So, CAT result is out, and you have been finally called for interview sessions with different IIM and MBA colleges. It was very grilling process to crack CAT in first place, but wait; you still have few more hurdles to clear in order to enter into your dream MBA College.
Some facts about CAT process
Each year about 2 lacs students appear for CAT, which is one of the popular entrance exams for admission in B-Schools/MBA institutes. CAT is required to take admission in 20 IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) and few more MBA colleges across India. As of 2021, there are approx. 12000 PGP seats offered in all 20 IIMs.
MBA admissions process
Once you are called for IIM interview, you need to crack following hurdles
- Personal interview round
- WAT or Written Ability Test or Academic Writing Test round
- Ground discussion round (this round is phased out in most of the IIMs as of now)
What is WAT (written ability test)?
Written ability test or WAT is a replacement of Group discussion (GD) round in IIMs. Earlier IIM used to conduct Group discussion (GD) and Personal Interview(PI) round for finalizing the selection of CAT qualified students. There were issues with Group discussion; some of them are listed below.
- Group discussion (GD) is highly biased towards loudest and outspoken person in the room. There is high chance that 1-2 people are hijacking whole GD process, and thus people with introvert/shy nature hesitate to participate in this round
- The main objective of building upon discussion, and taking all people along were never achieved in competitive scenarios. GD round often take shape of fish market in lot of cases.
Written ability test(WAT) is introduced to let all students have equal opportunity to express themselves in writing. Students are given topics of national importance, and asked to write or speak. Students can freely express themselves without any hesitation, and it also give advantage in selecting right candidates for IIM.
WAT carries total of 10% weightage in MBA admissions in IIMs and other MBA colleges.
In total WAT and PI round amount to total of upto 35% in some IIMs’ admission.
Types of topic in WAT for MBA admissions
Some of the topic categories for WAT round are:
- National news
- International news
- Business and Economy news
- Science and Technology news
- Ministry schemes and programs
WAT topic list 2022
Here we have compiled list of topics from various categories.
WAT topics from National and International news
- Farm reforms- Whether boon or bane for agriculture sector?
- Police and Judicial reforms in India
- Low percentage allocation of healthcare and education budget
- Changes in post covid world
- How US China trade war will impact world
WAT topic list from Business and Economics
- How can govt expenditure help in economic downturn
- How does protectionism polices impact global trade and economies
- Importance of regional trade blocs like NAFTA, RCEP etc
- Importance of FDI and FII in economy
- Monetary policy- Whether it should be inflation driven or hybrid one
WAT topic list from Science and Technology
- Boon and Bane of Artificial Intelligence
- How will Internet of Things help us in future
- Space technology in India and its key projects
- How blockchain will improve agriculture sector
- Privacy in social media from govt and companies
WAT topic list from Ministry Schemes and project
- How will FASTag project help in improving logistics and transport sector
- Importance of Ayushman Bharat
- Do we need minimum pay in India
- What are key hurdles in start up stand up India and mudra loan
- Whether public vaccination program should be centralized or not
See also: Economics and Finance essay topics
Important tips for cracking WAT in IIM admissions
WAT is basically done to assess your knowledge regarding topic and how you can articulate it in your words. Make sure to follow below mentioned points when attempting WAT
- Keep notice of word count. Do not extend word limit, as it will be negative impact
- Keep notice of time.
- Structure your paragraph as per important points/headings
- Make sure to use known facts wherever possible
- Do not lie or guesses in WAT. You will questioned in your personal interview, and wrong information is basically a penalty
- Do not use first person anywhere.
- Read editorials of famous newspapers like The Hindu, Indian Express, Economics Times etc
- Read news/current affairs for atleast last 6 months before WAT
How can Xamnation help in your WAT preparation?
At Xamnation, we are glad to support and guide you in WAT preparation for IIM and MBA admissions. You can send us your copy of WAT assignment to info@xamnation.com, and we will be glad to review. Our teachers (most of them are IIM graduates) will personally review your assignment and give you improvement tips. We also have course available for WAT and interview preparation. You can contact info@xamnation.com to know more.
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