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By GeneralHowitzer

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The Civil Service Examination that is given in the Philippines is indeed a tough nut to crack; the
passing rate over the years had dipped drastically, no thanks to the high 80% mark, one should
hurdle. The average passing rate is somewhere from 8% to 30%, and this makes the test
formidable and prestigious. Why not? Passing the examination will give a potential government
employee or current employee that hasn¶t pass the examination yet the rights to get a permanent
job in the government, and gain access to promising privileges like promotions and salary
increases.

This acid test proves to be very difficult for most since it can be likened to an IQ test where
accumulated knowledge from the field of Mathematics to the English Language may play a vital
role in passing.

Being an English speaking country, the English language is given great importance in the test.
Reading Comprehension, sentence structure, and vocabulary forms a good portion of the
examination.

One of the greatest obstacles in passing the examination is the Mathematics part of the
examination, since this offers a lot of solving employing various techniques in solving
progressions, linear equations, ratio and proportions and many more.

Those who dont read good books have no advantage over those who cant.
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Gather as many review materials as you can, the most current the better. Look for review
materials that are teeming with typical test questions that are similar to the actual examination.

Review, review and review. Your future is at stake here, and it is wise to use your time very
well. Review without let up as much as possible. Moreover, the exam calls for storing
knowledge, constant reading and math problems solving. This is a marathon game and only the
well-prepared ones are bound to pass. Superior IQ will not guarantee you a passing score.

Don¶t rely on prayers and luck. God only helps those who help themselves. Be realistic, you are
up against a real examination and faith without hard work is useless. Additionally, passing the
exam with pure guesswork is a disaster. You already flunked the exam even with out lifting your
pencil if you take the examination without preparations.

There is no way you can pass the examination without hurdling Mathematics first. It is true that
this subject is difficult and there is no doubt about that. But there is always a way to tame this
subject and that is with patience and practice. Solve as many problems as possibly you can. Math
has something to do with getting experience and maturity, the more you solve problems the
better you can be. Don¶t memorize solutions but be familiar with the principles and concepts.
The only thing that is memorized in mathematics are the formulas. Be spontaneous with your
solutions; make sure that your answers emanates from your mind. Many hate this subject very
much, but if you are good on this, your chance of passing is already bolstered.

If you can afford to shell out some fee to get the help of an expert tutor, go ahead. This move
will give you an outright edge since you will get good answers about some of your questions
with your reviews.

Ask previous test takers about what are being asked in the recent examination they took. This
gives you the trend and possibly the style of the test givers.

While you reviews make sure you are eating well and getting ample rest and sleep.If you are
healthy you are capable of storing more knowledge that are vital in passing the test.

Before the examination, be sure you know your room assignment. Avoid being late since the
examination contains many questions. Missing some time because of tardiness, might prevent
you from not answering some of the questions or prevent you from from giving the best answers.

During the examination make sure you are calm. Avoid being nervous and intense, it is
understandable to be pressured but this will not serve you well as time goes by. Hold your nerves
will yah, and answer every question to the best of your abilities. To be efficient with your time,
answer the easy ones first, you can afford to leave some questions unanswered, but be sure you¶ll
set at least 15 minutes before the time limit to answer all of the questions that are being asked.
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·irst, we have to know why there is a Civil Service exam. Civic service exams are implemented
in various countries as a way to achieve an effective, rational public administration on a merit
system. CS exams are conducted to establish a register of eligibles from which certification and
appointment to the second and first level positions in the Civil Service shall be made, provided
said eligibles meet the qualifications and other requirements of the positions.

Have you taken a Civil Service examination? If you already have successfully hurdled it,
congratulations! If not, well, do not lose hope.

Do you want to pass a CS exam easily? Yes? Then read on.

The  of the exams are as follows:

!Ê Career Service Professional - In English and ·ilipino; Vocabulary, grammar and correct
usage, paragraph organization, reading comprehension, analogy logic, and numerical
reasoning

!Ê Career Service Subprofessional - In English and ·ilipino; Vocabulary, grammar and

correct usage, paragraph organization, reading comprehension, spelling, clerical
operations, and numerical reasoning

‘Ê Both Professional and Subprofessional levels of the examinations will have

general information on the following areas: Philippine Constitution, Code of
Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (R.A. 6713),
Peace and Human Rights Issues and Concepts, and Environment Management
and Protection.

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To pass the test, the examinees should get a grade of at least 80.00. How to easily pass that
rating?

Here are a few tips:

!Ê Read books (see the scopes to know what subject areas to focus).

!Ê Take time to browse the internet for some useful information.

!Ê Read the newspaper at least a month before the exam proper for current events on that
period. Not the very recent issues because the questionnaire could have been written
probably a month or couple of months ago.

!Ê If you prefer to self-review, Civil Service Exam reviewers are available at bookstores.
Ask for a  

 from a friend, borrow it.

!Ê Prepare yourself a week before the exam. Keep yourself stress-free.

!Ê Sleep early and soundly the night before the exam.

!Ê During the exam day, eat your breakfast and take a bath. It will keep you fresh and
relaxed.

!Ê Double check if you have with you the necessary things like pencil, eraser, sharpener and
most importantly the examination slip and receipt.

!Ê Go to the examination venue at least an hour before the official exam time, which is 8:00
o'clock in the morning.

!Ê Bring with you something to eat and drink.

!Ê While the exam is on-going, focus and read the instructions and questions carefully, with
comprehension.

!Ê Do not stay long on hard questions, go back to them when you¶re done with easier ones.
 !Ê If you are finished answering all questions ahead of cut-off time, do not go home
immediately. Make use of the remaining time to review your answers.

!Ê Enjoy the feel of it. Be confident.

I followed all these tips and passed the professional CS exam that was conducted on March 9,
2008. If you do the same, you will surely find your name listed in the examination results page of
the Civil Service Commission.

Tips / pointers from the CSC:

!Ê According to the CSC, the career service examinations are general ability tests where
speed and accuracy matter. The Professional level, consisting of 150 test items, lasts for
three hours while the Sub-professional level, also with 150 test items, lasts for 2.5 hours.
Passing rate for both levels is 80.
!Ê The CSC advises examinees of the Professional level to review on vocabulary, grammar
and correct usage, paragraph organization, reading comprehension, analogy, logic and
numerical reasoning. Takers of the Sub-professional level should review on the same
subject areas except analogy and logic, and in addition, spelling and clerical operations.

Now, for those who did not meet the passing rate of 80% in the Career Service Examination,
there is a facility in the CSC called Report of Rating (RoR) just in case you want to know your
score and what field you failed. It is available on line; here's the link.
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