Concours INP-HB Ingénieur des Techniques (ITA) common mistakes
Concours INP-HB Ingénieur des Techniques (ITA) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In the maths paper, starting every exercise in order and abandoning each one unfinished once it gets hard, so that at the end of the allotted time several exercises have only their first line written.
Candidates treat the paper as a reading exercise and underestimate how long a full solution takes; the first question of each exercise looks easy, so they open a new one instead of pushing through the algebraic manipulation they are stuck on. The concours rewards complete, correct solutions over breadth of attempts.
What to do instead
Before writing, spend 5 minutes scanning the whole paper and mark each exercise as quick, medium, or long. Do all quick exercises first, then medium ones, and only then return to the long one. Practise under a real timer with past-paper-style exercises so you learn that a 20-minute exercise needs roughly 15 minutes of writing, not 5.
Losing most of the marks in physics on questions about units, orders of magnitude, and dimensional consistency, by writing numerical answers without units or with units that contradict the formula used.
Candidates focus on getting the number and treat units as decoration. In the Ivorian scientific concours, a numerical result with a wrong or missing unit is often graded as wrong, and dimensional analysis is frequently a sub-question that is easy to secure.
What to do instead
Adopt a fixed routine: write the literal formula, substitute with units shown, then compute, then state the result with its unit and the correct number of significant figures. Before moving on, check the dimension of your final expression against the quantity asked. Drill 10 dimensional-analysis questions per week until it is automatic.
In chemistry, writing balanced equations that are not actually balanced, or forgetting to state the reaction conditions and physical states, and then carrying stoichiometric calculations from the unbalanced equation.
Under time pressure candidates write the equation from memory and jump straight to the mole calculation without checking atom counts or charge balance, especially in redox and acid-base problems. One unbalanced coefficient propagates into every later numerical answer.
What to do instead
Make a two-line checkpoint before any stoichiometry: (1) count each element on both sides, (2) check charge balance for ionic equations. Only then convert to moles. For redox, write the two half-equations separately and balance oxygen with water and hydrogen with H+ (or OH- in basic medium) before combining. Include states (s), (l), (g), (aq) in every final equation.
In the French paper, producing a long paraphrase of the text in the résumé or commentaire instead of a structured answer, and reusing the author's sentences almost verbatim.
Candidates are afraid of missing content, so they copy the source text and add length. The concours French paper grades reformulation, structure, and personal analysis; copying is penalised and also eats the time needed for the second part of the exercise.
What to do instead
For a résumé, work in three passes: identify the thesis, list the argument stages, then rewrite each stage in your own words at about one quarter of the original length. For a commentaire, impose a plan (introduction with problématique, two or three developed parts, conclusion) before writing. Practise on one text per week and count words to respect the imposed limit.
In English, answering comprehension questions in full sentences copied from the passage, and writing the essay with memorised generic phrases that do not answer the prompt.
Candidates with a school-level English prepare by memorising model paragraphs on standard topics rather than by practising reading and reformulating. When the passage or prompt differs from what was memorised, the answer becomes irrelevant or ungrammatical.
What to do instead
Answer comprehension questions in your own words, using the question's grammar as a frame (e.g. 'The author argues that...'). For the essay, practise a fixed structure: state a position in the introduction, two developed arguments with examples, a concession, and a conclusion. Build a small bank of linking words and revise them weekly rather than memorising whole paragraphs.
In culture générale, writing a general-knowledge essay with no explicit problem statement, no plan announced, and no reference to Côte d'Ivoire or African development issues, even when the topic invites it.
Candidates revise facts and dates but not the method of the dissertation. They start writing immediately, so the essay becomes a list of information rather than an argument. The concours jury expects a problématique, an announced plan, and an ability to connect the topic to the national or regional context.
What to do instead
Before writing, spend 10 minutes on a draft page: define the terms of the subject, formulate the problématique as a question, and write the plan as two or three part titles. In each part, use at least one concrete example drawn from Ivorian or West African economic and social reality. Train on one subject per week with a strict 4-hour limit and self-assess against a method checklist.
In the aptitude and logical reasoning test, spending several minutes on a single puzzle or series question while leaving easy questions at the end of the paper unanswered.
The test is scored on the number of correct answers within a tight time, and candidates treat it like an academic exercise where every question deserves full effort. One blocked question can consume the time of five answerable ones.
What to do instead
Adopt a hard time cap per question (for example 60 to 90 seconds). If no answer appears, mark it, guess if there is no penalty for wrong answers, and move on. Practise full timed series of numerical and logical reasoning questions so you internalise the pace, and learn the common patterns for series (arithmetic, geometric, alternating, squares) and for syllogisms.
In mathematics, giving a final answer without justification: no statement of the theorem used, no verification of hypotheses, and no conclusion sentence, so a correct result is awarded only partial credit.
Candidates believe the numerical result is what is graded, and they are used to school tests where the answer alone earns most marks. At concours level, rigour of reasoning and verification of conditions (continuity, differentiability, non-zero denominator) carry a large share of the points.
What to do instead
Write in a fixed template: 'By theorem X, whose hypotheses are satisfied because..., we obtain...'. Always check domain restrictions before dividing or taking a square root, and end each question with a short conclusion that answers the question asked. When reviewing practice solutions, mark your own script against a rigour checklist rather than only against the final result.
Misreading the instructions of the paper: not noticing which exercises are compulsory, ignoring the choice between two subjects, or failing to report answers on the answer sheet in the required format.
Candidates are anxious to start writing and skip the cover page and instructions. Administrative and formatting errors are common in high-stakes concours and can cost marks even when the content is correct.
What to do instead
In the first three minutes, read the cover page and the instructions on every page, underline the compulsory items, and note the answer-sheet format. Before handing in, spend five minutes checking that all compulsory questions are answered, that the chosen subject is clearly indicated, and that the identification fields are complete.
Preparing only by rereading course notes, without ever doing full timed papers under concours conditions, so that the candidate discovers the time pressure and the breadth of the syllabus only on the day of the exam.
Rereading creates a feeling of familiarity that is mistaken for mastery. The concours tests speed, synthesis, and the ability to write under pressure, none of which are trained by passive revision. Candidates also underestimate the weight of subjects they consider secondary.
What to do instead
Build a revision calendar that allocates at least half of study time to active practice: past-paper-style exercises, full timed mock papers, and self-correction against a marking scheme. Simulate exam conditions once a week (same duration, no notes, same type of paper), then list the specific errors made and turn each into a short drill for the following week.