Dear CAT students,
These two months are crucial for those who are appearing for CAT 2011. Most of you would have spent the last few months ensuring that you are well-prepared for what is rightfully considered as one of the toughest and most competitive entrance exams in India. However, there are also many needless apprehensions that students sometimes fall victim to. This year, the format change has created confusion for many CAT aspirants. However, a careful examination of this year's format will reveal that students have no real reason to worry. If you've prepared well, you really shouldn't have any trouble coping with the exam.
What has changed in pattern of CAT 2011?
CAT 2011 will now be separated into two different sections:
Section I - Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation
Section II - Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning
Out of the total examination time of 140 minutes, examinees will have 70 minutes to solve 30 questions within each section. The test, administered by Prometric, will also contain a 15-minute tutorial. Do not skip this as it will help you become familiar with the testing system.
There will also be an on-screen countdown timer, which should help you keep track of your time constraint. Once the 70 minutes are over, test-takers will not be able to go back and attempt the questions that they were not able to complete in the given time. It is this change that has created the maximum fear amongst students. However, if you think about it, it also has several benefits as it will actually make it easier for you to focus on problem-solving without having to worry too much about time management and allocation.
How should I prepare for CAT 2011?
The basic skills and fundamentals remain unchanged. You don't have to worry about focusing upon new areas of study. As long as you have prepared well, all you need to do is practise mock tests keeping in mind the new timing system. Along with focus and self-belief, this should see you through with flying colours!
What should I focus on?
1. Don't get caught unaware: Finding a question similar to something you have practiced before has a very calming effect on you and will help boost your confidence. The best way to achieve this is to practice all kinds of questions. If you've covered everything, there is very little chance of getting caught unaware.
2. Learn, Practise & Test!: There are some very good modules available for learning, practising and testing. Make good use of them! Modules like Test Gym and MBA-on-Demand are especially helpful in this final, critical period. Moreover, these are available online and give you the added advantage of familiarising yourself with the online medium.
There are certain mistakes that many students make. You can steer clear of them by using these techniques:
i) The Set rule: Divide your section into sets. Read all the questions in each block and assign them an equal amount of time. These time limits should be sacrosanct. There can be nothing worse than missing out on an easy question just because it appears towards the end of the section. Thus, selecting the right questions is extremely important.
ii) Speed up: Speed matters. Not only when you're solving questions but when you're reading them! The faster you can read all the questions and select those you think you should attempt; the better will be your chances of a good score.
iii) Put your ego aside: For some students, solving a question becomes an ego issue. This is the worst thing you can do to your CAT 2011 paper. If you have spent a considerable time on a problem to no avail, leave it and go ahead. There may be an easier question ahead, just waiting to be capitalised upon!
iv) No time for indecision: There is no time in the CAT for being indecisive about your answers. The new format should make this easier by taking some of your time management concerns off your shoulders.
And, most importantly:
The Elimination Rule: There is a reason why you're given 4 options with every question. Make good use of them! Never make the mistake of attempting a question without reading the options. Sometimes, the options are such that solving the question may not even be required. You can safely eliminate some of the options based on pure logic and common sense. Some students solve the question first and then check the options only to re-confirm their answer. While this is reassuring, it also leads to wastage of precious time.
About the Author: ARKS Srinivas, former Director of TIME at Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, is currently the Director of prestigious Vanguard Business School, Bangalore. An alumnus of IIM Calcutta, he has trained thousands of students to crack CAT with 100% success.
How to tackle Data Interpretation :
In an attempt to help you ace your preparation, we will discuss about Data Interpretation which will be now converged with the Quantitative Ability part in the first of the two sections of CAT 2011.
Topics covered in Data Interpretation of CAT 2011-:
The Data Interpretation section consists of graphs, charts, tables etc. for calculating data. Though some questions need calculations, others can be solved just mentally without calculation. Questions can also be asked on Tables, Bar Charts, Pie Charts, Line chart/Scatter diagrams; Caselet/Logic based DI, Network Diagram etc. The only way to do well in this section is to improve your ability to work with numbers. You need to increase the speed of your mental calculations and that can be achieved only by practice.
Books for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
There are some books that will help you prepare for the CAT 2011 exam. Some books dealing with this section are-:
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How to prepare for the Data Interpretation for CAT' by TATA-McGraw Hill publications
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Course In Mental Ability and Quantitative Aptitude' by Edgar Thorpe
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How to prepare for the Data Interpretation for CAT' by Arihant Prakashan
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Data Interpretation and Logical by Arun Sharma
How to prepare for Data Interpretation?
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Practice: Take as many mock tests as possible. Also solve previous years' CAT papers. Talking to media, Vinayak Kudva, Product Head, IMS Learning says, "For Data Interpretation, go through last five to six years CAT exam papers and try solving them without any preparation. Analyse and evaluate your approach with reference to every question including the one which you solved easily."
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Reading: Reading books and prep material will be useful. You must read articles, especially on business which are heavy on data and analyse them.
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Analyse: Refer to the graphs and data provided in various business papers and business magazines or corporate publications. You need to identify techniques to solve questions which require time consuming calculations.
How to tackle Verbal Ability :
In order to help you prepare and ace the Verbal Ability section, we have enumerated certain steps that will help you-:
1) Start Reading: People who love to read have won the first battle. If reading abstract text, literary type, does not put you to sleep, then you have a reason to rejoice. The CAT 2011 exam will have lot of reading elements- RC, para-jumbles, para-completion and sentence completion. All these sections will involve reading and forming your own perspective. When you read something, try to compare the author's viewpoint with your own. Slowly, but surely you will start getting a grasp of things and will then find similar tests to be quite interesting.
2) Work on your Grammar: There are various ways to work on your grammar and they are-:
A) Devote half an hour to go through different words, its meanings and usage in a sentence. Besides going through book, you can also use the Internet
B) Every time you read a grammatically incorrect sentence, you must try to make out what is wrong and how it can be corrected.
C) Try to converse with your friends and family in English as that too will enhance your vocabulary
3) Develop Reasoning Ability: Surprised? You would wonder what is the need of Reasoning in Verbal Ability section, but the truth is it is very important. Verbal reasoning is not limited to only the typical reasoning questions but is also an integral part of Reading Comprehension, para-jumbles and sentence completion. When you're reading an essay, try to find out the message or central idea behind the essay. Once a candidate identifies the central idea of the passage, the questions automatically become easy. Hence, it is recommended that read from a variety of sources and question oneself about the author's motive or idea behind writing the article / book. Try to read about religion, spirituality and philosophy as much as possible as it will increase your understanding of the written language.
4) Plan: Prepare a timetable and allocate your time judiciously between all sections of CAT exam. Also devote time to reading text, newspapers, watching news to enhance your vocabulary.
5) Practice: Just reading or mugging up words is not enough, you need to practice and implement what you've learnt. Try to take as many practice tests as possible to boost your confidence for this section.
All the best for your exams, going to be held between 22nd October and 18th November, 2011......... as everybody knows that CAT students are also very critical as the exam is, therefore they will rock as real rockstars......... i wanna wish them best of luck for their better results which will gonna be declared on 11th January, 2012.......... fetch your examz!!!
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