When you hear people talking about preparing their whole lives for the FSOE, they are actually preparing for the Written Test. I mean, how can you not prepare for this exam when you are asked questions that have something to do with people like Otto von Bismarck and Camilo di Cavore?!
Let's take this stage piece by piece, shall we?
English (20%)
The English Test is made up of two parts: Grammar and Essay. The Grammar part will be similar to the one you took during the Qualifying Exam. This time, it's a bit shorter. The Essay part is the meat of this test so finish up the Grammar part quickly then make sure 70% of your time for the English exam is allocated to the Essay part. You will be given a list of more than 20 questions, of which you need to pick out around 10. Choose wisely but don't waste your time choosing the question.
Questions usually cover anything and everything so it's plus points if you're a wild reader--er, wide reader, I mean.
Filipino (5%)
Yes, it's the revenge of your Filipino teacher if you did not pay attention in his or her class before. Remember that infamous talasalitaan list with words like 'piging'? Well, you'll meet a lot of those words along the way, that I'm sure of! Like the English test, the Filipino test comes in two parts: Grammar and Essay. You will also be asked to explain why some grammar rules are so, so for the love of God, go out there and borrow your teen-age brother's Filipino textbook and start reviewing it from cover to cover. Bring back words like 'sapagkat', 'nang', 'panay' into your system or you will seriously regret it.
People fall in the essay part when they try too hard to use complicated words. Keep your sentences simple if Filipino isn't your cup of tea. Memorize some nice, vocabulary words and to use them intermittently to give your composition some flair.
Philippine Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Conditions - Philippine history, culture, foreign policy, geography, government, development issues and goals (30%)
Do you know why so much weight is placed in this part of the exam? It's simple. Every diplomat has to be well-versed of the country that he or she is representing. This is where the real part begins. You will be given a list of 20-30 questions and you're asked to choose around 15 questions from the list. It's entirely in essay form but the questions can get really specific so you can bet your bottom that you will be judged not just by manner but more importantly by matter.
The website of the Department of Foreign Affairs and our government's website will come in very handy. Review the Philippine Constitution and know it by heart. Revisit books on Philippine History and try to drill yourself using an objective type of exam just to make sure you are well-versed when you are required to drop dates, names, and places. The DFA website has everything you need to know about our foreign policy but supplement it by reading up columns and essays in other sources, especially those that will show conflicting opinions. Study the NCCA website to brush up on Philippine Culture.
Read the paper every day and try to give your two cents on the day's most pressing issue. Talk about it with a study buddy or a friend who is also interested in current events. Talk to experts, teachers, ask to sit in on classes. Create your own reviewer. Personally, I put together a simple reviewer on the different departments and offices of our government and outlined at least 3 important achievements and programs of each office just to make sure I'm in the know.
International Affairs (30%)
If you have no background in International Relations, start with the basics. There are a lot of introductory books on International Relations. Get to know the different theories and schools of thought. Go beyond realism and liberalism and study critical theory and the English school of thought as well. The more angles you study the subject from, the better your chances of explaining your answers will be.
Read the opinion page of CNN.com. This is my go-to source apart from magazines like Foreign Affairs, Time, and the Economist.
Find a study buddy to talk about current events on the international scene. Personally, my boyfriend and I would talk about these things 50% of the time we were on skypedates. It also pays to have a relationship with someone who loves international relations and economics.
Study both macro and microeconomics to fully understand the world economy and how it ticks.
Finally, as far as International Law goes, if you're not a lawyer, read the basics first and then study each item of international law thoroughly by allotting some time to make case digests. You can do this on weekends or before going to bed.
World History (10%)
A lot of people fear World History because this part of the exam can get really objective. You will be asked to enumerate stuff and you will be asked the significance of a particular date. Studying for World History should be fun so apart from hitting the books, watch documentaries. There's something about the visual impact of documentaries and how the data is processed that will give you that eureka moment as you review. That yes, all events do make sense.
It's not the sequence of what happened that makes World History matter. It's how these events become important tipping points to the next big one.
Take note of the lessons from wars, dictators, and the rise of civilizations. Know the turning points of history. Link those events to today.
History Channel and BBC Documentaries will be your best friends here.
Foreign Language (5%)
You will be asked to choose a foreign language but the choices are not infinite. So if you're fluent in Urdu, don't expect it to come out because your choices will only revolve around Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Japanese, Bahasa Indonesia, and Chinese.
All the instructions will be stated in your foreign language of choice and all your answers should be written in your foreign language of choice.
The test comes in two parts: Grammar/Basic Sentence Construction and Essay.
I chose Spanish because it was a college major so what I did was to listen to news in Spanish every day. On weekends, I'd review for grammar and composition. I did a little bit of translation by translating fairy tales into Spanish. It's really up to you on how you plan to review for the Foreign Language part of the test.
You will never really know what's going to come out so it's best to cover as much ground as you can while you have the time. Cramming will never help you out in the Written Exam. In fact, cramming will only make you freak out more.
Two to three days before the exam, chill out, go to the beach, watch a movie, relax. Give yourself a break. On the day of the exam, leave the reviewers at home. They will not help you anymore. Pray hard, trust God harder.
The Written Test will be anyone's ballgame.
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