On various topics of the preliminary examination…..
Bengali Language: Previous BCS examination questions + job solutions + Class IX-X grammar textbooks + Hayat Mamud’s Language Teaching + guide books
Bengali Literature: Previous BCS examination questions + job solutions + Saumitra Shekhar’s Jijnasa + Humayun Azad’s Lal Nil Dipaboli + Mahbubul Alam’s History of Bengali Literature + guide books
Language: Previous BCS examination questions + job solutions + English for the Competitive Exams + Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary + guide books
Literature: Previous BCS examination questions + job solutions + guide books
Bangladesh Affairs + International Affairs: Previous BCS examination questions + job solutions + newspapers + internet + guide books + reference books
Geography, Environment and Disaster Management: New guide books
General Science: Previous BCS examination questions + job solutions
Computer and Information Technology: Job solutions + previous BCS written examination short questions and notes + new guide books
Mathematical Reasoning: Previous BCS examination questions + job solutions
Mental Ability: Previous BCS written examination questions + guide books + Dhaka University Evening MBA entrance examination question bank + IQ books
Ethics, Values and Good Governance: Common sense + new guide books
I’d recommend looking at my Facebook notes on BCS preliminary. You’ll find many more book titles and numerous study techniques there.
35th BCS Preliminary: Some Observations
When the sequence kha-ga-gha was presented vertically instead of horizontally, many candidates ended up marking at least 3-4 questions incorrectly that they actually knew the answers to.
The question wasn’t the sort you could figure out through trial and error. Even discussing it in the exam hall didn’t help much.
Coaching centers and guide books alone won’t do you much good unless you have something solid in your “headquarters”—your mind. Performing well in the exam matters far more than preparing well.
The days of boasting, “So-and-so coaching center’s suggestions came up this much,” or “Such-and-such guide book’s questions matched this many,” seem to be ending. That’s the sense I got.
Depending on how you approach certain questions, you get different answers—and this time, there were somewhat more such questions than before. The PSC deliberately plays this game so that people won’t attempt them. Greed leads to sin, and sin leads to negative marks.
If you look carefully at the questions, you’ll notice that regardless of your academic background, you’re not getting any special advantage.
If exams continue in this style, the reign of question banks, digests, job solutions, and coaching centers will diminish—or they’ll have to change how they operate. The era of rote memorization as a ticket into the bureaucracy is coming to an end.
Before You Start Preparing for the Written Examination
Before you begin preparing for the written exam, keep this in mind: what matters far more than deciding what to study for the BCS is deciding what not to study.
Whether you’re rushing between coaching classes or doing anything else, you must study at home for at least 8-10 hours every day. Those of you who have to hold down another job should dedicate at least 4-5 hours daily to your studies alongside work.
You’re surely not foolish enough to skip eating and sleeping for three months just to prepare for a job you’ve already decided you’ll do comfortably for the next thirty years!
My scoresheet from the written exam (see the image above)
Bengali Paper 1
Grammar: Work through previous years’ questions, guide books, grammar texts from classes 9-10, Hayat Mamud’s Bhasha-Shiksha, and Soumitro Shekhar’s Darpan—studying topics according to the syllabus. When writing about the implied meaning of proverbs in six sentences, express yourself in simple, natural language. You don’t need to include examples. This section shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to complete.
Summary: Write this in 2-3 simple, well-crafted abstract sentences. It may take 20 minutes. It helps tremendously to prepare suggestions and take notes from various books for this section.
Thought Expansion: You can refer to previous years’ questions, guide books, Soumitro Shekhar’s Darpan, and works by writers from both Bangladesh and Kolkata for this section. Write this in exactly 20 sentences, making them highly relevant. Take your time with these twenty sentences. You may include examples and quotations. Even if it takes 40 minutes, ensure each sentence is beautifully constructed.
Questions on Bengali Language and Literature: Study previous years’ questions carefully to develop a clear understanding of what kinds of questions typically appear. Then, selectively study guide books, Lal-Neel Dipaboli, and Mahbubul Alam’s History of Bengali Literature. You can answer this section last. Never write without quotations to support your points.
Bengali Paper 2
Translation: This is the most crucial section of the BCS written exam. It also appears in the English Part-B section. Total marks: 15+25+25=65. If you review previous questions, you’ll notice that the BCS exam rarely includes easy translation passages. Approach this section differently. Regularly translate editorials from newspapers like Prothom Alo, Ittefaq, The Daily Star, The Independent, and The Financial Express. The work is demanding, but extraordinarily rewarding.
Imaginary Dialogue: You need to expand your knowledge on various contemporary issues. Keep a regular eye on the newspapers—especially the minutes of roundtable discussions—watch talk shows, and practice writing on different topics from guide books in your own simple language. This topic demands both research and linguistic skill. Let me share one technique.
Letter Writing: Look at the question patterns from previous years and study from Hayat Mamud’s language instruction guides and reference books. Focus your preparation on the types of letters you feel most confident writing. For instance, if you choose personal correspondence, pay close attention to language use and tone. This section allocates separate marks for format and structure.
Book Review: The syllabus offers no specific guidelines for this section. Familiarize yourself with 30-40 well-known and celebrated works. Even if you haven’t read them all, you can get by with phrases like “This immortal creation is a remarkably significant contribution to Bengali literature.” Write whatever comes to mind about the author’s name and the book’s subject matter. Half a mark is better than a zero. Remember, something is always better than nothing on exam day.
Essay: While preparing for this section, connect it with English essay questions and broader topics on Bangladesh and international affairs. Study previous years’ questions to identify recurring essay patterns, then prepare three possible essay types thoroughly. Gather suggestions from the internet, guidebooks, and reference materials. Use mind-mapping to organize your points, and write as much as you can. Incorporate plenty of quotations.
English
Stop smoking.
Stop to smoke.
Where lies the difference? Must every verb after “stop” always take the -ing form? What does understanding this require? Grammar? No. Common sense.
The two cardinal rules for excelling in English are:
One. Never misspell words.
Two. Never commit grammatical errors.
Keep these two things in mind and write in the simplest possible English—the marks will come. If you write fairly long status updates and comments in simple English on Facebook, it will help. Keep writing even if you make mistakes; writing itself is the practice.
In the English Section
Reading Comprehension:
A) You’ll be given an unseen passage, usually on a contemporary topic. Read English newspaper articles and editorials frequently—this will also aid you in other written exam subjects. The trick to answering comprehension questions is simple: read the questions first, at least three times, before tackling the passage. Identify and underline the keywords or key phrases in each question. Then read through the passage quickly to locate where the answers lie……………contd.
Remember one thing: while reading the passage, don’t stop to look up difficult words or idioms. These are deliberately placed there to waste your time. After locating the answers, write them in your own words. If you practice this section using IELTS reading techniques, you’ll do exceptionally well. Get a reading practice book from the market and start working through it.
B) Questions will also appear on grammar and usage. Practice extensively from several guidebooks……………contd.
Keep close at hand authentic references such as English for the Competitive Exams, A Passage to the English Language, Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Michael Swan’s Practical English Usage, Raymond Murphy’s English Grammar in Use, John Eastwood’s Oxford Practice Grammar, and T.J. Fitikaidis’s Common Mistakes in English. Make it a habit to rifle through these books in search of answers—the effort will pay dividends. Take, for instance, the word “entrust”: it takes “to” in some contexts and “with” in others. If you learn such distinctions by copying out the dictionary examples repeatedly, you won’t forget them.
Summary: You will be given a passage. Read it at least five times, very quickly. Don’t be intimidated by difficult words as you read—the main ideas rarely lurk in the complicated parts. Mark the places where the substance of the passage actually resides……contd.
Divide the entire passage into three or four sections. Then compress a few sentences from each section into a single sentence of your own. Don’t lift phrases wholesale from the passage; reshape and rewrite them in your own words. Include no examples or quotations in this part. And do remember to give your summary a proper heading at the outset. To prepare for this section, make it a regular practice to summarize the editorials and feature articles from the daily newspapers.
Letter: You will be given a passage or a statement. Based on it, you must write a letter to the newspaper editor addressing some issue of concern. To prepare for this section, read the “Letters to the Editor” column in newspapers regularly, along with some guide books. The letter section carries marks for formal convention and structure. Your language must be rigorously formal.
English Part-B
Essay: You must write a composition within a specified word limit. Keep yourself regularly informed about Bangladesh’s Constitution and its provisions, the official websites of various institutions, Wikipedia, Banglapedia, the National Web Portal, and certain international newspapers. When answering questions, your marks will increase if you cite works by various authors, newspaper columns and editorials, internet sources, official websites of institutions, relevant clauses from the Constitution, and various references. Use blue ink when writing these sections so your work catches the examiner’s eye more readily. Don’t even entertain the thought of writing an essay without quotations. Keep in mind that essays won’t repeat; prepare your suggestions and study material with this awareness. Practice writing different topics in simple, straightforward language without pause.
Translation: I have addressed this already.
Mathematical Reasoning
Twelve questions will be set; you must answer any ten. Go ahead and buy any three guide books. Don’t go to bed without practicing some mathematics every evening. Avoid shortcuts; show every step in detail. Don’t let a single side note or relevant piece of information slip away. Pay attention to certain small details—for example, placing a semicolon before the third bracket when writing side notes. With proper preparation in mathematics, scoring 49 out of 50 in this subject is hardly difficult. If you score even one mark less, you will be among the rarest of unlucky candidates. You don’t need to be a science student to achieve full marks in arithmetic if you study with genuine understanding. Yet the mathematical questions are unlikely to be easy. Without thorough practice, there’s every chance you’ll stumble!
Simple: Previous years’ questions, guide books. You’ll answer simple questions last.
Algebraic expressions, algebraic formulas, factorization, one-dimensional and multi-dimensional equations, one-dimensional and multi-dimensional inequalities, solution finding, mensuration, trigonometry: Previous years’ questions, guide books. If you wish, you can work through the relevant chapters from class 9-10 general mathematics.
Unitary method, average, percentage, simple and compound interest, LCM, GCD, ratio and proportion, profit and loss, lines, angles, triangles, theorems on circles, Pythagoras’ theorem, corollaries: Previous years’ questions, guide books.
Indices and logarithms, arithmetic and geometric progressions, coordinate geometry, set theory, Venn diagrams, number theory: Guide books and relevant chapters from class 9-10 general mathematics.
Permutations and combinations: Guide books, relevant chapter from class 11 algebra.
Probability: Guide books, relevant chapter from class 12 discrete mathematics.
Mental Ability
Questions in this section are bound to be a bit tricky. You’ll need to keep your mind calm, read the questions carefully, and answer with full concentration. The questions here will be simple—so simple that they’re harder than the difficult ones. Buy 3-4 guide books sets, along with 3-4 IQ test books. Don’t expect full marks in this section; keep that in mind as you prepare.
Verbal Reasoning: A roundabout passage leads to a question. You might get a statement related to history, geography, literature, science, or any other subject, and you’ll need to figure out which part of it is missing. Common sense, grammar, and language skills will come in handy here.
Abstract Reasoning: You’ll be given diagrams showing how an object or idea changes. You need to carefully observe the pattern of transformation and then identify the object or idea’s next state.
Space Relations: Questions may involve an object moving in different directions or changing position, asking about its intermediate or final location; or you may be given various examples showing the placement of letters or numbers, with qualitative or quantitative questions about their positions.
Numerical Ability: This is mainly mathematics, but of a different kind. You’ll need to find missing numbers in a series, table, or diagram. Some simple math and common sense will help you solve these.
Mechanical Reasoning: You’ll be given pictures or diagrams with accompanying statements or questions. These can be of two kinds: simple mathematics that you can work out mentally, or questions where you imagine different positions of the diagrams and answer accordingly.
Use guide books, IQ test books, and regularly practice online. Search Google in English for “verbal/abstract/mechanical reasoning/space relations/numerical ability practice” or “verbal/abstract/mechanical reasoning/space relations/numerical ability test” and work through various websites. Questions from this section are unlikely to be “common,” so if you want to do well, there’s no substitute for extensive practice.
Spelling and Language: You will encounter words or sentences with incorrect spelling, faulty grammar, or misplaced punctuation. You must correct these. Or you may need to rearrange scrambled letters or words to form meaningful ones or sentences. Your preparation in English grammar will prove useful here as well. Study guide books regularly, take tests from IQ test books, and practice with various online tests frequently—these will help tremendously.
General Science and Technology
For this section, begin by carefully studying previous years’ questions and the suggested problems from guide books—take your time and go through them several times. As you prepare for science, don’t think of yourself as merely a science student or non-science student; approach it with an open mind. It’s best not to infuse science preparation with poetic flourish or literary embellishment. If you can include necessary diagrams, symbols, and equations in this section, your answer sheet will stand apart from everyone else’s. These things must be learned by writing them out repeatedly. It’s better to answer three questions worth 4+3+3=10 marks than to answer a single 10-mark question.
Part A: General Science
Light, Sound, Magnetism: Guide books, Physics textbooks for classes 9-10, Physics (Part 1 and 2) for classes 11-12
Acids, Bases, Salts: Chemistry textbooks for classes 9-10, Chemistry (Part 1) for classes 11-12
Water, Our Resources, Polymers, Atmosphere, Food and Nutrition, Biotechnology, Disease and Health Care: Guide books, the Internet, General Science for classes 9-10, Geography for classes 9-10
Part B: Computer and Information Technology: Guide books, the Internet, Peter Norton’s Introduction to Computers, Computer Studies (Part 1 and 2) for senior secondary level
Part C: Electrical and Electronic Technology: Guide books plus Physics (Part 2) textbooks for senior secondary level
Check the syllabus topic by topic to determine what you actually need, and study only those sections from the books listed above (guides often include many things that aren’t necessary at all). If you wish, rather than buying complete books, you can have only the relevant portions photocopied. Searching for topics on Google and reading them online can be quite helpful too.
Bangladesh Studies
Purchase at least 3-4 guide books. Read various reference books such as Mozammel Hoque’s Senior Secondary Civics Part 2, books on Bangladesh’s Constitution (for example, Arif Khan’s Bangladesh Constitution in Simple Language), books on the Liberation War (such as Moidul Hasan’s Mainstream: ’71), Nihar Kumar Sarkar’s Politics for Children and Economics for Children, Muhammad Habibur Rahman’s What Citizens Should Know, Akbar Ali Khan’s Economics of Altruism, The Strange and Stranger Economics, and Abdul Hai’s Bangladesh Studies, among others. A good technique for reading references for any BCS subject is this: don’t read for knowledge, read for marks. To do this, study previous years’ questions carefully to understand precisely which types of questions never appear in exams. After thoroughly reviewing past questions, read the reference books ‘selectively’—skip what’s unnecessary.
One hour of studying question patterns beats four hours of studying without understanding. That way, you can cover four hours of material in two. By studying question patterns extensively, you’ll learn how to skip unnecessary topics and focus only on what matters. This is the foundational step of your preparation—give it the time it deserves. Shed the habit of thinking you must study everything others are studying. Resist that primal hunger to devour it all. Read necessary topics over and over; one unnecessary topic read once is not worth the time.
Read four or five newspapers online. Read them quickly—don’t plod through entire editions. Focus only on articles about topics relevant to the BCS exam. A newspaper might have two or three such useful pieces at most. Save those articles in a Word file if you need to; you can revisit them later.
As you read the newspaper columns, you’ll start recognizing which topics are likely to appear in the exam. In Bangladesh Studies, the nature of questions shifts with current events and their context. Pay close attention to which columnists write about which subjects and in what style. Keep a notebook list: columnist’s name, area of interest, and style. This will prove invaluable when you’re quoting in your exam answer.
Draw the diagrams and maps you’ll need. Include relevant data, tables, charts, and references where they belong. When quoting from a newspaper, cite the source and date below the quotation. Make your exam answer stand out—present something distinctive. You might cite sources from various websites. Quote from Wikipedia or Banglapedia. Write down what important figures in the country have said at various times, using these references contextually. Learn the formal style of presentation from newspaper editorials.
Beautiful handwriting is a bonus; without it, there’s no real problem. In written exams, you’ll need to write very fast—practice writing one page every three to five minutes. Just make sure your writing is legible. Good presentation adds to your marks.
You must read various references, texts, and authoritative books. Many BCS questions don’t follow common patterns. If you’ve read these books, answering becomes easier. When responding to questions, cite works by different authors, newspaper columns and editorials, internet sources, official websites of various organizations, relevant sections of the Constitution, and other references—doing so will boost your marks……contd.
Use blue ink for these cited portions so they catch the examiner’s eye easily. Try to include at least one quotation, data point, table, chart, or reference on every page. Here’s a tip: there’s no need to memorize the entire Constitution. Thoroughly understand the articles that appear most frequently in exams. You don’t need to quote constitutional articles verbatim.
There’s no need to take elaborate notes while studying. You won’t have the time for it anyway. Instead, jot down which source you’re reading each question from. You’ll find this invaluable during revision. Keep yourself regularly informed about the Constitution of Bangladesh and its interpretations, the official websites of various organizations, Wikipedia, Banglapedia, the National Web Portal, and several international newspapers. Gather information and data. When needed, cite your sources in the exam answer sheet and present them appropriately.
Never leave a question unanswered under any circumstance. If you don’t know the answer, write something—anything—based on what you can reasonably infer. If you have no inkling, write from imagination. If imagination fails you, force it if you must! Don’t worry about leaving a question blank. The real problem is that someone else is answering it.
Practice writing continuously on various topics from time to time. Develop the habit of reading widely on different subjects. This will raise the quality of your writing. You don’t need to memorize answers. Instead, read repeatedly, from different sources. Build the habit of writing from understanding rather than rote. No one becomes a civil servant by writing everything perfectly. In the written exam, everyone makes things up. That’s perfectly fine! In fact, making things up skillfully is an art in itself. Whether the cat is white or black doesn’t matter much. What matters is: can it catch the mouse?
International Affairs
Buy 4-5 sets of guidebooks on international affairs. Study the previous years’ questions carefully to understand what types of questions come up frequently. Some questions lose relevance over time—discard those. As you read 4-5 papers online daily, note which topics are most pertinent in the current context. Save these separately in a Word file. Based on the guidebook suggestions and various articles from papers, prepare your own set of suggestions. Over time, add or remove certain questions from your suggestions and prepare 4-5 complete sets of suggestions.………..contd.
After that, go through the suggestions systematically and read the questions from guidebooks, reference books, and papers. Best of all is to search for the topics on Google and read from there. If needed, search for topic names in Bengali. You’ll find answers to most international affairs questions on Google. Reading from Wikipedia, Banglapedia, and official websites of various organizations will save time and fetch you better marks too. In daily and weekly international sections of newspapers, as well as from publications like The Hindu, The Economist, Times of India, Time, and other international journals, you can read the necessary articles. Keep a list of 15-20 names of those who write on various international issues in your diary, and note briefly beside each name what kinds of subjects they cover. This will help when you need to cite them. Go through the internet and read analytical commentaries and critiques on various topics. Read some authoritative books as well—for instance, Abdul Hay’s works on international organizations, relations and foreign policy, or Tarek Shamsur Rahman’s books on international relations, and similar others. Use them relevantly while answering questions in the exam, and your presentation will be refined. Maps, data, charts, tables, reviews, your own analysis, and the contemporary relevance of the topic—when you employ these in your writing, your answer sheet will stand out distinctly in the examiner’s eyes.
The questions won’t be commonplace. That’s why strengthening your reading habits is essential if you want to do well in this section. Memorization isn’t necessary. Read repeatedly, underlining key passages each time. In the exam hall, compose answers in your own words. Aim to include at least one quotation, data, table, chart, or reference on every page—something concrete. You can use blue ink for these supplementary elements. Handwriting matters less than legibility; if it can be read, that’s enough. Written exams demand speed, so practice writing one page every three to five minutes.
Short Conceptual Notes: Sift through previous years’ questions, reference books, guidebooks, and papers to compile a list of possible annotations. Then search Google and read them online. Alongside this, keep your newspaper clippings, saved articles in Word files, guidebooks, and reference materials close at hand. When you add your own analysis at the end of your answer in this section, your marks will climb.
Analytical Questions: Write in as many points as you can, organizing each into paragraphs. Here, it’s better to answer four separate questions worth 4+6+5=15 marks than a single 15-mark question. Make your opening and closing paragraphs the most compelling. Use abundant quotations in blue ink…………..contd.
Present an issue from the perspectives of different columnists, then draw your own conclusion toward the end of your answer. If you have any observations or personal opinions, include those as well.
Problem-Solving Questions: These typically present a passage on development across various international sectors, security issues, trade, agreements, climate change, foreign aid, or other pressing contemporary concerns. Sometimes they pose a specific problem. Analyze it from multiple angles and suggest solutions: what international analysts propose and your own reasoned perspective—all in point form. There’s no shortcut here; regular newspaper reading is non-negotiable.
On the BCS Preliminary Exam…..
Buy two or three job solutions guides and systematically solve 250–300 sets of PSC non-cadre exam questions—understand each one thoroughly. Mark and review them at least two or three times. Read the mind of the question setter, not the mind of the guidebook writer. Consult newspapers, the internet, and reference books carefully.
Purchase guidebooks for two retention exams and read through previous years’ questions and suggestions. For topics that overlap with the preliminary syllabus, study them systematically and complete them. This way, you’ll finish half your retention preparation. When reading references, judge whether the book is worth reading at all. More than sixty percent of the retention exam overlaps with the preliminary.
Most students read reference books first and start solving questions later. There are two problems with this approach.
One: You won’t have enough time to solve many questions. The more questions you solve, the better your returns.
Two. Most of the reference books serve little purpose for the BCS exam, yet reading through them wastes time and breeds unnecessary anxiety about the test itself. Besides, you don’t need to memorize everything.
So walk a different path. That’s what I did. Take one question and spin it into three more. Yes, flipping through reference books is tedious. But if you push through that tedium, it will pay dividends in both the preliminary and the written exam—and this is even more true.
For the preliminary exam, skip the current affairs books, world news compilations, economic surveys—that whole lot. Current events appear on the preliminary at most five or six times, and only those books contain them. From those, you can answer at least two just by skimming the newspapers. If you let the remaining four go, what’s the harm? I’ve never understood why people torture themselves over these four marks. The truth is, reading those painful books makes you feel like you’re studying. That’s elite-level self-deception. Don’t pretend to study. Actually study.
Let me share a fact with you. There are certain difficult questions that refuse to stick, no matter how many times you read them. Stop trying to memorize those. Because wrestling with one hard question evicts several easy ones from your mind. The preliminary isn’t a test of highest marks—it’s a test of passing marks. Scoring 190 to clear the preliminary is the same as scoring 90. Put that extra effort toward written exam preparation instead; it’ll serve you better. Don’t spend time worrying about what others can do. What others can do might ultimately matter less than what you can do—or it might not. Remember: one mark for a hard question, one mark for an easy one.
I’m preparing, I’m preparing—proclaiming it to yourself and everyone else won’t do. It’s all talk, no preparation. That’s how competitive exams go. Better to work smart and pass than to grind away and fail. You have to perform decently across every section. So when you prepare, you can’t pour all your effort only into what you’re best at. My method is this: I give extra care to what I’m strong in, so I can pull ahead where I have an advantage. But first, I check whether what I’m strong in is actually something worth having an advantage in. Say you’ve memorized Clinton’s wife’s best friend’s dog’s name, but you can’t write “My grandfather had a black dog” in English—well, that won’t help you one bit.
Your first attempt will fail? Who said that? I became a cadre on my first try. There are countless such examples. The stories of Pather Panchali (Bibhutibhushan and Satyajit), Nagrik, The 400 Blows, or Wuthering Heights, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner. Doesn’t it terrify you to think you’ll have to sit through that dreary BCS exam again? Yet this alone is reason enough to study. Why should you, like everyone else, have to take the BCS exam repeatedly? But yes, luck does play its part sometimes. Those who become cadres are both competent and fortunate.
Many will say they’ve already finished studying this topic or that. Take it easy. Just because someone finishes ahead of you doesn’t mean they’ll have the last laugh. And if someone studies more than you, that’s hardly your fault. When I started preparing for the BCS exam, I realized many had already covered vast ground. You’ve seen 3 Idiots, haven’t you? A friend’s poor result saddens you, but their good result angers you even more. When I realized I could barely do anything compared to others, I did two things.
First. I tried to understand whether what they could do was even necessary for me.
Second. I stopped comparing myself to them and started comparing today’s me with yesterday’s me.
How necessary is group study? That depends on your temperament. I wasn’t inclined toward it. I avoided group study for two reasons.
First. When I saw everyone could do things I couldn’t, my mood would sink. I don’t enjoy dwelling on what I can’t do. Remember that dialogue from The Pursuit of Happyness? If you can’t do something and everyone tells you so, what good comes from hearing it? If everyone keeps saying it, you won’t suddenly start being able to do more—instead, your will to improve might wither away.
Second. Studying with others tempted me to chat, and I’d start thinking what they were doing was right and mine was wrong. I don’t enjoy mindless imitation.
Sometimes you won’t feel like studying—I didn’t either. Wanting to study all the time isn’t a sign of mental health. Why so serious? A job is for life, not life for a job. You don’t have to become a BCS cadre! Your sustenance is already written. There’s so much else to do! So take a break, give yourself a reprieve from books. Every now and then. Lock your door and windows, turn the music up loud, shake off all your worries, and dance! Sing your heart out! What else is there to life! If you’ve missed two days of study and spend two more days wallowing in regret, what’s the point? Who learned without making mistakes? When do we have time for remorse? You haven’t committed the world’s worst blunder. You’re not the world’s most wretched soul either!
The ins and outs of the IBA entrance exam
Master the past admission tests thoroughly—IBA’s BBA+MBA, BIBM’s MBM, DU’s EMBA, and private university MBA entrance exams. Study at least ten to fifteen years of previous questions, not just a sampling. Understand the pattern and nature of what they ask. This is your foundational first step.
Here’s a secret I’ll share with you: typically, no segment sets a cutoff above fifty percent. So aim to score at least fifty percent across every section—that’s your ticket to the viva board.
In competitive exams, preparedness matters more than preparation itself. Hold onto that feeling—I am the best—when you sit down to take the test. It works like magic.
Time management. Because it does matter. Let me tell you what this really means, and there are two things to keep in mind.
Whatever preparation you do, you must extract every ounce of its value. The preparation itself isn’t the victory—it’s how you deploy it that counts.
You must pass each segment individually. So you can’t pour all your effort into only what you’re good at. Divide your time strategically. Use two-thirds of the total time to answer everything you can with confidence. Save the remaining time for the questions you’ve left behind.
To do well in the IBA entrance exam, solve as many questions as possible. Study GRE and GMAT questions online regularly—not all of them, just the types that actually appear on the exam.
Now, let me guide you on which books to use and how much to cover from each.
Verbal Section
Vocabulary. Try Barron’s GRE Wordlist or Word Smart. If time is tight, local guides will serve you well enough.
Analogy questions—consult the old edition of the GRE Big Book. If you want to lighten the load, pick up a couple of guides from the market.
For sentence completion, the old edition of the GRE Big Book is your resource.
Reading comprehension work will pay dividends if you use IELTS books.
For error identification, study from TOEFL books—Cliff’s TOEFL, for instance. By all means, read through the Essential Grammatical Rules in Barron’s TOEFL.
Mathematics
Work through S@ifur’s Math, S@ifur’s Geometry, and NOVA’s GRE. If you have the time, ARCO SAT is worth a look as well.
Analytical Analysis
For puzzles and logical inference, the Official GMAT is invaluable. Keep a couple of local books on hand too.
For critical reasoning, work through short comprehension passages from the GRE Big Book alongside the Official GMAT.
We’ll talk about the IBA viva in detail later.
Tips: To develop your writing style, take time to go through D.N. Ghosh’s College Essays. It’s worth your attention.
Viva: The Art of Selling Yourself
BCS + IBA
Have a look!! (Video clip)
Truth is, there’s no fixed pattern to vivas. What matters is your viva marks. I’ve sat for this kind of viva in two places so far—IBA and BCS. I spent 18-20 minutes on the IBA viva board, and 4-5 minutes on the BCS one. How long they kept you there, what they asked, what you managed, what you didn’t—these aren’t nearly as crucial as people think. All’s well that ends well.
Here’s what I’ve come to believe: vivas are far more subjective than they are objective. Experience teaches us this. Some people make you weigh every word you speak. Others make you want to deliver two sound slaps—and if you can’t, you’re left with an uncomfortable itch. When you’re in that viva room, remember this: no one is obligated to give you a job. You’re not indispensable. If you want to do well in a viva, preparedness matters more than preparation. Everyone practices, yet the century still finds its way into Tendulkar’s accounts. Whether that day belongs to you—luck plays a considerable role in deciding that.
What I think about your knowledge matters far more than what you actually know. Within the first twenty seconds of seeing a person, an impression forms—it can be positive or negative. Use that. You will never get a second chance to make the first impression. You can’t say everything to everyone, and sometimes you don’t even want to. Some people make you want to ask how the Taj Mahal continues to bear witness to love; others make you want to count its bricks. Some carry an appearance and attitude that makes you ask the length of the Padma River, while others inspire you to hear stories of drifting in boats on the Padma’s waters, reaching for moonlight—or the story of holding your beloved’s hand as you walk along its banks. Or something else entirely, something that requires no explanation yet communicates everything effortlessly. Sell yourself. Convince them why giving this job to you instead of someone else would be the right choice. The Wipro example. Two examples from the BCS Foreign Affairs viva.
Those who sit on viva boards are truly experienced and expert. They understand very well what you’re saying and what you’re hiding. Cheating is an art. Catch me if you can! A clever man knows how to cheat, an intelligent man knows how to make others let him cheat. I was asked questions about literature! Why?
Experience says there are at least a hundred techniques for doing well in vivas, and not a single one of them works. What you’ve accumulated will matter less than what already lies within you. Present yourself as you are—present it beautifully. Don’t listen to, don’t do anything that shatters your confidence or keeps you from being who you are. Be yourself. Be natural.
In the civil service, there is but one rule: Obey or Leave! In other jobs too, What is, is the rule; not, what should be. You are not being hired to start a revolution. Whatever your temperament may be, you must prove that you can adapt to the institution’s needs. The members of the viva board are, for that moment, your superiors. You are in no way smarter than your boss. You cannot afford any ego or pride in front of your boss. Save all your pride and dignity for those you love most.
From what I have observed, the viva board looks for these qualities—
Positive Attitude
Body Language
Mental Maturity
Ready Wit
Thought Clarity
Decent Appearance
Etiquette
Commonsense
Cool Temperament
English Fluency
Situation Handling Capability
Analytical Skill
You won’t be nervous—that’s not realistic. You will be. But you can share some of that burden with the circumstances themselves. In my case, nervousness actually helped me score well. Let me tell you the story. Another incident from my BCS Police viva. A knife kills. Well, a knife saves too!
If you are treated badly during the viva, don’t take it personally. Everything done here has a purpose behind it—to judge you. An incident from my BCS Admin viva.
Maintain eye contact during your viva. Looking away while speaking serves no purpose. Besides, it’s essential to read the examiners’ immediate expressions.
Just because BCS Foreign Service is your first choice doesn’t mean your viva will be in English. Many Foreign Service candidates have become cadres by doing more than 50% of their viva in Bengali. My first choice was Customs, yet I did 85% of my viva in English.
Don’t study or review viva material on the way there or just before going in. It only increases your nervousness. The real difference between those who become cadres and those who don’t—measured most of all by one thing: luck!
Talk to those who’ve faced the viva before. Get a fair sense of what kinds of questions they ask. Don’t recite answers the way everyone else does—shape your response in your own voice, make it distinctly yours. Presentation matters! Try to read the mind of the interviewer. What you want to say is less important than whether you can deliver what they want to hear. It’s not what you said that counts—it’s how you said it. Hiding is an art. Learn the power of euphemism. Say you’re asked about your weaknesses: frame your answer so it doesn’t paint you in too negative a light. (IBA asked me this once.) Or if they ask about Bangladesh’s problems, try to mention those where initiatives are already underway. Speak positively about your family, your previous job, your career prospects. If you lose your thread mid-answer, pause, gather your thoughts, and respond slowly and deliberately. Don’t fidget with your hands, neck, or eyes as you speak.
If someone interrupts with another question while you’re answering the first, seek permission from the person who asked originally before you turn to the new question.
Listen to TED Talks from time to time. Watch job interviews on YouTube and other platforms. Tune into BTV’s 10 p.m. English news bulletin. Listen to CNN, Al Jazeera. Watch American accent films with subtitles on. Practice conversing in English with a friend now and then. But avoid doing this with someone pedantic who only corrects your mistakes. What good does it do to know that person is smarter than you?
In the week before your viva, keep up with a few newspapers regularly. Stay informed about current events, the Liberation War, and know yourself well.
Sometimes not showing off is the real show of intelligence. That first impression people form when they see you shapes much of how your viva will unfold. Present yourself as a gentleman or lady.
Never argue with the viva board about anything. The boss is always right! Who’s greater—Manik or Bankim? That’s my own story. I remember playing tennis with my boss and deliberately losing.
There are two types of questions in any viva exam.
Informative
Non-informative
Generally, the examiners place more emphasis on how you answer the second type. There’s nothing in a viva like saying you knew this much so you’ll get this many marks—there’s no segmented scoring. Rather, marks are based on your overall performance. Answering many questions correctly doesn’t automatically mean you’ll score high. Not at all.
When speaking English and you catch yourself making a mistake, don’t stop and correct it. Words, you see, are like arrows—once they’ve flown, trying to catch them only draws blood. Chances are, the interviewers didn’t even notice your slip. Why volunteer the confession? People make mistakes not so much because they lack English, but because they’re paralyzed by the fear that they *won’t* speak it well enough. Avoid regional inflections in your speech as much as you can.
Build a solid understanding of the Civil Service, your subject, your first and second cadre preferences. Have a clear answer ready: why do you want this job? For IBA, be prepared to explain why you want an MBA. It matters far less that your answer is correct than that you deliver it convincingly.
Don’t dwell on what you don’t know. They may never ask you about it anyway. Focus on your strength, not on your weakness. And if they do ask something you can’t answer—so what? If the viva awarded heavy marks simply for answering questions, half the parrots out there would already have jobs.
Present yourself as an engaged listener. Let your face wear an expression of quiet courtesy—the kind that makes it almost painful for them to reprimand you. It truly works.
When you enter, greet them with a smile and a salaam. When you leave, don’t forget to thank them and offer a final salaam with warmth. Your character forms in those first moments and in those last. Prepare yourself online for non-informative questions—things like “Imagine you…” or “Tell us about your personal life…” Sometimes, try answering as someone else entirely. Imagine yourself as that person you’ve always dreamt of being.
So let this session end with a story……..
First story:
A crow sat idly on a high branch of a tree, doing nothing at all. Just then, a rabbit came hopping down that path. The rabbit asked the crow, “Say, can I also sit under this tree doing nothing, like you?” The crow said, “Of course you can!” So the rabbit did.
A little while later, a fox came along that same path. Seeing the rabbit sitting there, the fox pounced and ate it.
What’s the lesson? When you’ve climbed high enough that no one can reach you, *then* you can afford to sit idle with your hands and feet folded. But before that, you must work hard enough to earn the right to that seat. Think about which seat you’re sitting in right now.
Second story:
A small bird was fleeing Siberia to escape the grip of winter. Suddenly, it froze. Like a shard of ice, it dropped hard to the ground. After some time, as a cow passed by that way, it defecated on the bird. Within moments, the warmth of the dung melted all the frost from the bird’s body. The bird, overjoyed, began to sing. A cat was sitting nearby. Hearing the song, the cat pulled the bird out of the dung and ate it.
What are the lessons from this story?
The first lesson is: Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy. This means that those who soil us—who scold and rebuke us—are not all our enemies. Many of them actually wish us well. In this category are our parents, our seniors, our teachers.
The second lesson is: Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend. There are many who speak of rescuing us from danger, extend their hand to help, and then push us into something far worse. In this camp are those self-proclaimed wise souls around us who say, “What will a civil service exam do for you? Do something else instead.” Or they say, “You don’t have it in you to pass the BCS.” I believe that 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 this: When you are in the shit, always keep your mouth shut! This means that when you are in trouble, always hold your tongue. Success talks the loudest. Success can buy silence. Your success can silence everyone around you. So throw down the challenge to yourself, not to others.
no easy day, the only easy day was yesterday
Good Luck!
The end came, and yet the end did not come
The Friendship Rule :
Hey! The ‘block’ button is right here!!
Sunk Cost : A Tale of Coffee and Cinema
Let it GO!! (video clip)
Questions and Answers
Thank you all