Verbal section on the second day of CAT 2013 brought a little different shape before the aspirants. Although it had same number of 20 questions on Verbal Ability, the section suddenly shifted its stand from moderate to difficult. However, aspirants could expect a lower cut-off percentile in today’s Verbal section.
No fresh surprise element was reported on the second day although last year’s surprise in parajumbles and Reading Comprehension passages was repeated again.
Reading Comprehension
There were three Reading Comprehension passage with 10 questions based on them. The passages were based on abstract ideas and philosophy. While two passages were short with a length of 800-900 words, the passage on ‘Democracy’ had appx.1200 words followed by 4 questions. There were two questions on ‘Tone of the passage’; Two on ‘phrase meaning’; Two on ‘the Main idea of the passage’, apart from other four questions, based on the information given in the passages. The passage with 4 questions was more difficult with difficult vocabulary words and phrases. Some of the aspirants found it difficult to answer the questions in the passage based on Democracy.
Error Corrections
Two questions on error correction in paragraph appeared on day two. Again the core grammar played an important role. The question had a paragraph, split in four sentences. Candidates were required to pick out the sentences that were correct in terms of usage of grammar, spelling and punctuation, in terms of standard written English. Proper understanding of singular-plural, subject-verb agreement, usage of articles, adjectives and adverbs were the key to crack these questions. We reiterate that the direction in this type of question is very important. If the examination wants you to pick out the correct sentences do not go to pick out the incorrect ones. A few candidates again missed on this count. So be careful in future sessions.
Jumbled paragraph
Three paragraphs with jumbled sentences appeared on the second day. The surprise of CAT 2012 was repeated and one question to pick out the ‘Out of context sentence’ found the place in parajumbles. Two other questions on jumbled paragraphs were based on the random jumbled sentences, without any opening or concluding sentences given. Candidates who knew the trick to find out the connectors among the sentences solved them fairly quickly, despite the fact that the questions had higher difficulty level in comparison to day-1
Vocabulary usage
There were four questions based on contextual vocabulary usage. Two of them required the candidates to pick out the correct word out of the two words used in a sentence. One question each had four sentences with a pair of words and one of the two words in each sentence was incorrect in context of the sentence. Words were a little confusing, those practiced well could solve these questions, a few tried to guess and others left them.
Other two questions were formed with one key word in each question which was used in four different ways in four sentences and the candidates were asked to pick out the incorrect usage. The words belonged to common vocabulary of everyday usage. These words were used as phrasal verbs, those knew their correct meaning could solve these two questions very well. The suggestion is to practice a few phrasal verbs along with other vocabulary words. The phrasal verbs are simple to use, so practice them a little more.
Last sentence of paragraph
Three such questions appeared in this section. Each question had a paragraph, the last sentence of which was deleted. Candidates had to find out the most appropriate answer options that would best place as the last sentence of paragraph. The trick was to opt for the sentence that should conclude the paragraph and should not take the thought to any further discussion. Those who have been practicing such questions didn’t take much time to crack it.
Logical reasoning
LR section had 10 questions in three sets. While two sets of questions were not so difficult one set with three questions was trickier and consumed more time of the candidates. Nevertheless, aspirants were able to crack 5-6 questions managing the time well in this section.
CAT 2013 in next few days
No major change in type and style of questions is expected in CAT 2013. Candidates, if work in the right direction will get a substantial improvement in their percentile. LOD may vary but if one set of questions is more difficult the other set might be slightly easier.
Tips for the candidates
MBAUniverse published the most relevant articles, giving the clue to the CAT aspirants on surprising and anticipated elements. CAT aspirants, going to take the test in forthcoming days should go through the following –‘How to crack surprise questions in Verbal section for CAT 2013’ ; types and tricks to solve CAT questions in Logical Reasoning ; Error correction in paragraphs ; Tips to solve 6 Vocabulary questions ; and How to score more in Reading Comprehension. They may prove to be of great help to the aspirants on preparation strategy during the next few days of their CAT examination.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more Expert analysis of CAT 2013
