CAT 2011 is finally here – with less than a month left for the most important MBA entrance exam, it is extremely critical that the students remain calm, composed and focussed. And no matter what format CAT may follow, ultimately students with sound knowledge, good selection and accuracy will do well.
The old format which had 3 sections – QA, LDI and VA has now been changed to a two-section format – QA/DI and VA/LR. Note that only the structure of the paper has changed; the components still remain unchanged.
Quantitative Ability section will include mathematics-based questions, from areas like arithmetic, algebra, geometry/mensuration, etc. Students need to remember that the relative importance of various chapters like numbers, geometry, time-speed-distance, time-work, permutations-combinations, etc. is still unknown and CAT is known to throw surprises. So, students should never ever try to predict how many questions would be coming from each area. And similarly, nobody can actually guess the difficulty level of the questions which would appear in the exam. Although CAT is known to be a tough exam, students must remember that each paper will still have enough doable questions. So, do not panic during the exam.
Also, time management is going to be very important in the QA/DI section as there are 30 questions and 70 minutes. Students need to ensure that adequate time is spent on all the questions. Remember, it is all about identifying the easy/ doable questions and then, answering them correctly.
QA is about applications based on simple, mostly class Xth level concepts. Hence, sound knowledge has to be combined with lots of practice – trying out various types of questions to raise one’s familiarity with all chapters. And don’t forget to practise under strict time constraints. The mind has to be trained on how to perform well under pressure. Also, don’t try to judge the difficulty level of a question by its length alone – sometimes, a seemingly difficult question could actually be a very easy/ doable question.
In questions on algebra and numbers, sometimes, substituting suitable values or putting options can turn out to be a much better/ faster way of answering questions instead of solving them through the conventional methods. And for other topics like geometry, surds, logarithms, progressions, students must remember the standard properties/ formulae.
The DI section is completely application-based, requiring not much knowledge. It is all about understanding the given information (charts, graphs, case lets, etc.) and finally, using some of the information given to answer the questions. It would require either calculations or reasoning or interpretation of the data visually.
There are some other data types like Venn diagrams, routes and networks, 3-d or spider charts, games and tournaments, which appear less frequently in various exams. But a student must be familiar and comfortable with all data types/ question types. It is also possible that the DI sets may appear unfamiliar/different or the language used may be difficult/unusual – but the students should remain focussed on getting the data which is required to answer the given questions. Therefore, emphasis should be on practising all types of data/questions and at the same time, develop the ability to calculate mentally.
To best utilise your time, do glance through all the sets and then start by attempting the set which seems to be easy/ doable. Don’t judge the difficulty level of the set based on the data alone – also, have a look at the questions, options, etc. And it is possible that a single DI set may have 1-2 easy questions and 1-2 difficult questions. So, it is perfectly fine if only 1-2 questions are attempted out of the 3-4 questions.
DS questions may also appear in the QA/DI section. DS is an area which tests the subject knowledge, sound fundamentals, reasoning skills and the ability to think in a systematic manner. There is a greater tendency to make silly errors in the DS area; students need to be extra cautious while attempting DS questions.
A common mistake which a lot of students make is that they tend to continue with a question, even when they are not sure of how much time it would take to solve the question. Instead of worrying about the time already spent on a question, the decision of leaving or attempting a question should actually depend on how much more time it would take to solve the question.
Lastly, the whole section will be a combination of QA, DI and most probably, DS questions. By taking various mock CATs, students need to learn the skill of dividing time appropriately across various areas in order to maximize their score and percentile.
(The author is regional head (Academics) at T.I.M.E. Delhi and has an MBA degree from IIM, Calcutta)
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