A few of the most asked questions after an aspirant decides to prepare for the IBA admission exam are: Which books should we read? Which websites should we follow? Which materials should we get? Is this enough?

The overwhelming pile of resources can somehow make you feel like it is a lot, and that you have not covered enough at the same time. So here’s an attempt at creating a checklist of resources that an IBA aspirant should cover.

Note: Everything mentioned below is covered within the IBA book itself. We are assuming that you are still looking for a big resource list.

First off, English- let us divide English into 3 portions. Disclaimer: An aptitude test such as this one can hardly ever be restricted to a specific pattern. However, observing the questions from recent years, it is safe to say that the English part of the test mostly covers-
1. Grammar

2. Vocabulary

3. Comprehension

Now, for grammar, read the Magoosh 50+ Grammar Rules- it’s a 10-page PDF that you can find online. You can read specific portions from the TOEFL that may help you revise the basics of grammar.

Use WordSmart 1 & 2 to memorise vocabulary.
Pro tip: Do not mindlessly memorise vocab. Read the book and understand how, why, and where the words are used. The gists will help you more than the accurate definitions will. But if you are someone who is not much into reading books, use flashcards.
Visit the website Vocab.com and use their flashcard and practice features. 

Comprehension mostly contains miscellaneous questions and the reading comprehension portion. So, let us move on to the books and websites for specific question types. 

Barrons SAT 23rd Edition: You can buy this from Nilkhet. This covers error detection, sentence correction, sentence completion, and reading comprehension.

CrackSat: One of the prime websites for practising error detection and sentence correction. You can also practice sentence completion from here. 

GRE BB: You can use this book for practising sentence completion and analogy.

GMAT OG: You can use this book for practising sentence correction and reading comprehension.

CAT iim: Use this website as revision material, preferably after you have practised the CrackSat and GMAT questions. This covers the sentence correction, sentence completion, along with the miscellaneous portion, that is, Parajumbles, Para completion, Para summary, etc.  

Now moving on to the Math section. This is not as complicated and scattered as English is. The rule is very simple: Cover your basics. That’s it, start from level 0. Do not jump into complicated maths without ensuring that you have fully covered all your bases. 

Mentors’ Math Handbook: It is a question bank covering almost all the relevant topics of the math section, including past-year questions. Make sure you clear out your basic understanding of the concepts before moving on to something more complicated. 

ExamVeda: Very good resource for IBA prep. They have specific segments consisting of multiple sections of the topics. Practice as much as you can from this website. 

PakMCQ: This consists of less complicated maths. But this can be a good practice material. 

GMAT Club: You can search for specific topics on this website and practice. This is basically a library that compiles different types of maths from different sources. Now see, this is a loaded gun. Do not set the level way too high in order to practise complicated maths. Set the optimum level, that is, 650-750 or 650-800 at best. 

Now, moving on to the Analytical portion of the test. We have a few specific resources for this section.

For puzzles, use- 

1. 30 Must-Solve puzzles- you can find the PDF online

2. 200 GRE puzzles, you can also find this PDF online. 

3. GRE BB puzzles- this covers all the puzzles from the above-mentioned two resources. The above-mentioned resources are more organised and a constricted version of this one. 

Now, for critical readings, use GMAT OG. You can also use GMAT Club for practising this one. And lastly, for Data Sufficiency, use the GMAT OG book and the Majortest website. 

Well, that’s about it. This should cover almost the whole base for your IBA prep and more. These resources may seem like a lot. However, multiple suggestions and countless recommendations of resources from all around you might make you feel like even this is not enough. Remember, do not hyper-fixate on solving too many resources. Focus more on practising than on keeping count of the number of resources that you have finished. Why is practice important? Well, this is a test where you will have to rely on your intuition a lot, inevitably. So, what is your intuition? It is about recognising patterns in questions so that you may crack the code and solve it. And how can you improve your intuition over the months? Practise as much as you can so that you build a keen eye for the common patterns. So, do not stress over finishing every other resource that a random passerby suggests to you. Instead, focus on your checklist, mark your strengths and weaknesses, and practise them over and over again till you master your ways.

Hriddhi Rodoshee
IBA BBA 33rd Batch

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