How to Make IPMAT Notes: What to Write for QA, VARC and LRDI
Make QA, vocabulary and grammar notes alongside concept videos, and keep brief reminders of useful LRDI approaches. Then practise questions on Setwise. Here is how to use this strategy for each subject.
1. Quantitative Ability: Formula, Condition, Example and Mistake
Give every topic its own section. While watching a video, record four things:
- The concept: Explain the idea in a sentence you understand.
- The formula and its conditions: Define the variables and mention when the formula applies. In Profit and Loss, profit percentage is normally calculated on cost price; discount percentage is calculated on marked price.
- A representative example: Keep one question for each genuinely different method, with the important steps explained.
- The trap: Write down the mistake that can make the method fail.
For example, a useful Profit and Loss entry would be:
25% markup followed by 10% discount
SP = CP × 1.25 × 0.90 = 1.125 × CP
Therefore, profit = 12.5%.
Remember: Subtracting 10 from 25 gives the wrong answer because the percentages have different bases.
For Geometry, add labelled diagrams and the conditions attached to a theorem. For Algebra, note restrictions such as a denominator being non-zero.
Explain why a method works, then try a question without looking at the example. UC Davis’s mathematics study guidance recommends connecting concepts to examples and attempting problems without notes before checking your work.
2. VARC: Keep Notes for Vocabulary and Grammar
Vocabulary
Write the word, meaning in context, a short sentence and a useful word combination. Include confusing words when relevant.
Mitigate — make something less severe.
Regular revision can mitigate the effects of forgetting.
Useful combinations: mitigate risk; mitigate damage.
The British Council recommends recording expressions in the form in which you encounter them, ideally in a complete sentence.
Grammar
Use rule → incorrect sentence → correction → reason.
Incorrect: Each of the students have a notebook.
Correct: Each of the students has a notebook.
Reason: The subject is “each”, which takes a singular verb here.
Add exceptions and recurring errors as you encounter them in practice.
Reading Comprehension, Para Jumbles and Para Completion
For these areas, focus on regular practice and careful review of solutions. You do not need a separate notes-making routine.
Solve passages and questions, understand why your answer was incorrect, and apply that learning to the next set. Spend your preparation time reading, solving and reviewing.
3. LRDI: Note Useful Approaches for Each Topic
Keep only brief reminders of approaches you can reuse.
While watching a video or reviewing a solution, ask:
How should I begin a similar set, and what approach will help me solve it?
For example:
- Arrangements: Start with the most restrictive clue. Create separate cases when more than one possibility remains.
- Selection and distribution: Use a grid to track possibilities and eliminate combinations that violate the conditions.
- Data interpretation: Identify the quantities needed and decide whether ratios, percentages or direct calculation offer the simplest route.
A few lines under each topic are enough. Add an approach only when it offers something useful for future sets.
Build familiarity by applying the approach across different questions on Setwise.
4. Follow Each Concept Video With Setwise Practice
After a concept video, attempt the relevant Setwise questions before opening the solutions.
Use what you learn to update your QA notes, vocabulary entries and grammar rules. For LRDI, add a brief approach only when it is worth reusing. For Reading Comprehension and para jumbles, focus on solving and reviewing more questions.
For QA and grammar mistakes, use this format:
Set or question number → my mistake → correct approach → retry date
Include questions you guessed correctly or solved inefficiently. A correct answer does not always mean that your method was reliable.
During weekly revision:
- Recall your QA formulas, vocabulary and grammar rules before checking your notes.
- Reattempt difficult or bookmarked questions.
- Review recurring mistakes.
- Practise fresh Reading Comprehension, para jumble and LRDI sets.
- Remove unnecessary notes that no longer help with revision.
Keep note-making proportionate to what each subject actually needs.
QA requires formulas, conditions, examples and traps. Vocabulary and grammar benefit from compact written entries. LRDI needs only reusable approaches. Reading Comprehension, para jumbles and para completion improve mainly through regular solving and review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I make notes for every IPMAT topic?
No.
Make notes when they help you remember a concept, formula, condition, word, grammar rule or reusable approach. Do not create notes merely to copy everything taught in a lecture.
Should I make notes for Reading Comprehension?
You do not need detailed Reading Comprehension notes.
Practise passages regularly and review why each incorrect option was wrong. You may record a recurring mistake, but avoid rewriting complete passages or solutions.
How detailed should IPMAT Quant notes be?
Your Quant notes should contain the concept, formula, conditions, one representative example and the main trap.
If several questions use the same method, you do not need to copy all of them.
Should I copy complete LRDI solutions into my notebook?
Usually, no.
Record the reusable starting point or representation method. Then practise applying it to new sets without looking at the original solution.
How often should I revise my IPMAT notes?
Complete a short revision every week.
Recall the information before opening your notebook, reattempt saved questions and update only the notes that will help you solve future questions more accurately.