CAT and MBA Entrance Preparation Module 10 – Admissions: written tests, group discussions and interviews
Written ability tests: WAT and AWT explained
The written tests of IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta and XLRI, what each counts for, the four kinds of prompt, and a plan from your own speed.
What you will learn
- Describe each institute's written test from its own admission policy
- Classify a writing prompt as abstract, social, business or a case
- Plan a note to fit the time an institute gives
- Evaluate a note for content and style with a level rubric
Before you start
What you’ll learn · Before you start
What you will learn
- Describe each institute's written test from its own admission policy
- Classify a writing prompt as abstract, social, business or a case
- Plan a note to fit the time an institute gives
- Evaluate a note for content and style with a level rubric
Before you start
On this page
IIM Bangalore’s written test takes about 30 minutes and is worth 10 of its 100 final points, as much as your whole work experience. IIM Calcutta and IIM Ahmedabad hold written tests of their own, under different names, and only one of the three policies says what it marks.
This lesson sets the tests side by side from each institute’s own policy, sorts prompts into four kinds by what each asks of a note, and turns your measured writing speed into a plan for the time you are given.
Four institutes, three names, one task
The names differ, but every test asks for a short piece of writing on a prompt, as part of the interview stage:
| Institute | Its name for the test | Weight in the final score | What the policy adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad | AWT: Analytical Writing Test: IIM Ahmedabad's name for the written test it holds with its personal interviews. | 10 % | held with the interviews, in six cities |
| IIM Bangalore | WAT: Written or writing ability test: a short timed note or essay that an institute asks shortlisted candidates to write; IIM Bangalore describes its WAT as about 30 minutes, evaluated on content and style. | 10 of 100 | a note, about 30 minutes, on the interview day |
| IIM Calcutta | Writing Ability Test (WAT) | 8 of 100 | taken with the personal interview |
| XLRI | WAT | no weights published | held beside its GD and interview process |
Only IIM Bangalore says how its test is judged: candidates write a note, on the same day and at the same place as the interview, and it is evaluated on the content and style of the note. No policy publishes topics, a word limit, or whether the note is written by hand or typed, so practise both by hand and on a keyboard, and follow whatever your call letter says about the format.
Checkpoint
Check: The written tests, institute by institute
Prompts come in four kinds
Prompts vary without end, but in MySmartCoPilot’s classification they fall into four kinds, and each asks for something different before a sentence is written. The prompts below are original:
| Kind | An example prompt | What the note must do first |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract statement | Speed is overrated. | Define the key word, since its meaning decides the answer |
| Social question | Should cities charge cars to enter their busiest streets? | Name who gains and who pays |
| Business situation | A bakery is asked to supply a supermarket at 20 % below its own shop’s price. | Name the decision and what it will be judged on |
| Short case | A hospital with one ambulance for two distant blocks must choose between a second ambulance and night nurses. | State the problem the choice must solve |
A business situation is a decision stated in a sentence or two; a short case gives several facts and limits and asks for a recommendation. All four end in the same three things: a position, the reasons for it, and a limit, the objection it must answer or the point where it stops being true. A note that lists sides and never chooses has answered none of them.
Checkpoint
Check: Four kinds of prompt
A plan that fits the time you are given
A plan starts from a number you can measure: how many words you write in a minute, the way the test is taken. Write for three minutes on any prompt and divide by three. The program turns that speed into a word budget and a minute for every paragraph. It keeps 5 minutes to plan and 5 to check, and it assumes that 70 % of the writing minutes go on putting words down and the rest on thinking, a share to replace with your own once you have timed a practice note:
"""A plan for a written ability test, from your own measured speed. IIM Bangalore's 2027-29 policy gives its WAT about
30 minutes; the other policies state no time, so set MINUTES to what your call letter says. Measure SPEED by writing for
three minutes on any prompt, the way the test will be taken (by hand or typed), and dividing the words by 3.
The plan keeps a sixth of the time to plan and a sixth to check (5 and 5 minutes of 30), and assumes you spend 70 % of
the writing minutes putting words down and the rest thinking (ASSUMED: measure your own). Press Edit and run it again."""
from fractions import Fraction as F
MINUTES = 30
SPEED = 22 # words a minute, measured over three minutes
WRITING_SHARE = F(7, 10)
PARAGRAPHS = [("opening and position", F(20, 100)), ("first reason", F(25, 100)), ("second reason", F(25, 100)),
("the strongest objection", F(15, 100)), ("conclusion", F(15, 100))]
def num(x):
return f"{float(x):g}"
def split(minutes):
plan = round(F(minutes, 6))
return plan, minutes - 2 * plan, plan
def budget(speed, writing):
return int(speed * writing * WRITING_SHARE) // 10 * 10 # rounded down to the nearest 10 words
plan, writing, check = split(MINUTES)
words = budget(SPEED, writing)
print(f"{MINUTES} minutes at {SPEED} words a minute: plan {plan}, write {writing}, check {check}")
print(f" aim for about {words} words, in five paragraphs:")
clock = F(plan)
for name, share in PARAGRAPHS:
start, clock = clock, clock + share * writing
print(f" minute {num(start)} to {num(clock)}: {name}, about {int(share * words)} words")
print(f" minute {num(clock)} to {MINUTES}: check")
print()
print("Five measured speeds, the same 30 minutes:")
for speed in (15, 20, 22, 25, 30):
print(f" {speed} words a minute: about {budget(speed, writing)} words")
short_plan, short_writing, _ = split(20)
print(f"If the call letter gives 20 minutes: plan {short_plan}, write {short_writing}, about {budget(SPEED, short_writing)} words")Output
30 minutes at 22 words a minute: plan 5, write 20, check 5 aim for about 300 words, in five paragraphs: minute 5 to 9: opening and position, about 60 words minute 9 to 14: first reason, about 75 words minute 14 to 19: second reason, about 75 words minute 19 to 22: the strongest objection, about 45 words minute 22 to 25: conclusion, about 45 words minute 25 to 30: check Five measured speeds, the same 30 minutes: 15 words a minute: about 210 words 20 words a minute: about 280 words 22 words a minute: about 300 words 25 words a minute: about 350 words 30 words a minute: about 420 words If the call letter gives 20 minutes: plan 3, write 14, about 210 words
Recorded with Python 3.14.8 on macOS 26 arm64. To run it yourself: mise exec python@3.14.8 -- python3 wat_plan.py
Runs on this device, in your browser. The first run downloads Python (about 13.5 MB), which is kept for the next runs.
Your run, in this browser
At 22 words a minute, 20 minutes of writing at that share hold about 300 words in five paragraphs, since 22 × 14 = 308; at 15 words a minute, about 210. Walk through the same 30 minutes as phases:
- Minutes 0 to 5
Plan before you write no sentences yet
Read the prompt twice, decide what kind it is, and write down your position, two reasons and the strongest objection in a few words each. Five minutes of planning is what keeps the next twenty from wandering.
- Minutes 5 to 9
The opening takes a position
About 60 words that restate the question in your own terms and say where you stand. A reader who stops after this paragraph should know your answer.
- Minutes 9 to 14
The first reason
About 75 words, one reason and one piece of evidence for it, an example or a fact you know to be true. One idea per paragraph keeps the note easy to follow.
- Minutes 14 to 19
The second reason
Another 75 words with a different reason, not the first one again in other words. If a third reason is stronger than either, it replaces the weaker one here.
- Minutes 19 to 22
The strongest objection the limit
About 45 words on the best argument against your position and why it does not change your answer, or where it limits it.
- Minutes 22 to 25
A conclusion that answers
About 45 words that answer the prompt again, now with the reasons behind it. No new argument starts here.
- Minutes 25 to 30
Check what you wrote five minutes kept
Read the note once for sense and once for slips. Split a sentence that carries two ideas, mend the words you misspelled, and make sure every figure you quoted is one you know.
The timeline has 7 events, from Minutes 0 to 5 to Minutes 25 to 30.
Key idea
Plan the note from your own measured speed, not from a word count you have read about: the same 20 minutes of writing hold 210 words for one writer and 420 for another.
Checkpoint
Check: A plan from your measured speed
Practise: ten questions on written tests
Ten questions on the four tests, the kinds of prompt and the plan, asked first on the idea you have answered least well, with every missed question asked again before the session ends.
Practice that adapts to you
Practise this lesson
10 questions about 5 ideas of this lesson. Each answer is explained at once, and what you get right is kept in this browser.
The rubric: what content and style mean, level by level Pro: opens with a Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass
IIM Bangalore names content and style, and no policy publishes how either is scored. This part gives a rubric of six lines that turns those two words into something you can score, and shows how to use it with a partner.
In this part:
- Six lines, four levels: the rubric
- What a 3 and a 4 look like, side by side
- Scoring your own note, with a partner
about 4 minutes
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Four annotated notes on original prompts, scored with the rubric Pro: opens with a Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass
Four notes, one for each kind of prompt, written in the 30 minutes the plan allows and scored on the rubric’s six lines. Two are strong and two are not, and the annotations show exactly where each one gains or loses.
In this part:
- An abstract statement: “Speed is overrated”
- A social question: should cities charge cars to enter their busiest streets?
- A business situation: a bakery and a supermarket
- A short case: one ambulance for two blocks
1 runnable example (Python) · about 7 minutes
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Interview questions
Warm-up: what does WAT stand for, and what do institutes say they assess?
It is a written test of the interview stage: IIM Bangalore calls its test the Written Ability Test and IIM Calcutta the Writing Ability Test, while IIM Ahmedabad holds an Analytical Writing Test, the AWT. Of the three policies for the 2027–29 batch, only IIM Bangalore says what it assesses: candidates write a note in about 30 minutes, on the interview day and at the same place, and it is evaluated on content and style. It weighs 10 of IIM Bangalore’s 100 final points, 8 of IIM Calcutta’s and 10 % of IIM Ahmedabad’s final composite.
-
Fresher to mid
Note A has strong ideas in long, tangled sentences. Note B is polished but says little. IIM Bangalore evaluates its written test on content and style. Which note would you expect to score higher, and how would you improve each in a week of practice?
-
Fresher to mid
Fifteen minutes into a 30-minute written test you have 90 words of a planned 300, and your second reason is still unwritten. What do you change for the second half, and what do you give up first?
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Fresher to mid
The prompt is a short case: a dairy cooperative can sell through a delivery app that keeps 18 % of each sale, or open two shops of its own. How is answering a case different from answering an abstract statement, and how would you structure the note?
Not affiliated
Based on public information about the Indian Institutes of Management and XLRI. MySmartCoPilot is not affiliated with the Indian Institutes of Management and XLRI, and the Indian Institutes of Management and XLRI’s real selection rules may differ from what this lesson describes.
Flashcards · 6 cards
Recall it, then check
Say the answer to yourself before you look: recalling it is what makes it stick.
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What do IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta call their written tests?
IIM Ahmedabad: the Analytical Writing Test (AWT). IIM Bangalore: the Written Ability Test (WAT). IIM Calcutta: the Writing Ability Test (WAT). XLRI also holds a WAT beside its GD and interview process.
-
Which IIM policy says how its written test is judged, and how?
Only IIM Bangalore's: a note of about 30 minutes, on the interview day and at the same place, evaluated on content and style. It counts for 10 of 100 final points, as much as work experience.
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What do the policies leave out about the written tests?
Topics, a word limit, and whether the note is handwritten or typed. Practise both ways and follow whatever your call letter says about the format.
-
Into which four kinds do written-test prompts fall, and what does each need first?
An abstract statement (define the key word), a social question (who gains, who pays), a business situation (the decision and its criteria) and a short case (the problem the choice must solve).
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What must every written-test note end with?
A position, the reasons for it, and a limit: the objection it answers or the point where it stops being true. A note that lists sides and never chooses has answered nothing.
-
How do you size a written-test note to the time you have?
From your measured speed: write for three minutes and divide by three. At 22 words a minute, 20 writing minutes, 70 % of them putting words down, hold about 22 × 14 = 308 words; at 15 a minute about 210.
Key takeaways
- IIM Ahmedabad’s AWT, IIM Bangalore’s and IIM Calcutta’s WATs and XLRI’s WAT ask for one short piece of writing, worth 8 to 10 % of a final score where weights are published.
- Only IIM Bangalore’s policy says how its test is judged: a note of about 30 minutes, on content and style.
- Prompts are abstract statements, social questions, business situations or short cases, and each ends in a position, reasons and a limit.
- A plan from your measured speed fixes the word budget and the minute of every paragraph.
Terms in this lesson
- AWT
- Analytical Writing Test: IIM Ahmedabad's name for the written test it holds with its personal interviews.
- WAT
- Written or writing ability test: a short timed note or essay that an institute asks shortlisted candidates to write; IIM Bangalore describes its WAT as about 30 minutes, evaluated on content and style.
References
- PGP (MBA) 2027–29 admission procedure (Indian Institute of Management Bangalore)
- PGP admission procedure for the 2027–29 batch (Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad)
- Admission policy for the MBA programme, batch 2027–29 (Indian Institute of Management Calcutta)
- XLRI Admission Prospectus 2027 (XLRI – Xavier School of Management)
- Plain language guide series: clear and short (U.S. General Services Administration (Digital.gov))
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