Candidates who qualify for the written tests conducted to grant admission to the defense forces have to get through the Service Selection Board or SSB round. This is the screening round that candidates will have to pass. The tests are developed in a way that tests the personality, intelligence and thought process of the candidates. All of these are necessary qualities required in a member of the defense services.
Among the screening tests in the SSB, one is the OIR test or the Officers Intelligence Ratings tests. Students have to get the minimum cut-off marks in this test in order to go through to the next one, which is the PPDT or Picture Perception and Description Test. Coming back to the OIR test, it has two planks: verbal and non-verbal.
The verbal section tests a candidate on aspects like relationship, multiple choice or MCQs, restructuring of sentences, alphabet tests based on common sense and the like. The idea is to test the intelligence and logical reasoning of the candidates taking the test. The non-verbal section is about questions on completing a series, locating the missing figure or identifying which figure is different from the other.
There is a false idea among SSB hopefuls that the PPDT stage is more important than the OIR test. There is no truth in that because both are given equal weight in the screening stage. Also, you may feel that the OIR test is about intelligence and doesn’t require you practice beforehand. That is a wrong option to take because unless you have a good amount of practice in these questions, you will end up spending a lot of time answering them. That is something that you cannot afford to do!
The best way to prepare for the OIR test is to go through the prescribed syllabus thoroughly to pick out questions. Select topics by the day and work on them to improve your performance. Additionally, make sure you get enough of mock tests online and offline. At Siegwald Academy, we ensure that our students have enough practice in OIR tests before they appear for the actual one. This gives them confidence when they have to perform well.
You can get the Siegwald Academy advantage in OIR tests by joining our academy.