Do you have a strategy to get a good percentile in IIFT written exam? If no, then you are at the right place. In this article, we will discuss tips, tricks and strategies to score well in two out of four sections of the exam i.e. Quant and Reasoning and Data Interpretation. Usually, these two sections cover more than fifty percent of the exam. The level of difficulty of these questions varies from medium to difficult. A thorough knowledge of the concepts is very important in order to score well in these sections. At the same time, you need to carefully select the questions to attempt and the ones to leave.

Quantitative Ability for IIFT

Last year, a majority of the questions in Quant section appeared from areas like Permutation & Combination, Probability, Geometry and Mensuration, Number System, Algebra, Work and Time, Speed and Distance. You should revise the concepts of these areas thoroughly.

Take a look at the table given below to get a detailed analysis of questions in Quant section of IIFT 2016 written exam.

QA questions have a marking scheme of 1 mark per question and an attempt of 12-15 questions is a good one in the exam. You should keep this as a target in the exam and rather than solving all the questions in the section, search for the easy ones that would help you achieve this goal.

Previous Year Questions

Take a look at this question which appeared in IIFT 2015

Question: In a certain village, 22% of the families own agricultural land and a mobile phone. If 68% of the familiar neither own agricultural land nor a mobile phone, then the total number of families in the village is:

A. 20000

B. 10000

C. 8000

D. 5000

Solution:

Let total families be 100. Since 68 families neither own agricultural land nor mobile.

So, 32 families own at least one of the two things.

Let x be the number of families owning both.

So 22 + 18 – x = 32 => x = 8. So if both is 8, total is 100

If both is 1600, total is 100/8*1600= 20000.

Data Interpretation for IIFT

In the Data Interpretation section, there are typically 20 questions divided in 3 sets that are based on tables, graphs and Stacked Bar Graph . The overall level of questions in this section varies from medium to difficult. The questions on DI in the IIFT Written Test require more calculations as compared to CAT DI questions. Further, Data Sufficiency has not been a part of the exam for past few years.

Take a look at the table given below to get a detailed analysis of questions in Data Interpretation section of IIFT 2016 written exam.

For DI, like QA, the questions usually carry 1 mark per question. In comparison to previous years, IIFT 2016 paper had a more calculation intensive DI and keeping this in mind, you should carefully select the sets you wish to target in the exam. You should generally try to solve 2 DI sets within a time limit of 15 to 18 minutes. You could also try to solve easy questions from different sets and leave the questions that demand a lot of calculation work. This way, you will be able to attempt 2-3 easy questions per set.

Reasoning for IIFT

The Reasoning Section of IIFT typically has 20 questions. The major areas from which questions may be asked are, analytical reasoning, coding - decoding, series, syllogism, input-output and verbal reasoning i.e. statements - assumptions and courses of action. In order to have balanced attempt, you should learn and practice the basic concepts of all the topics of reasoning with special attention to the above-mentioned areas.

Within analytical reasoning, there are sets on decision making, which if attempted carefully may easily give 100% accuracy and make your chances brighter for clearing the cut off for this section. The syllogism questions are also generally of a relatively easy level. Hence, a careful selection of the questions to be attempted in each of the section is the key for clearing the cut-off and getting a great score!

In IIFT-2016, the marks per question in the reasoning section were 0.75. Generally questions based arrangement; selection criteria and mathematical operators are the easy ones in this section and should be solved first. Also, since this section is relatively easy one, you should try to maximize your score in this section.

Take a look at the table given below to get a detailed analysis of questions in reasoning section of IIFT 2016 written exam.

It can be concluded that while all areas of Quantitative Ability and Reasoning need to be covered, a careful study of the previous papers reveals that some topics are more important than others. Thus, it is recommended that you cover the entire syllabus, with special focus on the areas mentioned above.

Tips and Tricks

• You must remember that IIFT has always had a differential marking scheme. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you prepare your strategy accordingly and boost your score from the sections with comparatively more marks per question.
• Keeping in mind the time constraint scenario, you can comfortably attempt 10-12 questions in quant, 10-12 questions in reasoning, and 8-10 questions in DI section.
• Look for the easy questions in the exam and solve those questions first.
• Make sure you don't miss out on the topics that are frequently asked in the previous year papers. Don't forget to solve the previous year exam papers as they will give you a real feel of the question types asked in the exam.
• Do take many mock tests so that you have a well prepared strategy before taking the final exam.