WBCS Preliminary Examination
The PSC of West Bengal tests the general scholastic knowledge and
general awareness of candidates through a paper called 'General Studies'
in the WBCS preliminary examination. According to the PSC, "The standard of the paper will be of the level knowledge as expected of a graduate of any faculty of a recognized University". This
paper consists of 200 multiple choice questions mostly from 8 broad
subjects with a pre-defined weight for each section. Time allotted for
completing the exam is 2 hours and 3o minutes. The weight of each
section in the General Studies paper is given below:
- English Composition (Idioms, Antonyms & Synonyms, Phrasal verbs, Vocabulary)--------------------------------------------------------------25 marks
- General Science (General understanding of basic science and from every day observations)------------------------------------------------------25 marks
- History of India ------------------------------------------------------- 25 marks
- Geography of India with special reference to West Bengal (Physical, Social and Economic)------------------------------------------------25 marks
- Indian Polity and Economy ----------------------------------------25 marks
- Indian National Movement------------------------------------------25 marks
- Current Events ( National and International)-------------------------------------------------------------25 marks
- General Mental Ability------------------------------------------------25 marks
TOTAL 200 marks
Remember, the main purpose of the WBCS Preliminary test is to screen
candidates for the WBCS Main Examinations and the marks obtained by the
successful candidates in the Preliminary examination do not influence
in the final selection of candidates. The number of candidates selected
for the WBCS Main examinations varies from year to year depending upon
the number of vacancies in the services. The details of the vacancies
are duly announced by the West Bengal PSC.
WBCS Main Examination
Since 2014, Multiple Choice Questions for Compulsory papers have
been introduced in the WBCS Main Examination. The complete syllabus of
the Compulsory papers includes Geography, Indian Constitution, Indian
Economy, Science Technology, Environment, Current Affairs, Arithmetic
and General Intelligence (200X4 =800 marks). The organization of the
marking scheme for the Main Exam is:
General Studies -I (200 marks)
History 100 marks
Geography 100 marks
General studies-II (200 marks)
Science and Technology 100 marks
GK and CA 100 marks
Constitution and Indian Economy (200 marks)
Indian Constitution 100 marks
Indian Economy 100 marks
Arithmetic and Reasoning (200 marks)
Arithmetic 100 marks
Reasoning 100 marks
With the introduction of MCQs in the WBCS (Main) exam, mastering
minute details on these subjects have become the areas of utmost
importance. Remember these 800 marks is definitely and unarguably the
determining factor to get a call for the Personality Test in the Office
of the Public Service Commission.
WBCS is one of the toughest competitive
examinations conducted by WBPSC. It is one of the few jobs where
dignity, responsibility, power, and prestige perfectly blend together
making the WBCS service even more lucrative and a job worth pursuing.
There are hardly any other state services that offers all of these
perks so generously at once.
To become a WBCS officer one needs to have only two things, a
graduate degree in any discipline and a strong determination. The race,
however, is not a short sprint rather a marathon which needs a
strategic and careful preparation. From personal experience I noticed
that gluing strictly to the examination syllabus and getting exposed
to plenty of sample questions of good standards paid back. As a matter
of the fact, practicing now has become an indispensable part of any
comprehensive and strategized preparation. It helps in draining out
unwanted pressure from candidates to a considerable degree and renders a
psychological advantage over the ordinary candidates taking the same
exam. Assimilating and more importantly retaining the colossal syllabus
is a challenging task. Forgetting is a natural part of retention. In
fact everyone forgets. There is no reason to panic at least on this
front. The only remedy is to go for multiple revisions before the
exam.
