The LEADER in Online Test Prep

IIFT 2012 Analysis

IIFT in 2012 has gone back to the 2010 pattern where the paper had sections but DILR as well as Verbal
Ability were split into 2 sub-sections each. In our article on Last Minute Tips to prepare for IIFT, we had
cautioned students about the possibility of the IIFT exam having 4 sections with separate sub-sections this
year and had accordingly advised them to prepare for DI and LR separately, as well as VA and RC separately.
Students who would have read and followed those tips would have got a pleasant surprise in the IIFT exam.
As per the 2010 pattern, DILR was a common section comprising two sub-sections for LR and DI. Similarly,
Verbal Ability was common section comprising two sub-sections for VA and RC. The section on verbal ability
was slightly tricky, though not time consuming. DI was easy but time consuming whereas LR could have been
solved very quickly. The QA section had a mix of some sitters interspersed between high quality questions.
Overall, speed was the crucial factor in this paper.
The tradition of having a different number of questions in each section and different marks for questions in
different sections continued.
The paper surprisingly, was not sealed. Hence, students opportunistically glanced at the paper when the
invigilator was not looking.

Summary
Number of Sections

4 (with sub-sections)

Options per Question

4
1/3rd of Marks for the
Question
Variable

Negative Marking
Marks per Question
Expected Overall Cut-offs

44-46

1. Reading Comprehension:
RC, like last year, had four passages, of about two pages each. Except for the passage on profit and
profitability which was slightly concept-driven, the other three passages were easy. Questions in all the
passages were direct. A good, fast reading speed would have helped attempt 11 - 13 out of the 16 RC
questions in about 20 minutes.
2.

Verbal Ability:
Out of the twenty questions, twelve were straight vocabulary-driven. With decent vocabulary, 5-7
questions could have been attempted. Out of the four grammar questions, two were easy and doable and
the other two were lengthy, time-consuming and confusing. Jumbled sentences were pretty straight
forward and one of the two fill in the blanks questions should have been definitely attempted. 10-12
questions could have been easily attempted in around 10 minutes.

IIFT 2012 Analysis

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3.

Data Interpretation:
The data interpretation section was a pleasant surprise, consider the calculation intensive sets generally
associated with the IIFT. The set on production and sales of TVs was like a red herring. It looked time
consuming, but once the initial calculations were done, all 3 questions could have been answered
together. The set on production of major minerals had the maximum number of questions (6). It had a mix
of some very simple and time-consuming questions. Here, question selection was critical. The set on piecharts was quite simple and should have been attempted. A safe attempt would be around 10-11
questions, with around 8-9 correct.

4.

Logical Reasoning:
The logical reasoning section was the simplest section in the paper. A couple of questions had ambiguities
or the correct answer was not given at all. Nearly the entire section was doable in 20 25 minutes and at
least 15 correct attempts may be necessary in this section.

5.

General Knowledge and Current Section:

The G.K section covered a wide range of questions including sports, films, banking, history, politics,
society and industry. Overall it was a manageable section provided one has kept himself or herself up-todate with current affairs. However, the proportion of static GK was higher this year. For the match the
column type of questions, some of the options could be eliminated rather easily. One could have
attempted 12-13 questions, irrespective of background.

6.

Quantitative Ability:
The Quantitative Ability section was slightly more difficult than that in 2011 but easier compared to the
QA section of earlier IIFTs. There were 5 questions on Probability and Permutations and Combinations
together, and these were on the tougher side. The arithmetic questions were slightly verbose but were
doable. 15-17 questions could have been attempted in around 30 minutes.

IIFT 2012 Analysis

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