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.
