TCS New Pattern – The only thing constant is change!!

The TCS recruitment process has been undergoing a change every few years, depending on the demand and the supply pattern. In 2010, the test was made online for the first time and negative marking was introduced. Verbal Ability questions were more or less taken away and the verbal ability of a student was tested by including elaborate analytical ability questions with a lot of irrelevant information. One needed to carefully peruse the given data to pick the relevant information.

The process has been changed again this year in 2013. The verbal ability section has been introduced which has a writing task. This is a subjective assessment. So one cannot randomly select an option, but apply one’s mind and write a paragraph. The capability of a student to express in written form is tested here. Oral communication can be verified during an interview, and a lot of times, students who have studied in vernacular medium, or those who have an average communication capability were being absorbed. The assumption is that the students who are technically competent can do their job and learn/gain the capability to communicate over time and since engineering exams were being written in English, an above 60% score in engineering indicates written communication capability. Apparently, this does not apply always. Hence the need for a verbal ability test!

Now, how should students prepare for the Verbal Ability test? Is it a cause for concern? There is a short email/essay that one needs to write in around 70-80 words conveying a message. The gist of the message is given in around 10 phrases. So essentially, there is no need to worry because there is no creativity required here. One needs to simply connect the given phrases to frame coherent or meaningful sentences within the given time limit of 10 minutes. That is all!! However, one needs to keep in mind that all the phrases need to be used and make sure that there are no grammatical or spelling mistakes. As long as you write simple sentences, you would be safe. There is no need to use flowery language or exhibit your vocabulary because no one is going to read it. The essay will be evaluated by the system. So it will be trained to look for some patterns & phrases and it would probably have the ability to identify grammatical mistakes. One needs to take cognizance of the fact that only those students who clear the Verbal Ability Section will have their Analytical Ability section evaluated. So this section needs to be taken very seriously.

The Analytical Ability section too has some interesting twists. There are a few * marked questions, which will carry higher marks than the other questions. Of course, these are highlighted with an asterisk, so you are better off attempting these, provided you are sure of your response. There is an increased focus on areas like Number System and Algebra, which was not the case earlier. However, if one is familiar with all the basic quantitative ability and analytical ability topics, it should not be a big deal. The key is practice because time is of the essence and also a judicious choice of questions to answer since there is negative marking for wrong answers.

So gear up for the challenge. Practice makes a man perfect. So what are you waiting for? Take the Open Seesame sample tests without fail and for further practice, you could register for 3 tests from Abhyaas in the same format. For more details, visit www.abhyaas.in.

The travails of a "nerd"

Today, a fifth-grader cribbed to me about being called a “nerd” by her classmates. Well, that set me thinking. Is it really bad to be referred as a nerd? What does the term actually mean? I found an interesting definition in the dictionary – “the group of people who will most likely make a life changing invention that will radically change the world. The computer was invented by a nerd. The macintosh/apple and windows were invented by nerds.”  Then why does one shy away from being called a nerd? Is it a fault to be born with higher intelligence or to have intellectual pursuits?

Smart kids are normally called nerds by their classmates. There are plenty of reasons for this. Most kids aspire to be at the top of the class, but they are unable to. So they try to pull the toppers down. It is a simple case of “sour grapes”. Just because you are not smart, you spread the word that it is not great to be smart. Since there are many students in this category and the smart ones are few, they sort of get alienated from the rest of the class.

Smart kids are in the good books of the teachers. While in school, generally, the teachers are the idols and students vie for their attention. The highly “unpopular” or rather the highly popular back-benchers get their share of attention due to all the wrong reasons. The smart ones gain the attention by their smartness. The average, which forms the bulk of the class, is naturally envious.

There is a problem with being called a nerd. Smartness is generally not associated with “being cool”. So smart kids are not so cool, as they say. Well, it depends on perspective. Their interests could be different. They have set a high standard for themselves which they find difficult to break. They generally like to be in the good books of their teachers and don’t want to rub them on the wrong side. It doesn’t mean they don’t want to have fun. They are fun-loving creatures too. It is just that their idea of fun is different and they might find the activities of the others as frivolous.

So what should the nerds too? Get together with other nerds. They would understand your predicament. Pursue your interests and hobbies. Learn to ignore the sneers and the jibes. These things don’t matter in the larger picture. Just have fun the way you want to. Continue to develop your smartness and flaunt it without inhibition or fear of being labelled a “nerd”. Just remember that though they are ridiculing you, in fact, they are envying you, and would probably talk to you about it when they encounter you decades later.

V V Laxminarayana – An inspiration!!

I was fortunate to listen to V V Laxminarayana, Joint Director, CBI during the last few days of his extended tenure in Hyderabad. He addressed a 1500-odd crowd of mostly students – civil services aspirants, at Ramakrishna Math, on “Ethics, Integrity & Probity”. It is unfortunate that ethics & integrity, which need to be a part and parcel of human nature, instilled as a habit, needs to be re-inforced externally these days, where corruption is omnipresent.

JD Laxminarayana (JD), as he is popularly known, comes from a small town, telugu medium school, and chose to address the gathering in Telugu. He studied engineering in REC, Warangal, and went on to do his M.Tech in IIT, Madras. He was pursuing his Ph.D, with the ambition of becoming a professor, when he wrote the Civil Services exam, inspired by his seniors. Upon being asked if he did not get stressed because of the competition, he said one needs to work with the heart and not the head, then there is no stress. He would have faced tremendous amount of pressure from all directions because of the high-profile cases that he has handled, but his mantra is Pranayama for 20-30 minutes, which keeps his energy levels high, through the day till late evening.

According to him, one develops moral values and ethics from 3 major sources – Home, School and Temple. Of course, he is referring to Home, which used to be the abode of multiple generations with lots of cousins around, in a joint family. School – where the master was the guru, who led by example. With the evolution of nuclear families and the commoditization of education, it is no wonder that ethics needs to be re-inforced externally.

He exhorted the parents in the crowd to make sure that their children play for atleast one hour per day. He also asked the students to do so as games teach us to deal with a lot of varied situations, to deal with success and failure.

He said Knowledge should lead to the following – Creativity, Righteousness and Courage.

Regarding Wealth, he said it is of 3 types – Uttama, Madhyama and Adhama. Uttama is the wealth earned by hard work in the right manner, Madhyama wealth is ancestral wealth and the last is earned by unethical means. One should only aim for the first variety or Uttama through perseverance and hard work. The second variety might accrue, but should not be aspired for, and the third one should be completely shunned.

He said a civil servant is a servant of the public and not a government servant. There is no definition of “government servant”. So citizens have every right to question them and they are accountable to the public. He suggested that each person should create a center of excellence around oneself – could be at home, workplace or society and that is the only way that excellence could spread and as a nation, we could develop and get rid of corruption.

He advised the students to aim for the following:

1. Work in such a manner that parents would be proud that you have uplifted their family name.

2. Create such an impact that your school/college would invite you to be a chief guest in your alma mater.

3. Transition from being an autograph-seeker to an autograph-giver.

Lastly, here is the list of books that he has recommended over the course of his lecture –

·         You Are Unique & Turning Point by A P J Abdul Kalam

·         Who will cry when you die by Robin Sharma

·         My experiments with Truth by Mahatma Gandhi

·         You can Win by Shiv Khera

·         The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

What struck me most about the JD is his simple manner and humble attitude. He is an unassuming gentleman with absolutely no airs. He spoke to the students in a very down-to-earth manner and answered all their questions patiently. Though the organizers were trying to cut short the questions, he was ready to answer all. Time and again, he stressed on the need to change oneself and the surroundings rather than wait for something else to change. He also said that one who does not cast a vote has no right to crib about the government. The government becomes accountable to the public if more than 80-90% cast their vote in the election. Of course, I could only capture the essence of his speech, but it was very inspiring and motivating. If it could change even one small aspect of your life, it is worth the effort. It was a pleasure to listen to him and I felt truly privileged to have attended the session.

Best wishes to VV Laxminarayana as he takes up his next posting in Maharashtra.

Negative Marking in CLAT 2013

The CLAT-2013 notification is out and the major change is that they have introduced negative marking this year.  So what is this hullabaloo about negative marking in CLAT? Does it really make a difference? After all it is only a 0.25 marks deduction for a wrong answer. So what if some answers are wrong? These are the thoughts that go on in the minds of a CLAT-taker this year. This step will weed out the non-serious candidates from the serious ones. It is no longer possible for the “lucky” ones without preparation who take a chance and mark the answers to score high marks.

Introduction of negative marking is a significant change in the CLAT exam and not one to be taken lightly. The entire approach to the exam differs based on this simple change. A deduction of 0.25 marks for a wrong answer appears minuscule taken individually, but just imagine you get 140 questions right, 40 questions wrong and leave 20 questions unanswered.  A score of 140 would assure you of a seat in one of the top NLUS (based on last year’s results). However, the 40 wrong answers would make sure that you lose 10 marks. Now your score is 130 and the chances of securing a seat in the top 3 NLUs are bleak. You would probably make it to one of the other NLUs. In a competitive exam where every single mark counts, where dozens of students or maybe hundreds have the same total score, you would not want to lose even the 0.25 marks that would stand in the way between you and the NLUs.

So how does one approach the CLAT exam with negative marking? For once, you need to unlearn a few things. Right from your school days in first standard, you are told – Don’t leave the paper blank. Try and attempt the answer in any possible way. If you don’t know, make a guess. You will atleast get marks for trying. You are so used to answering every single question that you think it is unpardonable to leave even one question unmarked. Now you need to reverse your philosophy. Do not attempt any question unless you are sure of the answer. There are no marks for trying. In fact, there is a penalty for a wrong answer. So it is in fact unpardonable to mark a wrong answer.

Read the question. If you are sure of the answer, mark it, else move on to the next question. You may be able to attempt only 70% of the paper. If you are sure to get 140 answers right, it is better than attempting all 200 and getting 60 questions wrong. So brush up all your concepts and start practising this approach in your mock tests. Take a few mock tests and you will understand what I am saying.