Civil Service General Exam study guide
Civil Service General Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Civil Service General Exam is a broad-aptitude and public-administration assessment used by government recruiting bodies to screen applicants for entry-level administrative, clerical, and generalist officer roles. It is designed for candidates who have completed secondary or tertiary education and are seeking a first public-sector appointment; it is not a specialist technical or professional licensing test. The Civil Service General Exam study guide has 8 sections and about 2,499 words.
01Verbal Reasoning and Comprehension
Verbal Reasoning and Comprehension tests how precisely you read. Civil service papers use administrative, legal and policy passages, and the questions rarely ask what the passage says - they ask what follows from it, what the author assumes, or what a word means in context.
335 words, about 2 min02Numerical Reasoning and Quantitative Analysis
Numerical Reasoning and Quantitative Analysis tests arithmetic accuracy under time pressure: percentages, ratios, averages, rates, series and short word problems framed in budget, staffing and demographic terms. Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100.
302 words, about 2 min03Logical and Abstract Reasoning
Logical and Abstract Reasoning tests deductive validity, pattern recognition and assumption analysis. Validity concerns structure, not truth: a valid argument can have false premises.
298 words, about 1 min04Data Interpretation and Analytical Skills
Data Interpretation and Analytical Skills tests whether you can read tables, bar and line charts, and pie charts and then compute rather than eyeball. Questions usually ask for a rate, a share, a ratio, or a comparison between two periods.
312 words, about 2 min05Situational Judgment and Decision Making
Situational Judgment and Decision Making presents workplace dilemmas drawn from public service - counter delays, conflicting instructions, ethical pressure, service failure - and asks you to rank or choose responses. Marks go to the option that is lawful, procedurally correct, accountable and humane, in that order of priority.
327 words, about 2 min06Public Administration and Governance Fundamentals
Public Administration and Governance Fundamentals covers how the state organises itself to deliver policy: bureaucracy, hierarchy, delegation, accountability, budgeting, and reforms such as New Public Management and good-governance agendas. Weber's bureaucracy rests on hierarchy, written rules, impersonality, merit appointment and recorded files; its strengths (predictability, equity) are also its criticised weaknesses (rigidity, red tape).
268 words, about 1 min07Administrative Law and Constitutional Principles
Administrative Law and Constitutional Principles tests whether you know the limits on official power: legality, fairness, reasonableness and the remedies available when power is abused. Rule of law : power must have a legal source, discretion is never absolute, and no one is punished except for a breach of law established through due process.
338 words, about 2 min08Written Communication and Report Writing
Written Communication and Report Writing tests whether you can produce official prose that a busy reader can act on: clear, brief, impersonal in tone, and structured so the decision sits at the top. Lead with the purpose and required action ; place background afterwards.
319 words, about 2 min