Civil Service Exam Coverage 2026: Complete Topic Breakdown

The Civil Service Exam has 4 categories per level. The Professional level covers Verbal Ability (English and Filipino), Numerical Ability, Analytical Ability, and General Information. The Subprofessional level replaces Analytical Ability with Clerical Ability. This guide provides a detailed breakdown of every CSE category for both the Professional and Subprofessional levels, including approximate item counts and percentage weights based on available CSC announcements and widely used reviewer analyses. The CSC does not publish official per-category item breakdowns, so the figures below are best-available estimates.

Exam Overview: Professional vs. Subprofessional

Detailed Category Breakdown

1. Verbal Ability (English and Filipino)

Verbal Ability is typically the largest section of the CSE. It tests your English and Filipino language skills through several question types:

Grammar and Correct Usage

• Subject-verb agreement
• Pronoun-antecedent agreement
• Correct verb tenses
• Parallel structure
• Common grammatical errors

Vocabulary

• Synonyms: Choose the word closest in meaning (e.g., "benevolent" = kind, charitable)
• Antonyms: Choose the word opposite in meaning
• Context clues: Determine word meaning from surrounding text

Analogies

• Word pair relationships (e.g., bird : nest :: bear : cave)
• Common analogy types: part-to-whole, cause-effect, synonym, tool-to-user, category

Reading Comprehension

• Main idea identification
• Supporting details
• Inference and implication
• Tone and purpose of the passage

Paragraph Organization

• Arranging sentences in logical order
• Identifying topic sentences
• Coherence and transition markers

Filipino (Gamit ng Wika)

• Wastong gamit ng mga salita (correct usage)
• Pagbasa at pag-unawa (reading comprehension in Filipino)
• Kasingkahulugan at kasalungat (synonyms and antonyms in Filipino)
• Salawikain, sawikain, at mga pariralang Filipino

2. Numerical Ability

Numerical Ability tests basic to intermediate math skills. Calculators are not allowed, so you need to be comfortable with mental math and manual computation.

Basic Arithmetic

• Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
• Operations with fractions and decimals
• Percentage calculations (discounts, tax, interest)
• Order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS)

Word Problems

• Age problems
• Distance-rate-time problems
• Work problems (combined rates)
• Mixture problems
• Profit and loss

Number Series and Sequences

• Arithmetic sequences (constant difference)
• Geometric sequences (constant ratio)
• Alternating and mixed patterns
• Finding the next number in a series

Ratio and Proportion

• Direct proportion
• Inverse proportion
• Partitive proportion (dividing a quantity into ratios)

Basic Geometry and Measurement

• Area and perimeter of basic shapes
• Volume of rectangular solids and cylinders
• Unit conversions (metric system)

3. Analytical Ability (Professional Level Only)

This section is exclusive to the Professional level and tests higher-order thinking skills. It is often considered the most difficult section.

Syllogisms and Logical Reasoning

• Determining valid conclusions from given premises
• Identifying logical fallacies
• Conditional statements (if-then logic)

Example:"All government employees must file a SALN. Maria is a government employee. Therefore, Maria must file a SALN." — This is a valid syllogism.

Data Interpretation

• Reading and analyzing tables
• Interpreting bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts
• Drawing conclusions from statistical data

Pattern Recognition and Abstract Reasoning

• Visual/spatial patterns (shape sequences)
• Completing series of figures
• Odd-one-out in a set of figures

4. General Information

General Information covers a broad range of topics related to Philippine government, laws, and current events. This is the most "memorization-heavy" section.

Philippine Constitution (1987)

• National territory, declaration of principles, and state policies
• Bill of Rights (Article III) — most frequently tested
• Structure of government (Articles VI, VII, VIII)
• Constitutional Commissions (Article IX) — CSC, COMELEC, COA
• Accountability of public officers (Article XI)

Read our detailed Philippine Constitution Reviewer for CSE.

Republic Act No. 6713

• Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees
• The 8 Norms of Conduct
• SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth) requirements
• Prohibited acts and penalties

Read our detailed RA 6713 Summary.

Republic Act No. 3019

• Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act
• Corrupt practices of public officers (Section 3)
• Prohibition on financial interest in business transactions

Other Laws and Topics

• Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987)
• RA 11032 (Ease of Doing Business Act of 2018 — repealed RA 9485)
• RA 10173 (Data Privacy Act of 2012)
• Philippine history and government structure
• Current events — national and international
• Peace and human rights issues
• Environmental management and awareness

5. Clerical Ability (Subprofessional Level Only)

This section is exclusive to the Subprofessional level and tests skills needed for clerical and administrative positions.

Alphabetical Filing and Indexing

• Arranging names in alphabetical order (surname-first format)
• Filing rules: last name, first name, middle name/initial
• Handling prefixes (Mc, Mac, De, Dela, San, etc.)

Coding and Decoding

• Converting names or numbers to codes based on given rules
• Reversing codes back to original values

Spelling

• Identifying correctly spelled words from a set
• Common misspellings in English

Checking and Comparing

• Comparing strings of numbers, names, or codes for accuracy
• Identifying differences between two similar sets of data
• Speed and accuracy under time pressure

Recommended Study Priority

Based on item counts and typical areas where examinees struggle:

1. General Information — highest impact per hour studied. Focus on Constitution and RA 6713.
2. Verbal Ability — largest section. Build vocabulary daily and practice reading comprehension.
3. Numerical Ability — practice word problems and number series until they become second nature.
4. Analytical Ability (Professional) — practice logic and data interpretation. Hardest to improve, but most rewarding.
5. Clerical Ability (Subprofessional) — practice speed and accuracy drills. Easy points if you prepare.