How to Prepare for the PPSC Test – Complete Study Guide

How to Prepare for the PPSC Test Complete Study Guide. A great resume or being convincing can make you jump right through the PPSC application into an interview but only after you clear this dreaded test otherwise none of your accomplishments hold any value.

Each year thousands of job seekers from the province Punjab appear for a job in the Punjab Public Service Commission, among all who apply, most find the written test as a make or break factor in the whole process of applying for a job. However, one fact is true that just because it’s a competitive test does not mean you cannot excel in it. We shall help you ace PPSC test by providing you information on its structure, creating a studying regimen that works for you and avoiding basic blunders.

How to Prepare for the PPSC Test

PPSC Test Structure

Format of Most PPSC Tests Almost all PPSC tests consist of MCQ questions. The distribution of those questions, however, will differ based on the job role for which you are applying. In most PPSC job openings, the test is divided into two main segments:

• General knowledge questions and subject-based questions pertaining to the particular job role.
• General knowledge sections include: a section of Current affairs, Pakistan Studies, Islamiat.
• Basic English skills(Grammar, Comprehension), and general science/awareness questions.
• Subject-based, often referred to as the “relevant” section, contains questions that relate directly to your educational requirements and expertise, and the requirements of the role.
• For example, for an accounting job, the relevant section would be concerned with accounting, while for an accounting faculty post, it would be with accounting.
• Please check the PPSC syllabus that you should obtain after selecting job openings, to know the weightages between these parts.

Step 1: Firstly Get the Official Syllabus

Perhaps we are stating the obvious, but it is very strange how many candidates begin preparing for PPSC examinations after asking friends what a previous incumbent or acquaintance recommended or what succeeded to get approval on a previous advertisement’s post. The advertisement issued by PPSC includes a proper syllabus; one can find this syllabus available with most advertisements issued and also accessible on PPSC’s website. Go through it meticulously and it must become the very basis of every bit of the study.

Step 2: Get Past Papers

This is one of the most useful study tool, and no wonder. With these papers you get a clear picture of the format of the questions, the expected level of difficulty and the type of topics that you can expect to find recurring throughout different cycles of test and the timed tests will give you a measure of your preparation level before the real test. It is best if you can find papers for the same post you are applying, or if not, at least for a similar BPS, as the question patterns and difficulty levels often vary quite drastically when one compares BPS-11 clerical posts and those of BPS-17 managerial level positions.

Step 3: Build a Study Schedule You Can Actually Follow

Creating unrealistic schedules like a syllabus-matching timetable that sounds spectacular in writing, but lasts for just about a week when day-to-day life takes out for the work study family balance, is perhaps the biggest blunder. It is far better to have a manageable schedule for a reasonable number of months and strictly follow it than one which sounds ambitious, but soon lands on the dustbin. The syllabus can be divided on a week-by-week basis, assigning specific subjects to specific days, such as current affairs and English on some days and subjects on the others. Save the last fortnight of your preparation specifically for revisions and mock exams, as the tendency to cover new chapters right before the exam often does more harm than good.

Step 4: Focus on Current Affairs Consistently

Current affairs are the only section where memorization is simply not effective because many of your questions would be based on events that happened several months ago, not the immediate few weeks before the test. Instead of bingeing your way to memory lane just before the test, make it a ritual of being in tune with the news on a daily basis through the period of your preparation it could be a newspaper in the morning, a trusted news app or even a daily news analysis resource. The current developments and major national or international events, new appointments in important governmental or global entities, or major policy updates should be your focus area.

Step 5: Strengthen Your English and General Knowledge Base

• Regardless of the topic of the essay, there are questions to test grammar, vocabulary and comprehension skills in most PPSC exams.
• Candidates usually overlook this section of the paper assuming that a regular usage of the language is all that is required, only to find that the questions specifically test knowledge of some particular grammar rules
• Synonyms, antonyms, sentence correction etc., all of which require consistent preparation.
• In general knowledge the topics generally comprise of Geography, General Science and Civics and History of Pakistan.
• This section of the paper again requires a stable and constant preparation style; cramming is futile.
• A book in general knowledge that is written particularly for competitive exams and regular practice papers are usually enough to meet the demands of this particular section.

Step 6: Don’t Neglect the Subject-Specific Portion

If the post has an academic or professional association, subject-specific matters usually carry considerable importance and it is an area where your degree provides a strong case in your favor, but only if you are willing to actually revise and not merely rely on your degree as an adequate preparation. Review core texts, textbook and professional matter associated with the post, and match up with previous subject specific papers in order to find your weak areas.

Step 7: Practice Time Management

PPSC tests are usually timed and time management issues often cause even knowledge able candidates to be unable to complete the tests with even decent scores due to test anxiety.

Full-length mock tests with timed conditions is an effective way to gain this specific skill. It allows you to practice on-the-time question division between every item of a particular type to develop a clock on whether it’s time to jump a difficult question or move to another section to complete.

Common Mistakes Candidates Make

• Focusing almost entirely on the subject part while skimming over the GK and current affairs part, with the assumption that GK is the “easier” section and needs no real work. In reality GK papers are usually the ones that burn the candidate most. And simply due to the lack of a schedule being allocated for its constant study.
• Relying just on guidebooks while not attempting PPSC past papers is yet another big one. GK guidebooks build a solid knowledge base but they can’t truly highlight how that particular knowledge will be tested and questions based around them will actually look. So PPSC GK papers practice a different type of preparation entirely!
• Underestimating the role of the test setup itself is the fourth silly mistake students make, not accounting for the time pressure of moving from one multiple choice question to the other under an exam situation, handling negative marking (if applicable), staying calm, etc. Even the most well-read of individuals won’t do as well in a test environment for the first time with no prior exposure in timed/ realistic conditions.
• And perhaps the last, but certainly not the least, starting preparing a bit too close to the deadline. The PPSC syllabus is often quite broad and by cramming everything in just the 2 weeks or 3 weeks leading up to the exam, no one really achieves retained knowledge which will do him any good during the PPSC exams itself.

A Sample Weekly Study Approach

A rough breakdown for the structure might look something along the lines of three days on subject matter and related aspects to your subject of choice:

• Two days on general knowledge and Pakistan studies
• One day on English grammar and English comprehension
• And then the final day on a full mock test
• Thereafter an analysis of where one went wrong.
• Increase the focus on mocks and corrections as you get closer to test date and make a decision about the focus based on what the advertisement states.

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Final Thoughts

• It really goes without saying that PPSC test preparation just means the systematic, organized process and the slow method of studying all through the planned schedule on each single section to acquire clear idea which is included in the actual PPSC syllabus which in actual covers that test post specifically along with the practice throughout past papers.
• People, who just take care for preparation gradually, they just score over time and their results show success on the test date,.
• It implies, because the contents took time to sink in rather than being learned rushed at the last time.
• First study, then learn along with the help of the schedule.
• Stick towards the syllabus along with taking great deal attention over parts like English language and general knowledge as many time their contributions towards clearing the cut off point is also as important because the contributions from those candidates who are good in subject specific contents.

Frequently Asked Questions