PT Education on MBAUniverse.com Aspirant Zone: Success mantras to crack CAT 08 – Part 3

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
July 24, 2016
Continuing our focus CAT 2008 on MBAUniverse.com Aspirant Zone, where we are publishing a series on expert guidance by India’s leading MBA test prep companies,

this Part 3of CAT series by Indore based PT Education focuses on Data Interpretation and Qualitative Ability area.

PT Education on CAT 2008  

Quantitative Ability (QA) 

Mathematics is the science that deals with numbers, quantities, shapes, patterns, measurements, concepts related to them and their numerous inter-relationships. It includes arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc. The quantitative techniques section in CAT is an application of the fundamental rules of mathematics in real-life situations.

The questions may be well disguised. The real test is to understand what is being asked. What you need to apply are some basic concepts you have studied in your X standard or before.

Power tips

Start early
Last minute mugging up of formulae will not help. Give yourself at least 6 months. In the first 4 months, brush up the fundamentals you left behind in school. Solve a good variety of questions. Devote the last two months to analysis and consolidation.
Improve speed of calculation
When you solve a maths question, you typically spend 80 percent of the time cracking the concept and the remaining 20 percent in calculations. Make it a habit to practise basic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division every morning. Master the shortcuts. This will help to speed up your calculations and save you time. 
Practise, practise, practise
You may know all the theory but the true test is in actually doing it. So practise, practise and practise!  
Data interpretation (DI)
Data sufficiency (DS)
Logical reasoning (LR)  

Cracking these three sections requires fast calculation, an analytical mindset and presence of mind. Faster calculation will give you more time to read and understand the question. As for analytical skills, you have to consciously develop these over a period of time through constant practice and by solving different varieties of questions. 

It is quite evident that only calculation skills or analytical skill will not help; one has to have both. Learning different types of graphs is never a problem. One can pick up any business daily or any business magazine and find graphs.  

An effective way to learn DI is to frame your own questions. This puts you in the examiner's shoes and will definitely give you new ideas. 

Remember, you can score well in DI, if you choose the right set of question(s) to begin with. In other words, it is important not to get with the wrong question right in the beginning.  

Tackle DI with a mix of the right strategy, practice and approach.  

Power tips  

Approximate
Work on developing your approximations. This helps a lot … as your aim is to find the answer among the choices given and not the exact answer. 
Work on Percentages, Ratios and Averages
Try to work on these three topics. Almost 80% and more questions of DI are based on these topics. Make sure you are excellent at these. 
Practise, practise, practise
You may know all the theory but the true test is in actually doing it. So practise, practise and practise!