FCI Manager Quant Preparation – Tips and Tricks | Oliveboard

FCI Manager Quant Preparation: FCI released the FCI Manager 2022 official recruitment notification on the 24th of August, 2022. The registration for the exam started on the 27th of August and will close on the 26th of September 2022.

FCI conducts the Manager recruitment in two phases. Phase I is a general test that covers English, Quantitative, Reasoning, and General Studies. Phase II is a post-specific exam with either one or two papers depending on the post.

The Quantitative (or Numerical Aptitude) section is a vital section for Phase I and for Phase II Paper I. This means all candidates regardless of the post they apply for should prepare well for this section. This blog will provide detailed pointers on how to tackle the preparation for the quant section.

FCI Manager Quant Preparation: Syllabus

The syllabus for Numerical Aptitude is mostly unchanged whether it’s Phase I or II of the exam. The following are the topics mostly covered for the quant section:

Data Interpretation	Ratio & Proportion
Number Series	Percentages
Quadratic Equations	Profit & Loss
Data Sufficiency	Averages, Mixtures & Alligation
Problems on Ages	Simple Interest & Compound Interest
Partnerships	Work & Time
Mensuration	Time, Speed & Distance
Permutation & Combination	Probability
Simplification	Number System
Mensuration	Algebra

FCI Manager Quant Preparation: Important Points

The Numerical Aptitude section of any exam can be a bit tricky to crack. It needs not just thorough practice, but also quick thinking, calculation speed, and accuracy. This makes it both a challenging and scoring section. If the quantitative section is where you find trouble, these tips should help you make it easier to navigate.

Learning and Revision

• Have quality study material. You can find various study materials to help you focus on topics individually. You may check out some of those like How to Solve Number Series Problems
• If you prefer to study through videos, you can check out the Must Watch Numerical Ability Videos.
• The Oliveboard Video Course consists of more than 200 concise videos that can help you revise fast and effectively.
• Make sure to memorize all useful formulas for the majority of the topics. For easy learning and revision, write the formulae by hand and make a handy list that you can refer to at any time.

Attempting the Numerical Ability Section

• Speed and accuracy are both of significant importance in this section. Hence, practicing using formulae and shortcuts wherever possible while solving questions is necessary.
• Identify speed breakers. Speed breakers are questions that take more time than affordable. In such cases, it is best to skip the question and leave it for later. Speed breaker questions particularly occur as Probability and Statistics questions.
• “Practice, Practice and Practice” is the only mantra of success for acing the Numerical Ability section. Therefore give as many Online Mock tests as possible. It will get you in the habit of solving online test papers.
• Try and reduce careless mistakes to the maximum. Careless mistakes are a pesky way to lose marks and enough practice and Mock Tests will ensure it reduces and does not lose you marks.

Topic-Specific Tips

While every topic that comes under the FCI Manager Quant syllabus is important to cover, there are a few hand-picked ones that need special attention especially if you want to score high. These topics need in-depth study and quick tips and tricks that make solving them easier. Here you can find some tips for preparing these topics which will help make your preparation a lot smoother.

Data Interpretation

Data Interpretation is a topic in Numerical Ability that can be quite difficult and time-consuming without enough practice in the various patterns of questions. These include illustrations like graphs, bars, pie charts, etc. Therefore, make sure to practice questions that include DI questions from every type of illustration. You can refer to How to Improve your Data Interpretation and Analysis?

Quadratic Equations

Do not ignore quadratic equations. They are relatively easy to solve if you are simply aware of the formulae to be used and applied in the questions. You can check out How to Approach Quadratic Equations Questions for more details on how to solve questions from this topic.

Word Problems

Word problems cover a variety of topics from Interests, Mixture and Alligation to Time and Work, Ages and Mensuration. Make sure to practice enough of every type so you are prepared during the exam. Practice will also help you recognize which topic tends to have lengthier questions so you can work on making your speed faster in those topics. It will also help you understand which questions you should leave for the last or avoid to save time.

FCI Manager Quant Preparation: Exam Pattern

Phase I

Sr. No	Name of the Test	No. of Qs.	Max. Marks	Duration (minutes)	Medium of examination
1	English Language	25	25	15 minutes	English
2	Reasoning Ability	25	25	15 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
3	Numerical Aptitude	25	25	15 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
4	General Studies	25	25	15 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
	Total	100	100	60 Minutes

From the exam pattern, it is seen that the Numerical Aptitude Section is of 25 questions of 25 marks total. 15 minutes is the time allotted.

Phase II

Phase II has 4 papers. Depending on the post, the candidate may have to appear for one paper or two papers out of the four. A candidate can apply for three kinds of Managerial posts:

• General (Manager- General, Depot, Movement)
• Technical (Manager – Technical, Civil, Electrical & Mechanical)
• Hindi (Manager – Hindi)

You can read about the exam pattern across posts for Phase II here.

The Numerical Section will mostly be in Paper I. Paper II is post-specific and technical. It is advisable to prepare the basic topics of Quant for Paper III. The following are the exam patterns for Paper I and Paper III.

Paper I

Sr. No	Name of the Test	No. of Qs.	Max. Marks	Duration (minutes)	Medium of examination
1	English Language	25	25	20 minutes	English
2	Reasoning Ability	25	25	20 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
3	Numerical Aptitude	25	25	20 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
4	General Studies	45	45	30 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
	Total	120	120	120 Minutes

Like with Phase I, the English section is of 25 questions and 25 marks total. However, the time allotted for the section is slightly higher at 20 minutes.

Paper III

Sr. No	Name of the Test	No. of Qs.	Max. Marks	Duration (minutes)	Medium of examination
1	General Hindi	20	20	20 minutes	Hindi
2	General English	20	20	20 minutes	English
3	General Awareness	20	20	20 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
4	General Intelligence	20	20	20 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
5	Computer Awareness (with specific reference to MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and the Internet)	20	20	20 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
6	Current Affairs	20	20	20 minutes	Bilingual (English and Hindi)
	Total	120	120	120 Minutes

Paper III has General Intelligence which will cover basic topics compared to the other papers. Preparation for Phase I Quant Section and its revision will suffice for this Paper’s General Intelligence Section.

FCI Manager Previous Year Analysis: Quant Section

The best way to gauge the importance of topics for a section is to check the topic breakdown in previous year’s papers. While it’s not a hard and fast rule that the weightage will be the same every year, it will help in prioritizing the topics and making your preparation planning a lot easier.

The following section shows the Shift-wise breakdown in question weightage for FCI Manager 2019 exam. Keep in mind the exam pattern has changed since then to accommodate the General Studies section so the overall number of questions will reduce. However, within the numerical aptitude section, this weightage won’t change much.

Shift 1

Difficulty level – (easy-moderate)

• Quadratic Equations: 4 questions
• Missing Number Series: 5 questions
• Word Problems: 11 questions
• Data Interpretations( Bar Graph + Tabular DI + Caselet): 15 questions

Out of a total of 35 questions, 15 were from Data Interpretation while 11 were word problems. DI included graphs, tables, and caselets. So make sure to practice those well. Word problems, of course, would be a mix of topics so try and cover as many word problems as possible too.

Shift 2

Difficulty level – (easy-moderate)

• Data Interpretations: 15 questions
• Approximation: 5 questions
• Quadratic Equations: 5 questions
• Miscellaneous (Arithmetic): 10 questions

For Shift 2 out of 35 questions, 15 were from Data Interpretation and 10 from Arithmetic. Again, DI had a majority. Arithmetic would include a variety of questions like number series, percentages, and more.

In short, it is necessary to touch on all the basic topics of numerical aptitude that comes under the syllabus of Quant for FCI Manager. Take time and learn how to solve questions and then learn how to solve them quicker. That way you understand the concept behind how a question is solved and you’ll save time from not doing long calculations.

FCI Manager Quant Preparation: Important Books

It is important to have books that help understand vital concepts and formulae that are necessary for Numerical Aptitude. They should also have more than enough questions for practice along with important tips and tricks for solving questions. Try to avoid overwhelming yourself with too many books as it could confuse you and derail your preparation. Here, we’ll recommend a few books that have been found reliable by multiple aspirants and toppers alike.

Book Name	Author
Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examination	R S Aggarwal
Fast Track Objective Arithmetic	Arihant Publications
Quantum CAT	Sarvesh Sharma
Quantitative Aptitude for CAT	Arun Sharma

Conclusion

Numerical Aptitude is certainly a section that can make it either very easy or very difficult to score. But no worries, just make sure you practice enough questions, attempt more than enough mock tests, and learn regularly. Quant as a section is easy once you have the concepts and formulae at your fingertips. You can also refer to our YouTube channel for more tips and tricks on Quant preparation for various exams.

Best of Luck!

FCI Manager Quant Preparation: Frequently Asked Questions