B-school aspirants across the country, here’s some news that give a completely different perspective to your preparation angle. B-schools have started replacing the Group Discussion with the WAT or Written Ability Test. Here we present to you a short guide on everything you need to know about the WAT.
What is the WAT?
The Written Ability test was basically introduced as a means to help B-Schools to evaluate the thought process of a candidate. It replaces a GD, where a candidate’s ability to speak was judged but to judge every candidate thought process on an individual level was very tough given the chaos created in a GD. In the existing 13 IIMs, only IIM Calcutta has the GD process. The other IIMs have the Essay Writing or Written Ability test and Personal Interview rounds.
It is important to develop the ability to think and articulate quickly. For B-school panelists, essays are tools to see how you structure your thoughts and produce them in the least amount of time. Apart from IIMs, other prominent B-schools like XLRI and IIFT also use Essay Writing to assess candidates It helps B-Schools to analyze whether the candidate can state their opinions on any particular subject in a logical manner and to know whether they posses enough knowledge to be able to pen down their thoughts on any given subject.
The usual structure of a WAT is designed in a way that you are provided with a time limit (usually 20 minutes) and asked to pen down your thoughts in a specified word-limit (may differ as per each B-School) on a given topic. IIM Bangalore gives 30 minutes to write the essay, while IIM Lucknow gives 15 minutes and the time for writing the essay is as little as 10 minutes in IIM Ahmedabad.
WAT as a precursor to PI?
The essay you wrote in the first half of the personal assessment round can generate some questions in the interview round. The panel could ask you questions about the essay and you have to defend it. Questions on the topic can also be asked, which means you will need to know a lot about the topic. If you don’t know something, simply admit it.
Experience talks:
We asked Candidates who have appeared for the WAT to share their experiences and this is what they have to say: “Penning down about 600-750 words in 20 minutes is not a difficult task for any MBA aspirant, provided they are well read and are able to write down their thoughts in a logical format”, says MBA aspirant Gautam Maitreya, who recently appeared for the WAT.
“You must be extremely well read and know what you are talking about”, adds Avinash Chandnani another B-School aspirant who has experienced the WAT. As per Gautam, “for any candidate appearing the WAT practicing to write beforehand on a given topic in the given time frame and knowing exactly how much to write for the given word-limit is a must. Ensuring that you have legible handwriting and do not use too many shortcuts or the SMS lingo in writing, is something what everyone misses out on. It is small things like these that make all the difference.”
For Avinash the most important aspect is, “being able to think on whatever topic you receive and write relevant matter. Your structured format in writing the content and making sure that you showcase your opinions well is important.”
So is it alright if we take a stand and become opinionated? We asked. To this Gautam replies, “Showcasing your point of view is the most important aspect in a WAT so becoming opinionated and taking a stand are a must. Structure your content in a way that it’s preferable in paragraph form and covers everything you have to say in the given word-limit without repeating any point is important.”
“Knowing what you are writing about is a must!” says Avinash. “So having a very strong knowledge base about current affairs and general knowledge is important” he concludes.
Tips to keep in mind before you attempt the WAT:
- Do not Use Company Jargon.
- Don’t Bore the Reader. Be Interesting.
- Do Use Personal Detail. Show, Don’t Tell!
- Be Concise. Don’t Be Wordy.
- Do Address Your Weaknesses. Don’t Dwell on Them.
- Vary Your Sentences and Use Transitions.
- Use Active Voice Verbs.
- Don’t Wander. Do Stay Focused.
- Revise, Revise And Revise.
Some important topics that have appeared in the past:
National affairs:
- India has the largest pool of talented manpower but very few innovations and patented products
- Allowing Foreign Universities in India is bad for India’s education system
- India versus Bharat: a divided nation
- How should women empower themselves?
- More than one billion Indians: A gigantic problem or a sea of opportunities
Political Issues:
- Voting should be made compulsory
- Banning politicians with criminal records from contesting elections is against their right
- Fight against corruption
- Women’s Reservation Bill
- Union Budget is useless and recession puts it off track
Economy/ Business Issues:
- Recession is the mother of innovation
- Should Petroleum Subsidy go away?
- Discuss the role of Public Private Partnership in India’s Economic Growth
- Foreign direct investment will revitalize the education system
- Businesses should concentrate on making profits and not address social and environmental Issues
International Issues:
- India to become a superpower in near future
- China’s relations with India vis-a-vis Pakistan
- Does India have a role in Afghanistan? Discuss.
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