Written Ability Test - WAT

Kritika Yadav

Kritika Yadav

Written Ability Test - WAT

Written Ability Test (WAT) is one of the most important part of selection process to MBA in IIMs and other top Business schools. Most of the IIMs has removed the Group Discussion (GD) from the admission process and has adopted Written Ability Test- WAT.

Read this article to know What is WAT, how to write good essay in WAT, WAT essay topics for IIMs and other Business schools, and the history of WAT.

What is WAT?

WAT or Written Ability Test is the latest addition to the final selection process in a lot of popular MBA colleges. Earlier, after getting a good score in MBA entrance exams like CAT, MAT, XAT, SNAP, CMAT; the two hurdles that needed to be cleared to gain admission to a decent B-school were: the group discussions round (GD) and the personal interview round (PI). Now, WAT is another round that an MBA aspirant needs to clear. In fact, most MBA colleges (including most IIMs) have replaced the GD with the WAT.

WAT is basically a test to analyse a management aspirant’s writing skills and coherency & clarity of thought process. It is, in fact, more or less, an essay writing test.  A lot of management institutes now are adapting selection procedures that are similar to international MBA programmes, which ask for essays and statements of purpose (SOP).

How to write a good essay in WAT

Many MBA students neglect the Written Ability Test – WAT, which is the second hurdle in getting admission to IIMs and other Business schools. Candidates should take the WAT section seriously, as this section has had replaced Group Discussion (GD) and hold 10% weight-age in the admission process.

Read:  How to write a good essay in WAT 

WAT Topics for MBA Admissions

IIMs hold the prestigious position of being the best institutions from which to pursue MBA studies and launch a successful career in business management and administration. Read WAT Topics for MBA Admissions to know the lists of the most popular WAT topics used by IIMs in the entrance exams and also examines which topics should be prepared by students for the upcoming MBA entrance exams to the IIMs and other prestigious B-Schools.

The Rise of WAT

XLRI, Jamshedpur was the first management school to herald this change by introducing essay-writing. However, the written test was part of its entrance exam, XAT.

But a written ability test was included in the final selection procedure, post-entrance exams, first by the older Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in 2010. The IIMs introduced a “written ability test” (WAT) in addition to the usual group discussions (GD) & personal interview (PI) rounds for the candidates who had qualified the CAT (common aptitude test). In the following years, the six new IIMs (IIM Raipur, IIM Rohtak, IIM Ranchi, IIM Udaipur, IIM Tiruchirappalli and IIM Kashipur) adopted WAT as well and went a step ahead by doing away with the group discussion (GD) altogether and replacing it with the Written Ability Test (WAT).

In 2013, all the IIMs adopted WAT as part of the selection process for admission.

WAT Preparation Tips

Its important that you prepare properly for WAT to be able to clear it. Check out some WAT preparation tips.

Related Links