CAT 2017 New Pattern – Expert Tips #3: Verbal, RC; grab this high scoring opportunity

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) in CAT has remained a weak point for CAT aspirants to prepare and score high without attracting too much deduction on account of negative marking in CAT exams over the years. On the top of it, the revamped CAT 2017 syllabus and Exam pattern for Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension calls for a smart preparation strategy in next 7 days, advise the CAT preparation experts.

As shared in the earlier published articles, CAT 2017 syllabus and CAT exam pattern have gone into substantial changes and the VARC section, if taken care of without any laxity during these last 7 days left for CAT 2017 exam day, could prove to be a high scoring section in changed CAT pattern. You need a proper study pattern and smart preparation strategy to crack VARC with high score.

Although it will not suddenly take you from 70 to 99 percentile in CAT 2017, experts are of the opinion that with the right strategy you can boost your percentile score in CAT 2017 at least by 30 to 40 points. 

Important links:

• VARC Preparation for CAT 2017 made easy
• CAT 2017 Must read Expert Tips: 2- How to prepare Data Interpretation & add 40 percentile in new CAT syllabus, exam pattern
• CAT 2017 must-read expert Tips-1: 5 things to note in new syllabus, changed exam pattern

Updated composition of VARC in CAT 2017
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section in CAT 2017 exam will contain 34 questions divided in MCQs and No-penalty Non-MCQs. The number and type of questions with time limit to solve are proposed on following pattern:

VARC has more scoring potential in CAT 2017: Prepare well
A close observation will bring out that the VARC section has more scoring potential in CAT 2017:

Tips for Reading Comprehension

• 24 questions in MCQ format will be based only on 5 RC passages.
• It comes to around 70% of total questions in VARC as total questions are 34
• There will be 2 short RC passages of around 500 words. Each one will be followed by 3 MCQs. These 2 passages are not very difficult.
• The questions following the RC passages appear to have direct bearing on the context of RC passages.
• There will be 3 a little longer RC passages followed by 6 questions each. If you have practiced well and can get even 2 MCQs correct in each of the 3 RC passages, you can improve your VARC sectional percentile to a great extent.
• Please note all questions on RC passages will be in MCQ format and will carry negative marking of 1/3.
• Apart from the questions like – In view of author, contextual reference, you will find questions on based on true/false statements on RC passages. Since you have gone through the RC passage, it will not be much difficult to answer such questions.

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Tips for Verbal Ability

• 10 questions on Verbal Ability can prove to be the high scoring area
• All the 10 VA questions will be in Non-MCQ format
• There will be No-Negative marking for Verbal Ability questions
• All the 10 questions on Verbal Ability will only on 2 topics – Para summary and Para jumbles
• The questions in Verbal Ability part will not have answer options
• You will need to type in the answer in the given space on the computer screen
• 3 Non-MCQs will be on Para summary. Small paragraph of 60-70 words.
• 4 alternative summary options will be given and you have to choose the most appropriate one.
• Wrong answer will NOT attract penalty of negative marking.  

Jumbled Paragraphs in CAT 2017: game changer
7 questions in Non-MCQ format meaning the questions without any negative marking are proposed in CAT 2017 exam. if you can crack even 4-5 of them you can expect a good percentile in this section. The composition of questions on Jumbled paragraph would be like:

• 4 questions on Jumbled paragraphs of random nature
• No suggested answer options will be there for Jumbled paragraphs
• 3 questions on Odd sentence out to be picked from a jumbled paragraph are proposed in CAT 2017
• You need to arrange the sentence in coherent order before answering the question and then have to choose the odd sentence out
• If you can crack even the 7 parajumbles correct you can add more than 40 percentile in VARC section

Jumbled paragraphs: No answer option questions
These questions are not supposed to be followed by any answer options and will be of Non-MCQ type without any penalty of negative marking for wrong answers. CAT 2017 test takers will need to type in the answer of these questions in the given space on computer screen.

The biggest benefit to attempt the non-MCQ parajumble questions in CAT 2017 will be that even if your answers are wrong, you need not worry as there is no negative marking for Non-MCQs in CAT 2017. 

Add 40+ percentile
The core marks that will be awarded for each correct answer in Jumbled paragraph are 3 out of 102 total marks assigned for VARC section in CAT 2017.

If you can crack and answer correct all the 4 jumbled paragraphs and 3 odd sentence out you will get 21 core marks which will be scaled to higher level and will then be converted to percentile range of 40 to 42. Prof Nishit Sinha who is also an author of various books on CAT preparation with Pearson, shares key tips and tricks to crack the jumbled paragraphs with ease.

Since the agenda in para jumble questions is to restore the original order, it is important to look out for any piece of information that can help you connect the sentences together. 

Approaching the Para Jumble Questions: 4 ways to solve
To solve a para jumble question is like connecting the dots – you will have to keep looking for words or indicators that can help us in connecting the sentences. Some approaches are given below to help identify the sequence of sentences. Generally, in a given question, more than one approach will be applicable.

1. Noun-Pronoun relationship approach: In noun/pronoun relationships, we know that the noun will come first and will be referred to later using suitable pronouns.

            Look at the following example:

1. These enormous “rivers” – quite inconstant, sometimes shifting, often branching and eddying in manners that defy explanation and prediction – occasionally cause disastrous results.

1. One example is El Nino, the periodic catastrophe that plagues the West Coast of America.
2. It is rich in life.
3. This coast is normally caressed by the cold, rich Humboldt Current.
4. Usually the Humboldt hugs the shore and extends 200 to 300 miles out to sea.

6.   It fosters the largest commercial fishery in the world and is the home of one of the mightiest game fish on record, the black marlin.

Solution - Read sentences A and C carefully. Notice the noun/pronoun relationship between the two. Sentence A refers to “the West Coast of America” and Sentence C talks about “this coast”. Which coast? Obviously “the West Coast of America”! Therefore, Sentences A and C are related and Sentence A must come before Sentence C. Now look again. Sentence C talks about “the cold, rich Humboldt Current” and Sentence D refers to “the Humboldt” obviously these two sentences are also related. Which one should come first? Once you have decided, check the answer choices to see if you are correct. (Answer 3 ACDB)

2. Acronym Approach – Full Form Vs Short Form: When we introduce someone or something, we use the complete name or title. When we again refer to the same person later in the paragraph, we use just the surname or the first name if we are on familiar terms with the person being discussed. If we are discussing an object, we remove the modifiers and just use the noun or a pronoun to refer to it.  

Look at the following example:

1. If you are used to having your stimulation come in from outside, your mind never develops its own habits of thinking and reflecting
2. Marx thought that religion was the opiate, because it soothed people's pain and suffering and prevented them from rising in rebellion
3. If Karl Marx was alive today, he would say that television is the opiate of the people
4. Television and similar entertainments are even more of an opiate because of their addictive tendencies.
    
5. 1) BACD              2) ADBC                    3) BCDA                    4) CBDA

Solution - Sentence B has Marx (short form) and sentence C has Karl Marx (full form). So C will come before B. Now look at the options. In 1, 2 and 3 B is placed before C - hence rejected. Option 4 is the right answer.

3. Time Sequence Approach (TSA) – either dates or time sequence indicating words: In some questions, there may be a time indication given, either by giving years - or by using time indicating words. This provides a way for us to identify the correct sequence of the sentences by arranging the sentences using their proper time sequence. Some key words used to show time sequence are – Before, after, later, when etc.

Look at the following example:

1. Then two astronomers—the German, Johannes Kepler, and the Italian, Galileo Galilei—started publicly to support the Copernican theory, despite the fact that the orbits it predicted did not quite match the ones observed.
2. His idea was that the sun was stationary at the centre and that the earth and the planets move in circular orbits around the sun.
3. A simple model was proposed in 1514 by a Polish priest, Nicholas Copernicus.
4. Nearly a century passed before this idea was taken seriously.

1) CADB                    2) BCAD                    3) CBDA                    4) CDBA

In this example, you may observe a time sequence flowing from the oldest time period to a more contemporary time period. Opening statement would be statement C. Sentence B expands upon the “simple model” proposed. It also has the pronoun ‘his’ used for Copernicus. Hence it will be the sentence following C. The next sentence in order of chronology is C -nearly a century passed, while the last sentence will be A which completes the sequence from older time to contemporary time thus giving us the answer as CBDA.

4. Structure Approach: In order to arrange a group of sentences quickly, it is essential for us to understand how language sticks together to form a cohesive unit. There are some sequencing words – firstly, secondly, then, however, consequently, on the other hand etc. – which are used to join sentences or ideas together and to provide a smooth flow from one idea to the next. It is essential to learn how to spot these words and learn how to use them correctly.

Cause and Effect Signals: Look for words or phrases explicitly indicating that one thing causes another or logically determines another. Some examples of such words are:

Support Signal Words: Look for the words or phrases supporting a given sentence. Sentences containing these words will generally not be the opening sentence. These sentences will follow immediately the sentence supported. Some examples of such words are:

Contrast Signals: Look for function words or phrases (conjunctions, sentence adverbs, etc.) that indicate a contrast between one idea and another, setting up a reversal of a thought.

Please NOTE that these approaches will work only if you have exposed yourself to reading passages of different genre adequately. It is important to develop the ability to identify the statement that will introduce the paragraph and logical flow of the idea contained in the paragraph.

Let us put into practice what we have discussed so far. Here is a typical example, combining all the points discussed above.

1. When conclusions are carefully excluded, however, and observed facts are given instead, there is never any trouble about the length of the papers.
2. The reason for this is that those early paragraphs contain judgments that there is little left to be said.
3. A judgment (“He is a boy”, “She is an awful bore”) is a conclusion, summing up a large number of previously observed facts.
4. In fact, they tend to become too long, since inexperienced writers, when told to give facts, often give more than are necessary, because they lack discrimination between the important and the trivial.
5. It is a common observation among teachers that students almost always have difficulty in writing themes of the required length because their ideas give out after a paragraph or two.

1) ECDAB                        2) CEBAD                  3) EACBD                  4) EBCAD

Solution - Sentence E states the situation in general and gives us information about why students have problems “in writing themes of the required length”. Sentence B goes on to tell us “the reason for this”, so the two sentences must be related. Similarly, Sentence C is related to Sentence B because both sentences contain the word “judgment”, with Sentence C explaining what the word means. Once a link of this nature is established, go to the answer choices to see if you are on the right track. Option (4) is the answer.

Non Option based question:

A. In addition, my own experiences of the spirit world have come together to make this book.

B. I guess I could say the research had been going on all my life: all the stories my grandmother told me, and all the stories my hunter friends told me when I was older.

C. In later life, I have had some frightening but amazing spirit encounters that have convinced me of the realness of the spirit world.

D. For instance, I had a spirit child playmate when I was about four.

E. He was a little boy who mischievously invited me to play.

Solution:
Paragraph follows a chronological sequence. 2nd statement is the introductory general statement that lays the theme of the paragraph. 1st sentence gives the additional source of inspiration; 4th and 5th narrate the author’s experience of the spirit world in his childhood years. Finally 3rd sentence talks about his experience in later life. Hence, badec is the correct answer.

Reading Comprehension: 70% weightage with 24 questions 
The 5 Reading Comprehension (RC) passages in CAT 2017 will be followed by 24 questions in MCQ format in Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section with total 34 questions. In one single year CAT increased the weightage of RC based questions from 45% to 70% and introduced new type of questions.

3 RC passages will be followed by 6 questions each and 2 will be followed by 3 questions each in CAT 2017.

Taking decision on various reports and articles, essays, research, presentation papers are the need in IIMs, accordingly Readining Comprehension will continue commanding higher weightage in VARC section of CAT 2017.

Experts have therefore suggested that CAT 2017 aspirants should remain focused on the RC part of Verbal Ability area to score high and get their dream IIM.

Quick expert tips on improving RC skills
In next one week, it is not advisable to do something new or start mugging up vocabulary as it would not be of much use now. So the need is to practice on various types of RC passage based questions through Mocks and exercises relevant to CAT exam. Following practice may be adopted to hone your skills further:

• Make it the regular practice to read the editorials, articles in the news paper.
• Underline the difficult words-search out their meanings and put them to use in writing, in conversation etc. Tests have shown that the number of unfamiliar words in a passage, if exceeds about one in twenty, the reader will lose track.  If the proportion is lower, the reader may skip over the unfamiliar words and grasp, at least the general meaning. 
• When you write, try to frame good sentences using the new words.  This will give you ample opportunity to rectify the errors in sentences, improving the vocabulary, improving the speed and accuracy of reading and the skill to pick out the wrong sentences as well as how to complete the sentence or paragraph
• Read the passage/article twice – once fairly quickly to get the general idea and then read again a little slowly so as to understand the details.
• Go for versatile reading on different topics since you may or may not get the passages of your interest in the examination.

Please remember, Reading comprehension exercise is a passage upon which questions are set to test the student’s ability to understand the content of the given text and to infer information and meanings from it.

Please note that the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VRC) will be the 1^st section in CAT 2017 exam and CAT preparation experts and past CAT toppers have suggested that you should first attempt the 10 Non-MCQs on Verbal Ability, and then switch over to 24 MCQs on Reading comprehension passages.   

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more Expert tips on CAT 2017