Sri Lanka Foreign Service Exam study plan

Map the constitutional timeline from the Soulbury Constitution (1947) through the 1972 republican constitution, the 1978 executive-presidential constitution, and the 19th and 20th Amendments, noting for each the year, the key change, and one exam-style significance point.

Draft a one-page institutional chart of Sri Lankan public administration showing the roles of the President, Cabinet, Public Service Commission, Attorney General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the provincial council system, and mark where authority overlaps.

Compile a dated current-affairs log covering the past 90 days of Sri Lankan domestic politics, foreign relations, and economy, with at least 30 entries each reduced to one factual sentence.

Answer 20 self-written recall questions on Sri Lankan constitutional history and score them, listing every item missed for later review.

Trace the evolution of Sri Lankan foreign policy from the Non-Aligned Movement founding role through the 1971 Indian Ocean Zone of Peace proposal, the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, and contemporary balancing among India, China, and Western partners.

Summarise the structure and functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic service, including cadres, missions abroad, and the role of the Foreign Service Examination itself.

Analyse three post-independence constitutional crises or landmark cases and state the constitutional principle each established.

Update the current-affairs log to 50 entries and group them by theme: bilateral relations, multilateral organisations, economy, and domestic governance.

Define and distinguish core International Relations concepts, including sovereignty, recognition, non-intervention, collective security, balance of power, and multilateralism, and give one concrete example of each from the post-1945 period.

Explain the structure and decision-making of the UN system, including the General Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC, and specialised agencies, and identify Sri Lanka's membership record on major UN bodies.

Compare the mandates and instruments of SAARC, BIMSTEC, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, and the Commonwealth, and assess which serves Sri Lankan interests most directly and why.

Draft short policy positions on two current international issues affecting Sri Lanka, each stating the national interest, the legal basis, and the diplomatic option.

Write a 300-word precis of a 900-word article on international law or diplomacy, keeping the original argument and cutting to about one third of the length.

Practise diplomatic writing by drafting a note verbale and a press statement on a hypothetical bilateral incident, matching register and formality to the genre.

Revise the law of treaties and diplomatic immunities under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), and test recall with 25 self-written questions.

Build a personal glossary of 60 International Relations and diplomatic terms with one-sentence definitions usable in an exam answer.

Write two full-length English essays under timed conditions, one argumentative and one expository, each with a clear thesis, structured paragraphs, and a conclusion that answers the prompt.

Diagnose recurring grammar and usage errors from your own writing and produce a personal correction list of at least 20 items with corrected examples.

Practise analytical reasoning by deconstructing five complex prompts into issue, stakeholder, options, trade-offs, and recommendation.

Summarise a long editorial in 150 words and then critique the editorial's argument in 250 words, separating summary from evaluation.

Explain the trajectory of the Sri Lankan economy since 1977 liberalisation, covering the shift from import substitution to export orientation, the role of garments and remittances, and the causes and consequences of the 2022 sovereign default and IMF programme.

Analyse key macroeconomic indicators, including GDP growth, inflation, debt-to-GDP ratio, fiscal deficit, and balance of payments, and interpret a recent set of published figures correctly.

Compare development models and concepts, including the Washington Consensus, human development, sustainable development goals, and middle-income trap, and apply one to Sri Lanka's current position.

Answer ten data-interpretation questions based on published economic statistics and record your reasoning for each.

Complete two timed comprehension passages and one composition task in Sinhala or Tamil, and self-mark for accuracy, vocabulary range, and register.

Translate a 200-word English official communique into Sinhala or Tamil and back-translate to check fidelity, noting every term you had to look up.

Drill 100 high-frequency official and administrative terms in Sinhala or Tamil, and test recall in writing.

Write a 250-word formal letter in Sinhala or Tamil on an administrative matter, applying the correct honorifics and format.

Synthesise the current-affairs log into 15 thematic briefs of 150 words each, covering Sri Lankan politics, foreign policy, economy, and international affairs.

Sit two full mock papers under timed conditions covering all seven domains, and score each domain separately.

Analyse mock-paper errors by domain and produce a ranked list of the five weakest areas with a targeted revision action for each.

Rehearse structured essay planning: produce outlines with thesis, three arguments, counter-argument, and conclusion for five unseen prompts in 15 minutes each.