Tony Xavier

Head – Academics, IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd

Whether they like it not, test-takers are now going to have to spend 70 minutes on a section that might not be their strong point. With the implementation of sectional time limits the CAT will become a test of competence rather than strategy since test-takers can no longer take the test in a way that maximises the return on their strengths and covers their weaknesses.

For example, a test-taker whose forte is acing the Verbal Section of the CAT could have finished the Verbal section very quickly and allocate the surplus time to clear the Quant cut-offs. In the new format this is no longer possible. The test-taker has no option but to improve his attempts and accuracy in the Quant Section within the 70 min time-limit.

PUTTING A NUMBER TO COMPETENCE?
From our experience we feel that test-takers who get calls from the IIMs tend to attempt about 80% of the questions in a section and get about 85% of them correct. So in the case of the new CAT the target for test-takers should be to able to attempt about 24 questions in 70 minutes and get about 20 of them right.

PREP PLAN FOR TEST-TAKERS WHOSE FORTE IS VERBAL ABILITY
This section will now have both PS and DI. We surmise that 20 questions will be from PS and 10 from DI.
The PS questions will be typically spread more or less evenly across the areas:  Numbers, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Modern Math.
We usually find that test-takers weak in Math tend to prefer Arithmetic and do not even go near areas like Geometry and Modern Math.
To be able to attempt 24 questions in the given time frame, test-takers should develop the competence to answer Math questions from all the areas.
So, test-takers belonging to this category should spend their next 3 months brushing up their concepts from all the Math areas mentioned above and practicing as many problems as possible to increase their speed.

Test- takers should make it a point to increase their attempts in areas they dislike by working on them between tests.
If they are really good at Verbal Ability should limit their preparation to test-taking and need not focus on it between tests.
And just to confirm all axioms of Geometry have to be learnt!
As far as DI is concerned test-takers have to get better at calculation since DI and LR have now been separated. So, over the next three months they should practice a lot of calculation-intensive DI sets to improve the speed and accuracy of their calculation

PREP PLAN FOR TEST-TAKERS WHOSE FORTE IS QUANTITATIVE ABILITY
Test-takers good at Math typically,
Allocate very little time to Verbal Ability since they believe that allocating more time does not increase their accuracy.
Find Reading Comprehension to be their biggest roadblock; the usual refrain being that they usually get caught between two answer options.
The first thing that they have to realize is that the new test-format places those with better Verbal skills on a more even-footing with them.
So, they have no option but to improve their competence in the section. Over the course of the next 3 months they should:

• Develop the habit of reading passages properly and then answering questions, rather that switching at random between the passage and the questions.
• Getting stuck between two options is a sign of not having understood that portion of the passage properly and the only way to solve this is by improving the way one reads passages.

Apart from Reading Comprehension, test-takers should work on their vocabulary and grammar since these are the only areas which can be improved over a relatively short time-period.