Those of you who have passed the preliminary exam, I believe, have already gained a thorough understanding of the previous years’ questions for the written test and the new syllabus. Many have also begun preparing their suggestions. You’re getting ideas about what kinds of questions appear, buying a few sets of guide books, flipping through them, and reading along. Reference books are also being consulted. You’re studying at home at least 8-10 hours daily. Those who must work are surely managing to carve out at least 4-5 hours at home after work for preparation. You’re practicing extensively, staying up nights working on maths, grammar, translation—doing it all ‘properly’. When reading any question, you keep at least 3-4 sets of guide books in front of you, searching the internet, reading reference books and relevant textbooks, quickly underlining and absorbing everything. Newspapers and the internet are now daily companions. You’re spending a little less time browsing Facebook. It’s about a job, after all! A job you’ve decided to do comfortably for at least 30 years—surely you’re not foolish enough to avoid studying intensively for three months, skipping meals and sleep!
I know you’re not doing much of what I described above. You’re sitting at home laying grand plans. Occasionally you rush around here and there, consoling yourself, “I’m going to ace this!” It’s all about the appearance of preparation, lacking actual preparation. Truth be told, you’ll see fireworks in the exam hall. Taking the written exam isn’t that simple. True, you can pass this exam—failing it is difficult. But passing merely gets you the consolation prize of appearing for the viva, nothing more. If you work intelligently with proper understanding and can apply that effectively, then as a worthy reward for passing well, you’ll get the job.
Enough talk. Now let’s discuss General Science and Technology for the written exam. For this section, first read through the previous years’ questions and the suggested questions from guide books very carefully, taking sufficient time and going through them several times. When preparing for science, don’t approach it based on whether you were a science student or not. It’s better not to add literary flourishes to science. In this section, if you can provide necessary diagrams, symbols, and equations, your answer sheet will stand out from the rest. These things must be learned through practice. It’s better to answer three questions worth 4+3+3=10 marks rather than one question worth 10 marks.
Part-A: General Science
Light, Sound, Magnetism: Guide books, 9th-10th grade Physics, 11th-12th grade Physics 1st & 2nd paper
Acids, Bases, Salts: 9th-10th grade Chemistry, 11th-12th grade Chemistry 1st paper
Water, Our Resources, Polymers, Atmosphere, Food & Nutrition, Biotechnology, Diseases & Health Care: Guide books, Internet, 9th-10th grade General Science, 9th-10th grade Geography
Part-B: Computer & Information Technology: Guide books, Internet, Peter Norton’s Introduction to Computers, Higher Secondary Computer Education 1st & 2nd paper
Part-C: Electrical and Electronic Technology: Guide books + Higher Secondary Physics 2nd paper
Look at the syllabus and study only what you need topic by topic from the above books (guides often include much that’s unnecessary). If you wish, instead of buying entire books, you can photocopy just the portions you need. It’s excellent if you can google these topics on the internet and study them.
This article was published in Prothom Alo.
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