All other test components in IIFT 2015 exam need hard core rules and formula based study but the General Knowledge section with 30 questions does not require any strenuous efforts and in next 3 days, if you simply brush up the various components of General Knowledge and events that took place prior to November 10, 2015, you could add 15% more marks in your forthcoming IIFT entrance exam going to be held on November 22, 2015.
Only 3 days are left for IIFT 2015 exam and you are supposed to revise, brush up and update your General Knowledge during this period. The IIFT entrance test doesn’t have any fixed number of questions on any topic. Besides, marking pattern varies from section to section and from questions to question. Going by the past trends and since there is no anticipated change in the test pattern, following trend is expected in IIFT 2015
Test Components and weightage
English comprehension is expected to have 36 questions on core verbal ability and on Reading comprehension passages. Total weightage to this section is expected to be around 25%.
Quantitative Analysis is expected to have 25 questions with 25% weightage in IIFT 2015 exam. The difficulty level of questions in this section is comparatively high.
The 20 DI questions are expected to be clubbed with Quant section and may carry a weightage of 1 mark each with a total weightage of 20% marks.
Logical Reasoning section is expected to have 18 to 20 questions carrying a weightage of 15% marks.
General Knowledge and awareness is expected to have 30 questions with a weightage of 15 marks. It is expected that each GK question will carry 0.50 mark.
General Knowledge section in IIFT entrance test cannot be undermined as it has the sectional cut off and stands at par with other sections. A low score in GK may reduce the total score of IIFT aspirants resulting in no call from the B-school. GK with15% weightage in IIFT entrance is considered as the percentile booster.
Brush up your GK and add 15%
Total maximum marks in IIFT are 100 out of which General Knowledge and awareness is awarded 15% marks. GK is the section that can give you an edge. It requires neither any special skill to study nor any concept building to understand the type of questions.
The good amount of weightage to questions on General Knowledge can improve your scores with a regular reading of news papers and periodicals.
It’s not only conventional pattern of GK but also analytical and current environmental awareness of your surroundings which is needed to crack GK in IIFT 2015. In IIFT 2014 the weightage to this section in the test was 14% and a sectional cut off was also needed.
General Awareness will play the same role in pushing up your merit position in IIFT as other sections can do.
Revisit following Keys areas
Important components of General Awareness in IIFT entrance 2015 would be as follows-
A. Conventional (Inventions, discoveries, books, authors, personalities, capital, currency)
B. Business, Finance & Economy based
C. Current Affairs India (Political, Social, Sports, Films, awards etc.)
D. International (personalities-Present, global events etc.)
Each part needs due weightage. Conventional GK is available in books; Current GK is based on current reading of newspapers and periodicals; Business & Economics GK reflect the changes in Fiscal and monetary policy, CRR, Repo Rate, Devaluation and up valuation of Rupee.
Please remember current GK-whether Business, national and international has an on-going preparation method and thorough reading of the newspaper only can keep you updated. However, now you need a good bi-monthly periodical to brush up what you have already studied.
No confusion on Abbreviations
There may be certain confusing names, events and the aspirants tend to forget the exact description which means you may not be so good to manage the future affairs with this weakness. So have clarity and understand the difference, for example difference among the abbreviations like OPEC, OAPEC, OECD, OIC, APEC, ADB, ASEAN, EEC, EU, EFTA, SAARC, WCC, should be well understood and remembered in context so that you may not forget the same in the testing room.
Revise the following
Study of any subject is not so vast but easy as the study of General Knowledge. The best part on preparation for this section is that you do not need any special skill set as required for Quant and Verbal. What you need is your inclination and interest in regular reading of books and periodicals and remembering the important events, policy changes, appointments etc.
Conventional –Books on GK are available in the market and may be considered the best to prepare in a short time like Manorama Year Book, General Knowledge refresher and so on. Topics like Authors of the books, Historical facts & events, Personalities, places, questions based on inventions, discoveries and Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology etc can be revised quickly.
Business, Finance & Economy –This is one of the most favourite sections of GK that appear in the IIFT entrance examination. Business and finance oriented General Knowledge improves your understanding of economic environment, strengthening your IQ and making you better equipped to face the Group discussions and Personal Interviews. Try to cover hot topics in Business, Finance and Economy. Going through them will help you to prepare better for your forthcoming IIFT examination.
Tips to cover Business & Economy
You may confront these questions in different manner like ‘ What is the current CRR’, ‘Difference between CRR & SLR’ ‘ Instruments for money control’, “The authority that can change the Bank Rate of the Country” , ‘Which is the petroleum product from which subsidy has been fully withdrawn’, ‘Budget speech of the President marks the beginning or the conclusion of budget session’ ‘ Where the budget is presented first in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha’, ‘Which company is not included in the NAVRATNA companies of India’ and so on.
Regularly read the business, economy page of newspapers like Economic Times periodicals like The week, India Today, The Economist – mark the striking events, read editorials and other articles analyzing various national and international events. Year books, purchased by you, will also be a good help in the preparation.
Current Affairs
Recent announcement by Government, Commonwealth games, creations of additional states, appointments – Private and Public sector, awards. Global happenings that mark their impacts in the country must be well read. Although there is no syllabus for GK, you must brush up whatever you have read. Draw a quick plan to revise and learn.
You do not need to cover the events that took place after November 10, 2015 as the question paper of IIFT 2015 must have already been prepared.
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is one of the top rated B schools. It conducts separate admission test for MBA(IB) programme. The entrance test for MBA batch 2016-18 is going to be held on Sunday, November 22, 2015 for its Delhi and Kolkata campuses in 20 cities across India. The conventional paper pencil mode test will be of two hours duration from 10.00 A.M. to 12.00 Noon.
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