Ace Quant, DI and Reasoning sections of IIFT

Quant, DI, and Reasoning form nearly half of the IIFT exam. The level of difficulty of these areas 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. In other word, you are required to be diligent in more than one way.

In this article, we will discuss tips, tricks and strategies to score well in these areas of the exam.

Quantitative Analysis for IIFT

For this part, students should practice questions from areas like Permutation & Combination, Probability, Geometry and Mensuration, Number System, Algebra, Work and Time, Speed and Distance. It is absolutely important to have a good conceptual clarity of these topics.

Take a look at the table given below to get a detailed analysis of questions in Quant section of IIFT 2020 written exam.

Previous Year Questions

Take a look at this question which appeared in an IIFT past paper

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 questions 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 since the past few years.

Take a look at the table given below to get a detailed analysis of questions in Data Interpretation section of IIFT 2020 written exam.

Evaluation:Two sets were graph-based and two sets were table-based. Table based graph on Delhi/Mumbai was easy. In the LR section, circular based block was difficult while input output set was comparatively easier. For DI, like QA, the questions usually carry 3 marks per question. In comparison to previous years, IIFT paper had a more calculation intensive. In a nutshell, you should carefully select the sets you wish to target in the exam. You could also try to solve easy questions from different sets and leave the questions that demand a lot of calculation work.

Reasoning for IIFT

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!

Generally questions based on arrangements; 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 2020 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.