This post will help you understand how to prepare for XIC OET Entrance Test for Advertising and Public Relations diploma programme.

The XIC OET (Xavier Institute of Communications’ Online Entrance Test) is conducted to select students for their post graduate diploma in Public Relations & Corporate Communications and other programmes in various disciplines (more details are on their website). The test is not too different from our SCoRe Entrance Test for Public Relations & Corporate Communications Programme.

Before we jump into how to prepare for XIC OET Entrance Test, here are a few details of the test. It consists of Two Sections:

Objective Type:

• Duration: 60 Minutes

• Marks: 100 Marks

• Sections:

  • Language Skills

    This section consists of questions that test vocabulary, grammar, punctuation etc. and reading comprehension.

  • General Knowledge and Knowledge of Media:

    Comprising of roughly 50 questions, this section contains questions from recent events occurring in social, political and government spheres (most are from India, but expect to see some major global events also).

  • Logical and Analytical Skills

    This section many consist of questions on logical reasoning and some questions on data and quantitative reasoning as well.

Subjective Type:

• Duration: 30 Minutes

• Marks: 50 Marks

• Sections:

This section consists of a total of 3 subjective questions related to media and communications, but candidates must be prepared to write on current social issues. The major assessment area is writing and comprehension skill – how well you can build and structure a story, how wide you vocabulary is, along with your opinion on ideas and events.

Naturally there is no guarantee that the format will remain the same, but it should be similar to these sections

How to Prepare for XIC OET Entrance Test

1. Work on your language – Read

The language sections test your vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension ability, syntax and possibly spellings. The best way to work on this is to read and write extensively. For reading: pick up a newspaper/magazine, preferably an editorial like Hindu, Swarajya Magazine . Read 4-5 editorials per day. Supplement that reading with a book, preferably a non-fiction book. Pay attention to words that you do not know (and look them up online). Pay attention to writing styles, how complex ideas are framed and written down. Practice those techniques for yourself.

2. Work on your language – Write

Simultaneously, start writing. Write a 300-500 word post every day. It can be a writing on anything, from restaurant/movie reviews to a summary of the books or editorials that you read. If you do not have the habit of writing, start small. Over time, try to write under constraints, try and draft an opinion within 30 mins, then 15 mins and so on. This will give you practice of tackling any kind of writing. Another added benefit is that you can upload your writing online and show your portfolio during the interview.

3. General Awareness – List down topics, go Wikipedia Hopping

A good way to start is to make a list of topics on different sectors of general awareness. The most common ones are:

a. Indian geography (states, capitals, cities, monuments, social statistics like education etc.)

b. Indian polity and civics (about constitution, fundamental rights,

c. Indian news (about business, some largest companies, sports news, film and media news, political news etc.)

Needless to say, it is important to read newspapers to stay updated to prepare for XIC OET. Subscribe to one general paper like The Indian Express and one financial paper such as Mint, and make sure to read it everyday. It may be a good habit to take notes of all interesting factoids that you come across

4. Logic & Analytics – practice, practice, practice

Unfortunately for this section, there are no shortcuts. to prepare for XIC OET, we suggest picking up a book of practice questions and mock papers on different kinds of analytical and logical reasoning questions. 5-6 mock papers a week should be a good frequency to begin with, and must double by the last week of your preparation. The good news is that with enough practice, you will not be surprised no matter what kind of questions appear. Unlike general awareness, there is nothing new to learn here beyond a certain point, it is all about practising solving these questions in the minimum possible amount of time.

For insights into media and communications, you can also refer to India’s only magazine on PR – Reputation Today Magazine

We hope these tips help you. In case you’d like more one-on-one guidance, feel free to drop us a note at talktous@scoreindia.org with your contact details and question, or just call us at 98115 72673 and we will be happy to help you out.

Some other blog posts that you may find interesting:

1. 10 signs you are made for Public Relations
2. India’s biggest PR firms
3. India’s Best Institutes of Public Relations

Good luck for your test!