Verbal Ability, Verbal Reasoning, Reading Comprehension

These are names of sections but there could be overlaps. The verbal ability section could have questions on jumbled sentences and summary or analogies, which are aspects of reasoning. Even Reading Comprehension questions are reasoning-based or occasionally vocabulary-based ones. Thus the objective is the same: to see how good you are at understanding concepts and how strong is your command over the language.
Success in the CAT is a function of a judicious combination of speed and accuracy.

The Verbal Ability Section

This comprises grammar as well as usage-based questions, verbal reasoning and reading comprehension. Consider usage-based questions.
Take a simple word like ‘HOLD’. It can mean anything from

• ‘Have a belief or opinion about something’-e.g.-He held strong views on Capital punishment.
• Telephonic-e.g. - Hold the line, she is coming.
• Truth- e.g. The theory held good for centuries.
• Ownership- e.g. The old man holds fifty percent of the shareholding.

The catch is that you, as a test taker, should be aware of the varied usage to be able to crack any question type based on this quickly and correctly. Now, observe an example of a grammar-based question:
I am not conversant of all the rules- is the sentence correct or incorrect?
If you have done your homework on prepositional usage, you will know that the sentence is incorrect because ‘conversant’ always takes the preposition ‘with’ after it. Hence for sentence correction questions, you need to know the fundamental rules of grammar.

Tips for strengthening grammar and English usage:

• Refer to an advanced learner’s dictionary like the one by Oxford, with at least 150,000 words to help you understand usage and build your word base.
• Maintain a checklist with respect to grammar rules that will be of immense help in the sentence correction exercise.
• Whenever you come across an unfamiliar word, look up the meaning and write it down using it in a sentence of your own. Vocabulary cannot be built overnight.

Tips for ‘Fill in the blanks’:

• Always form shadow words of your own based on your understanding before looking at the options.
• Shadow words mean words that you, as a reader, feel will contextually fit into the blank/s. You should look at the options only after you have deduced the contextual implication so that you are not misled by the options. Eg. After the sudden death of their leader, the revolutionaries thought it best to be _______ for a while before resuming their attacks on the reigning monarch.

          A] belligerent b] craven c] querulous d] quiescent

In the example above, the shadow word will be based on the phrase‘-for a
while before resuming their attacks’. It means they lay low. -  Hence, logically only ‘quiescent’ can fit. This does call for proficiency in vocabulary but, if you read regularly and combine it with the ‘shadow word ‘ technique, it becomes easier.

Tips for tackling Contextual usage:
Determine the mood of the sentence. Eg. The soldier was arrested and tortured for his alleged ___________in the Boscoli conspiracy.
A] reasonableness b] stature c] patience d] involvement
In the above sentence, it is decidedly negative because he was tortured and arrested.
Hence, ‘involvement’ is the right option.

Tips for tackling Jumbled sentences:
Sentences, which constitute an aspect of verbal reasoning: you should quickly scan the text, eliminate the options that recur and then look for logical links. An interesting example: ‘However’ is a connective.
Can it begin a sequence? Observe the following-
A] However, he was tired.
B] However hard he tried, Sam could not forget the incident.
In sentence [B] we see that we can begin the sequence with ‘However’ because it introduces the topic. In sentence [A], we cannot begin the sequence because the comma placed after ‘However’ indicates that some thought process has gone before.

Summary is a shorter version of the original. Such a simplification highlights the major points from the much longer subject, such as a text, speech, film, or event.
Eg. A politics of sustainable globalisation needs more than just the correct picture of what is happening in the world. It also needs the right balance of policies. Specifically, it demands a new social bargain among workers, financiers and governments that will make for sustainable globalization. Give them their due – the Thatcherites and Reaganites helped to prepare their countries for this era of globalisation and were instrumental in bringing it about by offering an unadulterated free-market vision for globalisation. Their view was “Let the market rule everywhere as much as possible and things will all be
OK”. But a pure market vision alone is not enough. It is too brutal and therefore politically unsustainable. The Left, meanwhile, or what’s left of the Left, has tried to hold on to the paternalism of the welfare state as much as possible. This is not economically sustainable.
Choice of simplified option:
1. Sustainable globalisation calls for a new balance of power between workers and financiers and governments after the Thatcherites and Reaganites have done their bit.
2. It is necessary to strike a balance between politics and policies to ensure sustainable globalisation. A pure free-market or welfare state vision is not politically and economically sustainable.
3. Thatcherites and Reaganites are usually at odds with the Left, as they believe in pure market – driven economics.
4. Market – driven economies are most likely to succeed as opposed to welfare state economics.
[1] While the passage mentions this, it is not reflective of the whole essence of the passage. [2] Is closest to the essence of the passage, which is talking about finding a mix of politics and economic policies that will enable sustainable globalization. [3] This may be true but the passage is not a commentary on ideologies. [4] The passage does not conclude on either economic policy and, therefore, not true. Hence, [2] is the right answer.

Pointers for tackling summary questions

• When you read the passage, mark those words that are crucial to the essence of the passage.
• Negate those options, which are skewed or lack an essential component. The elimination this way will yield the right answer.

The Verbal Reasoning Section

Critical reasoning questions deal with assumptions, conclusions, premises and inferences and are important from the point of view of rational thinking.
Tips for Critical Reasoning:
A] Logical thinking means doing away with emotional responses.
B] Examine the evidence and arrive at the answer.
C] Remember that an assumption is always implied and it must lead you to the conclusion.
D] Go by the process of elimination, negating unwarranted generalisations.
Syllogisms, again from the world of deductive reasoning, are based on a form of logic where the conclusion has to be derived from both the premises.
Conditional syllogisms are based on the ‘fulfillment of the condition, occurrence of the consequence’ rule.
The basic form of the conditional syllogism is: If A is true then B is also true. (If A then B). It appears through a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion.
The major premise (the first statement) for example: Ladies prefer Xanthos.
This statement is not challenged and is assumed to be true.
A minor premise, which may not be spoken, gives further detail about the major premise. For example: Xanthos smells great.
The minor premise is also assumed to be true.
The conclusion is a third statement, based on a combination of the major and minor premise. If you use Xanthos cologne, you will attract women.

How to prepare for this section

• Chart out a detailed study plan.
• Work hard on all the concepts of verbal ability as well as verbal reasoning
• Never hesitate to refer and make notes to facilitate recall.
• Practice regularly so that you learn to make optimum use of time.

Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension in the CAT straddles diverse subjects - psychology, religion, politics, business, philosophy, science etc. The emphasis is on interpreting the text and answering the multiple-choice questions. Here’s a sample: Since all knowledge is knowledge of sense-objects, truth is simply the correspondence of our impressions to things. How are we to know whether our ideas are correct copies of things? How do we distinguish between reality and imagination, dreams or illusions? What is the criterion of truth? It cannot lie in concepts, since they are of our own making. Nothing is true save sense impressions and, therefore, the criterion of truth must lie in sensation itself. It cannot be in thought, but must be in feeling. Real objects, said the Stoics, produce in us an intense feeling, or conviction, of their reality. The strength and vividness of the image distinguish these real perceptions from a dream or fancy. Hence, the sole criterion of truth is this striking conviction, whereby the real forces itself upon our consciousness and will not be denied. There is, thus, no universally grounded criterion of truth. It is based not on reason but on feeling.
After reading the above extract, answer the following without going back to the text:
A] Truth cannot be based on reason. - true/false
B] Knowledge is synonymous with knowledge of sense objects. - true/false
Both the statements are true. Now you can gauge how attentive and proactive a reader you were and what is the gap in understanding that you have to bridge.

Tip:
First read the passage slowly, understand it, gradually over a period of ten days or so, increase your speed. Timed reading will work best for subjects that you love and then you can introduce it to include all topics.

Here are a few golden rules for tackling the RC component:

• Everything is contextual. No external knowledge is expected or required.
• You should view this as a functional process and not as a literary attempt.
• Learn to read in thought units and not word after word. Remember, concentration is the key.
• Mark the important elements that you come across while reading.
• Ensure accuracy in your attempts because negative marking is a reality.
• If you have a reading speed of 300-350 words per minute, it is ideal. But you can develop speed by gradually reducing the time taken to read the same length of text.
• Ensure exposure to rigorous nonfiction by reading editorials, research studies and read on a regular basis, beginning with subjects you like and moving on to topics that are new or unfamiliar.
• Spending a couple of minutes in determining the order of attempt will prevent you from getting stuck in a passage that is abstruse or has very close, difficult options.
• If there is a question on selection of an apt title, opt for one that encompasses the gist of the passage than going for generic or out-of-range ones.

Do’s:
Understand concepts thoroughly.
Capitalize on strengths.
Plug knowledge gaps through error analysis.
Practise full-length tests regularly. It is the quality of your attempt and not the quantity that matters.

Don’ts:
Do not try to learn new words by rote.
Do not be hasty in marking answers.
Do not restrict the range of your reading.