In Bangladesh Affairs, questions will come from Bangladesh’s history, geographical position, environment, socio-culture, economics, and politics. The new syllabus says nothing about mark distribution, so I assume it will remain as before. Here are some tips. Read these and apply them in your own way.
# Buy at least 3-4 sets of guide books. Read various reference books, such as Mozammel Haque’s Higher Secondary Civics 2nd Paper, annotated books on Bangladesh’s Constitution, books on the Liberation War, Nihar Kumar Sarkar’s Politics for Children, Akbar Ali Khan’s Economics of Altruism, etc. A good technique for reading references for any BCS subject is to read not for knowledge acquisition, but for marks acquisition. To do this, study questions from various years and know very well which types of questions don’t appear in exams. After carefully examining written exam questions, read reference books ‘selectively’—leaving out unnecessary parts.
# One hour of question pattern study is much better than four hours of mindless studying. Then it’s possible to cover four hours’ worth of reading in two hours. By studying question patterns extensively, you can learn how to skip irrelevant topics. This is the initial phase of starting preparation. Give adequate time to this. Shake off the notion that “I must read everything others are reading.” Control the natural greed to read everything. Rather than reading one irrelevant topic once, read the necessary topics repeatedly.
# Read 4-5 newspapers online. Read newspapers very quickly. Instead of reading entire papers, read only articles on topics necessary for BCS exams. Such useful articles in a newspaper are at most 2-3 in number. If needed, save them in Word files and read them later.
# While reading newspapers, understand by reading various columns which topics might generate exam questions. In Bangladesh Affairs, question patterns may change according to contemporary relevance. While reading various columns, carefully observe which columnist writes on which subjects and in what style, and list in your notebook the columnist’s name, alongside their area of interest and style. This will be very useful when giving quotations in exam papers.
# After reading newspaper editorials and various articles, write them in your own simple and lucid language. This provides excellent practice in freehand writing on various important topics.
# Draw necessary identified diagrams and maps. Give various data, tables, charts, and references where appropriate. When quoting from newspapers, mention the source and date below the quotation. Show something in your exam paper that makes it stand out. For instance, you can give references with sources from various websites. You can quote from Wikipedia or Banglapedia. You can relevantly write what various important figures of the country said at different times in various media. You can learn formal presentation style from newspaper editorials.
# There’s no special need to take notes while reading. You won’t have that much time. Rather, note which question you’re reading from which source. This will be useful during revision. Keep regular track of constitutional commentary, official websites of various organizations, Wikipedia, Banglapedia, the National Web Portal, some international newspapers, etc. Collect information and data. Present them in exam papers with appropriate references.
# Various references, textbooks, and authentic books must be read. Many questions in BCS exams are not common. Having read these books makes answering easier. When answering questions, marks will increase if you quote from various authors’ writings, newspaper columns and editorials, internet sources, official websites of various organizations, relevant constitutional articles, and various references. Using blue ink for these sections will easily catch the examiner’s eye. Try to give at least one quotation, data, table, chart, or reference on every page. By the way, there’s no need to memorize the entire constitution. Understand the explanations of articles from which more questions come very well. You don’t need to quote constitutional articles verbatim.
# Good handwriting is fine, but it’s no problem if it’s not. You have to write very fast in written exams. So practice writing one page every 3-5 minutes. Be careful that the writing remains legible. Good presentation increases marks.
# Never leave any question unanswered. If you don’t know the answer, write something from your understanding. If you have no understanding, write from imagination. If nothing comes to imagination, force yourself to imagine if necessary! You leaving a question isn’t a problem. The problem is that someone else is answering it.
# Occasionally practice writing non-stop on various topics. Increase your reading habit on various subjects. This will make your writing quality better. No answer needs to be memorized. Rather, read repeatedly from various sources. Develop the habit of writing from understanding. No one becomes a cadre by writing everything perfectly. Everyone writes creatively in the written exam. That’s no big deal! Rather, writing creatively in the right way is also an art.
This article was published in Prothom Alo.
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Thank you for such a ausome writing.