SNAPSHOT- DEC 2015 MAT EXAM

This MAT exam, conducted on 6^th Dec 2015, had 200 questions to be attempted in 150 minutes. These 200 questions were from five test areas viz. Language Comprehension, Data Analysis and Sufficiency, Mathematical Skills, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, Indian and Global Environment with exactly 40 questions in each. Each question had equal marking and one-fourth mark was deducted for every wrong answer. For the sake of convenience, 1 mark has been taken for every correct answer.

OVERALL SUMMARY(ESTIMATED FOR DEC 2015 MAT EXAM)

The consolidated score is evaluated by taking only four areas into account. Indian and Global Environment (GK) is not the part of the consolidated score. Hence, the scoring is done out of a maximum possible score of 160 marks(@1 mark for 160 qs). However, the score card(by AIMA) doesnot give the net marks. It gives the scaled score and the percentile in each and every section. It also gives the overall composite score and the overall percentile. A net score in excess of 62 marks (excluding the score in GK) is considered to be a very good score.

Let us analyze the different types of questions from each of the test area along with the overall difficulty level of each of the test area.

LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION

This test area had a good mix of 20 questions from Reading Comprehension and 20 questions from Verbals. A good time allocation strategy would be to spend around 30-35 min. There were a a total of five passages with four questions each. Four passages were between medium and easy levels of difficulty. One passage had two difficult questions. 27 questions of these reading comprehensions were direct questions. They could be easily found in the passage. Only three questions were indirect and were largely inference questions. There was only one vocab question overall. The length of all the passages was between 600 and 800 words. There were four para formation questions. They were between easy and medium level difficulties. There were five sentences in the question which had to be rearranged. There were four sentence correction questions. They were between medium and difficult levels. Four sentences were given and one of them was the correct option. There were four two blank questions. They were between medium and difficult levels. The questions contained a few difficult words. All the questions and only vocab questions and no prepositions and phrasal verbs. There were four Critical Reasoning questions. All of them were in the form of “all except which” type of questions. The questions were of medium level difficulty. One example: Trade unionism is as much about soft negotiating skills as much as it is about hard bargaining; unionists and managers who do not understand this truth will automatically be deselected at the conference table. There were four Error Identification (EI) questions which were of easy and medium level difficulties. The sentence was broken down into four parts marked (1), (2), (3) and (4). A good time allocation strategy would be to spend around 35-40 min for a very good net score of 18.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS

The paper predominantly had questions from the Arithmetic areas like (Percentages, Profit and Loss, Time and Work, Mensuration, Time and Distance, Simple Equations, Ratio, Proportion, Variation). The questions involved only the basics and those who would have done adequate practice would have found those questions quite doable. The success in this particular test area depended on one's basic conceptual skills, and calculation skills. Overall, the test area can be classified as MODERATE- DIFFICULT. A good time allocation strategy would be to spend around 35-40 min for a very good net score of 15.

AREA	DESCRIPTION	MARKS	DIFFICULTY LEVEL	ESTIMATED GOOD MARKS
Arithmetic	Time & Work, Pipes and Cisterns	7	Moderate -Difficult	12
	Time & Distance, Boats and Streams	5
	Simple Equations	4
	Ratio, Proportion, Variation	3
	Percentages, Profit, Loss, Partnership	2
	Geometry & Mensuration	3
	Averages	2
	Simple Interest, Compound Interest	2
	Miscellaneous	1
Higher Math	Trigometry, Heights and Distance	3	Moderate -Difficult	3
	Permutation and Combinations	4
	Probability	4
	Overall	40	Moderate -Difficult	15

DATA ANALYSIS AND SUFFICIENCY

This test area comprises Data Interpretation (DI), Data Sufficiency (DS) and Data Comparison, with DI accounting for 26 out of 40 questions while Data Sufficiency and Data Comparison put together accounting for the remaining 14 questions. The questions in DI involved were based on observation, calculations like comparison of fractions, computing the averages , percentage based calculations etc. The types of charts were related to Line Graphs, Bar Charts, Tables, Pie Charts and Caselet. Overall, this test area can be considered to be Moderate. A good time allocation strategy would be to spend around 35-40 min for a good net score of 17 marks.

INTELLIGENCE AND CRITICAL REASONING

This sections was a mix of Analytical Reasoning (32 questions) and Critical Reasoning (8 questions). A good time allocation strategy would be to spend 30 minutes on this section. Overall, the questions were of a moderate level of difficulty. Questions of topics like Blood Relations and Direction Sense were easy, but the questions on Distribution can be classified as moderate – difficult. A net score of 20 or more can be classified as a good score in this section.

AREA	DESCRIPTION	MARKS	DIFFICULTY LEVEL	ESTIMATED GOOD MARKS
Analytical Reasoning	Two sets of Distribution (3 qs each)	6	Moderate	17
	Blood Relations (One set & 3 individual questions)	6
	Direction Sense (individual questions)	3
	Cubes (Individual questions)	4
	Number & letter series	5
	Seating Arrangement (Individual questions)	3
	Venn diagrams	5
Critical Reasoning	Assertion and Reasons	4	Moderate	3
	Statement & Conclusions	4
	Overall	40	Moderate	20

INDIAN AND GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

The questions in this test area were, predominantly, from business, current affairs, Person and their associated fields, etc. Those who read newspapers on a regular basis will find this area comfortable. Overall this test area can be classified as Moderate. It is to be noted that the marks scored in this section is NOT counted in the consolidated score. A good time allocation strategy would be to spend around 5 minutes.