HOW TO PREPARE FOR CAT 2021

January 04, 2021

Common Admission Test (CAT) is one of the most commonly taken tests in our country to seek admission into MBA programs across 20 IIMS and some other prestigious B-Schools such as MDI, SP Jain the list is endless. There are over 1,200+ schools who admit candidates every year on the basis of their CAT percentile.

The test is computer based and tests candidates on three sections i.e Verbal ability, Logical reasoning and Data Interpretation, Quantitative Ability. Usually the paper is three- hours, 60 minutes for each section, a total of 100 questions - 34- Verbal, 32- LRDI, 34- Quants. But in 2020, as the pandemic took over the paper was shortened in all aspects. The duration was reduced to two hours, the number of questions came down to 75: 26- verbal, 24-LRDI, 26-Quants. 40 minutes was given for each section.

( It is not yet sure if the paper will continue on the two hour or three hour trend in the coming years.)

The test is taken by over two lakh candidates every year in cross 156 cities in India.

An ideal duration for preparation depends on the determination, time availability and focus of the student. Some students are able to clear it in three months, some take six months and some take over a year.

If you are student near graduation, a duration of six months would be ideal time for you to prepare well for the exam.

The exam is a moderate to difficult level as a mix of people including engineers who are considered good with the quantitative logical sections sit for the exam.

How to prepare

There are two ways either you can opt for a coaching institute or you can self prepare. In either case you should know your exam well and see what it ask for.

FOR VERBAL ABILITY AND READING COMPREHENSION

As the name suggests the section is divided into reading comprehension and verbal ability. When there are 34 questions there are 6 reading passages and a total of 22-24 questions based on them. These questions majorly test the test takers critical reasoning skills which depends on how well you comprehend the passage. There are questions on main idea ,inference, assumption, strengthen and weaken and specific questions. To deal with this part the candidate should read articles from newspapers and online sites such as AEON essays, economic times, the guardian, The Hindu, aldaily. Direct articles from these renowned papers on topics such as business,economy,animals, history, medicine, psychology, philosophy are taken up.

This will not just improve your reading and comprehending speed but also help you come across new words everyday, which you should learn. It will also help you understand in sentence and paragraph formation which will help you in the verbal ability section. One should spend one hour reading everyday.

The Verbal ability section tests candidates on three types of question i.e. Para Jumbles, Para Summary and odd one out. In a 34 question format ten questions in all and three-four questions from all areas are asked.

This area again checks your comprehending skills and indirectly checks your grammar and sentence formation skills.

Practice is the key here. An aspirant should attempt at least ten questions every day. They can take up books such as ARUN SHARMA, solve INSTITUTE MATERIAL or look for material online. Article reading will help in this.

FOR LOGICAL REASONING AND DATA INTERPRETATION

The exam provides an on screen calculator so the candidate must understand that sets are not calculation based and the examiner is actually checking how well you can solve the puzzle, interpret data and arrive at an answer. There are 8 sets in a 32 question format four for LR and four for DI. If a candidate can attempt four to five sets in an hour they will meet the cutoff. This section is the tiebreaker for many candidates. One should understand there few topics such as Games and tournaments, linear and circular arrangements, distributions from which questions are asked in the LR part. Similarly for DI there will be sets based on time and speed, percentages, averages on which questions are asked.

Aspirants have to identify these topics then you can learn them through books, online platforms such as youtube and practise everyday.

Each question type has a few variations if you will master them you will be able to solve maximum questions in the exam also.

FOR QUANTITATIVE ABILITY

For this section though there is no defined division but this section is also divided into three parts i.e questions based on airthemathic, algebra and geometry and modern maths. Again the paper is not checking how fast you calculate because they give you a calculator. They actually check your comprehending skills and how you arrive at the answer. Remember that you can solve all the questions but this paper checks how fast and accurately you do that.

A candidate starting with preparations should spend at least three four months learning the concepts thoroughly. The candidate should start with arithmetic and then move to number system and geometry and finally on topics of modern maths.

Though it is advisable that you know and practise all concepts but if you are short of time then arithmetic is a must.

With learning concepts one should keep giving sectional tests to see you practise. In the initial months a candidate should learn 60% and practise 40% for quants but for later months the ratio will reverse.

You can take up books such as ARUN SHARMA or check online forums such as youtube and unacademy to learn concepts.

AFTER 3-4 MONTHS INTO PREPARATION AND GIVING SECTIONAL TEST THE CANDIDATE SHOULD START WITH FULL LENGTH MOCK TEST

If you choose an institute they will provide a mock series if you are self preparing you can buy mocks of institutes such as TIME,CAREER LAUNCHER, IMS and many others. Free mocks are also available online.