English Précis & Composition · CSS 2024
CSS 2024 English (Précis & Composition) Paper — solved
This is the complete CSS 2024 English (Précis & Composition) paper with model answers to every question. The MCQ key is given first, followed by the précis, the comprehension answers, and the composition section.
If you want the précis method taught in detail, the CSS Essay & Précis Masterclass covers it, and there are free walkthroughs on the CSSWithACSP YouTube channel.
Q1 Synonyms and Antonyms (20 MCQs)
The 2024 vocabulary set is noticeably kinder than 2025's, built from words that appear in ordinary academic reading rather than from dictionary curiosities.
Part (a): Choose the word most similar in meaning
- 1. UBIQUITOUS: (B) Present everywhere
- 2. PERNICIOUS: (B) Harmful
- 3. MELLIFLUOUS: (B) Smooth and sweet-sounding
- 4. EPHEMERAL: (C) Short-lived
- 5. ASTUTE: (D) Insightful
- 6. ENTHRALL: (B) Captivate
- 7. SYCOPHANT: (D) Flatterer
- 8. ASSUAGE: (C) Soothe
- 9. RETICENT: (D) Reserved
- 10. INCESSANT: (C) Persistent
Part (b): Choose the word most opposite in meaning
- 11. ESOTERIC: (D) Common
- 12. SQUALID: (D) Clean
- 13. TACITURN: (A) Loquacious
- 14. CONSTRICT: (C) Expand
- 15. LOQUACIOUS: (B) Silent
- 16. INDOLENT: (B) Active
- 17. COALESCE: (C) Disperse
- 18. RANCOR: (D) Amicability
- 19. ACQUIESCE: (B) Resist
- 20. DEBILITATE: (C) Strengthen
How this set is built
Look at question 15 and question 13 together. LOQUACIOUS is the answer to one and the question in the other, which tells you something useful about how these papers are assembled: a small pool of words is reused across years and even within a paper. Learning a word properly, in both directions, is worth more than recognising it in one.
Notice also the structure of each item. Three options usually cluster together in meaning and one stands apart. In question 18, animosity, bitterness and hostility are near neighbours, so amicability is the odd one and therefore the antonym. When a word is unfamiliar, find the cluster first and answer the odd one out.
Q2 Précis and title (urban green spaces)
This passage is descriptive rather than argumentative, which makes it harder to compress than it looks, because there is no chain of reasoning to hold on to and everything reads as equally important.
The passage, as printed
In the heart of bustling cities, urban green spaces stand as oases of tranquility, providing respite from the hustle and bustle. Parks, adorned with vibrant flora, become havens for relaxation and recreation. The greenery offers a sanctuary for diverse wildlife, creating a delicate balance between urban development and environmental preservation. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, city parks play a crucial role in fostering community bonds. Families gather for picnics, friends engage in sports, and individuals find solace amidst nature's embrace. These communal spaces serve as venues for cultural events, open-air concerts, and art installations, enriching the urban experience. The benefits of urban green spaces extend beyond leisure. They contribute to improved air quality, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and promote overall well-being. Access to nature within city limits becomes a vital aspect of mental health, offering a refuge for introspection and rejuvenation. However, the challenge lies in balancing the increasing urbanization with the preservation of green spaces. Sustainable urban planning becomes imperative to ensure the coexistence of concrete jungles and natural havens. Efforts to create and maintain parks, tree-lined avenues, and green rooftops become integral components of shaping cities that prioritize both human and environmental health. As cities evolve, the preservation and enhancement of urban green spaces become a shared responsibility. The vision is to cultivate urban landscapes that seamlessly integrate nature into the tapestry of city life, fostering a sustainable and harmonious cohabitation between human progress and the environment.
Suggested title
The Case for Urban Green Spaces
Model précis
Parks and other green spaces give crowded cities room to breathe. They shelter wildlife, hold a balance between building and preservation, and give people somewhere to rest, play and meet. Beyond recreation they serve as venues for cultural life, and their benefits reach further still: cleaner air, relief from urban heat, and measurable gains in physical and mental health, since access to nature within the city offers a refuge for reflection and recovery. The difficulty is that cities keep expanding, and green space is the first thing surrendered to that expansion. Preserving it therefore requires deliberate planning rather than good intentions, through parks, planted avenues and green roofs designed into the city rather than added to it. As urban populations grow, protecting these spaces becomes a shared responsibility, and the aim is a city in which built and natural life exist together rather than at each other's expense.
(148 words from a passage of roughly 290.)
How this précis was built
The hardest decision in a descriptive passage is what counts as one point. The original lists picnics, sports, concerts and art installations separately; all four are instances of the same idea, that green space hosts communal life, so they compress into a single clause. The same is true of air quality, heat and well-being, which are three names for the environmental and health case.
Keep the passage's turn. Two thirds of the way through, the tone shifts from listing benefits to naming a problem, and the précis must reproduce that shift. A summary that reads as an unbroken list of good things has lost the passage's actual shape.
The full method is taught in the CSS Essay & Précis Masterclass.
Q3 Comprehension (technology and education)
The 2024 comprehension questions are long and each contains two parts, so the main risk is answering only the half you noticed and leaving four marks on the table.
The passage, as printed
"In the heart of innovation, where creativity dances with technology, a new era of possibilities emerges. The digital landscape, once a distant horizon, now envelops every facet of our lives. From communication to commerce, the symbiotic relationship between humanity and technology shapes the contours of our modern existence.
In this age of rapid change, the role of education becomes pivotal. The traditional classroom, with its four walls, expands into the boundless realms of the internet. E-learning platforms and virtual classrooms redefine the notion of education, offering a dynamic space for collaboration and knowledge exchange. The democratization of information, facilitated by digital platforms, challenges traditional hierarchies and empowers learners across the globe.
However, as we navigate the seas of technological progress, questions of ethics and inclusivity arise. The digital divide, a chasm separating those with access to technology from those without, underscores the need for inclusive policies. In this context, the role of educators extends beyond imparting knowledge to fostering a sense of responsibility and ethical conduct in the digital realm.
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into various aspects of our lives further blurs the boundaries between human and machine. As AI algorithms make decisions that impact society, the importance of ethical considerations and transparency grows exponentially. The intersection of technology and ethics becomes a defining point in the evolution of our digital landscape.
As we stand at the crossroads of innovation, the challenge is not merely to embrace technological advancements but to do so with a mindful and ethical approach. The synergy between humanity and technology holds immense promise, but it is our collective responsibility to navigate this path with wisdom, ensuring that progress aligns with the principles of equity, inclusivity, and ethical awareness."
1. What is the main theme of the passage, and how does it emphasize the evolving relationship between humanity and technology?
The passage argues that technology is no longer a separate tool but a condition of ordinary life, touching communication, commerce and learning alike. It presents the relationship as mutual rather than one-sided, with people shaping technology and being shaped by it in turn. The emphasis falls on how quickly this has happened and how completely it has spread.
2. According to the passage, how does education adapt to the digital landscape, and what challenges and opportunities does this transformation present?
Education adapts by breaking out of the physical classroom into online platforms and virtual learning spaces. The opportunity is reach, because knowledge becomes available to learners who were previously excluded by distance or hierarchy. The challenge is that this openness assumes access, which not everyone has, so the same shift that empowers some learners can leave others further behind.
3. Discuss the concept of the digital divide as presented in the passage. Why is inclusivity crucial in the context of technological advancements, and what role do educators play in addressing this divide?
The digital divide is the gap between those who can reach technology and those who cannot, and the passage treats it as a fault line rather than a temporary inconvenience. Inclusivity matters because progress that reaches only the connected deepens existing inequality instead of reducing it. Educators are given a wider role than instruction here, since they are expected to build responsibility and ethical judgement alongside knowledge.
4. Explore the role of ethics in the digital realm, especially concerning artificial intelligence. How does the passage highlight the intersection between technology and ethical considerations?
The passage argues that ethics becomes more urgent as machines begin making decisions that affect people's lives. Because the boundary between human and machine judgement is blurring, questions of transparency and accountability can no longer be treated as separate from questions of capability. It presents this meeting point of technology and ethics as the defining issue of the digital age rather than a footnote to it.
5. What is the message regarding the responsibility of individuals and society as a whole in navigating the intersection of humanity and technology?
The message is that technological progress is a shared responsibility and not something that simply happens to people. Individuals and institutions are asked to adopt new tools thoughtfully rather than automatically, judging each by its effects. Progress aligns with equity and inclusion only when it is guided deliberately towards them, which requires wisdom rather than enthusiasm.
What the examiner is checking
Read each question twice and count its parts. Question 3 asks three things: what the divide is, why inclusivity matters, and what educators should do. An answer that covers two of the three cannot score full marks however well it is written.
For how to use solved papers without simply memorising them, see how to use CSS past papers.
Q4 Sentence correction
Four of the eight sentences in this set are testing the same family of error, the modifier attached to the wrong noun, which makes them the easiest five marks in the paper once you can see it.
(i)
Printed: Chewing slowly, the pepperoni pizza tasted delicious
Corrected: Chewing slowly, we found the pepperoni pizza delicious.
Rule: An opening participle attaches to the subject that follows it. As printed, the pizza is doing the chewing.
(iii)
Printed: A young girl in the corner, holding a red balloon.
Corrected: A young girl stood in the corner, holding a red balloon.
Rule: This is a fragment with no finite verb. Supplying one turns it into a sentence.
(v)
Printed: He ordered a meal from the restaurant that was high in protein.
Corrected: From the restaurant, he ordered a meal that was high in protein.
Rule: A relative clause modifies the nearest noun. As printed, the restaurant is high in protein.
(vii)
Printed: The group asked to hear the report that Shirley and me prepared.
Corrected: The group asked to hear the report that Shirley and I prepared.
Rule: The pronoun is the subject of "prepared", so it takes the subjective form. Remove the other name and the ear settles it: "me prepared" is plainly wrong.
(viii)
Printed: I managed finishing the painting.
Corrected: I managed to finish the painting.
Rule: "Manage" in this sense takes an infinitive, not a gerund.
The three not attempted
Sentence (ii) is ambiguous rather than ungrammatical, since the opening participle could attach to either the father or the toddler. Sentence (iv) is already correct as printed, because "whom" is the object of "like". Sentence (vi) is a run-on that needs full stops or semicolons rather than a rewrite.
Q5 Punctuation and prepositions
The instruction here is stricter than it looks: repunctuate without splitting a sentence and without adding or changing a single word, so every fix has to come from marks alone.
(a) Punctuation
(i) The cordless vacuum, one of the least interesting of the household appliances, got its start as a moon drill.
Commas fence the appositive that interrupts subject and verb.
(iv) The film critic said, "One of the most misquoted lines in movie history is 'Play it again, Sam.'"
A quotation inside a quotation takes single marks, and the full stop sits inside both.
(v) Poorly named animals include the flying fox, which is really a bat; the electric eel, which is really a knifefish; and the honey badger, which is the only member of its genus and species!
When list items already contain commas, semicolons separate them. The colon after "include" goes, because a colon should not split a verb from its object.
(vii) Most carnivorous plants attract and digest insects and other invertebrates, but some large pitcher plants have been known to digest frogs, rodents, and other vertebrates.
A comma precedes a coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses.
(viii) Harvey is a good driver; moreover, he is a very friendly one.
"Moreover" is a conjunctive adverb, not a conjunction. It needs a semicolon before it and a comma after it.
(b) Prepositions
(i) His research is characterized by a deep understanding of genetic mutations.
(iv) The project is commensurate with the skills of the research team.
(v) The methodology is impervious to external influences.
(vi) The discussion oscillated between two main points.
(vii) His proposal hinges on securing adequate funding.
How to choose. This set is testing fixed collocations rather than logic. "Characterized by", "commensurate with", "impervious to" and "hinge on" are settled pairings that have to be learned as units. Only "oscillate between" can be reasoned out, from the fact that oscillation needs two points to move between.
Q6 Pairs of words in sentences
Every pair in this set is a homophone pair, words that sound alike and mean something entirely different, so the sentence must make the meaning visible without stating a definition.
(ii) Palate, Palette
Palate: Years of eating at his mother's table gave Ahmad a palate sharp enough to name every spice in the korma.
Palette: The artist's palette held nothing but ochre, white and a little indigo.
(iii) Elicit, Illicit
Elicit: The lawyer's patient questioning finally elicited an admission from the witness.
Illicit: Customs officers at the port seized an illicit consignment hidden under crates of dates.
(v) Taut, Taught
Taut: The fisherman pulled the rope taut before tying his boat to the jetty at Keamari.
Taught: Sir Nadeem taught mathematics at the same school in Sargodha for thirty years.
(vi) Faint, Feint
Faint: The faint smell of rain reached Hina long before the first clouds appeared over Islamabad.
Feint: The striker's feint to the left drew the goalkeeper out of position.
(viii) Wreak, Reek
Wreak: The floodwater wreaked havoc on the villages along the Indus.
Reek: The alley behind the fish market began to reek in the afternoon heat.
What makes these sentences work
Each one supplies the evidence for its own meaning. "Palate" appears next to spices and tasting; "palette" next to colours. Remove that context and the sentence stops proving anything, because the examiner cannot tell whether you knew the difference or guessed it.
Q7 Urdu to English translation
This passage is written in the high formal register of Urdu newspaper editorial prose, and the translation must find an English register that matches it without sliding into either casual English or archaic English.
Model translation
When the self-created dispute over Palestine was brought before the United Nations for settlement, that representative world body recognised the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and itself laid down a formula for resolving the matter. A two-state solution to the Palestine dispute was proposed, yet across the past seven decades the United Nations resolutions passed to that end were never allowed to reach the stage of implementation. On the contrary, at America's bidding Israeli forces continue to this day to make sport of the blood of unarmed and innocent Palestinians, and the territory of Gaza has been laid utterly to waste in a war that has now continued for two and a half months. In this war, with American support, Israeli forces have mercilessly killed more than twenty thousand Palestinians, including women and children, and have left no refuge safe for those who survive, who are now losing their lives to the scarcity of food and medicine as well.
How to handle a passage like this
The idiom is the marked part. The Urdu says the forces are "playing Holi" with Palestinian blood, an image of festive abandon turned to horror. A literal rendering means nothing to an English reader, and "killing" throws the figure away entirely. "Make sport of the blood of" keeps the callousness the image carries. This single choice is what the phrase "keeping in view figurative and idiomatic expressions" in the question is asking about.
Hold the register steady. Phrases like "that representative world body" and "at America's bidding" sound formal, and they should, because the Urdu is formal. Translating them down into plain speech would be accurate and still lose marks.
Keep the sentence architecture. Urdu editorial prose builds long sentences with several linked clauses. English can carry these if you use the right connectives, and breaking each one into three short sentences flattens a style the examiner is asking you to preserve.
The question paper is reproduced from the Federal Public Service Commission's CSS 2024 English (Précis & Composition) paper for study purposes. The answers are our own and are offered as one good attempt, not as an official key.