CAT 2015: 10 more minutes to make you first among equals; rearrange the sections and understand what it is

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
July 28, 2015
Additional 10 minutes in CAT 2015 could prove to be a bounty while concluding and submitting the test as the test takers may not have to fight against the shortage of time
The reason behind increasing the duration by 10 minutes is simply to allot equal time (60 minutes) to each of the three sections Prof Tathagata Bandyopadhyay CAT 2015 convener and faculty IIM Ahmedabad

With no increase in number of questions, the additional 10 minutes in CAT 2015 could prove to be a bounty while concluding and submitting the test as the test takers may not have to fight against the shortage of time while reviewing the questions at the last moment. The gateway to IIMs, Common Admission Test (CAT)  brings surprises and changes every year and CAT 2015 is no exception to this legacy.

How friendly the surprises and changes in Common Admission Test (CAT) 2015, would be for aspirants will depend upon your systematic preparation strategy. The Single day CAT 2015 exam on November 29, 2015 will have 2 sessions- forenoon and afternoon. CAT 2015 as notified in the press release and exam notification will be an entirely different exam and may offer a new experience to the test takers.

CAT 2015 will be divided in 3 sections with an increased time limit of 3 hours (180 minutes) as against 2 hours 50 minutes (170 minutes) in CAT 2014. The 10 more minutes without increasing the number of questions in CAT 2015 is a boon for the test takers who are left with no time to review and rearrange the concluding section and have to submit the test which leaves no option to review your answers and mark/un mark the answers at the last moment.

How to get best out of 10 more minutes
Duration of the CAT 2015 examination has been increased to 180 minutes instead of 170 minutes. Usually  these are the questions on ‘Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)’ which are more time consuming and fewer candidates can solve a substantial number of these questions.

In CAT 2015 the questions on DI-LR will be clubbed into one and will have a separate section.  Total number of questions in CAT 2015 will remain 100 as were available in CAT 2014 with an increased time of 10 minutes.

These 10 minutes will be crucial and may prove a game changer for many CAT 2015 test takers. While the 1st and 2nd sections on Quant and VARC will have 34 questions each, the 3rd section on DI-LR will have 32 questions, making the total tally of questions to 100. All the 3 sections will have the separate time limit of 1 hour each to solve.

Be the first among equals
CAT 2015 proposes to provide equal opportunity to all the candidates and those who do well in last 10 minutes may turn the table in their favour. CAT 2015 convener and IIM Ahmedabad faculty Prof Tathagata Bandyopadhyay has specific reason behind increasing the time limit for CAT 2015 takers without increasing the number of questions and says “The reason behind increasing the duration by 10 minutes is simply to allot equal time (60 minutes) to each of the three sections. This year the students will be given exactly an hour to complete each section.”

All candidates start the test at the same time when the invigilator signals to start. Candidates are to remain at their seats for the entire duration of the test even if they complete their test early. The Submit button is enabled only upon completion of test time. According to Prof S K Agarwal expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on CAT 2015 preparation, now you will have additional 10 minutes and if you practice well and attempt your mocks on the new announced pattern of CAT 2015, you may get a higher score in the last section of DI-LR.

Expert advice
You will also have to remember that you may not go back to any other section in last minutes, so focus on the last section which you are going through, review the answers you have marked for and in case needed change the answers as desired especially if the questions are of descriptive type, you can change the text you have written.

Another important thing you will have to remember, is not to click on submit button till the time is over. Utilize the additional time to check your answers and do not get tempted to attempt more if you are unable to solve.

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