Before providing you with a civil service exam reviewer, let’s start with a harrowing statistic:

10.71%¹ or 1 out of every 10 examinees.

That’s precisely how many passed the civil service examinations conducted by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in March 2018.

We can blame whoever created the questionnaires or even the deteriorating quality of education in the Philippines (as attested by our dismal ranking² in a recent global survey for reading comprehension).

However, neither of these is within your control.

So instead of being discouraged, you can increase your chances of passing–or even topping–the civil service exam by preparing for it.

But you don’t need ordinary preparation. With the limited time you have to review, you need time- and science-tested strategies that guarantee maximum learning.

You’ll learn about these strategies in this free civil service exam reviewer.

But before we proceed, let’s go back to basics.

Related: How to Pass Civil Service Exam in One Take: An Ultimate Guide

Why Should I Take and Pass the Civil Service Exam?

The civil service exam is held twice yearly to determine which individuals are fit to work for the Philippine government.

Passing this exam grants you Civil Service Eligibility, one of the qualifications you need to meet to work in a government office or agency.

READ: How to Apply for Government Jobs in the Philippines: An Ultimate Guide

This exam isn’t only for college graduates who want to become civil servants. If you’re already working in the government as a contractual/job order/casual/special project worker, passing the civil service exam allows you to become a regular employee and be entitled to the incentives and benefits that come with it.

Depending on what government position you’re aiming for, you may either take the Subprofessional level exam, which will enable you to apply for first-level jobs like crafts, clerical, trades, and custodial service positions, and the Professional level exam, the more challenging exam given to those who want to qualify for first- and second-level government positions (up to Division Chief) that deal with professional, technical, and scientific work.

You can learn more about the civil service examination here. 

What To Review for the Civil Service Exam

It depends on what type of civil service exam you’ll be taking.

The professional level exam consists of 170 questions answerable in 3 hours and 10 minutes, while the subprofessional level exam has 165 questions which you should finish in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Both exams contain questions about the following subjects/topics:

• Personal Information (20 questions) like your name, birth date, etc.
• General Information (15 to 20 questions) which revolves around the Philippine Constitution, Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713), Peace and Human Rights Issues and Concepts, and Environment Management and Protection
• Verbal Ability (50-60 questions in English or Filipino), which will test your knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, correct usage, reading comprehension, and paragraph/passage/sentence organization
• Numerical Ability (40-45 questions in English or Filipino), which includes word problems, graph interpretation, and basic operations/simple arithmetic

While they have a lot in common, both types of civil service exams also feature a subtest that is unique to each of them:

• For the Professional level: Analytical Ability (30-40 questions in English or Filipino) which will measure your logical reasoning skills. It includes questions about word association, number series, identifying assumptions and conclusions, single-word or double-word analogy, logic, and data interpretation.
• For the Subprofessional level: Clerical Ability (30-40 questions in English or Filipino), which will test how familiar you are with different clerical operations like filing, alphabetizing, and spelling

To help you with your review, this civil service reviewer will dedicate specific sections for each subtest listed above.

How To Review for the Civil Service Exam

We all have our preferences when it comes to studying techniques. Some prefer to study alone, while others absorb more information in group sessions. Some like to read, while others watch video tutorials.

But when it comes to preparing for an important test like the civil service examination, you want to ensure that whatever reviewing strategy you’re using will give you an optimal chance to succeed. In other words, you can’t afford to use the same old methods you’ve been using if they never got you anywhere, or worse, it’s why you keep failing the civil service exam.

That’s why here at FilipiKnow, we have designed our reviewer around two effective techniques that are backed by scientific studies:

Strategy #1: Spaced Practice/Spaced Repetition

Instead of last-minute cramming, you should space out your study session over a specific period.

Let’s assume you’ve got 3 1/2 months to prepare for the professional-level civil service exam. Using the principle of spaced practice, you can assign one exam category for each month.

So for the first month, you will review topics under Verbal Ability, the second month for topics under Numerical Ability, and the third month for Analytical Ability. You can allocate at least three hours of review each week, focusing on a singular topic/subject. Then, you can review your notes again at the end of each month and again for the last few days before the scheduled examination.

By scheduling your review sessions this way, you can jog your memory and recall what you learned the first time. According to researchers, this process of forgetting and retrieval helps cement the new knowledge in place, thereby improving your long-term memory³.

Strategy #2: Retrieval Practice/Practice testing

While spaced practice teaches you “when” to study for the exam, retrieval practice instructs you on “how” to study.

Rereading or restudying information is not enough. It only gives you a false sense of familiarity–you think you know the review material all too well even though you never tested how well you know it.

So what should you do? Take practice tests—lots of them.

Testing helps strengthen your long-term memory, a finding supported by decades of scientific research. A recent study even shows that answering practice tests are more effective than rereading or highlighting your notes⁴. 

Practice tests are practical because it encourages deep learning. It enables you to retrieve a memory, and each time you do it (which is precisely what happens when you take practice tests), it becomes more accessible in the future.

To get the best results, it’s also recommended to space your retrievals. This is why we’ve provided free practice tests in this reviewer, which you can take as a diagnostic exam to help you figure out your weakest areas. Each study module we have developed also has practice tests you should take each time you finish studying a topic/subject.

Finally, our free mock exam, which you can download in PDF format, has the exact number of items as the actual civil service exam. Once you’re done with the study notes, take this exam to gauge how prepared you are and brush up on topics you might have missed during the review.

Now that you know when and how to review, let’s proceed to the subjects you need to study for the exam.

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Civil Service Exam Reviewer 2023

1. Verbal Ability

Verbal Ability Modules and Readings

1. Grammar

• Parts of Speech/Grammatical Categories
• Sentence Structure/Construction
• Punctuation
• Subject-verb Agreement
• Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
• Verb Tense
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Parallelism or Principle of Parallel Structure
• Balarilang Filipino

2. Vocabulary

• Parts of a Word
• Word Meanings
• Confusing Words/Correct Usage
• Synonyms
• Antonyms
• Homonyms
• Contextual Meaning
• Talasalitaan

3. Paragraph Organization

4. Reading Comprehension

Verbal Ability Review Tips and Tricks

• Build your word bank as early as possible to ace the vocabulary part of the exam, which often asks about words rarely used in daily conversations. Most reviewers often provide a list of vocabulary words commonly asked in exams, but no list is comprehensive. Suppose you still have months to prepare for the civil service exam. In that case, it’s time to binge-read your favorite classic American novels like To Kill a Mockingbird, the Harry Potter series, or The Chronicles of Narnia, to name a few. Too broke to purchase new books? Head to ReadAnyBook and find some hidden gems you can download for free. While enjoying the reading experience, don’t forget to keep a dictionary or thesaurus (book or mobile app) nearby to look up unfamiliar words’ meanings quickly. For better retention, use each word in a sentence you create yourself. If you’re not into fiction, you can also read news articles, long-form feature stories, or editorials so long as they’re from reliable sources like The New York Times, The Atlantic, or the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Especially if you only have a few weeks left to review, you must couple your reading habits with a healthy dose of practice tests. The more vocabulary tests you answer, the more unfamiliar words you’ll encounter and eventually will be added to your word bank.
• Learn a new word a day. If you don’t mind receiving daily email newsletters, you can sign up at Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Day to receive your regular dose of new vocabulary words. On the other hand, if you prefer not to clutter your email with newsletters you don’t even have the time to open regularly, you can bookmark Dictionary.com Word of the Day instead and view the page whenever you have time. Aside from the word itself, which is often too obscure to be used in regular conversations, it would help if you also took note of the root words and affixes so you can familiarize yourself with how words are formed and how related they are to each other. Again, you’ll remember new words better if you use them in a sentence and write everything down in a lightweight notebook. This way, the new words will be stored in both your visual and kinesthetic memories, the latter being associated with the movements of your hands when writing.
• If reading is more of a chore, you can also try other learning mediums you genuinely enjoy. Remember, learning is more effective if you obtain it through something interesting. Don’t force yourself to read a book if it bores you to tears. After all, you can also expand your vocabulary by watching your favorite foreign movies and TV series (don’t forget to turn on the English subtitles) or listening to mind-enriching podcasts.
• Use creative techniques to study grammar and vocabulary more effectively. For example, you can use mental visualizations to associate an image or a movement with any word you want to memorize. If you look up the meaning of the word “append,” it means “add,” so you can imagine the double letter ‘p’ getting flipped over to remind yourself of its meaning. You can also use mnemonic devices or flashcards created via free apps/online tools like Chegg Prep or Quizlet. Flashcards can also be made manually using index cards with both sides filled with bite-sized information that makes sense to you (e.g., a vocabulary word on one side and its meaning on the other side, or a rule in subject-verb agreement on one side and an example on the other side).
• When reviewing Vocabulary, it’s always best to start with the basics (i.e., parts of a word that include affixes and Latin root words). This way, you can easily decipher the meaning of unfamiliar words without memorizing a whole dictionary. Affixes are either prefixes or suffixes, which are letters or a group of letters attached to either the beginning or end of a word to form another word. If you understand the meaning of a prefix or a suffix, you can quickly figure out the meaning of a word faster and answer questions that directly ask for the synonym or antonym of a specific word. To get started, you can download this list of the most common prefixes and suffixes in the English language. The prefix “mis-,” for example, means “wrongly,” so any word where this prefix is present has a negative meaning, as in the case of “misnomer,” which is defined as “a wrong or inaccurate name or designation.” Most English words are rooted in Latin/Greek, so identifying them and their origins will help you remember them and recognize other words with similar etymology. For example, audiophile and bibliophile are derived from the Greek word “Philos,” meaning “loving,” so it makes sense why they refer to people who love music and books, respectively. You can visit this page for a list of common Latin and Greek words and the English words derived from them. You can also check out the “Parts of a Word” section under Vocabulary in the Modules and Readings we created above.
• When asked to choose the best meaning of a word you have no idea about, look for contextual clues. Context refers to the information surrounding the unfamiliar word, which offers clues to its meaning. These clues may be in punctuation, synonym, antonym, or inferred relationships between sentences surrounding the word.

• To answer Paragraph Organization or Parajumble questions correctly, identify the first/topic sentence and the concluding idea/last sentence before you find all the supporting sentences in between. The first sentence usually captures the main idea of the paragraph. In contrast, the concluding sentence summarizes it and usually begins with the words in summary, as a whole, therefore, and finally. The supporting sentences, on the other hand, contain transition words like first, second, however, and on the other hand, connect the sentences.
• Instead of reading the whole passages in the Reading Comprehension section of the exam, it’s better to save more time by going straight to the question. After reading the question, go over to the specific part/s of the passage and skim-search for the answers. It’s easier to beat questions like this if you already know what you want.
• Identification of Errors is a standard test format that you can quickly excel at by reviewing the basics of grammar, punctuation, usage, and word choice. Suppose you have a good foundation in all of these English proficiency essentials. In that case, you can quickly answer questions about identifying errors like the sample shown below (obviously, the correct answer is the letter C since it contains the error). A more systematic approach to answering this type of question is reading the sentence to yourself (not aloud, as you will distract other examinees). Then, go over each underlined section a couple of times before finally choosing your answer through elimination. Remember, in this type of question, the sentence can either contain an or no error. No sentence can have more than one error.

Verbal Ability Practice Tests (Free PDF Downloads)

• Verbal Ability Practice Test (Set 1): Questions | Answers
• Verbal Ability Practice Test (Set 2): Questions | Answers
• Verbal Ability Practice Test (Set 3): Questions | Answers
• Verbal Ability Practice Test (Set 4): Questions | Answers
• Verbal Ability Practice Test (Set 5): Questions | Answers

2. Numerical Ability

Numerical Ability Modules and Readings

1. Arithmetic and Number Sense

• Real Numbers and Imaginary Numbers
• Operations on Integers 
• Order of Operations (PEMDAS)
• Factors and Multiples
• Divisibility Rules
• Fractions and Decimals
• Operations on Fractions and Decimals
• Percent
• Ratio and Proportion

2. Basic Algebra

• Algebraic Expressions
• Laws of Exponents
• Special Products and Factoring
• Linear Equations
• Inequalities
• Using Algebra to Solve Word Problems

3. Basic Geometry

• Perimeter and Area of Plane Figures
• Volume of Solid Figures

4. Basic Statistics

• Measures of Central Tendency
• Probability
• Graph Analysis

Numerical Ability Printable Summary/Review Notes (Available Now!)

Numerical Ability Printable Flashcards (Available Now!)

Numerical Ability Review Tips and Tricks

• Brush up on the basic math concepts as they’re the ones that appear on civil service exams, not the more advanced topics like trigonometry and calculus. This is according to the past examinees we found through our research. Most even said that the Verbal Ability (English) part of the civil service exam is more complex. However, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dedicate as much time to reviewing for the math section, especially if it has been years since your college graduation. If you’re one of these people who have partially or entirely forgotten all the math concepts you learned in high school/college, then the “Modules and Readings” section we’ve prepared above will benefit you greatly. Read all these review materials, and don’t forget to take as many practice tests as possible to improve your mathematical competence before taking the civil service exam.
• Practice solving arithmetic operations quickly without the use of a calculator. As you may already know, calculators, mobile phones, tablets, or other similar gadgets will not be allowed inside the testing rooms, so you have no choice but to calculate all math problems manually. But since there’s a time limit, you must do the calculations manually, swiftly, and accurately. Fortunately, YouTube has plenty of free educational videos to help you improve in this area. All you need to do is enter the keyword “how to [type of calculation you want to learn] without a calculator” (e.g., how to multiply and divide without a calculator or how to find percentages without a calculator) in the search box, hit Enter, and let YouTube recommend the best videos for you. Another technique you can use is finger multiplication which, as its name suggests, enables you to calculate manually with the help of your fingers.
• When reviewing math, repeated testing is more effective than rote memorization. There’s no formula to memorize nor any mathematical symbols to obsess over. It would be best if you answered as many practice questions as possible and meticulously studied how the usual test questions (precisely word problems) are formatted. This way, you can understand the best way to solve a math problem that makes sense to you. Remember, you can never underestimate the power of test-enhanced learning when preparing for math exams.
• Enjoy learning, and don’t let numbers intimidate you. Math is in and of itself hard enough, but it can even be more challenging if you let your past negative experiences with the subject get the better. Look at every math problem as a fun mystery to be solved and pretend you’re Sherlock Holmes, who gets a sense of fulfillment from every question you answer correctly. Learn to be the master of your anxiety, or it will master you.
• Solve math problems strategically so you won’t waste much time on a single question. Remember, when answering math tests (especially ones that prohibit using a calculator), it’s not enough that you know the answer to the question. How fast you answer the question is equally important. But how exactly can you solve math problems manually without wasting time? It all boils down to strategies. One such strategy is answering the more straightforward questions before returning to items requiring more time to be solved. You can also try the model or diagram method of answering math questions. Instead of using the traditional but time-consuming way of solving math problems in multiple steps, you illustrate the question (using bars, Venn diagram, etc.) so you have a clear visual presentation of what you’re trying to solve. This is especially useful when solving tricky word problems in civil service exams. You’re asked to solve this word problem: “A plate of special Sisig rice and a bowl of beef noodles costs Php 80. If the bowl of beef noodles costs Php 20 more than the plate of Sisig rice, how much is the bowl of beef noodles?” Instead of using complicated equations to solve this problem, you can draw a model based on the available information and apply the appropriate mathematical operations to determine the answer (see figure below). You can learn more about the model approach to solving word problems in the “Modules and Readings” section above.

Numerical Ability Practice Tests (Free PDF Downloads)

• Numerical Ability Practice Test (Set 1): Questions | Answers
• Numerical Ability Practice Test (Set 2): Questions | Answers
• Numerical Ability Practice Test (Set 3): Questions | Answers
• Numerical Ability Practice Test (Set 4): Questions | Answers
• Numerical Ability Practice Test (Set 5): Questions | Answers
• Numerical Ability Practice Test (Set 6): Questions | Answers
• Numerical Ability Practice Test (Set 7): Questions | Answers

Numerical Ability Printable Mock Exam + Answer Key (Available Now!)

3. Analytical Ability (Professional Level Only)

Analytical Ability Modules and Readings

1. Word Association
2. Identifying Assumptions and Conclusions
3. Logic
4. Number Sequences
5. Data Interpretation

Analytical Ability Review Tips and Tricks

Familiarize yourself with the common ways of relating words in Word Association questions. Sometimes we can easily see the relationship between the given words (e.g., big : large, small : tiny. It is obvious that the pairs of words are synonyms). 

Most of the time, however, it is difficult to determine how the words are related. Thus, it is essential to get familiar with some ways in which pairs of words are connected:

Examples of these relationships are:

1. Antonyms (opaque : clear, fancy : simple).
2. Unit of measure used (length : meters , electric current : amperes)
3. Category (Occupation : Salesman, Hobby : Singing)
4. Description (Paper : thin, Water : odorless)
5. Function (Pen : to write, stove : to cook)
6. Person to action (chef : cook, dancer : perform)

You can determine how given words are related if you always practice answering this type of question.

When answering Word Association questions, you can also borrow the same strategy we introduced in the Verbal Ability section of our free NMAT reviewer. This strategy involves describing the relationship of the first pair of words in a sentence and then using the same sentence format to determine the answer for the second pair.

Let’s say the question is:

ODOMETER : MILEAGE :: COMPASS :

A. SPEED

B. HIKING

C. NEEDLE

D. DIRECTION

To get the answer, we can come up with the sentence, “Odometer is an instrument used to measure mileage.“ Based on this relationship, we can now find out what exactly about the compass is being asked: “Compass is an instrument used to determine direction.“

Do not get intimidated by the questions. Some questions may look difficult because of the complicated statements involved. However, not every question is constructed this way. Some questions only require common sense to answer.

Learn some basics of logic. It will not hurt to brush up on some basic “rules” in logic. Knowing these simple “rules” will give you an advantage in answering logic-related questions.

Example: If it is rainy tomorrow, I will not visit my friend’s house.

              If I will visit my friend’s house, then ___________________  

(A) tomorrow is rainy

(B) tomorrow is not rainy

This question should be easy if you know the law of contraposition in logic. The Law of Contraposition states that a statement of “If A, then B” is logically equivalent to “If not B, then not A.” Hence, the statement in the blank should be tomorrow is not rainy.

Another rule is the Hypothetical Syllogism that states the statement of the form “If A then B, If B then C” will lead to “If A then C”

Example:

If you will be inspired, then you will create a poem.

If you create a poem, then she will be grateful.

If you will be inspired, then she will be grateful.

Is the third statement also true if the first two statements are true?

By hypothetical syllogism, the third statement is true.

Logic questions can be answered quickly if you illustrate them. Reading the given statements in a logical type of question is very confusing. You may simplify the given statements by visualizing them using a Venn diagram⁵.

Example:

Only confident people are actors

All actors are wealthy

Ben is wealthy

Ben is a confident person.

Is the fourth statement undoubtedly true?

Visualizing the statements using a Venn diagram can quickly determine if the fourth statement is true.

If Ben is wealthy, then Ben belongs to the circle representing “wealthy.” However, we are unsure whether Ben is in the region outside or inside the smaller circle. Hence, the fourth statement is not certainly true.

Be familiar with the common patterns used in number sequences. Familiarizing yourself with the different possible patterns of number sequences will enable you to determine the succeeding terms quickly. Exam takers usually used trial and error to determine the pattern behind the sequence. Sometimes this method is effective. However, trial and error is time-consuming and might not give you the pattern you are looking for. 

These are the common types (or patterns) of number sequences:

1. Arithmetic Sequences – this type of numerical sequence where the succeeding terms are obtained by adding a constant number to the previous terms. Example: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, … is an arithmetic sequence.
2. Geometric Sequences – this type of numerical sequence is where the succeeding terms are obtained by multiplying a constant number by the previous terms. Example: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, … is a geometric sequence.
3. “Alternating” Sequences – this type of numerical sequence where mathematical operations are alternating between defining the succeeding terms of the sequence. Example: 4, 5, 15, 16, 48, 49, 147, …(The terms are obtained by adding 1 to a term and multiplying three by the resulting number).
4. Recursive Sequences – this is a type of numerical sequence where the terms of the sequence are defined in terms of the previous terms. Example: 1, 3, 4, 7, 11, …(The sequence is formed by adding the two previous terms of the sequence).
5. “Special” Sequences – a numerical sequence where the succeeding terms are defined in a “special” way. For example, the sequence 1, 4, 9, 16, … is defined as the sequence of the square of whole numbers from 1 onwards. 

Skip data interpretation type of questions and return to them if you have some time – Data analysis questions require a lot of time. You need to look carefully at the graphs, which is time-consuming. There will also be instances when you have to compute large values from the given information on the graph (specifically with pie charts). Thus, answering them last when taking the Analytical Ability subtest is advisable.

Analytical Ability Practice Tests (Free PDF Downloads)

• Analytical Ability Practice Test (Set 1): Questions | Answers
• Analytical Ability Practice Test (Set 2): Questions | Answers
• Analytical Ability Practice Test (Set 3): Questions | Answers
• Analytical Ability Practice Test (Set 4): Questions | Answers
• Analytical Ability Practice Test (Set 5): Questions | Answers

4. Clerical Ability (Sub-Professional Level Only)

Clerical Ability Modules and Readings

1. Alphabetical Filing.
2. Spelling.

Clerical Ability Review Tips and Tricks

Always start by rewriting the given names in the appropriate format. It is much easier to rewrite them in the proper form before alphabetizing names, especially if the given names are almost identical. 

Suppose the given names are:

• Julian Guerrero Jr.
• Julian Guerrero Sr.
• Dr. Julian Guerrero Jr.
• Dr. Julian Guerrero Sr.
• Julian A. Guerrero

The names are almost identical. Thus, it is essential to rewrite them in the appropriate format as discussed here:

• Guerrero, Julian Jr.
• Guerrero, Julian Sr.
• Guerrero, Julian Jr. Dr.
• Guerrero, Julian Sr. Dr.
• Guerrero, Julian A.

Notice that it is now much easier to alphabetize them. The final arrangement then should be:

• Guerrero, Julian A.
• Guerrero, Julian Jr.
• Guerrero, Julian Jr. Dr.
• Guerrero, Julian Sr.
• Guerrero, Julian Sr. Dr.

You can only master the rules of alphabetizing a set of names if you practice regularly. It is not enough that you know these rules. It is also necessary to apply them in different sets of names. As you regularly answer practice questions, the alphabetizing rules will be more familiar to you. 

Learn basic spelling rules. Just like grammar, some rules govern spelling. Some examples of these rules are: 

• Letter Q is always followed by the letter U (query, not qeury)
• If “all” is used as a prefix of a word, we only use a single “l” (e.g., always, not allways). In the case of alleviate, it is spelled with a double l since “all” is not used as a prefix in this word. 
• Every word has a vowel.
• Words do not end in the letter v or the letter j. 
• Letter s is never followed by letter x
• Write the letter I before E when the sound is long e. Except for cases with a preceding c or sounding like an a. Are you confused about whether it should be “siege” or “seige”? Listen to the way you pronounce the word. The word sounds like a long e. Thus, it should be “siege” (i is written first before e).
  Meanwhile, the word conceive is written such that e comes first before i, although it sounds like a long e. The reason behind that is because of the preceding c. On the other hand, the word sleighing sounds like it has an a. Thus, we write the word with an ei.
•  Use ou in the middle of the word, while use ow in the end. For example, the proper spelling is announce and not annuonce. Meanwhile, it should be hollow and not hollou. 
• We don’t usually add or deduct a letter when adding a prefix. This is the case for misspell. We add the prefix “mis” to the root word “spell.” Thus, we should not deduct any letter from the root word when adding the prefix.

You can learn more basic spelling rules here.

A broader vocabulary improves your spelling skills. One of the reasons why we can’t spell a word is that we don’t know that word in the first place. Thus, familiarity with these words will boost your spelling skills. Read books, newspapers, online articles, or valuable reading materials to widen your vocabulary.

Be familiar with commonly misspelled English words. There are words that most people find confusing in terms of how they should spell them. Examples are:

• accommodate is usually misspelled as acommodate or accomodate.
• rhythm is usually misspelled as rythm or ryhtm.
• committee is usually misspelled as comittee or commitee.
• receive is usually misspelled as recieve. 

Even the word misspelled belongs to this list as it is usually misspelled as mispelled. Thus, it is helpful to learn how to spell these words correctly so you won’t make the same mistakes. You may refer to this list or this one for commonly misspelled English words. 

Look for common types of spelling errors. Since the subtest requires you to spot the misspelled word, you should have an eye of an eagle in spotting such errors. Thus, being familiar with common spelling errors will save much of your time. Commonly spelling errors are:

• Double Letters: For instance, the word occasionnally must have single n only.
• Misplaced Letters: For instance, the word chateua must be spelled as chateau where a comes first before u.   
• Missing Letter: There are some instances when some letters of the word are omitted. For instance, camoflage is wrong since u is omitted. The correct spelling is camouflage.

Use the process of elimination. There are some instances when even if you look multiple times at a given list of words, you are still unable to spot errors. In this case, you might consider using elimination. In this strategy, you eliminate words you feel are correctly spelled. Let’s say the given words are:

1. equilibrium
2. chiaroscurest
3. delineate
4. aureate

You are assured that the words equilibrium and delineate are correctly spelled since they are familiar. So you may omit them as possible choices. You are left with aureate and chiaroscurest. The word aureate seems to have a higher chance of being appropriately spelled than chiaroscurest. Thus, the answer must be B. (The proper spelling of chiaroscurest is chiaroscurist).

Clerical Ability Practice Tests (Free PDF Downloads)

• Clerical Ability Practice Test (Set 1): Questions | Answers
• Clerical Ability Practice Test (Set 2): Questions | Answers

5. General Information

General Information Modules and Readings

1. Philippine Constitution.
2. Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713).
3. Peace and Human Rights Issues and Concepts.
4. Environment Management and Protection.

General Information Review Tips and Tricks

Focus on comprehension, not memorization. You mustn’t memorize every article and section of the 1987 Philippine and the Code of Conduct (RA 6713), but you must understand every concept and rule.  One of the best strategies to understand the Constitution and the Code of Conduct is regularly reading them. Learning every detail in one sitting is impossible, so you must commit some time to read it. For the constitution, start by reviewing the state policies, the Bill of Rights, and the three branches of the Philippine government. Afterward, read the powers, qualifications, and privileges of the President, Vice President, and other government officials in the National Office. For the Code of Conduct, start by reviewing how the article defines the norms of conduct of a public official (professionalism, political neutrality, etc.). Afterward, study the duties and responsibilities of a public official and the prohibited acts. You may also read the penalties for violating the code of conduct.

Write summary notes to maximize retention. Writing what you are studying will give you a higher chance of remembering the information. Experts say handwriting can improve memory⁶. Thus, if you have a hard time recalling some details in the constitution (such as minimum age requirements for government officials, important dates, number of senators, representatives, etc.) note-taking might give you a lot of help.

Be updated with current political and social issues (and other current events). According to some previous civil service exam takers, some questions tend to be related to current events. Thus, it will give you an edge if you develop a habit of watching the news, reading newspapers, or discussing these issues with your friends or colleagues.

General Information Practice Tests (Free PDF Downloads)

• General Information Practice Test (Set 1): Questions | Answers
• General Information Practice Test (Set 2): Questions | Answers

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