36th BCS Written Examination Candidates (2nd Part, Prothom Alo)

Through this series of articles in Prothom Alo, I posted on Facebook asking what the 36th BCS candidates wanted to know about. Based on the comments received, I’ve arranged today’s piece accordingly.

1. To improve the quality of your writing, do two things. First, read each question’s answer from multiple sources. Second, regardless of your preparation level, maintain the attitude “I am the best” in the exam hall.

2. Whatever time you’ve allocated in your mind for a question, finish writing that answer within that timeframe or close to it, no matter what. Writing one answer exceptionally well while leaving another incomplete or poorly answered is self-destructive. An exam is not a place for emotions, but for delivering complete answers at any cost.

3. To score well in English, follow two principles. First, make no spelling mistakes. Second, write grammatically correct, simple sentences.

4. For Science, if you solve previous years’ questions and suggestions from 2-3 guidebooks, you should expect to find at least half the questions familiar. Include necessary diagrams and equations where required.

5. Worrying about whether questions will be difficult or easy is simply a waste of time. Because on the battlefield, the same rules apply to everyone—PSC won’t create special questions just for you. If you can’t answer properly, that’s your problem.

6. There’s no need to memorize the Constitution. Study the pattern of questions and learn about the important articles—what they contain. Being able to write about them in your own words will suffice.

7. For topics that require practice (like grammar), definitely practice from at least three guidebooks.

8. If you’re very weak in one subject, abandon trying to become strong in it and instead focus more on the subject you’re already good at. While you’ll score fewer marks in the first subject, you can score more in the second with less time investment. Use that saved time on another subject.

9. One page of informative writing helps you score better than three pages of content-free writing.

10. Your handwriting doesn’t need to be beautiful—it just needs to be legible. If your font size is too large, you’ll write less than your competitors in the same time.

11. Use Google’s help to learn much more about a topic in less time. You can even type in Bengali and customize options to search if needed.

12. For good preparation in mental ability in a short time, read all the questions and answers from three guidebooks.

13. Are you weak in mathematics? Accept that you won’t score 50, you’ll score 35. The more you stress about those 15 marks, the greater the risk of losing 50 marks in other subjects.

14. Those who are particularly weak in English should spend 30 minutes daily writing 5-6 pages about topics relevant to the BCS written exam, whether correctly or incorrectly.

15. Avoid discussing your weaknesses in subjects with those who excel in them, especially during this time.

16. In the final paragraph of answers on Bangladesh and International Affairs, including opinions and analyses from various columnists, experts, and your own perspectives will increase your marks.

17. Rather than memorizing one question, it’s wiser to read several questions from various sources in the same time. The better your reading habit, the more refined your writing style will become.

18. In the exam, you can write with margins on all sides in the main booklet and fold all sides on additional pages. Use blue ink for quotations.

19. For the book review section, learn well about 30 novels—familiar, important ones about the Liberation War and others.

20. Read easy topics late at night to ward off sleep. Don’t log into Facebook “just for 5 minutes.”

21. Create a chart of how much you can score in each subject. Your average should not fall below 65.

22. Whatever your colleagues might say, calling you a show-off, working people should carry BCS guidebooks to work and read whenever they get the chance.

23. I remind you again—there’s no time now to read reference books. Study systematically using guidebooks and internet suggestions.

24. No one has ever gotten a job without their fingers and wrists aching, and neither will you. There’s no rule about how many pages to write for which question. It depends entirely on your speed of thinking and writing.

25. Those with slow handwriting should compensate for writing less by including more facts, data, and quotations.

That’s all for today. The remaining discussion will continue in the next installment. Happy reading!

This article appeared in the ‘Chakribakri’ (Jobs) section of Prothom Alo newspaper on June 3, 2016. The link is: