Expected Changes and surprises in Verbal Ability section in CAT 2015 is a part of innovations and experiments in CAT exam every year. The difference is that changes in structure and content in Verbal Ability (VARC) section in CAT 2015 are much more prominent and accordingly you may encounter more surprises than in earlier CAT exams.
CAT 2015 has completely revamped the Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) section which happens to be the first section in the exam with 34 questions to be solved in the allotted sectional time limit of 60 minutes.
Anticipating the unanticipated surprises, Prof S K Agarwal expert on Verbal Ability emphasizes that the transformed VARC section in CAT 2015 may not any longer test you on Grammar or fundamentals of English language, instead your reading skills to understand well the twisted language and get to the essence of what is asked will be tested
According to Prof S K Agarwal expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on CAT 2015 preparation, out of 34 questions, 24 questions would be placed only on Reading Comprehension passages and rest 10 on other topics. CAT 2015 may not include the conventional questions on Error correction in sentences and paragraphs, Questions on Facts Inference Judgement, Questions on direct or contextual use of vocabulary words, questions on locating the last sentence to complete the paragraph among other types of questions in Verbal Ability section.
Expect 5 RC passages
It is almost certain yet you can’t predict the exact nature of questions based on Reading comprehension passages going by the trend of surprises in CAT exam. Nonetheless, Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on CAT 2015 preparation anticipates following changes and surprises in Reading comprehension covering about 70% part of VARC section in CAT 2015. Surprisingly so far RC used to constitute about 45% part of Verbal Ability section till last year.
Till CAT 2013 there were 3 RC passages, in CAT 2014 number of RC passages were increased to 4 followed by 16 questions, some of them based on critical and logical reasoning also. Breaking all the previous records CAT 2015 would be introducing a pack of 5 RC passages followed by 24 questions. Out of them 3 passages would be followed by 6 questions each while 2 passages by 3 questions each.
Size of RC may surprise you…
The RC passages in CAT 2015 may not be very lengthy. Prof S K Agarwal anticipates shorter than earlier passages in CAT 2015 with more questions. There could be 2 very short and 3 comparatively longer RC passages in CAT 2015. The shorter ones may be within 500 words and would be followed by 3 questions while the longer ones could be of 900 words followed by 6 questions each. This is one big overhaul on Reading comprehension part as CAT has never asked more than 4 questions based on one RC passage.
Anticipate surprises in question type on RC
In view of Prof S K Agarwal, you may expect following type of questions based on RC passages taken cumulatively and comprising total 24 questions
-- 2 to 3 questions on explaining the phrases as used in the passages. Before answering this question you have to ensure that it is not the raw meaning of the phrase but explaining the phrase as used in the sentence and therefore there may be difference between the two.
-- There could be 5 common questions of statement type, one following each RC passage. The questions could be based on whether the particular statement or assumption is true or false.
-- 3 questions based on inference drawn from a particular sentence in the passage.
-- Apart from other specific questions, you can expect 2 to 3 questions on the message conveyed by the author through a particular sentence or the entire RC passage.
None of earlier type of questions
You will be missing questions like ‘Tone of the passage’ or ‘purpose of the passage’ but the questions of different types would also be indirectly getting to the same theme to explore your answer. So there is no need to worry.
Non MCQs on RC passages? Yes or No …
No! Probably there wouldn’t be any Non-Multiple Choice Questions (Non-MCQs) based on RC passages, says Prof S K Agarwal and all the questions that follow RC Passages are expected to be of MCQ type carrying the penalty of negative marking.
10 other VARC questions on 3 topics; all in Non-MCQ form
After skipping many core areas in English Language, CAT 2015 is expected to frame rest of the 10 other VARC questions on only a few topics which do not include basics of the language.
Expert on verbal ability, Prof S K Agarwal who predicted earlier and made the CAT aspirants practice on surprising type of questions, again comes forward and assures CAT 2015 aspirants that even after surprises the CAT 2015 questions will be based on 3-4 topics only. In his view, whether in changed or similar format on the pattern of earlier CAT exams, the other surprise element may include only 3 topics on which rest 10 questions in VARC section may be asked in CAT 2015.
Another important point that he shares is that all these remaining 10 questions on Verbal Ability part after 24 questions on RC, in the VARC section of CAT 2015 might be only of Non-MCQ type without carrying any penalty of negative marking.
Topic-1: Para summary with 3 questions
3 questions in non-MCQ form are expected to be on summarizing the short paragraph. Answers to Para summary questions could be similar to main idea or central idea of the paragraph. You need not complete the paragraph but you will have to understand well what is said in the paragraph to arrive at the correct answer.
Topic-2: Jumbled paragraph-structure may give surprise
4 Non-MCQs on jumbled paragraphs are anticipated in CAT 2015 on November 29, 2015. Correct answers to the 4 Non-MCQs on Jumbled paragraphs can add 12 core marks to your score and can boost your percentile up by 24 to 28 points. This will be a substantial gain which is not marred by the fear of negative marking.
CAT 2015 is expected to surprise you with the changed structure of questions on Jumbled paragraphs. Instead of 4 jumbled sentences in one question, candidates may have to put into sequential order 5 sentences to make a coherent paragraph. It is also expected that all the questions based on Jumbled paragraphs will be on randomly placed jumbled group of sentences.
Topic-3: Out of context sentence with 3 question
The surprise of CAT 2013 has not subsided. It may flare up again in CAT 2015 with more number and Non-MCQ type questions. According to Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability it is expected that there could be 3 questions on this topic in CAT 2015 as against 1 or 2 questions in earlier CAT exams.
The biggest advantage of this surprise question appearing in CAT 2015 is that even if you mark it wrong, you won’t face any penalty of negative marking in the exam.
This question appears in the same form as any random jumbled paragraph. It would consist of 5 jumbled randomly placed sentences labeled 1,2,3,4,5. These sentences when placed in a sequential order will form a coherent paragraph but one of the sentences will be out of context or an odd one out and will convey a different message than the other sentences taken together. An aspirant has to pick out that ‘out of context sentence’ from the jumbled group of sentences.
Expert suggests…
According to Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability and mentor on CAT 2015 preparation, there is no need to get tempted to answer all the questions in VARC section. Go for 2 readings of RC passages, pick and choose the right type of questions in Verbal part.
If you are good at Jumbled paragraphs, answer these questions first, if you can summarize a paragraph quickly, go for it first. The idea is to go for the easiest first and then move on to difficult ones. It will boost your confidence level as well as will save your time to attempt more questions with accuracy. If you find a question a bit tricky, leave it and move ahead. This will also keep you fresh. You can always come back to the remaining questions during the sectional time limit.
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