ATMA Exam 2025: How to Prepare for Analytical Reasoning
AIMS Test for Management Admissions 2026 ( ATMA )
Result - 28 Feb '26
The Analytical Reasoning section of ATMA is moderate to tough in terms of the difficulty level. Read key tips to crack the Analytical Reasoning section of the ATMA exam 2025 in the article below.
The Analytical Reasoning section of the ATMA exam aims to assess the candidate's ability to analyze and interpret data, make decisions, and solve complex problems. ATMA exam has six sections based on Verbal Skills, Quantitative Skills and Analytical Reasoning. Analytical Reasoning is one of the most difficult sections among the three but can be aced with practice. Aims Test for Management Admission or ATMA is a national-level MBA entrance exam. The exam is taken by a lot of MBA aspirants every year. According to previous years’ trends, the difficulty level of the ATMA exam is moderate to difficult. In this article, Shiksha brings a guide on how to prepare for the Analytical Reasoning section of the ATMA exam.
- ATMA Analytical Reasoning: An Overview
- ATMA Analytical Reasoning Syllabus
- Best Books for ATMA: Analytical Reasoning
- ATMA Preparation: Tips and Tricks to Crack Analytical Reasoning
ATMA Analytical Reasoning: An Overview
The difficulty level of the Analytical Reasoning section of the ATMA exam is usually moderate to tough. This section of the exam is based on critical and logical reasoning questions. To ace the section, one needs to have a clear understanding of the question. Students need to be clear with which question requires what type of approach. In the ATMA exam, there are two sections based on Analytical Reasoning, i.e. Analytical Reasoning Part I and Analytical Reasoning Part II. Check out some of the key points to remember below:
- The Analytical Reasoning section (Part I and II) has 60 questions in total. Candidates will have 30 minutes to solve each section.
- All the questions will be MCQ-type questions
- Every question carries one mark each
- 0.25 marks will be deducted for wrong attempts
- An attempt of 22-25 questions with accuracy will be considered a good attempt
ATMA one month preparation can be done. Students can begin with ATMA syllabus and exam pattern. There on, they can focus on practicing what they have studied. The aim should be to strengthen concepts and practice time management. The remaining time should be given to taking mock tests and soving sample papers.
Prioritize weak areas and enhance vocabulary. This condensed plan can be effective with consistent effort
ATMA Analytical Reasoning Syllabus
The Analytical Reasoning section of the ATMA exam comprises the topics given below. Check the table to know the important topics that can be asked in this section.
| Important Topics of Analytical Reasoning Section |
|
|---|---|
| Critical Reasoning |
Coding and Decoding |
| Syllogisms |
Course of Action |
| Arguments |
Data Sufficiency |
| Statement and Inference |
Statements and Conclusions |
| Strong and Weak Arguments |
Arrangements |
| Blood Relations |
Venn Diagrams |
Also Read:
Best Books for ATMA: Analytical Reasoning
The following is the list of best books for Analytical Reasoning. Check the recommended books below:
- A Modern Approach to Verbal Reasoning by R.S Aggarwal
- Analytical Reasoning by MK Pandey
- A New Approach to Reasoning by B.S Sijwali and S Sijwali
- Logical and Analytical Reasoning by K Gupta
- Analytical & Logical Reasoning for CAT & Other Management Entrance Tests by Piyush Bharadwaj
Students must note that when they are preparing for the ATMA exam, they must refer to other study material apart from the books mentioned above. They must practice an ample number of mock tests and sample papers for this section. As the saying goes, ‘practice makes a man perfect. The more you practice the better you will get on solving the questions.
Also Read: Best books to read for the ATMA exam
ATMA is one of the important MBA entrance exams. The first tip to ace the ATMA exam is to stay calm. Here are a few last minute preparation tips for ATMA exam:
- Confirm the exact location of the ATMA test centre at least one day before the ATMA exam day to ensure that transportation is available on time. If you are new to the city or the location of the centre, it is adivsable to visit the centre once.
- Arrive early to the ATMA exam centre. Applicants must ensure that they arrive at least an hour before the exam begins.
- Use the restroom before to the start of the test. Because you will not have time and may not be able to exit the exam hall throughout the examination period, use the restroom before entering the examination hall.
- Do not bring cell phones or other electronic devices, such as calculators, smartwatches, to the exam centre because the machines are not always available. Personal property will not be safeguarded outside of the exam centre, and the exam centre authories will not be held liable for any loss of personal property. There are no stationary objects allowed, such as a pen, stylus, or paper. Rough pads and pens will be given to the applicants. Candidates should write their name and application number on their rough pads/sheets.
- Stay calm and have a healthy breakfast in the morning before the exam.
AIMS conducts the ATMA exam at least three to four times a year. This year, the exam will be conducted thrice in the computer-based test mode. Here are important topics for the exam according to the sections of ATMA question paper.
Analytical Reasoning: Every year, this section is considered to be the toughest among the others. This section contains questions mainly from Analytical Reasoning and Critical Reasoning. Some of the important topics of this section include:
- Syllogisms
- Critical Reasoning
- Course of Action
- Cause and Effect
- Statement and Conclusion
- Strong and Weak Arguments
- Statement and Inference
- Coding and Decoding
- Arrangements
- Data Sufficiency
Verbal Skills: Just like other management entrance tests, this section is divided into Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability/English Usage. There are about four to five comprehension passages while the topics of English usage are as follows:
- Synonyms (word pair)
- Fill in the blanks
- Para Formation Questions (PFQs)
- Idioms
- Error identification
- Grammar
- Sentence Completion
- Word Meaning
- Antonyms
- Para Jumbles
3. Quantitative Skills: This section of the ATMA question paper is also considered tough. However, the overall difficulty level can be considered to be moderate. Some of the important topics of this section include:
- Profit and Loss
- Percentage
- Simple Interest and Compound Interest
- Partnership
- Average, Mixture and Alligation
- Time and Distance
- Time and Speed
- Geometry and Mensuration
- Time and Work
- Permutation & Combination
- Probability
- Statistics
- Graphs and Pie Chart.
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ATMA Preparation: Tips and Tricks to Crack Analytical Reasoning
As mentioned above, to ace this section, one needs to practice as much as one can. Not practicing enough can make the section a tough problem to solve. One needs to attempt a question with a clear understanding and the right approach. There are no formulae in Analytical Reasoning per se but one needs to apply their cognitive ability to solve the puzzles. Check out some of the ATMA preparation tips to crack the Analytical Reasoning section below:
- The success in solving the question in the Analytical Reasoning section depends on how well you understand the question. The questions may seem confusing at the first glance, but give time and slowly read and understand the question.
- While practicing mock tests and sample papers, try to solve each question twice or thrice. Again practicing more will help you in solving the question not only quickly but also accurately.
- While preparing for the Analytical Reasoning section, list down your strengths and weaknesses and decide which topics to take up first. Try to find tips and tricks to solve the questions quickly and jot down small notes which will help you further during the revision.
- The answer to a question in the Analytical Reasoning section lies in the question and the options themselves. Try to find out a reason as to why one option is correct and others are not.
- Develop a skill of thinking critically. The questions in this section are based on critical reasoning. Break down the questions into a logical flow and a series of events. And then examine each event and look at them critically and eventually solve them.
- Try to draw rough diagrams or grids or tables to understand the question with the data given in the question. Experts suggest that visuals help in solving a particular question in a better way.
- Read as much as you can. Develop a habit of reading and try reading the question twice and fetch the important data or information from the question. This will increase the speed and accuracy.
Read More:
Saumya Jain is an English Literature graduate from the University of Delhi. She has over 8 years of editorial and content writing experience. At Shiksha.com, she has spent more than six years creating research, stud
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a week ago
Yes, PUMBA accepts ATMA scores for MBA admissions. The ATMA cut off for PUMBA is usually high and ranges between 85 to 90 percentile.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
Association of Indian Management Schools does not conduct a centralised counselling process for the ATMA exam. Each participating institute releases its ATMA cutoff and students who match it have to appear for GD/PI/WAT rounds.
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
JBIMS does not accept ATMA scores anymore for MMS admissions and it accepts CAT, MAH MBA CET, and GMAT scores.
The ATMA cutoff for PUMBA is usually high and ranges between 95 to 99 percentile.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
To crack ATMA in first attempt, students should have a good preparation plan. Along with that, students should know ATMA exam pattern, have strong basics and concepts. Practice using sample papers and mock tests will help students fetch a good score.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
Preparing for the ATMA exam from books and study material recommended by experts is important in order to gain an in-depth knowledge on different topics included in the ATMA syllabus. ATMA reference books contain detailed information on each topic of ATMA syllabus and will acquaint the students with
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
CAT and ATMA are both MBA entrance exams. But, historically, the difficulty level of CAT exam is higher as compared to that of ATMA exam.
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
ATMA is a national level entrance exam conducted by Association of Indian Management Schools. ATMA is conducted for admission to MBA, MMS, PGDM programmes at over 700 B Schools in the country.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
It is not compulsory but ideal to take the ATMA mock test for preparation. Students will know the type of questions, difficulty level, important topics, etc. through practising mock tests.
V
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
The total score in ATMA exam is 180 marks. There are 180 questions and each question carries one mark. There is a negative marking of -0.25 marks.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
The documents required while filling the ATMA registration form:
- Scanned copy of photograph
- Scanned copy of signatures
- Scanned copy of caste certificate
- Scanned copy of academic certificates and marksheets
Contributor-Level 10
ATMA exam has 180 questions and total marks are 180. But, raw scores are scaled and the final marks are awarded out of 800. Knowing what is a good score in ATMA exam is subjective, but, the current trends suggest that the following can be a good score:
Very good score: More than 700
Good score: 650 to 700
Average score: 620 to 650
Low score: Below 550