CAT 2022 Detailed Strategy & ResourcesÂ
Short CAT Preparation StrategyÂ
The very basic CAT preparation strategy requires:
- 1 set of material (softcopy/hardcopy) for practice.
- 2 standard mock sets for analysis.
- 1 CAT course providing a structured preparation format for application, doubt clarification and concepts.
- Consistency and Motivation.
Detailed CAT Preparation Strategy
1. Quantitative Ability
Start by taking any standard CAT preparation book e.g., Quantum Cat by Sarvesh or IIM ABC CAT material by iQuanta or from any other relevant source. You can also access quality questions from here.
Practice is the key. Build up your basic concepts and practice related questions. Ask for help if you get stuck with anything. Take a note of new things you learn be it formulae or a new approach. Repeat.
Arithmetic has the highest weightage in CAT Quants section, i.e., 12 out of 34 questions. Therefore, solving these 12 questions alone can fetch you 90 percentile in the CAT Quants section. For the same reason, we will be solving more than 1000 questions on Arithmetic at iQuanta. Followed by Algebra, Geometry, Numbers & PNC. If you get any doubts while solving, you can ask them on the iQuanta platform and we will help you.
2. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
All you need for cracking the DILR section is the familiarity with CAT type LRDI sets. If you solve 300-400 CAT level DILR sets, you will be able to solve at least 50% of the sets in CAT 2022. And how much you can get by solving 50% of LRDI sets in CAT exam ? More than 99 percentile. In few extreme cases like, CAT 2017, solving 3 sets out of 8 could got students 99 percentile. So all you need to do is select the sets you can solve and solve them with patience. And to get that familiarity all you need is practice.
CAT LRDI difficulty level changed from the year 2015. Even though they are tough they are just a lengthy puzzle and don’t need a lot of concepts or tricks to solve them. If you solve a variety of LRDI sets it will be enough if complemented with mocks at the later stage. For someone who wants to start with basics, you can do two things.
b. Now since the LRDI section from the year 2000 to 2014 weren’t of higher level, they are good to start with if you want your base strong for LRDI. You can solve past CAT papers as well and in the later stages it will be complemented with CAT level LRDI sets in Mocks and sectionals. This will help you understand how to deal with a situation where all sets are tough. Forget your ego in mocks. Apart from this you may also take IIM ABC material by iQuanta having 500 CAT level LRDI sets.
Expert Tip : Start by remembering squares and reciprocal of fraction and percentage calculations. Then move to basic conceptual questions.
3. Verbal Aptitude & Reading ComprehensionÂ
Assuming that this year CAT will be of 2 hours, there will be 16 questions on RC, which is 70% of the total VARC questions. This is a section which checks your comprehension the most, and not the vocabulary or the grammar. First step towards comprehension is how you can retain what you have read. Best way to exercise your mind is to start reading articles from reputed newspapers and summarise it in your mind. With 2 months of rigorous practice you’ll be able to retain majority of the points from the article and that if complemented with past papers practice is well and good.
Expert Tip : For VA, since there is still time, try to improve your grasp on articles from different topics by reading editorials, aldaily, project-syndicate etc. This will strengthen your understanding of the RCs and retentive power. Specifically for CAT, try to do at least 2 RCs everyday and increase the number as the exam approaches. Practice any PJs you may encounter without options. Initially, pick a book (preferably Sujit Kumar) for practice and then diversify your sources to include old mocks, tests, CAT group questions etc. Vocabulary isn’t that important per se. So, instead of cramming up with words, just look for the meanings once you encounter them in your daily reading. CAT 2015-20 was all about grasping and understanding power, rather than proficiency in English.
You can go for IIM ABC CAT material by iQuanta having 500 RC sets. Apart from that we will also be doing RC 60 by Indra, which will fine tune your RC preparation. For reference you can check them here, but its not recommended to solve them now as they are of higher level.
Other Sources : Verbal : Sujit Kumar/ NK Sinha [or any coaching material] Though don’t be totally dependent on them, as sometimes they have vague answers. In case of any doubts you can simply post on CAT Preparation- iQuanta Facebook group to clarify.
CAT 2020 Results : https://www.facebook.com/…/permalink/1841640872670273
Timeline Breakup
- January Last week : Make a detailed list of topics & syllabus for CAT.
- Feb – May : Practice different questions from each topics and prepare your cheat sheet. By mid-June even iQuanta course will complete its syllabus before mock season starts.
- Mid May : Assess your strengths & weakness by analysing your mocks. Note down your strengths and weaknesses and work on them accordingly.
- June – Aug : Read important concepts from your weaknesses and regularly update your cheat sheet. iQuanta will conduct practice sessions on each of the topics in the paid group. Give one Mock every fortnight and spend more time analysing the mock than you spend on taking it. Strive to improve your performance after each Mock by identifying your weaknesses and practicing questions on the topics you could not solve in your mocks. Agenda after every Mock is to identify one topic and ensure that you never get an answer wrong on the same topic in the next Mocks. This way you’ll be plugging in all your loopholes.
- September :Â Give mocks weekly and all others same as above
- Oct-Nov : Start solving questions from previous years papers and improve your time management. (This is where iQuanta Crash course will help you). Give two mocks weekly.
- November: Revise your cheat sheet and take a Mock everyday .
- Mid Nov :Â Chill out & Crack CAT!
- January: Thank iQuanta.Â
Creation beats affirmation.
To enroll for the CAT 2022 Course visit the link below.
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