CAT 2014: know the real fact with expert view; Why DI- LR appear more difficult

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
November 21, 2014
Questions on 2 integral parts in 2 sections of CAT 2014 Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning clean bowled the CAT 2014 test takers
The revelation from the CAT 2014 test takers unable to arrive at the comparative status further strengthens the view that the questions on DI and LR overstrained the tired mind and probably were not high on difficulty level

Questions on 2 integral parts in 2 sections of CAT 2014 Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning clean bowled the CAT 2014 test takers on the first day on Nov 16, 2014 in both the sessions. While most of the candidates found them too difficult to solve, number of them didn’t even solve them. One of the first session test takers says ‘I didn’t do any LR I could end up only attempting 20 in Verbal’. This statement has come when there is no sectional time constraint in CAT 2014, time has increased from 140 minutes to 170 minutes and candidates are allowed to switch over to any question in any section during the exam.

Number of questions has been increased in CAT 2014 from 60 to 100 with additional time of 30 minutes granted to complete the exam. The irony however is that in earlier CAT exams, during the 70 minutes allocated to each of the 2 sections candidates could solve around 20-22 questions out of 30 in each section which included 10 questions on DI and LR also, in respective section, but despite the increase in overall time limit candidates were unable to solve the same number of questions especially on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning in CAT 2014 exam in both the sessions on the first day of CAT 2014.

Reason Apparent

The only apparent reason shared by the test takers after taking the CAT 2014 on Nov 16, 2014 was that the questions were too difficult to solve.

Prof S K Agarwal Expert and Mentor on CAT preparation shares the insight on the difficulty level and strategy to solve such questions without overstraining your mind in the CAT 2014 testing room. After taking CAT 2014 on the first day no candidate could share if the questions were as difficult as Quant or Verbal or they were even more difficult and whether they really tried and were successful to attempt them after solving the Quant and Verbal problems. In view of Prof S K Agarwal the revelation from the CAT 2014 test takers unable to arrive at the comparative status further strengthens the view that the questions on DI and LR overstrained the tired mind and probably were not so high on difficulty level.

What made DI and LR so difficult…

Questions on Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning are in the form of sets. There were 4 sets of problems each on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning followed by 4 questions in each set on first day of CAT 2014. The Problem sets in Data Interpretation contained Data-Tables, Data-Charts, Graphs, Diagrams with some additional information also shared below the data information part. The problem sets in Logical Reasoning contained 4 sets on Team formation, Housing arrangements, blood relation, assumptions. Candidates found it difficult to crack these sets on following counts-

A. It took too much of their time to read and make out anything out of the given information based on data and reasoning situation.

B. While there were too many comparison points to arrive at the right answer option in data interpretation questions, the reasoning questions in Logical Reasoning part were very tricky. For example- you may have data spread over many years, courses offered in the college, intake, placements packages for each course, offers made by the companies and then the questions are framed with certain assumptions as to what would be the situation, if this or that happened.

Similarly, Questions on Logical Reasoning had many riders in the form of assumptions and needed a close analysis of the given situation on direction, arrangements, team formation and the like.

C. The result was that most of the candidates even after going through the set of information on DI-LR were not able to understand the intricacies of data comparison in DI and situation clarity in LR.

The issue: Tired Mind in testing room

The first section in CAT begins with Quant and DI questions. The ratio of Quant questions in the first section is much higher than DI questions. CAT 2014 came out with 34 questions on Quant and 16 questions on Data Interpretation.

The second section also has the same proportion divided between Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. There were 34 questions on Verbal Ability & Reading comprehension and 16 questions were on Logical reasoning on the first day of CAT 2014.

While this ratio in both the sections is expected to remain same on the second Day of CAT 2014 on Nov 22, 2014, not much change is also expected in the pattern of DI-LR questions.

Candidates usually begin with Quant questions as they have prepared more on it. Questions on DI during the preparation take a back seat and CAT aspirants take fewer sessions and also practice less on DI questions. The same case goes with Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning.

After attempting 15-16 Quant questions, the CAT test taker becomes a bit tired and moves to DI question sets. One question set of DI takes more time to solve. It also needs an open mind application and close understanding of the data comparison. After spending( or wasting) a few minutes on the Data set the candidate, without attempting the questions moves to verbal Ability section and begins to solve the questions based on preferred concepts on Verbal Ability. When the test taker after solving a few problems on Verbal moves to Logical reasoning, the same situation of understanding and solving the tricky reasoning question arises.

The conclusion test taker should now draw is that it is the fear of more time being consumed which seems even more when you have lot to attempt and the mind is tired and is gradually getting drained out of the receptive capability.

The difficulty comes when you do not know how to arrive at the right answer option. Consumption of more time to solve a question despite knowing how to attempt it could be due to lack of practice on DI and LR questions. So instead of pre-assuming that DI and LR were and would be difficult, CAT 2014 test takers on second day on Nov 22, 2014 should focus on the right testing room strategy to maximize their scores in both of these parts also.

DI-LR in CAT 2014: Testing Room strategy

Prof S K Agarwal, expert on CAT preparation suggests the aspirant to adopt the following testing room strategy and since 3 days are still left for CAT 2014 second day,  the expert advises the candidates to practice a few problem sets on DI and LR as they could prove to be the game changers in CAT 2014.

Before beginning quant choose one of the DI problem sets, if it suits you and complete it with answer within 10-12 minutes. However, if you have already spent 4-5 minutes on it and are hopeful you can solve it, attempt it even if it takes 2-3 minutes more. The time that you have already spent on it will not go waste.

If you wish to begin with Quant, attempt it first and then switch over to Verbal section. Attempt as many questions in that section and come back to DI. See if you can attempt at least one set of it. You should now be very clear in your mind in choosing the right type of questions in both the sections. If you have attempted Quant and Verbal well and are left with a good amount of time say half an hour or so, spend it on DI-LR questions. If you are able to solve one set each of the both, you can expect a high percentile.

DI-LR appear difficult as they are time consuming and time is the most precious thing for a CAT 2014 test taker as less than 2 minutes per question are available to solve in the CAT 2014 new exam pattern. Instead of fighting the highly difficult Quant or Verbal questions, it will be better to arrive at the right answer in DI-LR questions. These questions need a bit of more practice but you do not have to recall the formula or the concept as you need to solve a question on Trigonometry, Algebra or modern math. Despite its cumbersome formation you will be able to solve it, if you are able to understand the data. The time spent therefore on DI or LR questions will enable you to solve them and solve them right.

The answers you arrive at can be checked also by applying the comparative methods known or developed by you while attempting the question set. It is not some value to decode; it is the understanding of data that matters.

Questions on Logical reasoning are based on natural human instincts. For example if  someone with the first letter of the city’s name coming as the initial in his/her name or somewhere in the middle of his/her name  is not allowed to visit the particular city in the first year of his/her job training and a married couple is supposed to be located at the same centre as well as the one who dislikes other will also not be posted at the same centre and 2 persons are to deputed, who will be deputed to London in the first year out of  the personnel namely Lynda married to Peter; Milinda-not yet married but will be married after a year but doesn’t like Peter as he ditched her by marrying Lynda; Krishna who is also single; Prabha who doesn’t like Milinda; Mona who doesn’t like Krishna but prefers Milinda as her companion.

The problem is simply clear and despite having many ifs and buts has a clear approach. There could be many other items of additional information but you are not supposed to lose the thread. If you are able to read the given information and think over it a little, you will sure arrive at the right answer.

Please remember CAT 2014 second day on Nov 22, 2014 is expected to be on same pattern and with same difficulty level. There is no time to begin something new but if you practice a little more on DI-LR you might not find it so difficult and could turn the tables in your favour.

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