ICAC Investigator Written Test study plan

Diagnose current Chinese reading and writing level by completing one timed 40-minute mock paper section on comprehension and one 300-word practical writing task, then score both against a self-built rubric covering accuracy, register and structure.

Build a personal error log of at least 30 recurring Chinese mistakes (wrong characters, misused measure words, confused near-synonyms, weak connectives) drawn from the diagnostic attempt and from your own past writing.

Drill 60 high-frequency formal-register vocabulary items used in reports, correspondence and minutes, recording each in a sentence you compose yourself rather than copying a definition.

Practise summarising a 600-character news commentary into a 150-character précis twice this week, checking that the main claim and supporting reason both survive the compression.

Write two full-length practical Chinese pieces under time pressure: one formal letter of complaint to a public body and one internal incident summary, each within 25 minutes.

Revise both pieces after self-marking against the week 1 rubric, and rewrite the weakest paragraph of each rather than merely noting the flaw.

Reduce the error log to 20 items by re-testing yourself on the original 30 and removing those now consistently correct.

Read one long-form Chinese editorial and extract its argument structure into a five-line outline to practise identifying claim, evidence and conclusion.

Complete one timed English comprehension section and classify every wrong answer by cause: vocabulary gap, misread question stem, inference error, or time loss.

Compile 50 formal English terms and collocations relevant to investigations, evidence handling and public accountability, and use each in a self-written sentence.

Identify and correct at least 15 recurring grammar and usage faults in your own writing, such as tense consistency, subject-verb agreement under long modifiers, and misplaced only.

Practise writing a 250-word English summary of a Chinese-language document, checking that names, dates and figures transfer without distortion.

Sit a full bilingual mock under exam timing, switching between Chinese and English sections without extra breaks, to test stamina and code-switching cost.

Mark the mock against the official-style rubric you built, and identify which language domain is losing more marks per hour of study so you can rebalance weeks 5 to 8.

Rewrite the three weakest answers from the mock in the other language where the paper permits, to expose gaps in bilingual equivalence.

Cut the error logs to the 15 items per language that still recur under time pressure.

Work through percentage change, ratio, rate and weighted average problems until you can solve each type in under 90 seconds without a calculator.

Build a one-page formula sheet covering growth rates, proportions and data-sufficiency logic, then test yourself by reconstructing it from memory twice.

Interpret three data-heavy passages such as budget tables or caseload statistics, and write one sentence stating the single most defensible conclusion from each.

Practise identifying the exact quantity a question asks for before calculating, to eliminate the common failure of solving the wrong thing correctly.

Solve 40 logical reasoning items across deduction, sequencing, assumption and strengthen-weaken types, timing each and recording the type of every error.

Write out the formal structure of five arguments in premise-conclusion form to make hidden assumptions visible.

Practise distinguishing necessary from sufficient conditions until you can explain the difference in your own words without notes.

Review every error from the 40 items and re-solve it cold at least 48 hours later, keeping only items still failing.

Map the structure of the Basic Law chapter by chapter, and memorise the provisions governing rights, duties, the relationship with the central authorities and the interpretation mechanism.

State in your own words how the National Security Law offences are defined and which institutions enforce them, checking each claim against the source text rather than memory.

Apply the integrity framework to five short scenarios, deciding in each whether a conflict of interest, an offer, or a reporting duty is engaged, and justify the decision in two sentences.

Distinguish the roles of reporting, investigation and prosecution bodies so you can answer questions about jurisdiction without conflating them.

Review a rolling six-month log of major Hong Kong and international developments, condensed to 40 dated one-line facts you can recall unaided.

Sit two full timed mocks on consecutive days and compare scores to check that performance is stable rather than a single lucky run.

Re-test the surviving items from all earlier error logs and retire anything now consistently correct.

Write a one-page exam-day plan covering time allocation per section, the order you will attempt sections, and your rule for abandoning a question.