IIFT 2014: Tricky scoring pattern; Focus more on Reading Comprehension

Add Review

MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
August 25, 2014
The total maximum marks for the IIFT entrance test are 100 but the test has more than 100 questions, hence the marks are awarded even in fractions
One can imagine the importance of RC with 16 questions covering half of English comprehension in IIFT 2014 entrance test

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) entrance test, another prestigious MBA entrance examination in 2014 will be held on Sunday, November 23, 2014 just a day after CAT 2014 is over.  It will be a National Level Admission Test for MBA (IB) batch 2015-17 courses at IIFT Delhi and Kolkata campuses. The test is proposed to be conducted in 20 major cities across the country.  Registration for admission to IIFT 2014 exam will close on September 3, 2014.

IIFT is a deemed University and MBA (International Business) at IIFT is a six trimester management programme.  The MBA(IB) admission 2015 entrance exam is  a paper pencil mode multiple choice objective type written test (in English). The Test will be conducted in a single session and will have the duration of 2 hours from 10 AM to 12 noon. The test is taken by approximately 55 thousand MBA aspirants for 220+ seats in IIFT.

Tricky Scoring pattern of IIFT 2014

IIFT MBA entrance exam has no fixed number of questions. It can vary anywhere in the range of 115 to 130. On the top of it section wise pattern can also go anywhere from 25 to 40 questions in each section.

The total maximum marks for the IIFT entrance test are 100 but the test has more than 100 questions, hence the marks are awarded even in fractions. Apart from this the reputed MBA entrance exam has varying marking pattern for every question. The marking weightage in IIFT 2014 may vary from question to question or from section to section in the range of 0.5 to 1 mark per question with a 1/3rd penalty for incorrect answer. Hence be careful to avoid this negative marking by choosing the answer options with patience.

Score of 50-60 can get you through

It is difficult to score even 50 to 60 marks in IIFT entrance test since the time per question is sometimes even less than one minute. Candidates find it difficult to scan the entire question paper while going through their attempts.

The only way is to focus on selected questions where you are more confident to get maximum benefit.

4 sections of IIFT entrance

IIFT entrance test consists of questions covering English Comprehension, General Knowledge & Awareness, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Analysis.

There are around 25 questions on Quantitative Analysis; Data interpretation may have 20 questions; Logical reasoning is the second part of DILR section,it may have 20 questions; aspirants may also expect 28 to 30 questions on General Knowledge while English comprehension may have 38 questions.

Reading comprehension passages; the good scoring part

English comprehension in IIFT 2014 may have 35-38 questions. The section is divided in 2 parts – Verbal Ability usage and Reading Comprehension passages. The first section may have 20 questions while the second section may carry 16-18 questions based on RC passages.  Although questions are not very difficult, the preparation strategy requires constant study and practice on different topics.
 
 Prof.S.K. Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability preparation shares  the key preparation strategy for the benefit of IIFT 2014 aspirants. Candidates preparing for IIFT 2014, have to understand the pattern and follow the guidelines to score more in English comprehension.

One can imagine the importance of RC with 16 questions covering half of English comprehension in IIFT 2014 entrance test.  Interestingly, if you can crack only this part of English comprehension section with accuracy, probably you don’t need to cover much in English comprehension section in IIFT entrance exam.

However, getting biased is never a good thought and other questions based on grammar, vocabulary and jumbled paragraphs also come as saviour when passages are beyond reach.   

How to prepare the RC

There can be 4 to 5 passages in IIFT followed by 16-18 questions in all. Passages are more or less based on abstract, philosophical, business, economics and topics on current affairs.  The passages are of approximately 400-600 words each.   All the passages are rich in vocabulary and literary language. Another interesting feature with the RC passages is that they are inclined more toward philosophical thought, even if the contents were based on business and economy.  Answers to the questions are little direct than in CAT which has more indirect questions and can be understood by close reading of the passages. 

Next 3 months Preparation Plan for RC

IIFT 2014 aspirants are advised to follow the undernoted strategic preparation plan for next 3 months

- Make it the regular practice to read the editorials, articles in the news paper and check how many words are there which you do not know. Tests have shown that the number of unfamiliar words in a passage, if exceeds about one in twenty, the reader will lose track.  If the proportion is lower, the reader may skip over the unfamiliar words and grasp, at least the general meaning.  Use the words in conversation to practice more on them.

 -While you are reading an article, passage, book – pick out the words which are of interest to you- find out their meaning-try to understand the context in which they are used and follow the structure of sentence. When you write, try to frame good sentences using the new words.  This will give you ample opportunity to rectify the errors in sentences, improving the vocabulary, improving the speed and accuracy of reading and the skill to pick out the wrong sentences as well as how to complete the sentence or paragraph

-Have a good book on grammar and reading comprehension with plenty of exercises.  Get your concepts cleared and then attempt the exercises.  At a later stage mock tests will enable you to have proper feel of examination hall and your level of preparation as well.  So take on the challenge.

-Read the passage/article fairly quickly to get the general idea. Read again, a little slowly so as to understand the details. Write a summary in your own words neatly and precisely – with one third/fourth in length to the original length of the passage.

-Use complete sentences, Take care to understand, make a chart on time consumed in reading and writing the summary of the passage. Check whether the time is getting reduced after a day or two.

-Devote 20-30 minutes every day. Go for versatile reading with different topics. Try to mark and note down the interesting/important words or sentences.

Improve your Reading style

Concentrate on main/important words in the sentence and while you go on reading try to link their reference to other parts. Central Idea of the passage, inferring the various types of information, go on to cover all of them while you are reading the passage. This will help you to promptly answer the questions accurately.

How to locate right answer options
 
Keep a plain paper and pencil with you while reading a passage and proceeding to solve the questions based on it.

The sentences and paragraphs in passage have important phrases and words that determine the main idea of the passage. Note them down, by the time you finish reading the passage you have all the material with you to answer almost all the questions based on the passage like ‘the central/main idea of the passage’; the meaning of various phrases and parts as given in the passage. You may not need third reading of the passage.

Related Link

IIFT 2015: Quant, DI, LR to have maximum weightage; English and GK to follow

How important is General Awareness in IIFT 2014: Know what and how to prepare

Will IIFT 2015 have changed face like CAT 2014: History and experts say 'No'

CAT 2014 versus IIFT 2015, know the difference to prepare well

IIFT 2015 exam pattern: Know the Test pattern with expert tips on how to prepare

IIFT 2015 Exam: 5 key topics to achieve Success in IIFT 2015 exam preparation

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more prep tips on IIFT 2014 test