CAT 2022 today: Last minute tips to improve your performance

In the last two days before the exam, the primary focus of the candidate should be on mental conditioning as well as careful curation and calibration of the 120 minutes available to write the exam. This entails visualising each and every critical aspect of the test-taking strategy by breaking the test into smaller time intervals.

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This is extremely important as the final leg of the CAT journey requires one to imbue oneself with mindfulness, so that one knows why one is doing what one is doing. Accordingly, the specific tasks that one can include in the last leg of CAT preparation are: 

– Keep attempting a full-length test every day and analysing it thoroughly. This will help manage the D-day jitters so that on the actual exam day you might feel that you are attempting just another mock test. 

– Attempt the mock tests at a time in the day which best corresponds to your test slot—be it morning (8.30–10.30 am), afternoon (12.30–2.30 pm) or evening (4.30–6.30 pm)—so as to acclimatize yourself fully to working at peak efficiency during the particular period of the day when you have to actually attempt the CAT. 

– Be ready with a mental map of your test-taking strategy—ideal number of attempts, time management, order of attempts, etc.—for each of the three sections, viz. VARC, DILR and QA. You need to clear cut-offs in all three, so your approach has to be a well-thought-through and practiced one, before you step into the test center.

– Be conscious of whether you have been following your test-taking strategies while attempting the mock tests. Keep applying your learning from one mock test to the next one.

– While analysing your performance in the mock tests, try to identify the reason for the wrong answers (if any) by referring to the answer key before you refer to the detailed answer solutions. This will enable you to revise/recap the basic concepts, thereby enhancing your learning curve.

Revise/revisit previous mock tests and previous years’ question papers, familiarising yourself with the variations, especially for DILR sets, and focus on the most important topics, especially for the QA section.

– The last week before the exam is all about getting yourself into the frame of mind that helps you to ace the test—these skills include the ability to remain calm, the ability to identify the do-able questions and the ability of letting go of the tricky ones quickly so as to avoid wasting time and earning negative marks for wrong question selection.

– On the day before the exam, avoid last-minute cramming. Relax your mind and body. Take adequate nutrition, hydration and rest. Complete all the formalities—viz., taking a printout of admit card, pasting your photograph on it, finalising the transportation logistics for reaching the test centre, etc. 

– On exam day, remember to eat adequately to powerfully fuel physical and mental energy. Keep in mind the traffic scenario and head for the test centre with enough time on your hands. Carefully follow the instructions issued about the test centre logistics (about bags, mobiles, electronic devices, clothing, footwear, etc.)

(The author is a tutor at TIME Education)