goc written exams openbook
Congratulations! You have made it past the Public Service Entrance Exam (PSEE) and are one step closer to getting a Government of Canada job. You will need to write the Written Comprehension Proficiency Test (WCPT). Here are some strategies and tips.

Written Comprehension Proficiency Test (WCPT)

The Government of Canada Written Comprehension Proficiency Test (WCPT) evaluates candidates on grammar, vocabulary, conciseness, and sentence structure. The order of ideas and paragraphs as well as overall reading comprehension is also tested.

The WCPT is a standardized test provided by the Canadian Federal Service mainly to job applicants applying through Post Secondary Recruitment (PSR). The WCPT is usually administered to job seekers applying to positions that require employees to produce significant levels of written communication for senior governmental officials and / or the public.

Structure

The exam is 1 hour and 40 minutes long.
The WCPT is composed of short passages or sentence fragments followed by 50 multiple choice questions.

Strategies

To succeed in the WCPT exam it is imperative to have strong writing skills and attention to detail. As the total
time of the exam is 100 minutes, you will have less than 2 minutes to answer each question (including the time it will take to read each answer). It may be useful to spend some time each day reading well respected newspapers and print magazines read by federal government officials. These tend to reflect the language style employed at the Government of Canada.

In general, the work environment in the Federal Government  discourages repetitiveness in written communication.  Do not use more words than necessary.There must always be a logical flow to sentences and paragraphs. Look for hints in the paragraphs such as dates, names and locations to help you determine the correct answer if you are stuck.
In preparation for the WCPT, read all information, news, journals and the like with a critical eye, looking for  errors and determining better options for the presentation of information.

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