How to attempt Amcat Exam

AMCAT tests students from different fields in various domains with the help of an in-depth micro analysis in each domain.
The test consists of various sections/modules which you can choose according to your profile or education background. There are certain modules which are compulsory for everyone (Language and Aptitude Modules), whereas others are optional. During the test, you will be given an option to select any two domain specific modules. It is recommended to that you go through the module description and befitting job profiles before you go to take the AMCAT. Your choice of modules increases your visibility for particular kind of jobs, for instance, if you take the Programming Module, you will be visible to more IT companies whereas taking a HR module will help you find HR profiles. It is best for you to go through the module list now and decide which optional modules you would like to take.

Provided below is the list of all the modules that you can take in AMCAT, the broad topics that a module would cover, relevant job profiles, number of questions, duration and some sample questions for each module.

1. English

Compulsory Modules

The module evaluates written English skills and is aimed at determining the candidate"s ability to understand (a) the written text (b) the spoken word and (c) the ability to communicate effectively through written documents. Befitting Job Functions/Profiles: This module will be relevant for almost all profiles such as Business Consulting, HR/Admin, iTeS/BPO, Marketing, Engineering, Sales and Customer Management, IT, Hotel Management, Life Sciences, Content Development, etc.

Number of Questions: 25,  Module Duration: 25min.
 Detailed Syllabus:Vocabulary

• Synonyms
• Antonyms

Grammar

• Subject-Verb Agreement
• Tenses and Articles
• Prepositions and Conjunctions
• Speech and Voices

Comprehension

• Inferential and Literal Comprehension
• Contextual Vocabulary
• Comprehension ordering

Tips for English module:

1. If you get on to a Passage type question usually last 7 questions are of such type, don't just skip the passage, read the passage thoroughly, as each passage will have 2-3 questions.
2. There are about 2 passages in english section. You must read a passage within 1 min 20 seconds and answer the 2-3 question within 2 minutes.

2. Quantitative Ability

The module is ideal to evaluate the numerical ability of an individual and is available in both technical and non technical flavor. Befitting Job Functions/Profiles: This module will be relevant for almost all profiles such as Content Development, Business Consulting, HR/Admin, iTeS/BPO, Marketing, Engineering, Sales and Customer Management, IT, Hotel Management, Life Sciences, etc.

 Number of Questions: 25 (for Engineering Graduates) / 16 (for MBA and General Graduates) Module Duration: 35 min (for Engineering Graduates) / 16 min (for MBA and General Graduates)
Detailed Syllabus:  Basic Mathematics

• Divisibility
• HCF and LCM
• Numbers, decimal fractions and power

Applied Mathematics

• Profit and Loss
• Simple and Compound Interest
• Time, Speed and Distance

Engineering Mathematics

• Logarithms
• Permutation and Combinations
• Probability

Tips:

1. Practice a lot of LOG, PERMUTATION COMBINATIONS, PROBABILITY, and Interests type questions.
2. I personally recommend you to practice as much previous year papers as possible. As they have limited sets of questions. And those questions get repeated again and again. You can practice them from Amcat Placement Papers. 

3.Logical Ability

The module assesses capacity of an individual to interpret things objectively, to be able to perceive and interpret trends to make generalizations and be able to analyze assumptions behind an argument/statement. Befitting Job Functions/Profiles: This module will be relevant for almost all profiles such as Content Development, Business Consulting, HR/Admin, iTeS/BPO, Marketing, Engineering, Sales and Customer Management, IT, Hotel Management, Life Sciences, etc

.Number of Questions: 24, Module Duration: 35min
Detailed Syllabus:Deductive Reasoning

• Coding deductive logic
• Directional sense, Blood relations
• Objective Reasoning
• Selection decision tables
• Puzzles

Inductive reasoning 

• Coding pattern and Number series pattern recognition
• Analogy and Classification pattern recognition

Abductive Reasoning

• Logical word sequence
• Data sufficiency

Tips :

1. Just practice previous year questions from here. This is more than enough for this section.

Optional Module:

1. Computer Programming

The module is ideal to evaluate entry level talents exposure and expertise in Computer Programming. This module is agnostic to programming languages and does not require the candidates to code during the test. Befitting Job Functions/Profiles: Technical Support Executive, Computer Engineer, Software Developer Web, System s/w, Product, Trainee, Testing Engineer, Research Engineer, Content Developer-IT, IT Recruiter, etc. 

Number of Questions: 25, Module Duration: 35min.
Detailed Syllabus:Basic Programming

• Data Types
• Iteration, Recursion, Decision
• Procedure, functions and scope

Data Structures

• Arrays, Linked Lists, Trees, Graphs
• Stacks, Queues
• Hash Tables
• Heaps

OOPs

• Polymorphism
• Abstraction
• Encapsulation

Miscellaneous

• Searching and Sorting
• Complexity Theory

Tips:

1. This section has fairly easy questions, language independent but you should have basic knowledge of OOPs Concepts and some other important topics such as Pointers, Overloading, Overriding, etc.
2. Apart from programming, this section has questions from Complexity (Omega / Theta / Pi), go through it thoroughly and some questions from TREEs, best sorting techniques to use out of (Heap/Shell/Insertion/Radix) etc.
3. SECRET TIP : goto AMCAT Previous Year Questions,  Many questions are there which come as it is. (it’s kind of exam dump).

2. Computer Science

The module focuses to assess the candidates knowledge in basics of operating system and computer architecture, computer networks and database concepts.Befitting Job Functions/Profiles: Software Developers, Database Administrator and Network Engineers. 

Number of Questions: 26, Module Duration: 22min.
Detailed Syllabus:Operating System and Computer Architecture

• Basics of OS and Computer Architecture
• Process Management and Synchronization
• Memory and I/O Management

DBMS

• Data model
• Relational Algebra and SQL
• Normalization, Architecture, Indexing

Computer Networks

• Basics of networking and communication
• OSI, TCP/IP layers and protocols
• Network Devices and Routing Algorithms

Tips :  Just practice basics of all the topics. It would be more than enough for this section.

Final and most Important Tips For cracking Amcat Exam :

1. If there are 25 questions in the section, Attempt the beginning questions correctly only if think you can handle all level of difficulties in the end of section. Otherwise, it is advisable to answer 7 questions correctly out of first 12 questions and believe me you will definitely get easier questions to score in the rest 13 questions. Its like level of difficulty is increased/decreased after 50% of a section (TRIED AND TESTED).
2. Watch your Remaining Time to No. of Questions left to answer. 
3. Simply, dont take too much time on a question, typical time for every question must be 45seconds so that you can give around 1min 30seconds to a difficult question (there are about 3-4 long questions in each section).
4. DON'T PANIC if you see time is about 2 min and you are on 14/25 question, in this case best option is to mark all the questions randomly, at least it would not get you a -1 score, and also chances are there that 50% of your random answers will get correct.
5. Practice previous year Amcat questions as much as possible. Most of the questions are repeated and you will save a lot of time during exam. Practice them from here.