Sectional and Topic tests

•8mos

1)Topic tests are not exam specific - they are based on topic that are being asked in different exams.

Say - topic test for time and work ( same topic is being tested in IIM Indore, JIPMAT IIM Rohtak and other exams)

2)JIPMAT is a relatively easier exam, preparing for IPMAT Indore and giving mocks for JIPMAT should suffice. I don't think you need anything specific 'tailored to JIPMAT ' , if you prepare well for IPMAT, JIPMAT should be sorted.

3)Afterboards mocks are in the same format as the real exam - as in number of questions and time given for each section.

Everything in terms of format is same, don't worry about the format, if you give sufficient amount of mocks, you'll have no issues in navigating throughout the exam.

Number of questions per topic and their sequence can never be known beforehand, it can vary, for example 2025 IPMAT Indore paper had more questions from modern maths, whereas in years before it we observed arithmetic dominating the exam.

4)Initially, volitatily in scores is common, given that sectionals are adaptive.

To make the best use of sectionals, never judge your performance based on scores of a single sectional, try to spot patterns ( take average of last 5-10 sectionals). If you see you have been scoring higher than what you scored before,( but it's still volatile - like - scoring 70-90 before, but scoring 110-130 now) then it's a win. There will always be outliers in any given data set, let alone your va sectionals

Check out this post to know how you can ascertain your performance in sectionals-

•8mos

https://www.afterboards.in/forums/ipmat/verbal-ability/L9QQK0_what_is_a_thumb_rule_for_varc_how_to_calculate_it_and_does_i

OP•8mos

Alright so these are my scores so far. These are all the sectional tests I've given and almost all these tests have a thumb rule score of around 110-120 showing that the difficulty has remained considerably consistent for me. So I managed to conclude that it is probably my performance fluctuation rather than the varying difficulty of the tests. Because even while attempting the sectionals I don't seem to be facing any "oh this test is really difficult" scenarios. I also analysed and made my own SWOT analysis(I only found a SWOT analysis for my mocks on this platform and not for sectionals. Do tell me if I'm wrong as I'd love to cross check my analysis with the system's.) and started working on the topics. (While we're at it, it would be great if you shared any resources for PJs and Paracompletions. I figured I just learn idioms based on context over time. These three topics have really tested me time and again and I keep messing them up). My confusion is simple- If I were to write the actual final exam tomorrow and my performance and approach towards the exam is similar to that of the above, what score can I expect or is that not how it works? I'm really sorry if I'm posing the same question again but I really want to know how I can analyse my sectionals(the overall scores) and how similar it is to the main exam. And my question regarding the paper pattern came up because all my sectionals followed the exact same topic wise question pattern.

I know that the scores shouldn't scare me and they don't, but I really want to know what I can make and understand from my scores rather than just looking at them as numbers.

Don't really have the time for preparation and mocks right now as my boards start in a month and being from a different stream (PCM), I don't really know the topics well so I do need a lot of time for that. I might get a lot of clarity after attempting mocks (or lose my mind altogether :P) but as of now I'm able to put aside some time and I am working on my VA sectionals. My QA is another entirely different story(the confusion I have in this is far worse than I do in VA) and I would really need some help there as well and I'll get to that after I clear this out.

I don't know if I even framed the questions and issues correctly or if it is even legible. Let me know if you want me to reframe anything

•8mos

Make sure you are analysing each and every sectional, don't give another sectional before analysing the previous one.

As long as you are not repeating same mistakes - you shall be fine

For grammar - don't make mistakes in same grammar rule again.

For idioms/phrases/vocab - Don't make mistakes for same word again , once you have seen it , don't overlook it, understand it's usage, polysemy , context etc

For rc - Implement 5 why analysis for wrong questions - don't go down the same way of thinking again. ( For eg - you get to know by 5 why analysis thay you assume things while reading text- don't do it)

For pjs and paracompletion - check GMAT club.

Also try to change your order of attempting questions, try different ways , do it when you can - use sectionals to their fullest.

OP•8mos

Yes, I analyse every sectional once I'm done with the test, and that is how I was able to develop my SWOT analysis and work on my weak areas. Though I feel like I need to spend more time analysing the solutions than I usually do. Do you suggest I learn idioms and confusing words through the solutions, or is there a better way you'd suggest? Because I was planning on starting to learn idioms through context, like from the solutions.

I was also planning on giving all the rules of grammar a quick read because the little CBSE English I learnt over the years is hard carrying me right now :P(I have absolutely no idea how sentence formation, grammar and structuring work.) The only mistakes I am repeating are from the idioms section (not the same idioms, just idioms in general. That being said, I don't remember any of the idioms that I attempted incorrectly or skipped, and that is a mistake I want to change) Yeah, so I want to just go through the grammar rules quickly because I don't seem to be finding a difficulty without knowing the rules either. I am currently at the borderline between actually knowing how the grammar works and knowing just enough to know what comes where. Although I am terrible at punctuating and using conjunctions.

I'm making around 0-2 mistakes (usually 'the tone of the author' based questions) in RCs, and most are of medium-hard difficulty, and it doesn't bother me because I am able to achieve a good accuracy in RCs. There were many instances where I'd get 12/12.

I started working on PJs and paracompletion and noticed a significant change in my results. It can only go upwards now (hopefully) because I'm able to pick the right questions.

I found my perfect attempt strategy where I'm attempting the RCs towards the end, and I'm able to allocate around 20 minutes for them, and only using around 12-15, and using the last >5 mins to check my answers. I've tried different combinations, and I feel really comfortable with my current sequencing.

I'm sorry for making this too long, but I don't really want to waste my time on creating multiple posts and spending way too much time here. I might just create one more post for my QA section, and hopefully that should be all. Anyway, coming to the point, what are the 'bins' everyone keeps talking about? I genuinely have absolutely no idea how to assess my performance and analyse the graphs, results or anything. I just look at my performance and identify topics that require improvement. If you could give me a complete guide on how to analyse my mocks or anything, that would be great. I want to be ready with all these by the time I start giving my full-length mocks right after boards. So it would be great if someone could run me through anything and everything important for analysis and dumb it down for me.

If there's anything I missed out on or that I should know, please include that as well, because I might be aware of the syllabus, pattern, scoring, strong and weak topics, etc. But I lack the basic technical knowledge that all my peers seem to possess. I'm basically asking for an A-Z guide.

Also, attaching my overall topic-wise performance in VAs compared to the last 4 days.

•8mos

Do learn idioms and phrases from solutions, you are more likely to remember them since you made a mistake there.( But you said you don't remember the wrong ones- you will if you spend a minute or more on that particular question rather than going ' oh it's wrong, nvm let's move to the next one's .I'll suggest once a question goes wrong, put those idioms into gpt then and learn all the related ones .

Refer to 120 rules of grammar to quickly revise all grammar formulas once.

Focus on paracompletion, you are missing out marks on easy questions there, also read more idioms and phrases on daily basis. Don't miss out on marks in sentence completion.

Bins are made for you to access your relative performance in mocks.

I'll say you are doing good, just keep on practicing and you'll be fine, Va takes time. You are on the right path, don't stress much

https://www.afterboards.in/forums/afterboards/platform/Ia4Ewg_guide_is_my_ipmat_indore_mock_score_good

•8mos

Check out this post to know more about the bin system

OP•8mos

I just give the wrong answers a glance ( <1 min) and move past them, and that's a serious mistake from my end that I diagnosed over the past few sectionals. I will change that. Putting the errors into gpt and learning is an excellent suggestion, and I'll implement it right away. Thank you so much for that :)

I'll start with the rules of grammar soon and hopefully strengthen my foundation. I am doing much better in PJs and paracompletion compared to a week ago.

After reviewing and updating my SWOT, I moved PJs and paracompletions to 'O' as they don't seem to scare me as much, and I am now fairly familiar with how the questions would show up. Sentence completion to 'W' and sentence correction to 'T'. Kept RCs, vocab and incorrect word under 'S'.(All this is based on my results and my comfort level in the exam as well) I will plan my courses of action accordingly.

Just wanted to know how many sectionals are a bare minimum before going for the main exam. I'm asking so I can have a target in mind and look to beat it. I did the same with RCs, where I've set a target to complete around 475-500 RCs by May 4. (Started in December, and I'm currently at 120<) So even if I don't meet the target, I'll have done enough. This is helping me understand sentence formation better, and obviously with RCs.

One last question regarding the thumb rule- Is it limited only to the VA section, or is it applicable to all sections? And where does the 'bins' system's credibility stand in the case of JIPMAT and Rohtak?

I want to take a moment and thank you for actually putting in the effort to help me out. This has been really insightful. Any other suggestions/comments would be great :)) Is it okay if I continue to ask my questions related to VA(if any) on this post? Only because it's so much easier and wouldn't waste my time compared to replying to and maintaining multiple posts.

•8mos

There's no right number regarding to number of sectionals you need to give before actual examination. Try to give as much as possible, me giving you a number will only make you chase it ( you might lose the will to deeply analyse all of them in the process of chasing that number). For reference I gave over 50 sectionals for VA, one of my friends gave over 100.

You can apply the thumb rule to any section. But mostly, it is applied in the case of VA only.

BIn system holds true in all exams, it's just a pictorial representation of you being ahead of the curve, ( and being ahead of the curve is the whole point in any competitve examination)

It is absolutely fine if you continue this thread, the only thing is you might not get many perspectives, as not everyone will read whole thread or scroll down to answer. Although , it is fine for me

OP•8mos

Alright then, I'll get to work and stick to this thread only. I don't really think multiple perspectives is going to be the best fit for me as I've wasted enough time until now, in planning and calculations rather than execution. Number of opinions and perspectives is not really what I'm looking for and you are giving some quality advice with suggestions and methods that I've clearly overlooked until now, so I'll just continue this thread. Thank you so much, I'll get back to this thread if I require any guidance or anything :)

OP•8mos

UPDATE: Genuinely confused on my regular sectionals vs PYP sectionals.

Sectionals:

S- 1. **RCs **2. **Paracompletion **3. Incorrect word

W-

O: 4. **PJs **5. Sentence completion(Been working on idioms and hoping to get better as I started spotting familiar idioms in the options.) 6. **Sentence correction **(Already working on Grammar rules and hoping to see positive results due to some basic prior knowledge. I am able to eliminate at least 2 options almost very easily.)

T- 7. **Vocabulary **(happened all of a sudden, where my accuracy is awful now. Still not past the surprise and disappointment. It was always a strength. Might as well be a weakness now. Constantly choosing the wrong option out of the two shortlisted options. It was a cakewalk until a week ago.)

PYP sectional (2025 and 2024)

S- 1. **Incorrect word **2. Paracompletion

W- 3. **Vocabulary **4. PJs

O- 5. **Sentence correction **6. **Sentence completion **(not struggling as much as in regular sectionals)

T- 7. **RCs **(Not that worried because RC has always been a comfort topic, but still something to look into because there are a little too many mistakes)

There is a significant mismatch between my regular sectionals and the PYP sectionals in terms of the SWOT analysis. That being said, I started seeing a noticeable dip in my daily sectional tests- from a healthy 110+ to 120s (and occasional 130 and 140) range to barely over a 100. I've breached the <100 mark after so long :( I've been doing a sectional everyday and there's not much of 'knowledge gaps' or anything. Wherever I know I have to learn something, I've already started working on those topics (Like grammar rules, idioms, PJs approach (no knowledge gaps in PJs anymore, as it stands in the middle of Strength and Opportunity)). Concept-wise, I feel a lot better and solid. It's almost as if I'm making a new set of mistakes(Don't know if it's a good thing or bad) from different topics than before. Started noticing it when I attempted 2024 and 2025 VA section analysed mistakes I've never made before, and they're continuing to happen.

Okay, Idioms will take time as it's a work in progress(Any suggestions for phrasal verbs?), and I'm predicting a positive change pretty soon over the next few weeks. Vocabulary is going bad. It's not like I don't know the words. I know the meanings of almost all the words from the options, which is why it was a strength until recently. Now, I am facing trouble with getting the questions right, not vocabulary basics. With a clarity of thought, I assumed I'd start seeing upward progress, but I'm falling off by the same margin I've expected to grow by. I'm almost losing 20-25 marks compared to before and I'm not even close to the average cutoffs of around 115, forget the thumb-rule which is in 130s for me.

Feeling confused again. What's the next course of action?

•8mos

It's good to see how you figure most of the things out yourself. There are no similarities between pyps and sectionals performance.

If you are making new mistakes, that's a win, don't worry about scoring low then, idioms and phrases are virtually infinite, so not being able to score well in them in pyps make some sense. The only way you can tackle that is by continuously reading more of them ( which you are doing , so no worries) just don't repeat mistakes - focus on this one aspect the most.

For vocabulary, don't just learn words try to learn all the possible meaning of the word, will marginally take 5 minutes at most. See how it can be used as a verb, noun , adjective etc. Knowing a word but not knowing it's whole usage is akin to not knowing it at the first place

OP•8mos

For the gpt, any specific prompts that you could help me with? Be it for learning and mastering topics or even to analyse my mistakes and wrong answers.