WAT & GD – the approach
Session I
Call: 9035001996
Previous Year’s Essay Topics
 Allowing people to vote on policy initiatives is the only way to weed out corruption.
 IIMs should make one year of social service compulsory for all students.
 Essential services like water and electricity should not be privatized.
 An MBA can showcase his managerial skills better in a family managed business
rather than in professionally run organizations.
 History is always the story of the victor and not of the vanquished.
 65% of the Indian population is working. What is the impact, social and economic, of
such a large working population?
 In about 150 words describe what according to you is the most important quality that
any citizen of India must possess and how should this quality be inculcated in the
children and youth of our country?
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2
Attempt it now! 250 words, 20 minutes
Corruption is the root cause of economic
slowdown in India.
Call: 9035001996
What is an ‘essay’?
Dictionary Meaning
“A short literary
composition on a single
subject, usually presenting
the personal view of the
author.”
Call: 9035001996
The 7 categories of Topics
I.
Indian Society & Culture in transformation
 e.g. “As India grows, Indian Value System shrinks.”
II. Indian Economy – critical analysis
 e.g. “The worst may be over for Indian Economy.”
III. Governance
 e.g. “Poverty is a consequence of failure of government policies.”
IV. Globalization & its problems
 e.g. “Globalization is a zero-sum game.”
V. Philosophy of life
 e.g. “The harder you try, the luckier you become”.
VI. Women Empowerment
 e.g. “Gender imbalance will lead to Third world war”
VII. Environmental Concerns
 e.g. “Economic growth without environmental damage – a mirage or a reality?”
Call: 9035001996
Two elements
Good Essay/GD
Interest
Knowledge
To do justice to a topic, you have to be interested
and you have to be knowledgeable.
Call: 9035001996
Getting the ‘points’ for
WAT/GD
TestCracker recommends two methods for quickly generating
points to be used in your essay or GD –
1
Stakeholder Approach
2
Key Words Approach

Stakeholders can be people, organizations, governments or
even concepts. Be creative here!

Both methods should be used to come up with the points.

There is no ideal number of points

Not all the points have to be used!
9035001996
Call: 9035001996
An example
Corruption is the root cause of economic slowdown in India.
?
Stakeholders

Government
o
o













?
Key Words

o
o
o
o
o
State government
Central government
Industry (Public/Pvt)
Bureaucracy
Ordinary Citizens
Agencies involved
Supreme Court
Natural Resources
Foreign Investment
Development
Brand India
Constitution/Laws
Black Money
Lokpal
Other ‘causes’
Corruption

Small or big?
Recent or cumulative?
Definition?
Material or moral?
Demand/suppy
Root cause
o Not any cause, but the
‘root cause’.

Economic
o So, don’t discuss other
aspects please

Slowdown
o Really? How much?
o Indicators?

India
o All of India or parts of it?
Call: 9035001996
How to structure your
essay?
I
P
R
E
P
Introduction
Position
Reason
Examples
Position
Call: 9035001996
Call: 9035001996
A method to the madness
 Quickly identify all the stakeholders
 Pay attention to each key word in the topic
 Follow the IPREP framework
9035001996
Call: 9035001996
Introduction is Important!
The introduction will be the first thing the evaluator sees. If an
introduction is poorly written or constructed, if it is boring, if it does not
tell him what he needs to know, if it does not help him to orient himself
to your essay — then you have lost his goodwill right from the
beginning, and can be sure of losing marks, no matter how well the rest
of the essay is constructed!
 A useful rule of thumb: an introduction should be no shorter than one-twelfth
and no longer than one-tenth of the entire essay.
Call: 9035001996
An Introduction should…
Capture a
reader’s interest
Act as a
navigation guide
to its readers.
Provide a
context for
the main
issue
Show how you
are interpreting &
approaching the
question
State why
the topic is
important
‘Indicate’ your
conclusion and
point of view
Call: 9035001996
Three parts of Intro
Setting the context
General statements that lead the reader into the
topic showing how the specific topic relates to
bigger issues
Relating the context to
the topic
Relate the above statements to the exact topic you
are analysing. Wherever possible, mention the
exact same topic! If definitions are needed, go
ahead and define.
Outline of the
argument
Statements that make the reader understand the
flow of your essay. The number of statements
depends on the topic.
Call: 9035001996
Open Powerfully
“India grows at night.”
• The introduction should start with a sentence that captures the interest of
your reader.
– But don’t be under pressure to create a remarkable first sentence. Avoid force-fitting.
• The first sentence should lead into two or three sentences that finally lead
to the topic.
• If you can recall a quotation very relevant to the topic, you should begin
with it. Again…don’t force-fit any quotation.
Call: 9035001996
Setting the context
• Brief & relevant background information
– Don’t give too much context— give
just enough (2-4 sentences) to place
the key issue in its context.
• These sentences briefly put the focus of
the topic within its historical context
(usually), and show the reader why the
topic exists.
Call: 9035001996
Relating the context to the
topic
• Find a way to connect how you started your essay to what
your essay is about.
– If, for example, the essay is about technology but you started off
talking about a historical person, you will have to transition from
talking about the historical person to perhaps some of his ideas, and
then connect those ideas to the topic!
• In this part you have to use the words from the topic.
– For ‘Corruption is the root cause of economic slowdown in India’, when
you come to this part, you should use the words ‘corruption, root
cause’.
Call: 9035001996
Outline of the Argument
Use the keywords &
stakeholder approaches
to think about the topic
from all angles.
Identify few subtopics &
stakeholders on
which you will focus
in your essay
It always helps
to write
chronologically.
Call: 9035001996
This Year’s (expected) Essay Topics
 The common man’s government – is it feasible?
 Why is Indian Economy losing steam?
 We worship goddesses, but insult our women.
 Does India have a Demographic Dividend or Demographic Disaster?
 India is no longer a ‘soft power’.
 Creation of more states is good for India.
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18
Write all the pointers on the following topic -
“Cricket has crippled all other sports in India.”
Assignment
Assignment
Call: 9035001996
Thank You!
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