this Part 2 of CAT series by Indore based PT Education focuses on preparation for Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability areas. The third and final part of this series will focus on Data Interpretation and Qualitative Ability.
PT Education on CAT 2008
Reading comprehension (RC)
Read to lead!
When Margaret Fuller wrote, "Today a reader, tomorrow a leader", she was not much off the mark. Reading is a habit that has the ability to change the world around you. And there is no need to remind anyone that the world is changing very fast.
In such a competitive environment, every individual has to learn to excel by making optimum use of information resources. The "exuberance of knowledge" can fuel your journey to your desired destination.
Reading is an evolutionary process, and one's mindset changes with the quality of reading.
Reading makes an individual more creative, more rational and less impulsive, which is very essential for attaining success in a major event like CAT. They say success in CAT comes to those who know how to read between the lines, rather than simply read the lines. These words point to the high level of preparedness required for CAT.
Reading helps you develop a 360° approach towards CAT. This has a positive effect on your approach to the maths and DI sections as well. After all, these sections are about reading a mass of data and drawing the right inferences. The verbal ability section is driven by comprehension, inference and logical reasoning—qualities that are strengthened by regular reading.
RC over the years
Let us try to analyse how the RC section in CAT has changed over the years.
- Size and number of questions per passage used to be uneven; now the size of each passage and the number of questions per passage tend to be uniform.
- Passages are now more abstract and diverse in nature, which in turn demands diverse reading and analytical ability.
- RC is now more equitably distributed over the entire CAT paper.
- In the last 4 to 5 years, RC passages have covered music, literature, warfare, wildlife, business, governance, races, international relations, Hollywood, adventure, expedition, etc. The more you read, the more varied your reading, the better you are prepared.
These are enough reasons for an individual to focus on wide and varied reading till the last day. However, all of us may want to make the most in the least time. You can identify the specific areas, where you are not comfortable. Consciously read more in these areas.
Remember that the reading habit will continue to help you even after CAT. During the personality assessment stage after CAT, your clarity of thoughts, poise and analytical skills, all sharpened by regular reading will stand you in good stead.
Power tips
- RC section takes maximum part of your time. Refrain from attempting it first, but make sure that you do not leave it for the last.
- Be driven by test and analysis; continue working on your vocabulary.
- Try to follow a strict schedule; improvement in RC scores takes time.
- Develop a passion for keeping yourself current and for analysing contemporary topics.
- Identify if the questions are based on facts or on inference and strategise accordingly.
Verbal Ability (VA)
This may be the first time you are contemplating an activity as focused as "vocabulary building". Some of you may have undertaken informal exercises on an irregular basis and if you have, then you already know what a pleasure it can be. Questions based on vocabulary form an important part of most MBA entrance tests and we need not emphasise the importance of such an exercise.
A sound vocabulary will:
- Help you develop test-specific skills because vocabulary-based questions are one of the fastest and easiest ways to score well
- Provide indirect help in other test-related areas like reading comprehension and language usage
- Give you a knowledge asset that you can leverage throughout your career.
- Your work does not stop with learning new words. Form friends who share the same passion about vocabulary building. Continuous stimulation and reinforcement of whatever you learn in the classroom is very important.
- There is no need to become a walking dictionary to succeed in entrance tests. What is needed is knowledge of the roots of words and the ability to relate a word to "similar" or "opposite" kind of words.
Essence of the test of vocabulary
Most tests do not check whether you know the exact meaning of a particular word. Even if you do not know the precise dictionary definition, if you have a good idea what the word means, you will score. The tests only want to see if you have a broad and diverse vocabulary.
A few MBA entrance tests check your vocabulary head on. These include analogy questions (determine the relationship between a pair of words), antonym questions (choose a word opposite in meaning to a particular word), synonym questions (choose a word similar in meaning), odd-man-out type questions (choose the word different in meaning from the other given words), etc. If you know the meaning of the key word in the question, you can easily answer these questions. The more words you know, the better your chances of narrowing down the choices to the correct one.
Tests can also gauge your vocabulary indirectly, through RC passages and questions, questions that ask you to correct sentences and other questions based on critical reasoning. Students with a strong vocabulary have an edge here.
Power tips
1. Do not try to cram words. Instead, tackle about 20 to 30 words at a time.
2. Learn words in the context of a story. Try and write short paragraphs containing these new words.
3. Discuss words with your friends.
4. Quickly review important new words before going to bed. Your brain will work on this information while you sleep.
5. Speak new words aloud, after ascertaining the correct pronunciation. This will make your knowledge active.
6. Whenever possible, use the new words you have picked up in a real world situation.
7. Play word games.
8. Make it a habit to consult the dictionary every now and then.
9. Read, read and read.
10. Practise, practise, practise.
