IGNOU OPENMAT Preparation 2022: Strategies, Home-based preparation, exam day tips, books & more

IGNOU OPENMAT preparation 2022 is at its peak with the National Testing Agency(NTA) conducting the MBA entrance exam in April 2022. Candidates appearing for the IGNOU MBA entrance exam must start their preparation with the right strategy in mind. 

Based on the previous year’s cut-offs, a good score is at least 50% i.e 100 marks. But if you want to get a higher score, we would suggest you follow a strategy and have a time-managed approach. Before moving on to the section-wise preparation tips, let us look at an overview of the IGNOU MBA entrance exam.

In this article, we bring you IGNOU OPENMAT preparation 2022 tips along with some general tips you should follow on the day of the exam.

IGNOU OPENMAT Exam Pattern

Knowledge of the exam pattern is the first step towards making a clear preparation strategy. It is very important to be smart with your preparation, rather than trying to cover everything. You need to understand the question pattern so that you can optimize your preparation accordingly. 

The table below summarises the exam pattern for IGNOU OPEN MAT.

NOTE: The IGNOU OPENMAT 2020 admit card is set to be out in April 2022. 

Six months strategy for IGNOU OPENMAT preparation

Though the IGNOU OPENMAT 2022 syllabus is not released officially, based on the previous year’s topics we have prepared strategies that can help help you ace the exam. So, make a timetable, practice mocks and for the general awareness section, keep yourself updated with the latest happenings.

As IGNOU OPENMAT covers different subjects such as Logical Reasoning, English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and General Awareness, it is necessary to frame a strategy based on topic-wise segregation for effective preparation. 

The section-wise six-month strategy for IGNOU OPENMAT preparation is elaborated below.

General Awareness

1. Refer to online resources for general awareness questions. Keep up with the latest happenings, especially in the country. Manorama Year Book is one of the most popular and sought after current affairs book. 
2. Read the newspaper daily. This will give you a ton of information on various topics like politics, laws & regulations, famous people etc. 
3. There are mobile apps and websites dedicated to providing users with the latest, precise and researched news & happenings like INSHORTS, Reddit. One should make use of these apps and other digital platforms regularly.  

Quantitative Aptitude

1. Brush up your 9th & 10th-grade mathematics basics. The quantitative aptitude sections in various other exams also are designed to test the general numerical reasoning and aptitude that the candidate possesses. These mathematical and numerical skills are built in the grades 8th to 10th and so, practice your basics!
2. There are other quantitative aptitude practice books that you could get a hold of, both online and offline. These books could also be practice books for other competitive management exams, it is still great practice. 
3. Try giving as many practice mocks as possible. There are many previous years practice question papers and mock test online. 

Reasoning

1. This section consists of the maximum number of questions and is the most challenging. As advised for the quant section, practice as many questions as possible. 
2. Gain knowledge about the many tricks and shortcuts to solve the many questions in this section. Logical and abstract reasoning questions generally involve tricks to solve them. 

English or Verbal Ability

1. Learn the meanings, usage and spellings of at least 5 new words every day.
2. Practice grammar questions like Sentence Correction, Basic Grammar, Vocabulary, Synonyms, and Antonyms. 
3. Improve your vocabulary by reading daily.

3 Months Strategy for IGNOU OPENMAT Preparation

Three months is quite sufficient to prepare for the IGNOU OPENMAT exam. The difficulty level of the exam is between easy to moderate, so you can prepare accordingly. We have compiled a set of important tasks that you need to accomplish in three months. After that, you should be ready to ace the exam with a competitive score. 

1. Understand the exam pattern and syllabus: Must know about the IGNOU OPENMAT 2020 Exam Pattern, syllabus, and other details to know about it more and for ease preparation. 

2. Create a timetable and follow it: It is very important to adhere to the timetable until the IGNOU OPENMAT 2020 Exam. Make sure to give equal preparation time to all sections. 
3. Take a look at previous papers: Prepare previous year sample papers.
4. Get your basics right to have a clear understanding of concepts: It is advised to clear your basic concepts first before preparing for new topics when it comes to the IGNOU MBA entrance exam. 
5. Do Mock tests: Solve as many mock tests as possible in a timed fashion. This will help you check you’re how accurate and fast you are answering in the mock tests.

IGNOU OPENMAT Preparation at home

You can do IGNOU OPENMAT preparation at home as well. Preparing at home allows you to be flexible with your schedule and to study at your own pace. You can also sign up for online classes on any learning platform. The blended mode of learning can let you balance your preparation with lectures and customized materials. You can listen to the video lectures on your own time, and prepare for the exam. 

Many platforms, such as Unacademy, offer personal coaching with certain subscription plans. If you avail that, you can get all your doubts cleared sitting at home.

Last-Minute Tips for IGNOU OPENMAT Preparation

The final week of IGNOU OPENMAT preparation is the most crucial stage. It is very important to have faith in your preparation and to not lost sight of the larger objectives. All preparation should be focused on execution with the highest possible accuracy. 

You can find below some critical tips that can help you maintain consistency with your IGNOU OPENMAT preparation, even at the last minute.

1. Avoid new topics at the last moment: avoid preparing new topics at the very last minute as this may result in last moment confusion between concepts.
2. Revise: Once you have finished studying and started mocks, keep revising the topics remain so that they remain fresh in your memory. For this, formulating a revision plan is a crucial technique.
3. Have a question-solving strategy in place: Learn to pick out those questions first that you are comfortable answering. Keep the tougher ones for later. 
4. Take mock tests: Mock tests prepare you for the exam day situation and helps you get a fair estimate of your performance levels
5. Don’t stress yourself too much: Focus on your strength more than your weaknesses and believe that you can achieve your objectives

IGNOU OPENMAT Exam Day Tips

Exam day is the most critical moment in your IGNOU OPENMAT preparation. The most important thing on this day is to reach the exam hall on time and keep a calm head. Any mistakes with the technicalities can have grave consequences and might even lead to disqualification. 

You can find below a set of important tips to make sure that you’re all set for the exam day.

• Carry a printout of the admit card and a photo ID: Without a proper photo ID, you will be disallowed from appearing in the exam, even if you have a valid admit card.
• Pack all the stationery and documents the night before: Do your exam day packing beforehand by following all the important instructions.
• Reach the exam centre on time: You can find the reporting time on the admit card and reach the exam centre accordingly
• Read the instructions given on the admit card: The admit card will contain several exam-day instructions - make sure you follow them diligently.
• Believe in yourself: Do not panic as that can backfire severely - stay cool, focused, and organized till the end of the exam.

Best books for preparation 

General Books for IGNOU OPENMAT

• Sura’s IGNOU OPENMAT exam book by V.V.K. Subburaj
• Neeraj OPENMAT exam guide by Neeraj Publishers
• Manorama Year Book 2022

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

• How to Prepare for the VARC for the CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay (Tata McGraw-Hill)
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• The Pearson Guide to Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning by Nishit Sinha

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)

• Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashisha
• How to Prepare for DILR for CAT (Tata McGraw-Hill) by Arun Sharma
• Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha

Quantitative Aptitude

• QA for CAT and Other MBA Entrance Exams from Trishna Knowledge Systems (Pearson)
• How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma
• The Complete CAT Digest, by Tata McGraw-Hill by Arun Sharma

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