The cut-off marks for the 35th BCS preliminary examination are unlikely to exceed 90. Those who expect to achieve these marks should begin preparing for the written examination without waiting for the results. Purchase all the available guide books from the market, along with some reference books. Invest in books—they will serve you well. Study various question patterns extensively. Prepare your own suggestions, at least 4-5 sets if possible. Try to include at least one quotation, data point, table, chart, or reference on every page. Beautiful handwriting is good, but not essential. The written examination requires very fast writing. Practice writing one page every 3-5 minutes. Before beginning preparation for the written examination, keep two things in mind. First: More important than deciding what to study for the BCS examination is deciding what not to study. Second: There’s no need to memorize everything; the art lies in forgetting sixty percent of what you’ve learned completely and making proper use of the remaining forty percent.
I am attempting to write about preparation strategies in light of the new syllabus. Today I’m writing about Bengali.
Bengali Paper 1
Grammar: Study previous years’ questions, guide books, ninth-tenth grade Bengali grammar, Hayat Mamud’s Bhasha-Shiksha, and Soumitra Shekhar’s Darpan according to the syllabus topics. When writing the implied meanings of proverbs and sayings in 6 sentences, write in your own simple language. Examples are not necessary for this section. This section should not take more than 30 minutes to answer.
Elaboration of Ideas: You can consult previous years’ questions, guide books, Soumitra Shekhar’s Darpan, and books by some writers from Bangladesh and Kolkata for this section. This must be written in exactly 20 highly relevant sentences. Write these 20 sentences carefully. You may include examples and quotations. Take 40 minutes; ensure that the structure of each sentence is excellent.
Summary: This must be written in 2-3 simple, beautiful abstract sentences. It may take 20 minutes. It’s very good to prepare suggestions for this section and study by taking notes from various books.
Questions on Bengali Language and Literature: Study previous years’ questions very carefully to get a clear idea about what types of questions are not asked. Then read selectively from guide books, Lal-Nil Dipabali, and Mahbubul Alam’s History of Bengali Literature. You may answer this section last. Never write without quotations.
Bengali Paper 2:
Translation: This section is also in English Part-B. Total marks: 15+25+25=65. If you analyze previous questions, you’ll see that very easy translations don’t usually appear in BCS examinations. You can study this section differently. Regularly translate editorials from newspapers like Prothom Alo, Ittefaq, The Daily Star, The Independent, The Financial Express, etc. The task is difficult but highly fruitful.
Imaginary Dialogue: You need to develop ideas on various contemporary issues. Keep regular watch on newspapers (especially minutes of round-table meetings), watch talk shows, and practice writing in your own simple language on various topics from guide books.
Letter Writing: You can study from Hayat Mamud’s Bhasha-Shiksha and guide books based on previous years’ question patterns. Prepare only for the types of letters you feel comfortable writing. For instance, if you want to write personal letters, you must keep the language usage aspect in mind. Separate marks are allocated for writing format in this section.
Book Review: It’s impossible to prepare for this section without deciding which books to read. I haven’t received any guidelines about this yet. I’ll write about it later when I do.
Essay: When studying this section, you can prepare in conjunction with English essays and major questions from Bangladesh and International Affairs. Based on previous years’ questions, understand what patterns of essays appear, and prepare for any 3 patterns. Prepare suggestions and study from the internet, guide books, and reference books. Keep organizing points through mind-mapping, and write as much as possible. Include plenty of quotations.
This article was published in Prothom Alo.
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