📋 WRITTEN ABILITY TEST (WAT)/ESSAY ANALYSIS GUIDE

🌍 Topic: Should Developing Countries Focus on Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)?

📖 Understanding ISI’s Importance

ISI plays a critical role in shaping economic sovereignty for developing nations. Balancing ISI with global trade strategies offers valuable lessons for B-schools on sustainable economic policies.

⏳ Effective Planning and Writing

• Time Allocation (30 minutes):
• Reading & Planning: 5 minutes
• Writing: 20 minutes
• Review: 5 minutes
• Preparation Tips:
• Identify data on ISI’s historical successes and failures.
• Note examples of countries benefiting from ISI.

✍️ Introduction Techniques for Essays

• Contrast Approach: “While ISI has historically driven industrial growth, inefficiencies and trade isolation highlight its limitations in a globalized economy.”
• Timeline Approach: “From the 1950s to the 1980s, ISI policies reshaped economies like South Korea and Brazil, yet their effectiveness varies in today’s global trade landscape.”

📂 Structuring the Essay Body

• Achievements: Highlight ISI’s role in economic diversification, job creation, and national security.
• Challenges with Comparative Analysis: Analyze inefficiency, lack of global competitiveness, and lessons from nations like Japan and Brazil.
• Future Outlook: Recommend hybrid models, technology integration, and partnerships for strategic ISI implementation.

✅ Concluding Effectively

• Balanced Approach: “ISI can be an effective strategy for economic resilience, provided developing nations address inefficiencies and adopt a global outlook.”
• Global Comparison: “Learning from South Korea and Japan, developing countries can integrate ISI into broader growth strategies for sustainable success.”

📄 Sample Short Essays

• Balanced Perspective: “While ISI empowers domestic industries, its success depends on gradual liberalization and export diversification.”
• Solution-Oriented: “Developing nations must pair ISI with global competitiveness through technology and innovation-driven policies.”
• Global Comparison: “Adopting lessons from South Korea’s ISI model, nations can achieve industrial self-reliance while participating in global trade.”

This guide equips aspirants with the tools to excel in group discussions and written essays on this nuanced topic.