FSOT case studies
FSOT · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) is the written screening step for candidates seeking to join the U.S. Foreign Service as diplomats and consular, economic, political, public diplomacy, or management officers. The FSOT case studies are 5 cases and about 3,694 words.
1The 41-Word Sentence That Has to Sound Firm, Not Defensive
A division chief drafts this sentence for an all-staff email about a telework survey: "After reviewing the survey results, the new telework policy was found to be confusing by many employees, which the deputy director said she would revise before the next quarter, but only if staff who had concerns about it submitted them by Friday." The email reaches 1,400 employees, and the chief wants the whole message under 90 words. She insists every fact survive: the survey found confusion, the deputy director will revise the policy, the revision comes before next quarter, and comments are due Friday.
613 words, about 3 min2The Override Vote That Cannot Arithmetic Its Way to Two-Thirds
The House has 435 seats, 4 of them vacant. On a presidential veto override, 427 members are present and voting, and 219 vote yes.
713 words, about 4 min3The Pilot That Improved the Average and Barely Touched the Median
An office processes about 64 applications a month with a mean processing time of 41 days, a median of 33 days, and a standard deviation of 16 days. A nine-person pilot team, handling 36 applications over the same period, reports a mean of 34 days, a median of 31 days, and a standard deviation of 15 days.
778 words, about 4 min4Two Fare Proposals, One Elasticity, and a Claim That Fails Arithmetic
A regional transit authority carries 4.0 million trips a year at a flat 2.00 fare, generating 8.0 million in fare revenue against 14.0 million in operating cost. Staff estimate the short-run own-price elasticity of demand at about -0.30 and propose to treat it as constant across the range under consideration.
795 words, about 4 min5The Critical Path That Moved When an Engineer Was Reassigned
A four-person team must deliver a data migration in 16 working days. The tasks are: A, 5 days, no predecessor; B, 3 days, after A; C, 4 days, after A; D, 6 days, after B; E, 2 days, after C; F, 4 days, after both D and E.
795 words, about 4 min