Customer Reviews

Arco American Foreign Service Officer Exam (Arco Civil Service Test Tutor)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It's mainly useful for giving you an idea what to study, what basic ideas are on the exam, and what you need to bone up on. The most useful and timely section is the English expression section-- what the State Department is looking for in written communication doesn't change much.

However, much of the rest of the book is outdated, and useful only in identifying broad study areas. The section on the oral exam is particularly outdated, as the oral exam changes format and focus every few years, and the book has failed to change with it. Today, the oral exam is so different that I wondered if ARCO was even writing about the same exam. However, given changes in the formation of policy and the role of foreign service officers, even the written exam is much different than the one presented in this book.

There are only two factors saving this book from a single star: the fact that it can be useful in determining what areas you are weak in and need to focus study on, and that it is the only book out dealing with this exam. You would be better off studying independently, based on the materials suggested by the State Department when they confirm your registration.

use the book as a reference tool to gauge which areas you need to study more, then use the recommended reading list provide by the state department to find the appropriate texts to aid you. the english expression section format is changing in '99, but the goals are still the same- identifying grammatically correct, concise sentences (buy the study guide from ACT to see the new format). also refer to the information in the ACT study guide regarding the essay and oral examinations.

This is about the only test preparation book available for the American Foreign Service Officer's test, and it's a few years old. There was a major change in the '98 exam that this book doesn't cover, simply that the essay is given first thing on the day of the test, as opposed to the day of the interviews. To get more info, you should also splurge for the ETS test preparation guide also (about $11.00). It's another practice exam, like the ones in this book. More info can be found at the State Dept. website. Other than that, ARCO's book is necessary, but less than adequate. The suggested readings at the index will benefit a test taker more than the test itself. Maybe with an exam like this one, they figure that you either live on a diet of international relations or there's no hope for you. Good luck.

Having taken and passed the test, I can attest to the accuracy of some of the book, but the help it gives for the oral section is basically useless. Too bad there aren't any other choices. Oh well...

To reiterate the reviews already posted, this book is a waste of money. Not only were some of the questions and/or answers incorrect, the book was full of typographical errors and misleading instructions. I did find taking a paper practice exam helpful for getting in the right frame of mind and finding out what I need to brush up on, but most of the pertinent information is available (and more accurate) from [...].

Disclaimer: I haven't taken the exam yet, but I don't expect this book to help. My advice is to follow the guidelines in the exam prep booklet available from the State Department.

I recently bought this book prior to taking the test. This book was written in 1992 and doesn't relate to the current test at all. Job knowledge is severely out of date and the english expression portion is ridiculous. The sample test is exactly how the actual test is. You're wasting your time if you use this book.

The foreign service oral assessment changed significantly at about the time this book was published. Candidates for the foreign service should trust the description of the oral assessment contained in the registration materials, not the description in this book.