Written Ability Test (WAT)

Written Ability Test is akin to Essay writing and WAT is being conducted with single objective to test your language skills in areas of expression, way of writing, grammar and articulation of ideas as per topic given and most importantly a conclusion with a take away for the audience.

The difference between Essay and WAT is the body part of Essay can be generalized but in WAT you wouldn’t get that liberty and you have to write in flow strictly to tune with assigned topic.
Choice of topics in WAT will be mostly of current affairs so to put aspirants at ease but pinpoint is that WAT is only a language skill test. It is difficult to come up with best of expressions in WAT overnight hence, experienced students of yesteryear have advised to read Editorials of Two National News Papers including one Business daily as that will give food for thought for great practice to ace WAT!

WAT is a crucial step for the selection process for students aiming for Indian Institute of Management- IIM because it provides an equitable platform to the MBA candidates and an appropriate medium to show aspirants communication skills and General Awareness. Along with written ability test Personal Interview (PI) is also mandatory. The combination of WAT and PI has become the most efficient test for the interviewers. WAT is especially important in examining a candidate's abilities because one has to express the in a cogent manner in a certain time limit.

The interviewers will have a chance to look and judge how the candidate’s flow of thought works, how his/her opinions are shaping up and how he/she is able to express themselves on paper.
It lets the selectors test the candidate extensively on three main criteria:

a) Knowledge: The topics of WAT can vary from current affairs to socio-political-economic issues to historical incidents to abstract issues. The awareness and understanding of world and country affairs is very necessary in order to pull off a good essay.

b) Approach: This is essentially how you structure the arguments and what devices you use to substantiate them.

c) The ability of expression: This is a big challenge because one has to express as much as possible while adhering to a word and time limit. It tests how one examines various perspectives from a neutral point of view and then reaches a logical conclusion.

Time Limit for WAT:

One of the main hurdles that the students are going to face is the time limit given to write the essay.
The time limit for the written ability tests at IIMs differs from branch to branch. While IIM-B provides 30 mins for the test, IIM L stands at 15 mins and IIM-A rings the bell at the 10th min.

Suggested Topics: Current affairs, business, science, abstract topics

Approach for WAT -

1. Different institutes give anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes for WAT. In some institutes, only 15 minutes are given to write 200-plus words and so on
2. Ideally, there should be a logical analysis of the topic and a meaningful conclusion should follow. Both of these should fit well together and not look like disjoint entities.3. Your content will vary as per the topic but following a set, structure helps as you then only need to worry about the content and not the form.
4. Before starting the answer, you should make a rough outline of all the points. This will help in creating the flow for your essay. While jotting down the broad pointers, if you leave one line between two consecutive points, it will be easier for you to add or eliminate points as you go ahead.
5. Since you cannot predict the genre of the topic, it is important to have a particular structure prepared. Prepare a template for each and every kind of topic that might be expected, after enough research from previous years’ topic or patterns observed over the years, and slowly build upon your thoughts and expand your horizons
 

The pattern or layout of the Written Ability Test (WAT)

An ideal essay consists of three main parts: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion.

1. Introduction: The first paragraph should be devoted to the introduction. You should try to open it with an eye-catching element like a relevant fact, statistical figure(s), quotation, anecdote or definition. After the first two or three lines, the premise or the basic idea should be touched upon. This will provide flow to the whole essay and a link to the main body.

2. Body: Once your introduction is done properly, you will get a strong basis to write the whole essay upon. This part involves building upon the premise and supporting it with relevant ideas, concept and, if needed, contrary perspectives. You should expand on the core points and a thorough, however brief, explanation of each should follow. Since you have limited time and words, incomplete or irrelevant points should be avoided. It is important to provide a logical flow to connect consecutive paragraphs, and only then you can do justice to both the word limit and the topic. Depending upon the genre and the vastness of the topic, the structure of the main body should be altered.

3. Conclusion: This is the final test for your essay. It should be ensured that all the broad points are used and cited here. A conclusion is essentially the summary of your essay but to make your answer stand out, you can weigh the different viewpoints and present the ones which are stronger. It should touch upon all the core points and bind the whole text together by logic because otherwise, it will look unhinged.

How to Structure WAT  (Written Ability Test)

Structure of a Written Ability Test plays a major role in MBA admissions because it caries good score. A structured essay gives more chance of scoring good. The basic yet effective structure for Written Ability Test - WAT is explained below:

1. Content: Identify the keywords in the topic, think of the information you have, and what ideas or views you could develop on the basis of this information.Make a template beforehand for every kind of topic that is expected, and have a clear mind space with respect to how you want this essay to be written.

2. Organize ideas: Organize ideas and group them coherently. You must think of the following questions, what would be the theme of the essay? What would be the appropriate ideas to start with? What are the further ideas that one could continue with? What ideas would be the right ones to end with? How can I make the essay effective with the information that I have? How can I Work with the existing ideas?

3. Develop: Think of questions like what sort of information would hold the readers' attention and examples they could relate to? What pieces of information, explanation, and examples would support the theme, and the purpose? How long should the essay be?

4. Express: An essay should start with an introduction, using statements and information of general nature that provide some background to the topic. Each idea or a set of ideas would form a paragraph. The sequence of paragraphs should lead to the conclusion.

5. Review: You must devote the last few minutes to reading through the essay to ensure that there is a logical flow and coherence and the language is error-free to ensure that the flow remains or is improved. Proof-read your entire essay before submitting as this can be a great filtering technique that the jury might use to sit out candidates whose essays are shabby and are not heavy enough on the grammatical side. If one wants to get into the top B-schools of the country, he/she has to review once or twice that essay is error-free and is up to the standards of what is expected.

6. Time Management: Most B-schools give a specific duration to write the essay. Hence, you have to ensure that you follow the entire process within the stipulated duration.

Important Tips for Written Ability Test

1. Don’t use jargon:
It is suggested to make your language accessible to the readers. Make the essay assertive but write in simple language. Write like a company that is drafting a quote for the customer.

2. Be interesting while writing:
It is advised not to bore the reader with your personal example, readers need facts from credible sources. Use your personal example only if that topic demands you to.

3. Don’t be verbose:
Be concise while you are writing. Use substitute words for long sentences. Being verbose not only takes up space and time but also confuses the reader of what you want to convey.

4. Cultivate a habit of writing:
In today’s gadget-centric era, most people have lost the habit of traditional pen-paper writing. Thus, instead of practicing on your tablet or PC, it is ideal to make a separate notebook and practice the essay questions in it.

5. Make a rough outline before writing:
You should refrain from directly attempting the question in fair form. It is better to make a rough outline and structure of your essay and then expanding on each of the elementary point.

6. The structure should be strong:
As mentioned above, divide your essay into the three broad parts – introduction, main body, and conclusion. Following a structure as basic as this actually comes in handy when you are attempting the WAT.

7. Proof-read at the end:
Make sure to keep the last few minutes reserved for revising and proof-reading. It is better to improve upon your essay than to devote those last minutes in making it longer. Plus, this way you can make important modifications and check for any errors.

All the Best.