Career Chat @ Gulzar Tower (Part 2)

Various topics for the preliminary examination….. 

•   Bengali Language: Previous BCS exam questions + Job Solution + 9th-10th grade grammar books + Hayat Mamud’s Language-Learning + Guide books
•   Literature: Previous BCS exam questions + Job Solution + Soumitra Shekhar’s Jiggasha + Guide books
•   Language: Previous BCS exam questions + Job Solution + English for the Competitive Exams + Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary + Guide books
•   Literature: Previous BCS exam questions + Job Solution + Guide books
•   Bangladesh Affairs + International Affairs: Previous BCS exam questions + Job Solution + Newspapers + Internet + Guide books
•   Geography, Environment & Disaster Management: New guide books
•   General Science: Previous BCS exam questions + Job Solution
•   Computer & Information Technology: Job Solution + Previous BCS written exam short questions and notes + New guide books
•   Mathematical Reasoning: Previous BCS exam questions + Job Solution
•   Mental Ability: Previous BCS written exam questions + Guide books + Dhaka University Evening MBA admission question banks
•   Ethics, Values & Good Governance: Common sense + New guide books 

  35th BCS Preliminary: Some observations 

•   Instead of arranging the answer sequence A-B-C-D from left to right, they placed them vertically, causing many candidates to incorrectly mark at least 3-4 questions they actually knew.
•   The questions weren’t the ‘let’s do it ourselves’ type. Even talking in the exam hall didn’t help much.
•   Reading coaching center materials and guide books won’t accomplish much unless you have something in your own ‘headquarters.’ Good exam performance is more important than good preparation.
•   The days of saying ‘this coaching center’s suggestions matched so many percent’ or ‘that guide had so many common questions’ seem to be ending.
•   There were more questions this time that could yield different answers depending on how you approached them, compared to previous years. The PSC deliberately plays this game so people won’t attempt those questions. Greed leads to sin, sin leads to negative marks.
•   If you look at the questions carefully, you’ll notice that regardless of your academic background, you’re getting no extra advantage.
•   If exams continue in this style from now on, the dominance of question banks, digests, job solutions, and coaching centers will diminish, or they’ll have to change their service delivery methods. The days of entering the bureaucracy through mere memorization are over. 

My Experience with BCS Preliminary + Written

•   From the 10th to 34th BCS, buy 2-3 job solution books and solve PSC non-cadre exam questions (if possible, at least 250-300 sets) with understanding. Mark them and revise at least 2-3 times. Read the mind of the question setter, not the mind of the guidebook writer. One hour of studying questions with understanding is far better than four hours of mindless study. This way, you can cover four hours’ worth of material in two hours. Apply the POE (Process of Elimination). By studying question patterns extensively, you’ll learn how to skip unnecessary topics and focus your reading. This is the preliminary step in starting your preparation. Give this sufficient time. Shake off the notion that you must read everything others are reading. Invent your own style.
•   Buy two sets of written exam guide books and go through previous years’ questions. Study the suggestions given in the books carefully. Complete the topics that overlap with the preliminary syllabus according to the curriculum. This will finish half your written exam preparation. When reading references, understand whether the book is actually necessary before diving in.
•   Most students first read reference books, then start solving questions. This approach has two problems. One: you don’t get enough time to solve many questions. The more questions you solve, the better. Two: Most parts of reference books aren’t useful for BCS exams, yet reading entire books wastes time and creates unnecessary fear about BCS. Besides, there’s no need to remember so much. So, walk the opposite path. I did the same. Turn one question into a springboard for three more questions. Flipping through reference books is tough, true. But if you can endure this difficulty, you’ll benefit in both preliminary and written exams—this is even more true.
•   Stop reading random, useless materials. For becoming a BCS cadre, it’s far more important to understand what you won’t read rather than deciding what you will read. Whether you read reference books or not, solving lots of questions is mandatory. One who knows may not succeed, but one who succeeds certainly knows (even if they don’t). A successful fool is better than an unsuccessful scholar. Those involved with BCS become two types: BCS specialists and BCS cadres… Become a cadre.
•   Let me share a tip. A good technique for reading reference materials for any BCS subject is to read not for knowledge acquisition, but for marks acquisition. Acquiring knowledge makes you learned; acquiring marks makes you a cadre. To do this, first study previous years’ questions repeatedly to understand what types of questions don’t appear. It’s even better to carefully examine preliminary and written questions, then read reference books by ‘skipping and skipping.’ For instance, if someone wants to read Mahbubul Alam’s History of Bengali Literature or Soumitra Sekhar’s Jigyasha (just saying), first map out what types of literature questions appear in preliminary + literature short questions in written exams. Then read. The best way to excel in competitive exams isn’t to read reference books first then solve questions; rather, solve questions while reading reference books. Control your natural greed to read everything. Rather than reading one unnecessary topic once, read necessary topics repeatedly.
•   For preliminary, stop reading books like Current Affairs, Current World, Today’s World, Economic Survey. At most 5-6 questions come from very recent events in preliminary that are found only in these books. Among these, at least 2 can be answered by reading newspapers. What happens if we forgive the remaining 4? Why do people take such pain for these 4 marks—I can’t fathom! Actually, reading those torturous books gives a false sense of studying. This falls into the category of high-class deception. Let me share a fact. Some difficult questions exist that won’t stick in memory even after repeated reading. Stop trying to remember them, because one such question drives several easy questions out of your head. Preliminary isn’t an exam for getting the highest marks; it’s simply an exam to pass by getting cut-off marks. Whether you pass preliminary with 190 or 90, it’s the same thing. Spend extra effort for unnecessary marks on written preparation instead—it’ll be useful. Think less about what others can do. What others can do may not ultimately be more useful than what you can do.
•   Doing well in BCS exam largely depends on four subjects—English, Mathematics, Science, and Bengali. Study these four subjects with extra emphasis. Parrot-like individuals who are scholars only in general knowledge usually fail BCS exams or achieve very ordinary results. There’s no benefit in being too scholarly in general knowledge, because that segment typically yields average marks, so you won’t gain much competitive advantage over other candidates compared to what’s possible in those four subjects.
•   Actually preparing is better than making yourself and everyone believe you’re preparing. “Preparation preparation mood, lack of preparation.” This happens when preparing for competitive exams. Rather than working hard and failing, it’s better to work intelligently and pass. You need to do very well or reasonably well in each segment. So when preparing, you can’t put all effort only on what you’re good at. My technique is to take extra care of what I’m good at, so I can gain much more advantage than others in that area. But before that, I check whether what I’m best at is actually worth taking advantage of. Suppose you’ve memorized even the name of Clinton’s wife’s friend’s pet dog, but you write “My grandfather was a black dog…” for “My grandfather had a black dog”—that won’t work.
•   BCS exam can be taken repeatedly—that’s true. But the bigger truth is that the punishment for not passing it once is having to read these boring, tiresome materials again. This fear worked as motivation for me. SSC and HSC exams can also be taken 4 times. Would you have been angry if someone told you back then, “Let the first time be experience, do well next time”?
•   First attempts don’t turn out well? Who said that? I became a cadre on my first attempt. There are countless other examples. The stories of Pather Panchali (Bibhuti and Satyajit), Nagarik, The 400 Blows, or Wuthering Heights, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner. Doesn’t it frighten you to think of taking an exam as boring as BCS again? Just for that reason alone, one can study. Why should you, like everyone else, have to take BCS repeatedly? However, luck does play a role here. Those who become cadres are both capable and fortunate.
•   Read questions that seem a bit difficult multiple times. If that doesn’t work, stop reading them. Let me share a fact. Some difficult questions exist that won’t stick in memory even after repeated reading. Stop trying to remember them. One such question drives several easy questions out of your head. Remember, difficult questions carry 1 mark, easy questions also carry 1 mark.
•   In BCS written exam, draw necessary identified diagrams and maps for Science & Technology, Bangladesh Affairs, International Affairs. Include relevant data, tables, charts, references at appropriate places. Show something in your exam script that sets your paper apart.
•   Identify which segments candidates generally score low marks in but where scoring high marks is possible, and try to prepare yourself well in those segments to enter the competition. Study short questions, notes, short notes, summaries, essence, idea expansion, translation, grammar etc. well. How to study translation? There are more like this.
•   Study written guide books by marking them. If possible, at least 3-4 sets. But remember, guides contain many errors. This is normal. So you’ll need to make corrections while reading.
•   Read newspapers regularly for BCS. If possible, at least 5-6. You can read online. During this time, instead of reading entire newspapers, read only the portions necessary for the exam. Quickly scan through and save what’s needed for BCS exam in Word files if necessary. How do you understand what’s needed? Study questions extensively. Question-mapping will reduce your effort.
•   There’s no special need to take notes while studying. You won’t have that much time. Rather, write down which source you’re reading each question from. It’ll be useful during revision. Keep regular track of Bangladesh Constitution’s explanations, various organizations’ official websites, Wikipedia, Banglapedia, National Web Portal, some international magazines etc. Collect information and data. Present them in exam scripts with appropriate references. (Just because you take notes with creativity doesn’t mean you can write with creativity. And if what you’re noting doesn’t appear in the exam, it’s a complete loss. I didn’t take notes for a single question. There’s no guarantee that writing the best answer will get you the best marks.)
•   Various references, texts, and authentic books must be read. Many questions in BCS exam aren’t common. Reading these books makes answering easier. When answering questions, marks increase if you quote from various authors’ writings, newspaper columns and editorials, internet, various organizations’ official websites, relevant constitutional articles, various references. Use blue ink for these parts so they catch the examiner’s eye easily. Try to include at least one quotation, data, table, chart, or reference on each page. I know, you can’t remember so many quotations. So how do you do this? I’ll tell you the techniques I followed. Many of them are tricks. Whether the cat is white or black isn’t important. The real question is: can it catch mice? Good point, there’s absolutely no need to memorize the entire constitution.

  I haven’t done it.

•   Beautiful handwriting is nice, but if it’s not beautiful, that’s no problem either. In written exams, you have to write much faster. So practice writing one page every 3-5 minutes. Make sure your writing is legible. Good presentation increases marks. Writing in the BCS written exam is very taxing. Sometimes I felt as if my finger joints would come apart any moment. I thought to myself, I’ve to really perform when I’m performing! I managed to get through the written exam just by thinking of my parents and Tendulkar. Let me share a story. The story of a 16-year-old boy’s ‘Main Khelega’ attitude. The story of not giving up. The best attitude I learned in my life. In my opinion, to become great in life, you need a habitual ‘selfish’ weakness to greatness. Looking down on great people doesn’t diminish them in the least. Seeing Humayun Ahmed not as a writer but as Shaon’s husband is our own mental illness. For your own benefit, try to replicate the qualities of those who are successful in their respective fields. Whatever goal you want to reach, maintain tremendous respect for that goal. Otherwise, genuine sincerity doesn’t come in preparation. Allah honors the humble person.
•   Never leave any question unanswered. If you don’t know the answer, at least 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’re leaving questions blank—that’s not the problem. The problem is that someone else is answering them. Create your own suggestions. Don’t follow anyone else’s suggestions. Don’t listen to false assurances like “This question will definitely come.” I prepared at least 4 sets of suggestions. And keep this in mind: you won’t get more than (40-50)% common questions in the written exam. (Even getting this much is a lot!)
•   Sometimes practice writing non-stop on various topics. Increase your habit of reading on different subjects. This will make your writing quality better. You don’t need to memorize any answers. Rather, read repeatedly from various sources. Develop the habit of writing from understanding. Nobody becomes a cadre by writing everything perfectly. Everyone makes things up in the written exam. That’s no big deal! Rather, making things up properly is also an art. I can’t even begin to explain how cleverly I wrote so many wrong things and still became a cadre! (I’m actually among the extremely fortunate ones!)
•   In which language should I write answers in the BCS exam? In English? Or in Bengali? Many people have this question. I wrote in Bengali and came first in the exam. In this language, you can move along comfortably saying ‘I know’… what a wonderful mystery! Isn’t that so? However, you can also write in English. In that case, fluency and clarity are key. Keep in mind that you have to write a lot, which the examiner probably doesn’t have time to read very well.
•   Many will say, I’ve finished reading such and such questions! Take it easy. Just because someone finishes their work before you doesn’t mean they’ll have the last laugh. And if someone studies more than you, that’s not your fault. When I started preparing for the BCS exam, I saw that many people had finished reading a lot. You’ve seen 3 Idiots. A friend’s bad result makes you feel bad, but a friend’s good result makes you feel even worse. When I saw that compared to others, I knew practically nothing, I did two things. One. I tried to understand whether what they knew was actually necessary to know. Two. I stopped comparing myself with them and started comparing today’s me with yesterday’s me.
•   Sometimes you won’t feel like studying, I didn’t either. Always wanting to study isn’t a sign of mental health. Why so serious? Job for Life, not Life for Job. You don’t have to become a BCS cadre! Your livelihood is already predetermined. There’s so much else to do! So take breaks, give your studies a holiday. Every now and then. Close your room’s doors and windows, play music at full volume, shake off all thoughts and dance! Shout to your heart’s content! What else is there in life! There’s no point in feeling bad about not studying for two days and then wasting two more days. Who learned without making mistakes, where, when? Where’s the time for regret? You haven’t made the world’s greatest mistake! You’re not the world’s most miserable person either!
•   How necessary is group study? This depends on your habits. I didn’t have this habit myself. I didn’t do group study for two reasons. One. When I saw that everyone knew a lot of things that I didn’t know at all, my mood would get spoiled. I don’t like thinking that I don’t know something. Remember the dialogue from The Pursuit of Happyness? What’s the benefit of hearing and understanding from everyone that you can’t do something? If everyone says this, you won’t start knowing more; rather, your desire to know more might decrease. Two. Studying with everyone made me want to chat more, and I’d think that what they were doing was right and my own approach was wrong. I don’t like blind imitation.

New Topics for BCS Written Exam: What to Study? Where to Study From?

• Bengali Second Paper: Translation (English to Bengali), [Newspaper editorials] Imaginative dialogue, [Newspapers + talk shows] Book reviews
• English First Paper:

Reading Comprehension—a number of thematic questions that will test their understanding of the passage (30) [IELTS] a number of questions related to grammar and usage (30) [Old syllabus] summary/précis of the given passage in your own words within 100 words (20) [Newspapers + grammar books] a letter relating to the thematic issue of the given passage to the editor of an English newspaper (20) [Newspapers + guidebooks]

• International Affairs:

Short Conceptual Notes: 10 out of 12 10 x 4 = 40 [Guidebooks + internet + reference books] Analytical Questions: 3 out of 4 questions 3 x 15 = 45 [Guidebooks + internet + reference books] Problem-solving question 1 x 15 = 15 [Internet + reference books + newspapers]

• Mathematical Reasoning: Check the syllabus, previous years’ questions + guidebooks
• Mental Ability: Guidebooks + IQ test books + DU EMBA question bank
• General Science:

Part – B: Computer and Information Technology (25) [Guidebooks + Peter Norton’s books + Higher Secondary Computer Education 1st Paper textbook] Part – C: Electrical and Electronic Technology (15) [Guidebooks + Higher Secondary Physics 2nd Paper textbook]

Let our discussion end with a story…

First Story:

A crow was sitting idly on the high branch of a tree, doing nothing at all. Just then, a rabbit was passing by on that path. The rabbit asked the crow, “Well, brother, can I also sit beneath this tree doing nothing, just like you?” The crow replied, “Of course you can!” So the rabbit did exactly that.

After a while, a fox came down that same path. Seeing the rabbit sitting there, the fox pounced on it and devoured it in one gulp.

What’s the lesson of this story? The lesson is: when you’re sitting so high that no one can touch you, then you can afford to sit idle with folded hands. But before that, you must work hard to earn the qualification to occupy that position. Think about which position you’re sitting in right now.

Second Story:

To escape the harsh winter, a little bird was leaving Siberia. Suddenly the bird froze and fell to the ground like a chunk of ice. Some time later, a cow walking down that path defecated on the bird. After a while, the warmth of the dung melted all the ice from the bird’s body. The bird then began to sing joyfully. A cat sitting nearby heard the song, pulled the bird out of the dung, and ate it.

What are the lessons of this story?

The first lesson is: Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy. This means that not everyone who scolds us or criticizes us is our enemy; many of them actually wish us well. This group includes our parents, seniors, and teachers.

The second lesson is: Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend. This means there are many who offer to help us out of trouble but end up putting us in even greater danger. This group includes those so-called wise people around us who say, “What’s the point of taking the BCS exam? Do something else instead,” or “You’ll never make it in BCS.” I believe, If you cannot help a person to do something, you have no right to demoralize him/her saying that he/she cannot do it.

I think the third lesson is the most important. It is: When you are in the shit, always keep your mouth shut!! This means when you’re in trouble, always keep your mouth closed. Success talks the loudest. Success can buy silence. Your success can silence everyone. So throw down the challenge to yourself, not to others.

no easy day, the only easy day was yesterday

Good Luck!

Q&A Session