a webpage or file on the internet and tells the browser where to fetch it from.

A fraudulent attempt, usually by email or a fake website, to trick people into revealing passwords, card numbers or other sensitive information by impersonating a trusted organisation.

Any software written to damage, disrupt or gain unauthorised access to a computer system, including viruses, worms, ransomware and spyware.

The delivery of storage, software and processing power over the internet from remote servers, so users avoid buying and maintaining local hardware.

Independent reasoned effort by a qualified scholar to derive a legal ruling from Islamic sources when no explicit, settled text or consensus directly answers the question.

The consensus of qualified Muslim jurists of a generation on a point of Islamic law, regarded by many schools as a binding source after the Quran and Sunnah.

The practice, sayings and tacit approvals of the Prophet Muhammad, preserved in hadith reports and treated as a primary source of guidance alongside the Quran.

A report of the words, actions or approvals of the Prophet Muhammad, transmitted through a chain of narrators and graded by scholars for reliability.

An obligatory annual alms payment on Muslims who own wealth above a set threshold, calculated at a fixed rate and distributed to specified categories of needy people.

The theory and practice of teaching, covering how content is planned, presented and assessed so that learning is effective for particular learners and contexts.

Assessment carried out during teaching to gather evidence about learners' understanding, so that instruction can be adjusted and feedback given before final judgement.

A hierarchical classification of learning objectives, moving from remembering and understanding through applying and analysing to evaluating and creating, used to design questions and tasks.