Qualifying Exams April 15 to 16 2008

Here are some notes of experience kept for posterity to be referred in the future:

1) It really helps if the books that need to be assessed are read, re-read, outlined, reviewed, tabulated (for the salient points) then listed (specific examples). This is a must because once the main points are memorized, much should still be said beyond the mere words that have to be associated with the book/work.

2) Constant reading of different materials is a full-time job, there should be no compromises!!! I must always have a book a week at least and must take note of the important points, parts or ideas of the book. If I cannot write on the book, I should diligently look for a post-it to write on at the front part of the book so I can collate all my ideas in the end.

3) I started my memorization and mastery of works one week before I took my qualifying exams, but this is just for a one-day test. The test that I took for the second day would be 30% of lesser caliber only because I was too exhausted and fed up with the whole thing already. One month of memorization would give me more peace of mind.

4) I shouldn't let sloth get the better of me! No matter how stupid it feels answering questions given in previous examinations...I should still do it, even if it means lesser hours of sleep. I did this exercise for the first day exam but not for the second day. I will heavily pay the price for that one. Doing this will help me determine how much I can write given the time constraint. For the first day I realized that I had to forgo mentioning some things and that took me some minutes, which was such a waste. There's really so much that you can compose, type and edit in a day so I should be aware of my limitations on that.

5) Pray, pray, pray...for whatever it's worth this really kept my sanity.

Now, I'm clenching my bones for two agonizing weeks...Panginoon, tulungan po sana ninyo ako!!!

Examples of the questions:

1) There are various paradigms used in Philippine Studies. Explain these paradigms in the context of identity, class, state governance, national formation. Enumerate the books, articles or works that have contributed to these fields.

2) Explain an approach used in Philippine Studies and state why it is so.

3) In light of the ZTE-NBN deal, explain these statements in the context of your study in the Philippine Studies Program: "moderate your greed", "bubukol ito" (plus another metaphor that escapes me now). What is the position of the Philippines in terms of patrimony (and there's another term that they used, argh! I need to take those gingko bilboba pills soon) in the context of the current global order.

4) How multidisciplinary is your research proposal?

5) The more elementary questions are: What is the importance of a theoretical framework? What is the purpose of having a review of literature in the beginning of one's research? What are the ethical issues in research?