JCF Entrance Exam cheat sheet

Jamaica gained independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962; Emancipation Day (1 August) and Independence Day (6 August) are both public holidays.

Jamaica is a constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm; the King is head of state, represented by a Governor-General, while the Prime Minister heads the government.

Jamaica's parishes number 14, grouped in three counties: Cornwall (west), Middlesex (centre), and Surrey (east).

CARICOM, founded in 1973 with the Treaty of Chaguaramas, has its headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana; Jamaica is a founding member.

The Jamaican diaspora exceeds the resident population in size, with largest communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Jamaica's main foreign-exchange earners are tourism, remittances, bauxite/alumina, and services; remittances alone exceed USD 3 billion in recent years.

Current-affairs questions usually test: who holds which office, recent legislation, major sporting results, and regional/international summits - check dates against the year of the exam.

The Governor-General assents to bills on behalf of the Crown; the Prime Minister is the MP commanding a majority in the House of Representatives.

Parts of speech: noun (person, place, thing, idea), verb (action or state), adjective (modifies noun), adverb (modifies verb, adjective, or adverb), pronoun, preposition, conjunction, interjection.

Subject-verb agreement: singular subject takes singular verb; compound subjects joined by 'and' take a plural verb unless they form a single idea; 'either/or' and 'neither/nor' agree with the nearer subject.

Tense consistency: past tense in narration stays past unless expressing a general truth; use past perfect for the earlier of two past events.

Direct to indirect speech: shift tense back one step, change pronouns to match the reporter, and change time/place words (now→then, today→that day, here→there).

Active voice: subject performs the action; passive voice: object becomes subject with a form of 'be' + past participle. Prefer active unless the doer is unknown or unimportant.

Comprehension strategy: identify the main idea (usually first or last sentence), distinguish fact from opinion, and answer only from information stated or implied in the passage.

Commonly confused pairs: affect (verb) / effect (noun); its (possessive) / it's (it is); their / there / they're; principal (main/head) / principle (rule).

Punctuation: use commas for lists, introductory phrases, and non-defining clauses; use semicolons between independent clauses without a conjunction.

Percentages: part = percent × whole; percentage change = (new − old) / old × 100; successive changes multiply, e.g. +10% then −10% gives 0.99 of original.

Simple interest I = PRT/100; compound amount A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt).

Ratio and proportion: if a:b = 3:5 and total = 40, one part = 40/8 = 5, so shares are 15 and 25.

Averages: mean = sum/count; to find a missing value, multiply mean by count and subtract known values.

Speed, distance, time: distance = speed × time; for average speed over equal distances, use harmonic mean 2ab/(a+b).

Area and perimeter: rectangle A = lw, triangle A = ½bh, circle A = πr², circumference = 2πr; volume of cuboid = lwh.

Number properties: divisibility by 3 if digit sum divisible by 3; by 9 if digit sum divisible by 9; by 4 if last two digits form a multiple of 4.

Work problems: if A finishes in x days and B in y days, together they finish in xy/(x+y) days.

Series rule: check differences first, then ratios, then alternating or squared patterns before assuming a complex rule.

Analogy: identify the relationship (part-to-whole, cause-effect, synonym, category) and apply it consistently to the second pair.

Syllogism: draw only conclusions that must be true from the premises; 'all A are B' does not imply 'all B are A'.

Odd-one-out: test membership in a shared category; the odd item usually lacks a defining property the rest share.

Direction sense: draw a compass sketch; net displacement uses Pythagoras when movements are perpendicular.

Seating and ranking: fix a reference point, then place each clue; for ranks, total = rank from top + rank from bottom − 1.

Coding-decoding: compare letters of the word and code positionally; shifts are often constant (+1, −2) or reversed alphabet (A↔Z).

Blood relations: map relationships on a family tree; 'brother of my father' is uncle, 'son of my brother' is nephew.

Jamaica's Constitution (1962) is the supreme law; the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (2011) protects rights such as life, liberty, freedom of expression, and protection from discrimination.

The legislature is bicameral: the Senate (appointed, 21 members) and the House of Representatives (elected, 63 members).

The judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice; the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council remains Jamaica's final court of appeal.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decides whether to prosecute; the police investigate.

Local government operates through parish councils; the island has 14 parishes and the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) covers the capital region.

Civic duties include obeying the law, paying taxes, jury service, and voting; voting age is 18 and registration is with the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (EOJ).

The Caribbean Court of Justice sits in Port of Spain; it hears CARICOM treaty matters and serves as a final court for some member states, but not Jamaica.

Key institutions: Bank of Jamaica (central bank), Auditor General (public spending), Integrity Commission (public officials' conduct).