Updated on Dec 5, 2022 14:54 IST

Even if you have been taking taking sufficient number of IIFT mock tests, there are some intricacies that you need to be aware of before the exam day. Check five things to keep in mind for IIFT 2023 exam. By Gautam Bawa

IIFT Prep: To Do List

IIFT 2023 exam is all set to be held on December 18, 2022. After CAT 2023, IIFT is the entrance test on which MBA aspirants would be pinning their hopes. So, with only two days to go for IIFT exam, you must focus on the test day strategy and sectional plan. Also, if you have been kind enough to your IIFT 2023 preparation by taking sufficient number of IIFT mock tests, even then there are some intricacies that you need to be aware of. Some of them are highlighted below:

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Five Things to Keep in Mind for IIFT 2023 Exam

Differential Marking

There are four sections in the IIFT exam and a few subsections among two of the sections. Unlike the various other MBA entrance exams where there is a uniform marking scheme throughout the paper, in IIFT exam each section has different marks. In the General Awareness section each question carries 1.5 marks. Each question in VARC, LRDI and Quantitative Ability carry three marks. It is important for a student to realise this nuance of IIFT exam and proceed with a suitable strategy to maximise the marks.

Q:   If I am preparing for CAT, do I need to prepare separately for IIFT?
Q:   What is the difficulty level of IIFT exam?
Q:   Will the difficulty level of the IIFT question paper affect the cut offs?

Marks per minute concept

Following from the aforementioned point, in the IIFT exam pattern, there are two extremely prominent sections, Logical Reasoning, which forms Section 4 of the paper, and Data Interpretation, which is a subpart of Section 4. Both these sections sum up to 90 marks while VARC carries 105 marks. Also the strike rate of marks per minute is the highest for these two sections.

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Glance through the passages and attempt two passages which you are comfortable with based on the subject of the passage, at the rate of seven to eight minutes per passage. Do not target attempting all RCs since this section gives minimum marks per minute.

Errata – A few Incorrect Questions

This might seem strange but, many a times, incorrect question/s appears in such tests. Either these questions are unsolvable i.e. incorrect or none of the options match the correct answer. It can be understood that these questions are merely there to check the student’s ability to handle chaos and still keep his/her boat afloat.

Q:   Which section of IIFT exam has maximum weightage?
Q:   How many months are required to prepare for the IIFT exam?
Q:   Which is the best book to cover IIFT Verbal Ability syllabus?

Since IIFT is a speed based test, be vary of these dead-ends and move on immediately if a question doesn’t strike you.

Varying Level of Difficulty

The IIFT exam is not one of those entrance exams which can be stereotyped based on the level of difficulty. Students can get a good perspective about the varying level of difficulty by noticing that the cut-offs for IIFT Delhi over the last few years have varied from 38.5 to 50.

This variability is why it is of paramount importance that students spend a few minutes at the start of the IIFT 2023 exam to judge the difficulty level of the question paper. Based on the difficulty, the student should look forward to make a suitable number of attempts.

The Mystery of Sectional Cut-Offs

IIFT has never been consistent across years on having sectional cut-offs. Some years there is a sectional cut-off in the exam while in the other years students just need to clear the overall cut-off.

A well prepared student should make it a point to perform equally well in all the sections to clear the sectional cut-offs, if any. It is needless to say that the cut-offs for the General Awareness section is extremely low (as low at 2.5 to 3 marks) and a candidate should perform like-wise in this section. Even if it isn’t specifically stated that the paper has sectional cut-offs one should assume that it does.

All the Best for IIFT exam 2023! 

About the Author

Gautam Bawa is an IIM C Alumni & MBA Head at a leading testprep centre of India.

 

 

 

 

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IIFT Exam Mock Test will help you to get an idea about the type of questions asked, the exam pattern and marking scheme. After taking the test, you can immediately check your score. You can also download the Question Paper along with answers and their explanations for Free. Click below to start the free online test now.

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