Consilium 2012 A Students initiative of Indian Institute of Management Ranchi

WAT Preparation Tips

1. Knowledge: The first step in preparation for written/oral is expanding your knowledge base. However for this it is first important to assess the current state of your subject knowledge in comparison to the expected knowledge required for the WAT. There must be a religious effort in expanding your knowledge base through a lot of editorial content reading from Newspapers, Magazines and other sources of information.

Knowledge of Current Affairs calls for memorizing a structured record and analysis of worldwide incidents over the last few years. It is important to follow news that impacts everyday lives of people, government policies that affect people and business, updates in the business world etc. Therefore in these fast changing times all sectors have come to be interrelated and hence all stories invariably tend to converge at a point. For instance if the government brings about a policy reform in the taxes to be levied upon exports then this directly impacts the export industry in a positive or negative way, as a management graduate you would be required to asses such situations and take proactive measures in accordance with changing policies to keep your organization in good health. How does all of this come into picture in a written ability test? Through your writing you display your knowledge and aptitude in understanding and analyzing situations, it is then imperative that you focus on strengthening these skills to make a noticeable impact. .

Every MBA aspirant h read Newspapers, Magazines, bulletins etc for being in touch with some of the burning issues. Some of the suggested newspapers to be read are Economic Times for business related news and The Hindu for current affairs. Subscribing/reading to magazines like CSR, PD (Pratiyogita Darpan) also helps you keeping a tab on the current affairs. Magazines like India Today, Outlook etc also provide good knowledge about the weekly issues that are making the headlines.

2.LanguageandGrammar

Assuming the first section of sourcing the knowledge is achieved the second most important factor is the manner you communicate the knowledge. If your language and vocabulary isn't equipped to represent your knowledge, your test could well turn out to be a puzzle for the examiner. Going by the number of

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applications, examiners have very little time to sit and understand what you might be trying to say. So you have to keep your English simple, straight forward and to the point. Communicate your thoughts in a logical way.

English happens to be the official medium of instruction and hence it would be a safe practice to keep away from commonly made mistakes in English grammar. We have listed below a few of the most commonly made errors. Do keep these points in mind. 3: Structureandthoughtprocess: To make a good impact, the essay written should have good logical and clear structure through which examiner can clearly gauge your thought process. Avoid being rhetorical because it may confuse the examiner and hence may cost you some points. You do have freedom of examining both pros and cons of the topic in the essay but writing should not indicate that you are unable to take a stand on the topic. Avoid redundancy in Speech. Example writing ATM machine. The letter M stands for machine itself Punctuation Correct grammar usage Avoiding SMS Lingo: You may sometime write in txt lingo or in short abbreviation without even realizing. These little things should be taken care

4. FactualData: Try incorporating facts and figure when and where appropriate to back up your words. For example if you are talking about the FDI in retail and employment generation from it, write down the figures (again reading newspapers and weekly magazines) would be helpful. This not only displays your level of preparations to the examiner but also make your writing a impressive.

5:Conclusion: Like any GD, here also conclusion would also be crucial. Try ending your essay with a conclusion giving in your final thoughts about the topic

Some Important pointers

min essays. As different IIMs have different processes. Word limit would be 250. 400, 600 words. Last year, IIMA had 10 min. IIMB had about 25 min. IIML was 15 min. IIMK was 30 min. 4. Get your essays evaluated for feedback and keep improving on that 5. Even if you cant write essays on all topics below, ensure you brainstorm with friends and build a perspective on all issues.

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6. One last pointbe balanced in your view points and never be unethical.

WAT Topics

1. Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted. 2. A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. 3. When people solve all the mysteries of life, they want to die because that is also a mystery that has to be solved. 4. The only thing that matters is intuition 5. Intelligent fools make things bigger, complex and violent. It takes the touch of a genius and courage to choose the way around. 6. I have not seen any scientific proof and hence I do not believe in existence of religious theories, future after life and concept of personal god. 7. What is the measure of success for a man or for that matter for a woman? 8. Like a ship could not survive on single anchor, it is risky to ride life on single hope. 9. Man is not old until regret takes place of his dream. 10. We grow small trying to be great. 11. Education is an admirable thing, but time to time it is seen that anything which worth to be known can't be taught. 12. Life is experience: More experience you have better you do. 13. Peace & Harmony cannot exist without the threat of Violence.

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14. Statistics is the only science where different experts come to different interpretations seeing. 15. A room without books is like a man without soul. 16. Not having any opinions at all is most conducive to peace of mind. 17. Should house wives paid for her work.

18. The white elephant is not always bad.

19. Google replacing the traditional libraries.

20. Is an Asian Euro possible?

21. Recession and its effect in India.

22. The Lokpal Bill 2010 force or farce.

23. We are who we are should we care for the world.

24. There should be uniform civil code in India.

25. The word garish should be dropped from our lexicon.

26. Do beautiful people lead better life?

27. We can live without computer.

28. Naxalism- Reasons, History and todays scenario.

29. Is china a threat to Indian industry?

30. Should government give Bailout Package to Airlines industry?

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31. Copenhagen summit Victory or fiasco.

32. Should foreign universities be allowed to set up shops in India?

33. Should FDI in Retail be allowed in India?

34. Terrorists - Internet - potentially dangerous - Internet controls?

35. Women despite being powerful and confident cannot carry out simple day to day activities and make decisions effectively due to their femaleness. 36. Whether information should be controlled or not, is it exploited by terrorists as there are no controls.

37. On Democracy's positives & negatives, how it leads to corruption as well as freedom.

38. Right to privacy vs. public interest and about Government tapping up phone lines.

39. Future of Indian Railwaysis the privatization the way out?

40. "Economists have found that two Indians exist, one that lives in the affluent Urban India and one that lives in the poor rural India. What are your views on the growth of India in the years to come?

41. About scams in Real Estate Deals and better ways of preventing it rather than demolition of illegal buildings.

42. Will the Lokpal bill be successful in ending corruption?

43. Educated voters are to be blamed for corrupt politicians getting into the system.

44. The only thing which is preventing me from learning is my education.

45. Advancement in Modern Technology is making the teacher irrelevant.

46. Democracy comes in the way of India's economic growth as compared to China.

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47. India and NOT china will rule in next 50 years.

48. India cannot emphasize only on IT/ITES sector to counter Income inequality.

49. The diverse demography of India is unused unless the manufacturing sector booms.

50. With women claiming equal status in the society, is women's reservation bill really required.

51. Men and Women are equal in modern times, then why reservation for women.

52. Corruption can neither be eliminated nor be mitigated. 53. Indian movies have globalized.

54. Value Education should be made an Integral part of Indian Education System.

55. Reality is an illusion, but a persistent one.

56. Elitist institutes like IITs and IIMs dont serve the societal purpose.

57. Will India be able to fulfill its technological needs?

58. Business executives would not make good politicians.

59. Media should self-censor rather than legislation censoring it.

60. Vigilance is the way by which we can keep terrorism at bay.

61. Corruption has to be tackled by government, individuals cannot do it.

62. Is genetic engineering on plants and animals moral? Should it be banned?

63. Coaching classes must be abolished to improve the quality of higher education - go for or against.

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64. It is believed that women are better boss than men. Do you agree or disagree.

65. What are the defining qualities of an Indian?

66. Brand builders advertising that We do what we say and Expectations of consumers not being met. Agree or Disagree?

67. Childrearing techniques and its effects on personality of an individual and also the overall public life change it brings in a country like India. 68. Rebels kidnap innocent people and demand. Is it right? What should government do? Should it bow to the abductors demand or do you have any other way of approaching the solution?

69. Maoists captured official, government gave in to their demands, what should be done.

70. Can media survive in a peaceful world? Argue for or against.

71. "National Anthem is played nowadays before every movie in theatres. Elaborate more such ideas which u think can be implemented to instill National pride in the people of India.

72. Old people add more value to the work they do due to their experience and skill. Write points both in favour and against the topic.

73. Old employees or young employees make better workers.

74. Should the govt. go for direct transfer of cash to poor people and stop the Public Distribution System ( PDS) for essential food items, etc.... 75. FDI in retail sector in India. For or against.

76. Should internet be regulated?

77. Having no opinions, is the only conducive way for a peace of mind

78. It's better to be an authentic loser than false success, its better to be dead alive than to live dead. 79. Consistency is the last resort for those who are unimaginative

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80. Not having any opinions at all is most conducive to peace of mind.

81. Education is the progressive discovery of our own negligence.

82. A woman must be caring intelligent good sense of humor kindness. The same qualities I expect from a man. 83. Life is experience. More experience you have better u do. 84. Like a ship could not survive on single anchor, it is risky to ride life on single hope. 85. Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal. 86. 'We are born crying, live complaining, die disappointed. 87. Given a choice to change ones mind or find proof not to do so, everyone starts searching for proof. 88. "All politicians in our country are honest and work for the benefit of our country. At the same taking them for granted will be harmful for our country. 89. Earlier it used to be that people tried finding the meaning of life to live a meaningful life, now it is like its better to live a meaningless life to be satisfied. 90. A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

91. Life has no meaning. Or rather, it has a meaning which we don't understand.

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