36th BCS Preliminary Preparation Strategy: English (Kaler Kantho)

Stop
smoking.

Stop
to smoke.

Where lies the difference? Must a verb always take the (-ing) form after “stop”? What does it take to understand this? Just grammar? No! Common sense is needed too.

The two fundamental principles for excelling in English:

One. No spelling mistakes allowed.

Two. No grammatical errors allowed.

Keeping these two principles in mind, practice writing in English using very simple language. Write longer status updates and comments on Facebook in straightforward English.

Why am I saying all this? If you look at the English questions from the 35th BCS written examination, you’ll understand that preparing for the preliminary exam while keeping certain aspects of the written exam in mind will make getting the job easier.

There’s another task you must undertake. The most crucial section in the BCS written examination is translation. The translation questions in BCS exams are typically never easy. You can start preparing for this section differently from now. Regularly translate editorials from various English and Bengali newspapers. The task is challenging, but I can confidently say that doing this consistently will prove extremely beneficial.

Now let me discuss the preliminary exam. The language section will have questions on grammar and usage. Practice extensively from several guide books and job solution materials. Keep authoritative books within reach: English for the Competitive Exams, A Passage to the English Language, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Michael Swan’s Practical English Usage, Raymond Murphy’s English Grammar in Use, John Eastwood’s Oxford Practice Grammar, T.J. Fitikides’s Common Mistakes in English, among others. Develop the habit of laboriously searching through these books for answers—it will prove invaluable. For instance, the word “entrust” can be followed by both “to” and “with.” Learning this through dictionary examples and writing practice should prevent forgetting. English must be learned through writing. Work harder on English; it will serve you well.

For vocabulary, consider McCarthy and O’Dell’s English Vocabulary in Use (all volumes), Norman Lewis’s Word Power Made Easy, along with a couple of local books. Solving just the vocabulary segment from previous years’ Dhaka University Evening MBA admission test questions will be helpful. Read English newspapers regularly. Take time to read and understand reports, editorials, and letters to the editor on various issues; this will also benefit you in the written exam.

When preparing for literature, remember that even those with honors and master’s degrees in English won’t be able to answer some questions. The rule of competitive exams with negative marking is that you won’t be able to answer all questions. Previous BCS exam questions + job solutions + guide books, along with exploring English literature basics on the internet, will prove useful.

The 35th BCS preliminary exam had a question like this: Women are too often ___ by family commitments. (a) confused (b) controlled (c) contaminated (d) constrained

Why did I write this? I’m often asked: “Brother, which book should I read for English grammar?” I mention two books: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. I also mention some other books. But who listens to whom! They wanted guide book names from me. And here I am! Yet how many questions came “common” from guide books last time? Go look at the “constrain” entry in Longman’s dictionary. The last example in that entry reads: Women’s employment opportunities are often severely ‘constrained’ by family commitments. What do you understand? Where do the questions come from? Do those who set questions have time to look at guide books and create questions? Or to read heaps of ‘sheet-marked’ sheets from coaching centers? They really don’t. Last year’s BCS exam proved that. When we can’t answer a grammar question, we start looking for guide books. Different guides give different answers. Then we run after coaching center teachers. What’s the need, brother? Does that guide book author or that coaching center teacher know much more than you? What harm is there in taking a little trouble to go to a dictionary entry and study the examples? I’m not asking you to memorize the dictionary. I’m saying to entrust the dictionary with resolving confusion about questions you’re uncertain about. This will save valuable time, and you’ll learn the correct thing too. Learning with examples sticks in memory the most. Though it may be difficult initially, try practicing this way—you’ll definitely see benefits within a few days. One question is actually the birthplace of several more questions. Those books are the bible of all guide books. What’s in them is correct. It’s not very difficult. You’ll practice solving questions by flipping through pages of those two books. Initially, it may seem annoying, but once you develop the habit, it will become an addiction. I believe in the principle of “practice what you preach.” I’ve done this work myself, so I’m asking you to do it too. If you can’t take this trouble, there’s only one advice for you: learn wrong, make mistakes, fail.

Some tips:

# Stop reading books like Current Affairs, Current World, Today’s World, Economic Survey for the preliminary exam. At most 5-6 questions come from very recent issues in the preliminary, which can only be found in those books. Among these, at least 2 can be answered by reading newspapers and listening to TV news. What if we excuse the remaining 4? Why does the public take such pain for these 4 marks? I can’t understand. Actually, reading those torturous books somehow makes one feel like they’re really studying. This falls into the category of highly sophisticated procrastination.

# Let me share a fact. There are some difficult questions that don’t stick in memory even after repeated reading. Stop trying to remember those. Because one such question drives out several easier questions from your head. The preliminary isn’t an exam for scoring the highest marks; it’s simply an exam to pass by getting the cut-off marks. Whether you pass the preliminary with 190 or 130 makes no difference. Spend the extra effort for unnecessary marks on preparing for the written exam instead—it will be useful. Think less about what others can do. What you can do may ultimately be more useful than what others can do.

This article was published on Wednesday, September 9, in the ‘Jobs Available’ page of Kaler Kantho. The link to the article is given below: