Next 4 days to CAT 2014 are crucial and need your focused attention on your strong areas which might have some weak pot holes. You are not required to begin any thing new but to do some levelling work on these potholes emerging out of your strongly prepared topics in Verbal Ability, logical Reasoning, Quant or Data Interpretation.
Combined Admission Test (CAT) is considered a tricky entrance examination to top Management Institutes in India like IIMs, FMS, JBIMS, SPJIMR, MDI, IMT, BIMTECH, IMI and many more. Accordingly, CAT-2014 with number of changes is knocking the doors of the aspirants. The test is scheduled for Nov 16 and 22, 2014 comprising 2 sessions on each day meaning 4 sessions in all.
CAT 2014 despite perceptible changes is again the most favourite MBA/PGDM entrance exam and its charm has increased again this year with more number of registrations which have risen from 1.95 lakhs in 2013 to 1.97 lakhs in 2014. IIMs have always been the most sought after B-schools, due to their great learning experience and high placement. The knowledge and Management skill they impart to their students and the excellent pay packages, their students get after completion of the course are matchless in the country. Prof S K Agarwal Verbal Ability expert shares the key tips that may prove to be a good percentile booster in CAT 2014 exam.
Quant and DI: High scoring areas
Aspirants in the new system should feel a little relaxed but need to work hard. Those who come from mathematics/Engineering back ground may have strong Quantitative Ability or may be skilled in Data Interpretation. They should attempt this section first choosing right type of doable questions. These questions will need less time as they would be from the well prepared areas of the candidates.
Candidates are advised to maximize the scores in this section. The section of quant + DI will have 50 questions- 34-35 questions on quant and 15-16 on DI. The sectional time constraint is gone but sectional percentile cut off exists.
Practice more questions on remainder theorem, number system, time speed distance, geometry, permutation combination and probability to ace the Quant. Questions from indices surds, logs, progression, averages and profit loss are also expected. Bar diagrams, graphs and pie charts can be expected on Data Interpretation in CAT 2014. Improve your calculation and comparison speed and practice it more to remain consistent with the revised CAT 2014 pattern.
Verbal Ability & LR: No more agonizing-needs practice
The second section - a mix of Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning, will also contain 34-35 questions on English language usage and Reading comprehension passages. Other 15-16 questions will be based on Logical reasoning. If you have prepared well and attempt this section a little rationally, this section will prove to be a well scoring one. When you practice the questions for this section, divide it in three parts instead of two i.e. Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension and Logical Reasoning.
Check the important topics which you should have prepared. Out of following ones, in case you have not prepared any one of them and find it difficult also, there is no need to begin afresh as not much time is left. It will be better to focus on your well prepared topics and plug the loopholes in them.
If you have prepared well the fundamentals of English language like the concept of various parts of speech, tenses, critical reasoning type questions, you will be able to crack at least 12-15 question s. Reading Comprehension passages need variety reading. Read and practice more topics on Philosophy, Business, Economics, Analysis of national and international events. Unless you practice more on RC you may lose a great chunk of marks.
Practice more problems on Logical Reasoning on topics like seating arrangements; sets, blood relations, direction, assumption, premise –conclusion, team formation as they are expected in CAT 2014. Questions on all these topics have earlier appeared also, so the aspirants shouldn’t mind practicing them further but with the focus on time management
Practice more on RC passages
The RC passages, although reduced from 1200/1400 words to 800+ words, would be followed by 3 to 4 questions based on each of the passage. One can expect 4 passages in CAT-2014 as shared in the practice test. The difficulty level is moderate to high. The passages are embedded with phrases/idioms and indirect references. It is necessary to read them between the lines and understand them. The questions based on them are also not direct one, one has to understand the meaning and the indirect reference before proceeding to answer them.
If you can practice 2 RC passages a day for next 3-4 days, it will be a good percentile booster in the CAT 2014 testing room while attempting the actual test. Analyze your answers, find out where you went wrong.
No more Vocabulary learning now
You may not find questions on Vocabulary usage in CAT 2014 although it has not been officially announced but not a single question exists in CAT 2014 practice test on vocabulary usage. So now you may relax to some extent as the time spent on learning new vocabulary words is saved. However, surprises in CAT are always there.
CAT 2014 site says “Mock CAT 2014 is strictly a live tutorial of the testing console. It will help you familiarize how to move from one question to another, how to mark a question for review and other such functions. Under no circumstance will the questions nor the difficulty level be the same for the actual CAT 2014.”
Other parts in Verbal Ability section will have questions based on Error corrections in grammar usage, jumbled paragraphs, making summary of short paragraphs, FIJ questions. All these questions, taken together will not be more than 18.
Maintain the accuracy level
The aspirant has to remember a single wrong answer will dip the percentile by around 8- and one right answer will improve the same by 6+. So have the killing instinct to attempt the questions. There is no point guessing the answer when you are unable to arrive at it. It will be better to leave the question. A wrongly attempted question is worse than the unattempted question.
Focus your next few days with the intense desire to get the utmost clarity especially on the topics, you know are the tricky. Practice them more and in the examination room, if you find a question on it, attempt it well.
No limitations in Testing room
It is always advisable not to have a biased mind or limit oneself to attempt a limited number of questions. It may be that you may attempt more than anticipated questions. Be open to have the choice to attempt all the 50 questions in each section, if you can. There are 100 question in 2 sections in CAT 2014 and they are to be attempted in 170 minutes-again you have around 2 minutes per question at your disposal. Unlike the earlier CAT pattern or the paper pencil mode the candidates have sufficient time to solve more questions.
Out of 100 questions, if you make 4-5 attempts, you would be able to solve around 60-70 questions or even more depending upon your preparation and practice level. Begin with the easier questions and go up with more difficult ones in each attempt. This will help you maximize your score in the exam without compromising the accuracy.
Please remember it is not only the high overall percentile but also high sectional percentile which is needed for getting shortlisted for final admission round at IIMs.
Time Management: Speed is the key
You are supposed to manage the time to secure high percentile in both the sections. Less than two minutes per question are available but will be sufficient enough to attempt a fair number of questions. The past record shows that a candidate who can solve 70% questions in each of the two sections with accuracy, would get a percentile as high as 95. The candidate has the choice to attempt more quant and less DI or vice versa. There will not be any sub-segmentation of scoring separately in quant and/or DI. The section will be treated as one. Find out the areas where you are strong enough, make them your strong hold and then switch over with same vigour to the weak ones.
You may attempt more questions if you have practiced more and have substantially improved your speed. However the best strategy is not to stick to any difficult question in the initial attempts. It may hamper your speed. You may come to it afterwards if time permits.
Please remember that the changes in the formation & pattern, number of questions and the system of examination might make the aspirant relax to some extent, the difficulty level and pattern of questions has improved. It needs skill in speed and accuracy- a challenge which is to be met by the examinees only.
Related Links
CAT 2014 New Exam Pattern: Live on Oct 28, 2014; familiarize with new pattern and questions
CAT 2014: Know the section wise expected number & type of questions while practice test awaited
CAT 2014 Test Day Guide out; reveals important dos and donts for the exam day
CAT 2014: Aspirants waiting for practice test to best utilize the Diwali Holidays
CAT 2014: 5 big changes revealed on Test day Video; listen and read carefully
CAT 2014 Test day video launched; Examinees to report 2 hours before the test at Exam centre
CAT 2014 Admit Card: All the details available; Check carefully to confirm your candidature
CAT 2014 Admit Card is out: Download now and take the print
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more tips on CAT 2014
