Reference Books?

[bikermicefrmars]

OK, guys I have to ask for the best reference books for Geography and Islamiat which would really improve the base and concepts and help alot in CIE!
Till now I have thought about Yasmeen Malik, David Thomas and Ghulam Shabir for Islamiat.I will be getting only one from these three so tell which is the best one. Some people told me that Ghulam Shabir's book is teh best among all.
And I also have Farkhanda Noor Muhammad so i only need one of these!

Secondly, I am unable to understand Geography properly so will like to know a book which would clear all concepts, improve the base, give exam tips and help me do the best in CIE!

 

[OakMoon!]

First of all for islamiat u cant choose one book. Its about aquiring as much knowledge as possible because the more pts u show in ur answer the better it is. I would advice u study Farkhanda Noor Mohammad and David R Thomas. Yasmin Malik is also gud but it has alot of extra detail that is irrelevant at our level. Dont knw about gulam shabir but there is a buk of Dr. Iftikhar ul Haq, its quite gud. Try it out.
About geography, i dont knw if u r talking about the pakistan studies one or the pure one. For the pk std read The Environment of Pakistan by Huma Naz Sethi. Dun knw about pure geography.

 

[Nibz]

First of all for islamiat u cant choose one book. Its about aquiring as much knowledge as possible because the more pts u show in ur answer the better it is. I would advice u study Farkhanda Noor Mohammad and David R Thomas. Yasmin Malik is also gud but it has alot of extra detail that is irrelevant at our level. Dont knw about gulam shabir but there is a buk of Dr. Iftikhar ul Haq, its quite gud. Try it out.
About geography, i dont knw if u r talking about the pakistan studies one or the pure one. For the pk std read The Environment of Pakistan by Huma Naz Sethi. Dun knw about pure geography.

For Geo also TRY FAZAL-E-Karim Khan's Book!!! (This along with HUM NAZ SETI are the only TWO BOOKS endorsed by CIE) + Go through the PAST PAPERS, MARK SCHEMES and EXAMINER REPORTS, as they are the BEST SOURCES as well!!! Same is the CASE wid ISLAMIYAT!!
I wud prefer FARKHANDA NOOR and DAVID R.Thomas though!!

 

[Zishi]

@bikermicefrmars: You're not allowed to make many topics with the same title and same question. This is against the rules of XPF. I've deleted your topics instead of just locking them, so that they may not be noticed by other users. This is your first warning. Please be careful in the future.

-Zishi

 

[XPFMember]

As Nibz said I think you should concentrate on pastpapers also and as for that you get solved pastpapers too and I would personally prefer the one published by RedSpot!

 

[bikermicefrmars]

I can look papers from Xtremepapers, what is the difference between them and Redspot?

 

[Zohaib Sherazi]

You'll fine mark schemes and examiner reports here. + red spot does not solve according to the specific examination demands very often.

 

[Funkymariam]

OK, guys I have to ask for the best reference books for Geography and Islamiat which would really improve the base and concepts and help alot in CIE!
Till now I have thought about Yasmeen Malik, David Thomas and Ghulam Shabir for Islamiat.I will be getting only one from these three so tell which is the best one. Some people told me that Ghulam Shabir's book is teh best among all.
And I also have Farkhanda Noor Muhammad so i only need one of these!

Secondly, I am unable to understand Geography properly so will like to know a book which would clear all concepts, improve the base, give exam tips and help me do the best in CIE!

Of the three books, i only have David R.Thomas but i avoid using that. I only read a few topics from that and felt that it had more references than actual content.
Get Dr. Iftikhar-ul-Haq's "O levels Islamiat for Cambridge Examination". Coupled with Farkhanda Noor's, it's all you need.

For Geography, i use Huma Naz Sethi's. You could get Fazle Karim's like someone recommended, but personally i feel it contains less info in comparison with Huma Naz Sethi's book which contains everything in a comprehensive form.

Oh, and Redspot's answers and solutions are horrible! just try the Examiner Reports and Mark schemes on here. Those Pures are a waste of money.

 

[Silent Hunter]

people have found many mistakes in redspots !!! so to be on the safe side people should refer to actual CIE mark schemes and examiner reports .i my self have also found many mistakes in redpots!!

 

[XPFMember]

oh really?? i didnt know that and i regarded those redspots worked solutions good

 

[AnGeL.Of.DaRkNeSs]

well REDSPOTS are good but the only give the answer pattern they arent exact answers so we should consider them if we want to know how to write the answer NOT when we need exact answer to an question

 

[Silent Hunter]

well redspots are suggestion only not answers as they have themselves (publishers) mentioned

 

[AnGeL.Of.DaRkNeSs]

rightly said by silent hunter

 

[rehan751]

For Islamiyat, I would recommend only Farkhanda Noor Muhammad, don't get any other book. And marking schemes for Quranic verses.

For Geography (PakSt.), Environment of Pakistan by Huma Naz Sethi will be fine + Past papers are really important for Geography

 

[Silent Hunter]

well past papers along with marking schemes and examiner reports are good for all subjects especially Islamiat and pakistan studies as you get to know what the examiners require.

 

[Usman17]

Some suggestions which have not been mentioned by others!!
I think for Islamiat you should really consult Dr. Iftikhar ul Haq's book named Islamiat for O level students... It has really good explanation in it about the first islamic community and the quran and hadith chapter... Surahs and hadith are also explained well but always support your answer with explanation from Farkhanda Noor's book...
For Geography, go for a book written by Talat Rizvi... The book has topical past papers and very relevant answers in form of keypoints... so hope that will do you good... And stick to marking schemes and examiner reports... They really help you... Good Luck...

 

[AnGeL.Of.DaRkNeSs]

i JUST have 1 problem with what Usman told think DR.IFTIKHAR book for islamiat is not good it isnt as good as farkhanda noor and Ghulam shabir no offense but i dont know why a such famous and good teacher write a book like that not only me alot of students have problems with SIR iftikhar's book for islamiat. BEST way to have sir.iftikhar's knowledge is to join his academy u will understand alot better and his notes for GEOGRAPHY rock

 

[jamil_007]

yeah i also have problems with dr.iftikhar's book for islamiat o levels

 

[bikermicefrmars]

What EXACT problems/weakness do you guys feel with the book by Dr.Iftikhar?

 

[OakMoon!]

People, you just can't study islamiat from one book. Dr. Iftikhar's book is perfectly written for students who need direct approach to the exam pattern.
The best way to study for Islamiat is to get Farkhanda Noor Muhammad's and Sir iftikhar's book. farkhanda noor mohammad is good for quotations and detailed reading. While Sir Iftikhar's book is direct to the point. But you can't rely on one book. For the Q1 in both p1 and p2 get the notes of the surahs and the hadith of Sir Muzammil in Lahore. I just learnt them by heart and wrote them as they were in the paper. Afterwards when I saw the marking scheme it gave similar points as that in his notes. Islamiat is a very easy subject if its handled technically.
Pakistan Studies is all about marking schemes. Especially for Geography. Huma Naz sethi is good enough along with the ms. Nigel Smith and Nigel Kelly for History. Guaranted A*s