Writing Ability Test (WAT) – All about it!

Writing Ability Test or WAT, as it is popularly known today, has replaced the Group Discussions (GDs) in most of the B-schools’ selection procedure. In 11 of 13 IIMs (6 new IIMs are to start from 2015), WAT has replaced GD.

What is WAT?

WAT is essentially a test of the writing abilities of a candidate. WAT assumes importance because a candidate has to communicate in the written form, most of the times, in his/her professional life. So having a good writing ability comes as an advantage. To add to this, the knowledge of a candidate is also checked in his/ her writing. The more the knowledge, the better the writing.

WAT is mostly asked in two formats viz.

• Essay writing
• Summary writing

Important points:

While WAT appears to be an easy task at the first instance, it definitely requires a lot of attention and meticulous execution. We need to remember that we are WRITING. It can check our creativity, knowledge, logic and language, all in one go!

We suggest the candidates to take care of the following points while attempting WAT:

-          Clarity of thought

 
This is one of the most important things to take care of in WAT. Think a little before you start writing. Remember, it is not a test of scribbling. You need to be sure of what you are writing.

-         Structure

It is quite important to maintain a proper structure while writing. Normally, the flow should be

Idea – Body Text – Conclusion

One normally should start with the idea(s) which one wants to elaborate upon. It should be followed by the content which supports the main idea(s) discussed initially and then finally one should conclude. It is quite obvious that the conclusion should be in line with the idea(s) with which one had started.

-          Flow (Smooth and Logical)

The flow of the article/essay/ summary one writes should be smooth and quite logical. We suggest that one decides the flow in advance i.e. before one starts writing. If done successfully, it will ensure a proper flow and message will come out clearly.

-          Language

It goes without saying one has to take care of the grammar, punctuations, spelling, and other such things while writing. An incorrect language would definitely leave a bad impression on the evaluator and will result into a poor understanding and hence the score too. One also has to ensure that the length of the sentences is not too long.

-          Clear and simple writing

The writing should be legible and enough space should be left between the words. One should also take care that the words used are not very difficult to understand. Usage of simple words and clear handwriting is advisable.

-          Knowledge

Nothing can undermine the importance of this point. Knowledge is the thing which can make a candidate stand apart from others. A good reading habit will definitely come handy while writing.

Keeping these points in mind, one should practice writing on a few topics before attempting WAT as a part of the selection procedure. The more one practices, the more one will be benefited.

A few WAT topics:

-          Essential services like water and electricity should not be privatized.

-          Politics is a money-game, the more you garner the better are your chances of winning.

-          Difficulty shapes a man, as does labour to body.

-          Grass is always greener on the other side.

-          Terrorism is the biggest challenge of this century.

Paridhi Trivedi Parikh | Hardik K. Parikh

Building Careers, Shaping Lives!

(Click on "Join this site" tab on the right-hand side of the page and get instant updates)

Disclaimer: The views mentioned above are based on the authors' opinion and experiences. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on these views/ information.

BASICS OF INTERVIEW - PART # 1

PART # 1 - THE GROUNDWORK

Interviews nowadays form a very important part of the selection process of any company/institute/ organisation. Gone are the days when interviews were just a formality. Today interviews can be the differentiating factor and could result into rejection or selection of a candidate. Hence it is imperative for most of us to tackle it tactfully and eventually successfully too.

We believe, a successful candidate should do his/her groundwork religiously in order to be successful in the interview. So what does the groundwork comprise of? We would categorize it into two parts viz. a) Foundation and b) Building Blocks

a) Foundation

How often have we heard "First impression is the last impression"? Often, one would say. That is it and that is the story. We have to have a very good impression, more so,the first impression. And dear friends, mind well,first our impression is created by our CV/Resume. Hence it is quite important that we have a very clear, attractive and informative CV/Resume. A few things that we should keep in mind while preparing are:

- Clutter free

- Free of grammatical errors

- Properly formatted

- Perfectly demarcated

- As short as possible

- Accurate and correct information

(We will write a special article on CV/ Resume building later).

b) Building Blocks

These are those things which one will essentially require in the interview.

- Basics of your academics

- Detailed knowledge of 2 to 3 subjects from your academics

- Current Affairs

- Knowledge of the relevant company/ institute (where one has applied)

- Knowledge of the industry (sector) in which one is applying

- Work experience related knowledge (if any)

Normally, interviewers have a tendency to ask questions from academics, if the candidate is a fresher. So it becomes quite imperative for you to be thorough with your basics and atleast have in-depth knowledge of 2-3 subjects. And believe us friends, it cannot be done overnight. Spend some sufficient time on it. Current affairs is another area from which questions are asked in the interview. It shows the awareness and preparedness level of the candidate and hence it one of the most favourite sections in many competitive examinations. And obviously, one should not mug up everything mentioned in the above statements but should be well-versed with the topics mentioned above.

The above mentioned parts, if managed successfully, will definitely enable you to be successful in the interviews with practice of things mentioned above.

Read more about interviews in PART # 2...

Paridhi Trivedi Parikh | Hardik K. Parikh

Building Careers, Shaping Lives!

(Click on "Join this site" tab on the right-hand side of the page and get instant updates)

Disclaimer: The views mentioned above are based on the authors' opinion and experiences. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on these views/ information.

SNAP 2014 Analysis

SNAP 2014 Analysis

The test was difficult as compared to the previous 2-3 versions. Most of the students went with the mindset that the test would be comparatively easy, as usual, were in for a surprise. We believe, the relaxed mindset of the students must have come handy for most of them. They would have been in a better frame of mind while taking the examination.

Let’s get cracking now...

For the starters, let’s have the pattern:

Section	Marks	No. of Questions
General English	40	40
Math and DI	40	40
General Awareness	40	40
Analytical & Logical Reasoning	60	30
Total	180	150

Taking it section-wise now...

General English:

Students with good vocabulary must have had some definite advantage in this section. Questions in the form of synonyms, antonyms, fill in the blanks (based on vocab) etc. were asked in good numbers and were quite manageable.

A little diversion was the Reading Comprehension area. The RCs were a little bit difficult as compared to the most of its previous versions.

22-24 can be considered as a good attempt in this section.

Math and DI:

The questions were from the usual areas like TSD, Clocks, Percentage, Averages, Probability, Geometry, etc.

A set of DI was asked which contained 5 questions and was manageable.

This section however did not have any question on Data Sufficiency.

An attempt of around 20-22 questions can be considered to be good.

General Awareness:

This was a reasonably difficult one to handle. The range of the questions varied highly. It had questions from awards, history, sports, current affairs, general science, etc. A student with a sound reading habit would have answered some questions easily, such as:

1)     President of Ukraine

2)     E in the acronym EPS stands for…

3)     The author of the book “Wealth of Nations”

8-10 attempts would be considered good for this section.

Analytical and Logical Reasoning:

Questions based on Series, Blood Relations, Critical Reasoning, Logical Data Interpretation, Seating Arrangement were asked among others.

Overall, there was not much of a change in this section as compared to the previous versions, except for the difficulty level.

An attempt of 15-18 questions can be considered good.

To summarise, a good number of attempts will be:

Section	Marks	No. of Questions	Good number of attempts
General English	40	40	22-24
Math and DI	40	40	20-22
General Awareness	40	40	8-10
Analytical & Logical Reasoning	60	30	15-18
Total	180	150	65-74

Expected Cut-Offs:

A score of around 85-90 should be good enough for SIBM and 80-85 for SCMHRD, Pune Campus. The other institutes within purview of SNAP can be arranged accordingly.

The Road Ahead:

A lot will depend on your Personal Interview, Group Exercise and Writing Ability Test (WAT). These three taken together will comprise of 50% of the score and the other 50% will be SNAP score.

Get going folks!

We wish you all the best.

Paridhi Trivedi Parikh | Hardik K. Parikh

Building Careers, Shaping Lives!

(Click on "Join this site" tab on the right-hand side of the page and get instant updates)

Disclaimer: The views mentioned above are based on the authors' opinion and experiences. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on these views/ information.

Bell the CAT in 2014!

While most of the aspirants who have prepared for months for the CAT exam and even those who have not, the most-awaited day has come. CAT 2014 is scheduled for 16^th and 22^nd November, 2014.

This time around there will be two slots of test on each day. The pattern of CAT has changed and this time around we would have two sections comprising of 50 questions each. One noticeable feature of the test is that this time around the test-takers will be allowed move across the sections, unlike the previous year’s test. The test duration has also been increased to 170 minutes.

Here we try to answer a few questions which each aspirant may think of, especially before the actual CAT exam.

Difficult or Easy?

Let us keep it easy. The reason is simple. Most of us like it that way. We believe that if one has prepared well for the exam, he/she will find the exam easy. Moreover, we need to understand that the scores in the CAT exam are relative. That means if the exam turns out to be actually difficult, it will be difficult for most of the students. Accordingly the cut-offs required to get admission-call from various premier institutes will also go down. And vice-versa is also true.

In all aspects, one should stay positive and the exam will definitely seem to be easy.

Which section should be attempted first?

We would suggest that one should go by his/her strengths. We believe that one should attempt those questions first in which he/she is good at. For an example, if I am good at English, I would attempt questions of English first. The reason is simple; one would most probably get a ‘feel good factor’ or a much desired ‘push’. This will create a positive impact on the student and result in positive results too.

What should be the minimum number of attempts?

While there is no minimum standard, going by the history, a score of anything more than 50% of the total score would be good enough to get a call from a reasonably good institute. Considering the fact that we have 100 questions in the exam, an attempt of around 60-70 questions will be considered to be good. If we maintain an accuracy of around 80% then it would result into a considerably good score.

How much time should be allotted to each section?

The answer to this question depends on the competency of the student. If in the Mock CATs a student has been amongst the toppers and has been doing well in both the sections, it is quite obvious, he/she should go by the same strategy which he/she has used in the Mock CATs.

Secondly, we have to keep in the mind the fact that only the topmost MBA institutes of India have a preference for sectional cut-offs. If a student is an average student and has been an average in the Mock CATs too, he/she can prefer investing more time in which he/she is comfortable, just to ensure an overall better score. One should also try to ensure that one does not have a negative score/ considerably low score in any of the sections.

General Tips:

Carry your admit card and take all the required documents to the exam centre. Reach well before the scheduled time. Stay emotionally and mentally balanced.

Bell the CAT in 2014.

We wish you all the best.

Paridhi Trivedi Parikh | Hardik K. Parikh

Building Careers, Shaping Lives!

(Click on "Join this site" tab on the right-hand side of the page and get instant updates)

Disclaimer: The views mentioned above are based on the authors' opinion and experiences. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on these views/ information.