Time is ripe enough to begin the IIFT 2015 entrance test preparation on English Comprehension along with other MBA entrance exams. Entrance examination to IIFT flagship MBA programme in International business, to be held on 23.11.2014, is around 120 days away and you can’t say that there is ample time nor you can excuse yourself by saying that time is too short to prepare. 1-2 hours dedicated preparation on 5 key areas in Verbal Ability (English Comprehension as IIFT names it) can do wonders.
Learn the key areas where your preparation will need more attention, from expert and seasoned trainer Prof. S.K. Agarwal, who shares the tips to get success in the tricky domain of English Comprehension in the preparation journey to IIFT.
The best part about IIFT 2015 entrance exam is that it is close on the heels of CAT. MBA aspirants who are preparing for other MBA exams definitely will be on winning edge as their preparation of English for IIFT 2015 exam can go well along with CAT.
There is not the slightest doubt that getting into MBA (IB) 2015 at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade is definitely more difficult than getting into any of more than 150 B schools accepting CAT scores and offering numerous management programmes since per seat ratio of IIFT aspirants is much more than any other MBA exams. Apart from this IIFT is a paper pencil mode entrance test and has General Awareness as an added section, so the aspirants have to prepare and practice accordingly.
IIFT 2015 test pattern
Entrance test to MBA programme in IIFT session 2015 will be held in a single day across the country on November 23, 2014. It will be a (MCQ) multiple choice question type examination. The test is supposed to have 4 parts - English comprehension in two sections; Quantitative Ability; Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation and General Awareness.
Any section can be clubbed with other section but the aspirants are required to qualify each one of them. Number of questions in IIFT are not fixed and may vary anywhere between 120 to 130. IIFT 2015 will have a unique feature of varying marking system in the range of 0.5 to 1. Penalty of one fourth negative marking is also very important to remember before going to finalise your answer option.
5 Key areas to prepare
What could be the expected types and number of questions on each topic in English Comprehension in IIFT entrance test is definitely a tricky question answer to which is difficult to anticipate. However, going by the past pattern we can anticipate following number of questions on 5 important topics. Out of total 128 questions English Comprehension in IIFT 2013 had 36 questions based on various topics in English Grammar and comprehension.
1. Questions based on grammatical errors
Conceptual clarity on fundamentals of grammar and tenses in IIFT 2015 entrance exam is very important. There may be questions on error corrections like rewriting of sentences and/or paragraphs as per the correct sequence; identifying the grammatically correct sentences with right sequence of words. These questions could be based on core grammar usage like Articles, Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives and Adverbs, Tenses, Subject verb agreement, Usage on conditionals, Reported speech, Active passive, modifiers.
Types of questions could be- fill in the blanks; correction in wrong usage in sentences; Incorrect usage of phrasal verbs; misplaced modifiers. You should first understand the concept and then practice more such questions to get a high score in IIFT.
There were 4-6 questions based on fundamentals in English comprehension section in IIFT 2013 Entrance test.
2. Jumbled sentences
Jumbled paragraphs also form the part of English comprehension and 2-4 questions may be found in the examination. The aspirants should practice more on random type of sentences. When you proceed to practice them, please remember to find out the connectors among the sentences like ‘It’ ‘those’, ‘these’, ‘this’, ‘who’, ‘as’ – giving the clue to connect them with other sentences. Such words as connectors to the earlier sentences make the task of forming a coherent paragraph easy as they are used in place of certain nouns which form the beginning of paragraph and sentences.
There were 2 questions in IIFT 2013 on this topic and in 2014 the number is expected to be more than this.
3. Reading Comprehension
IIFT 2013 had 16 questions based on 4 passages of 800 words each. When you practice the RC do read the passage/article fairly quickly to get the general idea. Read again, if possible, a little slowly so as to understand the details.
Write a summary in your own words neatly and precisely. Make a chart on time consumed in reading and writing the summary of the passage. Check whether the time is getting reduced day by day. Go for versatile reading on different topics since you may or may not get the passages of your interest in the examination. Regular reading of important articles by eminent writers, editorials in news papers and periodicals definitely is a great help in preparation for this module.
4. Core Vocabulary usage
Aspirants should remember that IIFT entrance test is a mix of CAT and XAT. There can be more than 5 questions on core vocabulary usage like similar relationship of words (analogy); one word substitution; fill in the blanks in 4-5 sentences with correct words/phrasal verbs/vocabulary words; synonyms / antonyms. While CAT places questions on contextual usage, IIFT may ask you the questions in basic language form. The need therefore is to learn, recall the words and practice them, read more and write correctly spelt words. Fill in the blanks are based on rich vocabulary words, more practice on such type of questions will definitely help.
There were 4-6 questions based on Vocabulary usage in IIFT 2013
5. Figures of speech
IIFT never forgets to ask questions on usage of Figures of speech like simile, metaphor, personification, oxymoron, onomatopoeia, hyperbole and apostrophe. Question types, most likely to appear in the forthcoming IIFT entrance test are expected to contain the Figures of speech in sentences and aspirants have to pick them out. It is advisable to practice around 20-25 important figures of speech, understand their key words that help to identify them.
Besides, the aspirants are expected to have fair knowledge of phrasal verbs, idioms, similar sounding and confusing words. Aspirants must pronounce them and write them to have the practice beforehand. Ten minutes a day from now on will empower you with good amount of learning on them.
Time management in IIFT; the most important part
You may have less than one minute per question as against in CAT where you have approximately 3 minutes per question so you should carry forward your preparation and practice keeping in view of this factor. Numbers of questions in IIFT are more than 125 where the time allotted to solve the entire question paper is 120 minutes. You have to solve, choose the right answer option and mark the same on OMR sheet by darkening the circle. Any slip in selecting the circle or losing on time may be disastrous to your score, please remember. Another suggestion is to get over your weaknesses as soon as possible and improve your strong areas further.
Also Read:
IIFT 2015 Exam date Announced: Entrance test on Nov 23, Registration opens
IIFT 2015 exam pattern: Know the Test pattern with expert tips on how to prepare
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IIFT Preparation Related Queries
Application and Selection related queries
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