IBSAT 2013 - Commentary after Day 1

IBSAT 2013 started without any reported glitches across the country. The test-takers from the first day's slots suggested that the paper was on the easier side compared to last year. While the duration of the test remained the same, there was slight variation in the breakup of questions.

Time allotted	2 Hrs.
Total no. of questions	120
Total Marks	120
Marking Scheme	1
Sections	4
Number of choices	5
Negative Marking	No

Sections	No. of Questions	No. of Marks
English Usage	30	30
Reading Comprehension	30	30
Quantitative Ability	30	30
Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency	30	30
Total	120	120

Note - The following observations have been made based on test-takers' feedback from day 1.

Section I - English Usage

The section was inundated with vocab-related questions - synonyms, antonyms, analogies, sentence completions accounting for 20 out of the 30 questions. The other 10 were grammar based - identifying the grammatically incorrect part of a sentence, replacing the underlined part of sentence with a correct phrase.

A few of the vocabulary questions seemed difficult, while the grammar part was supposedly easier. Overall, around 20-22 marks could be achieved here by a well-prepared candidate in under 20 minutes.

Section II - Reading Comprehension

This section comprised 4 RC passages - of lengths varying between 350-500 words. The breakup of the number of questions was 8-8-9-5. Surprisingly, the lengthiest passage had the least number of questions.

Most of the 30 questions were fact-based, and could be searched - using Ctrl-F (yes it worked!). There were a few vocab based questions (again!), a couple asking for the apt title of the passage and very few inference-based questions.

Around 23-25 should be comfortably solved in 30 minutes in the section.

Section III - Quantitative Ability

The Quant part of the exam had a good mix of questions from Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. Questions were asked on areas such as Progressions, Numbers, Framing and Equations, Percentages, Ratios, Venn diagrams, Permutations, Circles, Triangles, and Quadrilaterals and Heights and distances. Most of the questions were straight-forward and could be solved without much effort. However, a couple of questions required approximate answers and some of the answer choices could be eliminated as they fell beyond the conditions mentioned in the question.

There were typos in some of the questions, and there were a couple of questions that did not have any answers. These left quite a few students guessing as to what the right question would have been. Overall, of the 30 questions in this part, a student who has prepared well should be able to answer 21-23 of the questions correctly.

Section IV - Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency

The section was a mix of concepts and logical thinking. The answer choices in Data Sufficiency were not consistent through out the questions - they were all jumbled up from one question to another. For example, if 'choice C' in one question was 'Both I and II together are adequate', the same in another question was 'choice A'. Students are advised to stay cautious while marking the answers. The Data Interpretation part had graphs (bar, line, circle graphs) and regular question types (percentage change, ratio between two values etc.)

Overall, of the 30 questions in this part, a student who has prepared well should be able to answer 18-20 of the questions correctly.

Bottom Line

Tools such as on-screen calculator, formula list, usage of Ctrl-F would make the test-taking simpler. However, vocabulary could be the key differentiator that would separate the best from the rest.