Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) conducts one exam TISSNET (TISS National Entrance Test) for about 55 of their Programs for MA. Some of them in Social Health may only have a descriptive paper whereas for the coveted MA (HRM & LR) which is considered equivalent to an MBA in HR, the TISSNET exam consists of English, Analytical & Logical Reasoning along with General Knowledge & Knowledge on Contemporary Issues.
TISS NET was conducted on 7th January 2017.
TISS is considered next only to XLRI for the HR program.
TISS NET 2017 pattern
Exam : Computer Based
No of Questions : 100
Time limit : 100 min
Negative Marking : No negative Marking
No of Areas : 6
No of Choices per question : 4
TISSNET 2017 was divided into 6 different areas. There was no demarcation of any section and the paper was given as a continuous stream of questions as given below
TISSNET 2017
| Areas |
Question Nos |
No of Questions |
| General Knowledge |
1 to 40 |
40 |
| Logical Reasoning |
41 to 55 |
15 |
| Mathematics |
56 to 62 |
7 |
| Data Interpretation |
63 to 70 |
8 |
| Verbal Ability |
71 to 95 |
25 |
| Reading Comprehension |
96 to 100 |
5 |
| Total |
|
100 |
TISS NET 2017 Analysis
The TISS NET 2017 was as per expectation with the paper giving enough opportunities to score in the Verbal and RC area as well as in the Mathematics, Data Interpretation and Logical Ability area.
It is expected that the area on General Knowledge and Current Affairs would, as usual, be the decider for the cutoff as many students would ace the other areas/sections
For MA in HRM &LR, the cutoff is expected to be high as is usual the case.
Expected Cutoff for MA (HRM & LR) - 67-68
VistaMind predicts that any score above 67-68 can fetch a call from the coveted TISS Mumbai for the HRM and LR program.
Detailed analysis of TISS NET 2017
As given above, students would score heavily in the English and Logical & Analytical section of the paper. Barring a few questions, almost all the 60 questions we solvable and there was sufficient time to attempt every question.
The only difference would be the marks one gets in the General Knowledge section. A student who is thoroughly in tune with the present happenings in the country and abroad and one who has a habit of going through the newspapers regularly, would find this section easy to crack. There was a heavy dose of Static GK too which could make a difference in the eventual marks that one gets in the exam.
A good student would have attempted the three sections in the following manner
| Section |
No of Question |
Time Limit |
Expected Corrects |
| General Knowledge |
40 |
15 |
15+ |
| Logical Reasoning |
15 |
20 |
13 |
| Mathematics |
7 |
10 |
6 |
| Data Interpretation |
8 |
12 |
7 |
| Verbal Ability |
25 |
25 |
20+ |
| Reading Comprehension |
5 |
8 |
4 |
|
100 |
90 |
66 |
* Buffer of at least10 minutes
Verbal and Reading Comprehension (30 questions)
The English section had the following pattern
| Area |
No of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
| Analogies |
4 |
Easy |
| Sentence Correction |
3 |
Easy |
| Fill-in-blanks (Vocab/English Usage) |
9 |
Easy |
| Idioms and phrases |
4 |
Easy |
| Odd Man Out |
3 |
Easy |
| Antonyms |
2 |
Easy |
| Total |
25 |
EASY |
There was ONE Reading Comprehension passage on Nutrition for injured athletes and had FIVE questions with the passage. Almost all questions were straightforward and should have been solved by students!
Logical Ability
The section had the following pattern
| Area |
No of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
| Order Sequence |
2 |
Easy |
| Cubes |
1 |
Easy |
| Numbers/Sets |
2 |
Easy |
| Counting of Rectangles |
1 |
Moderate |
| Blood Relations |
2 |
Easy |
| Letter Series |
2 |
Easy |
| Number Series |
2 |
Easy |
| Venn Diagrams |
2 |
Easy |
| Critical Reasoning |
1 |
Moderate |
| Total |
15 |
EASY |
The section was very easy except for two questions. The question which had to calculate the number of rectangles in a 6*5 grid and another one on Critical Reasoning, were the only ones that were probably challenging in the paper.
A question which asked for the answer to a 3*5*4 figure may have stumped the students as there was no answer which was corresponding to the multiplication of the above numbers!
A student can easily get about 12 or 13 marks without much ado!
Mathematics
Mathematics area had 7 questions. Of these, TWO questions were from Geometry, TWO from Averages and THREE from Ratios, Percentages & Profit and Loss!
All the 7 questions were sitters and any student could have got almost all 7 correct. There was only one question on Averages, which was a bit lengthy and could have challenged a student!
Data Interpretation
Unlike in other exams, the DI in TISSNET had NO Sets and each of the 8 questions was independent of each other and had a graph attached to the same.
The breakup for the 8 questions was
Case let – 1
Bar Charts - 4
Table - 2
PIE Chart - 1
Of these questions, all the questions asked were either had calculation of percentages OR calculation of ratios!
Only one question was given wrong in the DI area. The question asked was for PERCENTAGE POINTS whereas the actual options given were for PERCENTAGE!
General Knowledge
The General Knowledge section had a generous dose of Static questions. There were questions on Current affairs, peoples, books and sports persons!
| Areas |
No of Questions |
| Static |
20 |
| Current Affairs |
12 |
| People / Books |
6 |
| Sports/Persons |
2 |
| Total |
40 |
A student with a fair amount of general awareness and who is abreast of the happening in the country and abroad would score well in the paper.
A mark of around 20 would be considered very good in this area!
Overall paper Analysis
. The cutoff would be more or less in the same range for the MA in HRM course.
With the program at the Hyderabad Campus being scrapped, the desperation to get into the Mumbai Campus would be high.
The results of the TISSNET exam are expected on the 27th of January 2017!
Expected Cutoff for MA (HRM & LR) - 67-68
VistaMind predicts that any score above 67-68 can fetch a call from the coveted TISS Mumbai for the HRM and LR program.
The cutoffs for the other programs of TISS and programs at their other campuses would be lesser than 68.
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About the Author:
ARKS Srinivas is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and has been the All India CAT Director at TIME. He is currently the CEO of VistaMind Education. VistaMind is the only National Level Training institute, which prepares students for CAT through LIVE ONLINE CLASSES. For more information, write to info@vistamind.com OR Visit cat.vistamind.com.