As bells start ringing for the approaching CAT exam, all the students want to know How to crack CAT in 2 months? Moreover, with the new pattern of CAT exam, strategies will need to change. The ideal approach to score high in MBA entrance exams is true to the age old saying of “Work hard for what you want because it won’t come to you without a fight.”
To bell the CAT, you need to know its nature. There is still no clarification on the proposed changes in CAT pattern.
There will be 34, 32, 34 questions respectively in Quantitative aptitude (QA), Data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR), Verbal and reading comprehension (VRC). Apart from multiple choice questions, there will even be non MCQs.
There could be more data interpretation questions or more quant ones. In the second section the questions ratio of verbal ability and reading comprehension against logical reasoning may also change. As there is no official word on this, we have to be prepared for any pattern.
The new preparation strategy for CAT
A lot will be decided by the CAT practice test hosted by IIMs at iimcat.ac.in. Despite taking n number of mock tests by coaching institutes, the final word will be said by this official CAT mock test. We will need to wait a little longer for this to be available though.
In our opinion, in the last two months you need to focus on two things – (1) Topic wise revision, (2) Mock tests.
It goes without saying that if you have not already started revising, it is high time to do so. Give in more hours in a day, know your strengths and weaknesses, and just give it all.
Be prepared for anything and everything!
The uncertainty of pattern is wreaking havoc among CAT aspirants. But look at it this way, you are all in the same boat. So rather than preparing based on pattern, prepare for topics. There could be an imbalance in number of questions being divided among sections. But as long as you are equally good in all, it will not make a difference.
Divide your time among the two major sections and four sub sections wisely. If you are exceptionally good in one, give it a little lesser time and try to improve the areas you are not so good at. You do not want to lose precious marks in any section!
Go back to the basics
The USP of CAT or any MBA entrance exam is that it does not involve rocket science. The topics are of basic mathematics and aptitude. Aim of any management entrance exam is to test a candidate’s aptitude and problem solving ability. As long as you know the fundamentals like the back of your hand, there is no looking back.
Preparing for basic English questions in CAT – To justly increase number of questions and to let students solve them in lesser time, there could be a rise in questions on basic English. This could include more speech, tenses, word formations, phrasal verbs.
Logical reasoning – On any given day, LR questions take up more time in a paper. Racing against time, you need to solve LR questions tactically. Remember, incorrect answers will give you a negative score. Practice more questions on seating arrangements, relations, sets, premise and conclusion. Focus on improving your speed and accuracy.
Quantitative Ability – Remainder theorem, geometry, number system, PC, probability; these are your friends for life. Or at least for CAT. As a large number of engineering students appear for the CAT exam, it is expected that this section is the most scoring. Like basic english, questions of quant are also expected to be more.
Data Interpretation – Learn to visually understand data. Graphs, pie charts, bar diagrams are all information rich data being presented as graphs. Graphs are meant to make things easier to understand. You will need to understand this fact before moving ahead with these questions. DI section is scoring for those who have the knack of breaking down visual data into information.
Speed and accuracy – That is all you need to get the perfect score in CAT!
- Solve questions quickly, and correctly.
- Rather than trying to learn concepts, you can start doing questions from the beginning.
- Do not spend a long time in just knowing a concept. Start practicing its approach in questions.
- Two months before appearing for CAT exam, you must know which are your weak and strong areas.
- If you are yet unable to understand the weak topics, do not spend a very long time on them.
- Start further strengthening your strong areas. Try to solve those questions in lesser time.
If you have any queries regarding CAT preparation, ask in comments below.
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