Importance of Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude Paper

In the Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude paper, lexicon based questions is one type in which you are asked to explain the particular term or concept along with some real life application examples. Such questions are framed roughly in following pattern:

1. What do you understand by ____? Discuss its importance in your life / public service.
2. Differentiate between _____ and _____.
3. To what extent ______ is important in your life? While giving some examples, discuss what challenges you face while adopting ___.

Marking in such questions is based upon your correct explanation of the given term along with proper application in real life. Thus, correct definition is key to get good marks in such questions. Some examples of previous year lexicon based ethics questions are as follows:

1. All human beings aspire for happiness. Do you agree? What does happiness mean to you? Explain with examples. [2014]
2. In the context of defence services, ‘patriotism’ demands readiness to even lay down one’s life in protecting the nation. According to you, what does patriotism imply in everyday civil life? Explain with illustrations and justify your answer? [2014]
3. What do you understand by ‘probity’ in public life? What are the difficulties in practising it in the present times? How can these difficulties be overcome? [2014]
4. What does ‘accountability’ mean in the context of public service? What measures can be adopted to ensure individual and collective accountability of public servants? [2014]
5. Differentiate between (i) Law and ethics (ii) Ethical management and management of ethics (iii) Discrimination and preferential treatment (iv) Personal Ethics and Professional Ethics [2015]
6. What do you understand by the terms ‘governance’, ‘good governance’, and ethical governance’? [2016]
7. Examine the relevance of the following in the context of civil service: (a) Transparency (b) Accountability (c) Fairness and justice (d) Courage of conviction (e) Spirit of service [2017]
8. Distinguish between “Code of ethics” and “Code of conduct” with suitable examples. [2018]
9. What is meant by public interest? What are the principles and procedures to be followed by the civil servants in public interest? [2018]
10. What is meant by conflict of interest? Illustrate with examples, the difference between the actual and potential conflicts of interest. [2018]
11. What is meant by the term ‘constitutional morality’? How does one uphold constitutional morality? [2019]
12. What is meant by ‘crisis of conscience’? How does it manifest itself in the public domain? [2019]
13. What do you understand by probity in governance? Based on your understanding of the term, suggest measures for ensuring probity in government. [2020]

In this chapter, we have discussed some important concepts and lexicon for ethics and integrity paper.