CliffsTestPrep Foreign Service Officer Exam: Preparation for the Written Exam and the Oral Assessment

by Fred N. Grayson

Your guide to passing the Foreign Service Officer Exam

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Introduction
* Review of how the exam is organized, along with answers to frequently asked questions


Part I: Written Exam: The Job Knowledge Test
* Descriptions of the five general career track knowledge areas--management, consular, economic, political, and public diplomacy
* Question-and-answer subject review chapters for the eight job topic areas, along with mini-tests after each subject review
* A sample Job Knowledge test with complete answers and explanations


Part II: Written Exam: The English Expression Test
* Grammar and usage review
* Two sample English Expression tests with complete answers and explanations


Part III: Written Exam: The Biographic Information Questionnaire
* General information on this section of the exam, plus helpful sample questions


Part IV: Written Exam: Written Essay
* Overview of the Written Essay portion of the exam, plus sample essay topics for practice
* Direction on how to effectively prewrite, outline, organize, edit, and revise your essay


Part V: Oral Assessment
* Overview of the Oral Assessment portion of the exam and the categories in which you'll be assessed


Test Prep Essentials from the Experts at CliffsNotes?

An American BookWorks Corporation Project

Contributors: Deborah Barrett, PhD; Elaine Bender, MA; Phillip Gay, PhD; Freddy Lee, PhD; Val Limburg, PhD; Tandy McConnell, PhD; Edward Miller, PhD; Deborah Grayson Riegel, MA; Sharon Saronson, MFA, MA; Brice Sloan, BA; Jonathan Weber, BA; Mark Weinfeld, MA

Genres: Reference

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2005

Reviews

[Tessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stopped using because so many answers were wrong or listed in the key. Untrustworthy study guide.

[Colin]

This is the shittiest and worst exam book that has ever been written. On any subject. Used toilet paper could have taught me more. There were multiple things wrong with this guide including, but not limited to: 1) incorrectly labeled answers; 2) blatant misuse of the English language on the English language usage section; 3) too few practice tests; 4) incoherent answers on the Management section; 5) the Computers section needed updating BADLY (no one uses FLOPPY DISKS ANYMORE!); 6) practice questions with the answers directly below them.

If you are studying for the Foreign Service Officer Test (NOT THE FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER EXAM), DO NOT PURCHASE THIS GUIDE. It was a waste of money and while I don't know if I passed the exam yet, had I only used this guide to prepare, I would have most assuredly failed. I wish I could give this negative stars, but goodreads assumes that all books we read are at least worth one star. This is not. Do not buy it. Ever.

[Leanna Pohevitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed by pretty constant errors in things like grammar and spelling in a book that purports to teach them. There were also multiple problems on answer keys where it would say a letter but then explain why a different answer was correct. There were even a couple of questions that had two of the same answers. That being said he structure of this review is helpful and considering how extensive the test is this book was fairly comprehensive.

[El · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, the editors got some of the questions blatantly wrong.... i.e. the horn of africa is in East Africa, not West Africa you morons..... Are you guys trying to get people to fail the test??? What's with that??? Still, need to take as many practice tests as possible.....

[Ben]

skippin around, practicing different sections.