Study by subject
Civil service exams
For a civil service exam you learn institutions, dates, the principles of public law and the rules of public finance. Lumi asks them back until you can recall them without notes.
How to turn this subject into cards
Make one card per institution, with its role, how it is appointed and the text that founds it. For general knowledge, one card per date or event and one sentence of cause. Public law notions go into short definition cards, and you can link them to Law. For a summary exercise you do not memorise a plan but the method, which you practise under time limits. The trap is reading whole courses without ever testing yourself. With Lumi you recall each notion from memory before seeing the answer (Karpicke and Roediger, 2008). Place regular sessions over several months rather than one final block (Cepeda et al., 2006).
What you need to know by heart
- The institutions of government, their role and the texts that found them.
- The main principles of public and administrative law.
- The dates and events of history and general knowledge.
- Public finance notions, budget, revenue and spending.
- The method of a summary exercise, from reading the file to writing it up.
It depends on the country
Each country recruits differently. In France, entry is mostly by competitive exam, in categories A, B and C, with written then oral tests. In the United Kingdom the Civil Service recruits through open applications, with online tests and interviews, on merit. In the United States federal jobs are applied for on USAJOBS. In Spain the oposiciones are competitive exams run by each administration to fill posts.
How Lumi helps you remember it
You teach your cards to Lumi, institutions, dates, law, public finance. It forgets over time, like you do, then quizzes you right before you would forget. As the exam approaches, the Mist settles over what you know less well and Lumi asks that first. You arrive with notions you can recall, not only reread.
Example cards
Three cards the way you would write them, with the answer Lumi expects.
What are the four values of the UK Civil Service Code?
Integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
How is power divided in the United States?
Among three branches, legislative, executive and judicial.
What does it mean that civil servants are impartial?
They serve the government of the day without favouring any party.
Example card
Try it, Lumi turns it into fill in the blank questions in your browser.
Civil service exams · teach this card to Lumi
The UK Civil Service Code sets four values, integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. Civil servants in the UK serve the government of the day. In the United States the Constitution divides power among three branches. Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Lumi’s question
The UK Civil Service Code sets four values, integrity, honesty, _____ and impartiality.
Pick the missing word
Answer right to light Lumi up
Its lamp fades when a fact slips away.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I revise general knowledge for a civil service exam?
- Choose periods and themes, one card per date or event, with one sentence on the cause and one on the consequence. Lumi asks them back at growing intervals (Cepeda et al., 2006).
- Can I put public law into cards?
- Yes. One definition, principle or founding article per card. For essays, add a model outline to understand, not to recite.
- How long before the exam should I start?
- As early as you can. These exams cover a wide syllabus, and sessions spaced over several months stick better than a final block (Cepeda et al., 2006).
Read next
Sources
- Karpicke, Roediger (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 319(5865). doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408
- Cepeda, Pashler, Vul, Wixted, Rohrer (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks. A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3). doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
Teach this to Lumi
Give Lumi your civil service exams notes, it gives them back as questions at the right moment.