IPM 2014 Exam Analysis

Exam Snapshot

IPM Aptitude test was conducted on 15 May, 2014 in six cities across the country. It was a paper-pencil test, with two sections (not individually timed) - Quantitative Ability and Verbal Ability. Test-takers were expected to show their competency in both the subject areas.

The biggest challenge faced by test-takers in this test is usually the demanding time frame, which gives less than 90 seconds per question. The overall level of difficulty was higher than it was last year. The difficult questions in section-I together with the challenge of limited time made it a pretty tough nut to crack.

Section-I

The first section of the paper clearly established its intent as a test of ability to apply concepts to solve problems in a time-bound manner. The questions required one to understand the context and identify the concepts to be applied - all within a minute. It was not a cake-walk, as a few questions were as long as 8-9 lines. 

Continuing the trend from last year, there were no questions based on Data Interpretation or Logical Reasoning. However, a question based on Data Sufficiency was present.

The test had a good number of questions from Algebra (Quadratic Equations, Logarithms, Sequences and Series, Modulus etc.) when compared to earlier years. Several topics such as Statistics, Simple Interest – Compound Interest, Surds and Indices were conspicuous by their absence.

While the questions were generally on the difficult side, judicious selection would have helped a test-taker solve more number of questions. Attempts in the range of 30-34 with an accuracy of 80% should help one achieve the cut-off here.

Section-II

The Verbal Ability section was the saving grace last year, as section-I was relatively difficult. The importance of scoring in this section only got more accentuated this year, with Section-I becoming tougher and section-II becoming easier compared to their counterparts last year. There were no surprises with regards to the question-types. Questions from vocabulary included the synonym/antonym questions, the analogy questions, and those on word usage. There were two RC passages, which were quite simple as they did not necessitate the readers to make a lot of inferences. Questions from other areas included para framing, suitable conclusion, sentence completion and grammar. Attempts in the range of 28-32, with an accuracy of 90% can be considered a safe bet in the area.

Expected cut-off:

The first section needed to be treaded with caution, with question selection and the temperament to not get stuck in difficult questions playing key roles. The majority of scoring ought to have been from the second section. An overall score of 180 and above should be good enough to secure a Personal Interview call.

The shortlist for Personal Interview will be declared on 26 May, 2014. T.I.M.E. wishes you all the best!