Foreign service and diplomacy

About this practice suite

This suite prepares candidates for foreign service and diplomacy selection in the government and civil service sector with 5 skill areas: verbal reasoning, reading comprehension, written communication, situational judgment and critical thinking. Every question was written by Novus editors for this suite — none are taken from live or leaked exams — and the full bank holds 52 scored questions across three modes, plus 8 reserve questions used to vary repeat attempts. Answer keys never ship to the browser: your answers are scored server-side, and results stay on your device.

Skills this suite practises

• Verbal reasoning — Drawing conclusions from written information without relying on outside assumptions.
• Reading comprehension — Understanding passages, instructions, policies, technical material, and workplace documents.
• Written communication — Grammar, vocabulary, sentence correction, clarity, tone, proofreading, and workplace writing.
• Situational judgment — Evaluating workplace responses against role-relevant principles.
• Critical thinking — Evaluating evidence, assumptions, arguments, credibility, and alternative explanations.

Sample questions from the guided bank

Two of the 10 guided-practice questions, shown exactly as they appear in a session. Answers and explanations are not printed here — keys stay on the server — so open guided practice to answer them and see how you did.

1. A cable says the delegation will arrive after the host's national holiday. What follows?

   • A. Arrival time is unknown
   • B. The holiday is cancelled
   • C. The delegation is hosting
   • D. The visit is scheduled later than the holiday

2. Which sentence is clearest for a diplomatic note?

   • A. We might perhaps meet sometime soon.
   • B. The meeting is proposed for 14:00 on 12 May, subject to your confirmation.
   • C. The meeting is definitely arranged unless it is not.
   • D. Please do what is necessary.

Practice modes and timing

Guided practice is untimed-feeling and instructional; the mini-test is a short timed check; the full simulation mirrors a complete sitting. All three draw on separate question sets, so moving up a mode never repeats what you practised.

Study outline

Read the study outline for this suite’s skills, timings, and recommended lessons on one printable page, or download its standalone HTML file. The printable page can also be saved as a PDF from your browser.