Last Monday, I found myself back at the beginning, taking the written exam for the Foreign Service for the second time. Last year went pretty well, and I made it to Orals last September, but that was as far as I went. In the FSO application process, when you don't pass a section, you have to go back and start at the beginning.
I made the drive up to New Hampshire to test at the New Horizons test center in Nashua. It was an easy drive, and a well run facility.
My mom has been sick recently. I've had a lot on my mind, and not as much time to study as I would have liked. I had reviewed my notes from last year, read the Constitution a few times, listened to an 12 hour on-line lecture on the history of US diplomacy, and read sections of the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. In comparison to how I studied last year, I didn't do much. Still, having taken the test once gives me a lot more confidence this year about my chances.
My big issue last year was the Biographical section. In this section they ask things about your personality, and ask you to provide examples. Last year, I didn't finish the section. I spent too much time trying to answer the question exactly as asked, rather than as intended, and I spent too much time searching for examples. Having been to the Oral Assessment, where I needed to prepare examples of having met the 13 dimensions they are seeking, was a big help for providing examples on the Bio section this year. I had a terrible score on Bio last year, but I expect to do much better this year.
That leaves the essays as my only concern. On Sunday night, I decided that I needed to practice writing some essays in the 30 minute time limit. The advice I've gathered suggests writing a five paragraph essay with a strong thesis statement and supporting arguments. Since this is not how I normally write, I needed some practice. 30 minutes goes pretty quickly. My practice attempts were not so great, so I tried a few more the morning of the test, and hoped for the best.
This year, there are two 30 minute essays. I felt like I did a good job on the first one. The second one is where I'm focusing my worry at this point. I came up with a fictional way to attack the problem, and then as the essay went on, I had to keep expanding on that fictional item, and it felt less real with each elaboration.
There's a bit of chatter about one of the essays being a test topic that won't count toward the results, and if that's the case, I sure hope it's the second essay that's the test. If not, I could be in for another year of waiting.
Overall, I felt good about things. Now I have to wait, 8-12 weeks, for the results.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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