TISS overall analysis
The test was divided into 2 parts – the first part was of 45 minutes duration and the second was of 1 hour. The second part of the test was specialization specific, i.e., it varied according to the specialization one had chosen. The instruction page clearly stated that there is no negative marking, no sectional cut-offs and no sectional time limits.
The part I was a cakewalk for the students as anyone could attempt all the 50 questions in the given time of 45 minutes. In fact those with good speed in mathematics actually completed all the questions in just 30 to35 minutes. The question paper (part I) contained 50 questions and was divided into 3 sections. The first section was QA and DI & LR. There were 15 questions. The questions were very easy and were based on visual reasoning, average, a simple case of pie chart with 5 questions, a question of geometry (circle in a rectangle), understanding of number system, and work and time. The level of questions was extremely easy.
The second section was of language (VA) containing 20 questions. The distribution of the questions in language section is given below.
The third section was based on GA. There were 15 questions. The questions were based on reptile, kharif crop, States and Union Territory of India, Vice president of India, novel of Tasleema Nasreen, Oscar award nominee movie, Kashmir’s special status article, nations of SAARC, full form of AIDS etc. All the questions were extremely easy and anyone expecting a call should have a score of 40+ correct questions in this section.
Verbal Comprehension Ability
This year, TISS had a well-balanced question-distribution in the language section which was clearly meant to test a candidate’s familiarity with the ‘usage’ rather than the technical aspects of the language. In 1st test, it had 20 questions and in 2nd test (HRM specialization) it had 19 questions.
Test 1
Question Type |
Number of Qs. |
Level of difficulty |
Short passage – on acquiring wealth is justified as long as it is not achieved through wrong means like stepping on the wrong side morally or legally –with 3 direct questions which were easy and 2 inferential questions which were difficult (with close and confusing options). |
5 |
Moderate |
Qs on sequencing the sentence to make a coherent paragraph |
2 |
Easy |
Qs on multiple meanings of words used in a sentence |
2 |
Easy |
Qs on filling in 2 blanks of a sentence |
2 |
Easy |
Qs on filling blanks in a coherent passage. |
5 |
Easy |
Qs on finding erroneous usage of words in the sentences given |
2 |
Moderate |
Qs on finding the option-sentence that conveys the same meaning as Q-sentence, after the ‘voice’ is changed. |
2 |
Moderate |
Part II
For students who have opted for Human Resources Management & Labour Relations the test was option-based and the details are given below:
Duration of Test |
60 minutes |
Number of Questions |
75 |
Marks per Question |
Each question carries equal marks |
Negative marking |
No |
Number of Sections |
5 |
Number of options |
4 or 5 |
Sectional distribution
Section |
Subject |
Marks |
I |
DATA INTERPRETATION |
20 |
II |
DATA SUFFICIENCY |
15 |
III |
READING COMPREHENSION |
19 |
IV |
BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE |
10 |
V |
FOUNDATIONS OF MANAGEMENT (ECONOMIC, SOCIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL) |
11 |
|
Total |
75 |
The second part was moderate to difficult. The number of questions in part II was 75. The time allocated was 60 minutes. The questions need to be solved It was more difficult than it was expected. The first 20 questions were of DI. There were 4 cases of DI. All the cases were given in the form of table and were given from survey of government agencies. The tables were of the following subjects:
Case 1 (Table): Mortality rate of children below 5 years age and total mortality rate in different years
Case 2 (Table): The amount government is spending on a child in Primary, secondary, higher secondary (technical) and Higher secondary (vocational) in rural and urban area in India.
Case 3 (Table): The number of people below 15 years of age and above 60 years of age in different countries in the form of percentage.
Case 4 (Table): The data were given in the form of survey of expenditure on food and non food items in terms of percentage and in two different years in different years.
The questions given in these cases were mostly inference based and had very few calculations required. The cases could be solved with keen observation only but the language of the questions made the questions very difficult to understand and hence made them prone to mistakes. Very few students could actually understand the language of the questions and marked the answer on gut feelings. (As there were no negative marks, all the questions should to be attempted).
The next 15 questions were based on DS. The questions were tricky and lengthy. The language of the questions made some of the questions very difficult. In general all the questions were moderate to tough. The areas from where the questions of DS were given are set theory, time and work, speed and time, average and number system. The questions were very confusing and as per the general feelings of the students, they have attempted these questions without much surety of correctness. The remaining 40 questions were from reading comprehension, business knowledge and foundations of management.
The specifics about reading comprehensions are given in the following table.
Question Type |
Number of Qs. |
Level of difficulty |
Long passage – on concept of acquisition of power in society, why an individual wants it and can use it to his benefit – with most of the questions inferential but easy |
5 Qs |
Moderate |
Long passage – on how to decide a work’s worth in organization and decide payment terms for it – with most of the questions inferential but easy. |
5 Qs |
Moderate |
Long passage – on manager’s role in motivating people in the organization and induce the developmental cycle of people towards the self-actualization; while reducing people’s tendency to get in reductive cycle – with most of the questions direct, with close options. |
9 Qs |
Moderate |
FOUNDATIONS OF MANAGEMENT (ECONOMIC, SOCIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL)
The keys to solving the questions of this section were:
Overall the second part was a bit difficult to solve. The kind of relaxation of the part I was completely missing in this part.
An attempt of 40+ in this section with 80 to 85% accuracy definitely gives a chance of getting a call from the institute.