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5 Tips to Excel at the Written Assessment Test

Praqtise — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 05:03:21 +0000

Fear of the WAT!!

Arjun and Sneha are classmates at the same college. They are in the final year of BBA and have also appeared for several MBA exams. Both are confident of clearing the cut-off for premier colleges. One day after college, they begin talking casually of the upcoming selection rounds. Sneha seems to be confident about facing the written assessment test, Arjun not so much.

Sneha: I don’t know about you but I am excited about the further rounds. Especially the written assessment test…

Arjun: Are you kidding? How can you be excited about the WAT phase? The idea of writing something spontaneously sounds terrifying! The things that one must do for an MBA in IIM!

Sneha: But why are you so nervous? Did you not write huge essays in school?

Arjun: Of course I did! But that was so long ago…

Sneha: Well you can think of the writing assessment test as an essay. You would be preparing for current affairs and other MBA specific aspects anyway. It is a question of applying the knowledge here. If you are so nervous about it, practise writing brief essays 3 times a week. This is what I do.

Arjun: Hmmm, what you are saying makes sense. I think I can overcome this fear if I follow your advice.

Sneha: Obviously, everyone knows I’m the smarter one…

Why does the Written Assessment Test seem scary

Taking Sneha’s argument further, why indeed should one worry excessively about WAT? There are many reasons why the idea of the written assessment test makes aspirants uncomfortable:

Unless one is studying language in some form as a graduate, one does not have to write essays. Long form answers usually pertain to some technical aspect or case study. Hence, one feels out of place in thinking from scratch on a random topic.
For most working professionals, the need for writing itself is eliminated to a great extent. Writing emails is hardly comparable to writing essays.
Students who feel that verbal ability is not their strength see this test as a major obstacle. They become very sceptical about being able to tackle this phase.

How to conquer the Written Assessment Test

Many of you would share the same concerns. But do not worry; we at Praqtise have come up with the best way to overcome WAT.

Go back to school

When in doubt, go back to basics. While we tend to remember school for all the fun times, we can look back at some of the good habits as well. English exam meant writing letters, précis, and essays and so on. Not to mention the long answers in history, geography and other subjects.

One way or other, we would end up writing on a daily basis on a vast variety of topics. Also, each type of writing came with its own set of rules. Because of this subconscious practise, tackling essays on the exam day became much easier.

To improve your written assessment test skills for the MBA entrance, you can go back to these habits. Pick up topics out of interest. Write short as well as long essays. Pick up a newspaper article and summarise it. Develop a habit of doing this 3-4 times a week, or set a daily word limit. Writing on a daily basis will help you greatly, and the change will be easy to notice.

Unshackle your creativity

As you should be ready for facing not so straightforward questions, it is good to get your creative juices flowing. All aspirants realise the importance of reading. What you read will also influence how you write during the written assessment test for MBA entrance. Introduce variety in the content that you are reading. For example, reading articles from a satirical journalist will help you poke fun at everyday events. On the other hand, reading fiction will allow you escape reality and have a colourful imagination. Poems would help you play around with words and figures of speech.

There is a reason why you must not restrict yourself to reading just about politics and business. Greater the variety in your reading, the richer your writing will be.

Develop your own technique

Here, we want to address the specific aspect of planning your essay. Irrespective of the time limit, you will spend the initial few minutes in brainstorming. Develop a method to structure your thoughts for the written assessment test. For example:

You may simply write down questions that address various aspects of the topic (what, when, how, why etc.). Answering the questions in the same order will naturally give a flow to your content.
Some of you might feel it easier to create a flow chart for the points you want to write on. Jot down keywords and follow the same structure to help you write smoothly.
If you are well-versed with the topic, a good method is to list 3-4 primary arguments that you will focus on. Build your essay around these arguments.

Work on articulation

Just as each person has a natural and unique way of speaking, we also possess a unique way of writing. Identify your style of writing. To improve upon it, read and review what you have written. Try and express ideas in simple words and active voice. Do not make long sentences unnecessarily. There may be a tendency to rely on jargons. Try to curb it and use general, direct words instead. Ensure that paragraphs are of even length. Divide your essay into sections such that your thought process becomes apparent.

By articulating your thoughts better, you will be able to extract the full value of what you write. A shorter essay that is more articulate will beat a longer one with ordinary style.

Always take feedback

It is always better to get a neutral and sensible perspective about our own progress. Reach out to teachers, parents, friends or family for feedback on your practise essays. They might point out some weaknesses that are hidden from you. Their collective experience will also help you greatly. A one hour discussion with a teacher can be as insightful as hours of self-learning.

The above tips will help you tackle all exams- be it the XAT essay, MICA or any other WAT. Think of WAT as a chance to stand out while aiming for the top MBA colleges in India.

How do you approach the writing assessment test? Is there a useful suggestion that you can share? Please let us know in the comments.

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How to approach Written Assessment Test (WAT)?

Praqtise — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 14:05:14 +0000

Raksha and Tarun first met at a coaching class while preparing for CAT exam. They shared notes and study plans and became good friends over time. While Raksha is the talkative one, Tarun is the shy type. He prefers to keep his conversations short and to the point. They meet up after Tarun’s Group Discussion round with an important B school of the country. The written assessment test involved writing a summary of the discussion in 200 words.

Raksha: So, how was your GD?

Tarun: Uhmm..fine I guess. Our group got the topic, “The world is full of cactus. But you don’t have to sit on it.”

Raksha: What?? What does that even mean?

Tarun: Well, it’s an abstract topic. At first, even I was dumbfounded. But as the discussion got interesting, taking cues from other participants, I got better understanding of the topic…and even got a few breaks to present my views on the topic. I interpreted it as- ‘there is a lot of bitterness in the world, but it is not worth beating oneself up over it. You can still find your happy place.’ I hope I made relevant points.

Raksha: Oh!!! Now I get it. Isn’t it something that the movie “Dear Zindagi” talks about?

Tarun: Well, I haven’t seen the movie. But that maybe the case, since a girl in our group also mentioned it during the discussion.

Raksha: I am sure you made valid points. You always enter the discussion late, but offer some of the most interesting insights.

Tarun: Haha, thanks, I hope it worked this time too. I think my WAT summary was much better. We were asked to write summary of the discussion we had earlier.

What do we know about Written Assessment Test?

The number of MBA colleges that use WAT in the selection process is increasing every year. It is either a substitute to the Group Discussion round, or as a follow on to it.

Facts about Written AssessmentTest (WAT)-

Some of the top MBA colleges in India that issue a WAT are: JBIMS, SP Jain, IMT, MICA, IIFT, TAPMI, IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Calcutta, IIM-Lucknow, IIM-Indore, and IIM- Kozikode.
The weightage of WAT in the process of selection depends on the colleges
The time provided to students may be 10 minutes of précis writing followed by a Group Discussion or even a 50 minute exclusive Essay Writing task.
Students may get a general topic like ‘Management Education- for too many and too cheap’; or a specific topic like ‘Support the statement- Make in India is a great initiative to drive innovation in the country.’
WAT can be used as a Pre-task or Follow-on activity to the Group discussion or Group Exercise.

What to do in the Preparation stage for Written Assessment Test?

1. Read a lot of articles

Since reading provides you with the necessary ingredients for both discussion and essay on any area, you should get into the practice of reading current affairs and few all time favourite issues like Politics, Education, Corruption, Economic Growth, Social Causes etc. Reading is receptive and writing is productive -the more you read, the better will you be able to write.

2. Practice writing drafts in ten to fifteen minutes

a. Analyse the topic

First, read the topic carefully and spend couple of minutes thinking on the topic. Make use of all the space provided to you to take the ideas down. Depending on memory is a bad idea and so list whatever comes to your mind. You may filter the ideas later.

b. How to structure the essay?

Go through all the points/examples/analogy/anecdotes/cases that you have listed and discard any repetitive or unrelated ideas. Of the remaining ideas, structure them to bring out the best flow in your content. You may want to start the response with an analogy or example. This offers a hook to the readers and involves them in your writing immediately.

c. Use of styles and supports in your essay

While your structure should bring out the best of your ideas, make sure you use the style that you are comfortable with, and which serves the objective in the best possible manner. For example, you may want to begin with a story or anecdote and then come to the main idea.

d. Word limit

Well, do not worry about the word limit. It is mostly an approximate limit set for the students (if mentioned). If there is no limit mentioned, stay close to 250 words.

e. Be crisp and interesting; not long and boring

You should ensure that you do not sound repetitive. You tend to repeat when you are out of ideas. And so it is important, that you use the time of ‘Analysis’ well. Set a thumb rule: ‘I shall not start writing the essay unless I have 4-5 distinct points on the given topic. Remember ‘distinct’.

f. Learn to edit your work

You must always spare some time to edit your work, and to improvise your draft so that it looks complete and comprehensive. You may want to read about the common structure related errors online.

3. Get your drafts reviewed

Writing the first draft for Written Assessment Test feels like an achievement, doesn’t it? Next, you should get a critical feedback from your peers/friends or anyone you think can critique your draft objectively and sincerely.

You may be surprised to learn some common errors, if you request for an honest feedback.

It can be as silly yet enlightening as- “you use the word ‘like’ too many times in your essay”

What to do on the WAT Day?

After reading the topic and the instruction carefully, go through the stages of analysis-structuring-drafting, managing your time smartly.

For a twenty minutes task, the break-up must look like this:

Spend the first 2-3 minutes of the time on the Analysis of the Task in hand
In the next twelve minutes, structure and draft the essay to include all the points that you have listed
Finally, go through the essay in the time remaining to ensure that there is a good flow between paragraphs and there are no glaring errors in your essay.

A Written Assessment Test is likely to be a challenging task for any candidate. It is important to remember this and not feel overwhelmed. A write up which shows a clear, logical thought process, and has a good flow is what the interviewers are looking for.

Are there any specific techniques that you use for tackling the WAT section? Let us know in the comments.

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