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Journalism of Courage
— Puneet Sharma
CAT 2022 will be held on November 27. With the clock ticking at one corner of the screen, it is primarily a test against time where you have to prove your mettle. The time constraint characteristic inherent in CAT makes the test takers likely to panic and stress which can ultimately result in despair.
To help candidates not make silly errors in a hurry, we’ve listed some of the common errors you should avoid during the exam.
Read the question minutely and comprehend properly
Don’t assume something based on your preconceived notions. Be attentive to understand questions and the context before answering.
Don’t attempt questions in sequence & avoid prefixing number of attempts
Do not start attempting the questions without scanning the section as it may lead to wasting time on difficult questions and missing out the easier ones. Never pre-fix number of attempts for a section.
Value your time and avoid sunk cost
Time is of the essence. You have only 40 minutes in a section. Don’t get stuck in a particular question for too long. Remember you have to clear sectional cut-offs within the sectional time limit.
Do not get stuck on a difficult question
Students should try to solve all the easy and moderate questions. Leaving the difficult questions is key to success.
Avoid guesswork
Students can eliminate the incorrect options especially in RC to arrive at the correct option but should strictly avoid the guesswork.
Never give up
Don’t lose hope if one of the sections didn’t go well as per your expectation because chances are that it didn’t go well for the other students too. You can only control your performance but you can not control what everyone else is doing.
Reading comprehension and verbal ability
For reading comprehension don’t rely on skimming as you might get trapped in the web of ‘trigger words’ if you don’t read the complete passage assiduously. A passage may focus on one point for some sentences and then change it towards the end with trigger words like ‘but’ or ‘however’. This may confuse readers who skim through the passage.
Any of the options that are out of scope can never be the correct answer. The right answer is always based on the information given within the passage. Do not focus on any of the options that distract you from the passage.
Don’t miss out on para summary questions. Even though they carry negative marking with the right approach they are solvable and scoring.
Ideally, you should dedicate 26 to 28 minutes to RC and 12 to 14 minutes to VA.
Data interpretation and logical reasoning
DI-LR section test students’ potential of becoming future managers, since it examines their ability to handle stress, and their decision-making ability with apparently unconnected and ambiguous information. Students should concentrate on deciphering the data correctly.
Students can attempt DI-LR section in 2 Rounds:
— In R1, solve sets in which your accuracy and speed are high.
— In R2, solve sets in which your accuracy is high but speed is low.
Quantitative aptitude
The key to doing well in the QA section boils down to your ability to attempt the right questions at the right time. Students can attempt the QA section in two Rounds:
–In R1, Scan all the Qs, solve easy Qs, and mark moderate Qs for R2. R1 ends with 5 – 6 easy Qs attempted in 15 minutes.
— In R2, Solve all marked Qs in R1. R2 ends with another 3 to 4 Qs attempted in the next 20 minutes. Keep 5 minutes as buffer time. It helps.
(The author is Product Head – CAT, T.I.M.E)
