Note : The following strategy to be followed only if one wants to get a 99.5 +. Not for those who are aiming less.
Short Strategy :
1 set of material (can either be a softcopy/ or a hardcopy) for practice + Take two standard mocks for analysing (after subject is over) + 1 course for application, doubt clarification and concepts. Be consistent and motivated throughout.
Long Strategy
1) Quant : Take any standard book eg CAT Hardcopy Material by iQuanta or IIM ABC CAT material by iQuanta or any coaching material if you have or you can get.
- Along with this some best quality questions that you can get here: https://www.iquanta.in/test/free-cat-study-material
- Past 24 years CAT Papers with Detailed solutions : https://www.iquanta.in/test/cat-previous-papers
Practice is the Key: Build Concept, Practice on them. Ask in case of doubts. Make note of any new things you learn. Repeat. As Arithmetic followed by Algebra has highest weightage, ie 7-8 out of 22 Questions , doing them completely will give you an edge. Solving 8-9 out of 24 questions can give you a 90%Le in CAT Quant section. For the same reason, we will be solving more than 1000 questions in arithmetic at iQuanta. Followed by Algebra, Geometry, Numbers & PNC. If you get any doubts while solving, Ask doubts on iQuanta platform, we will help you.
● Expert Tip : No book is enough, just solve as many as you can and most importantly solve all questions being posted in CAT Preparation – iQuanta group or iQuanta Paid group, coz the questions posted in group are random which prepares you to some extent for CAT. ( even if you don’t comment do solve) . [must]
2) DILR : All you need for cracking LRDI is the familiarity over CAT Type LRDI Sets. Means if you have solved 300-400 CAT Type LRDI sets till CAT you will be able to solve at least 50% of the sets in CAT 2023. And how much you can get by solving 50% sets in CAT exam ? 99 %le | In CAT 22 if you could solve 2 out of 4 LRDI sets you could get 99.2%le + and Solving just 1 set could give you around 91%le. 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 level changed from the year 2015, even though they are tough they are just a lengthy puzzle and doesn’t need lot of concepts or tricks to solve them. If you solve variety of LRDI sets it will be enough if complemented with mocks at the later stage. But what about those who want to start with basics. You can do two things.
a. Read “LRDI Strategy by iQuanta” : https://www.iquanta.in/blog/lrdi-strategy-by-lrdi-100ler-iquanta/
b. Now the LRDI section from the year 2000 to 2014 weren’t of Higher Level, so they are good to start with if you want your base strong for LRDI.
c. You can solve Past CAT Papers here : https://www.iquanta.in/test/cat-previous-papers and at the later stage it will be complemented by CAT Level LRDI Sets in Mocks, sectionals or iQuanta Course. This will make 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.
Tip : Start with remembering squares and reciprocal of fraction and percentage calculations. Then move to basic conceptual questions.
3) CAT VARC : I am assuming this year CAT will be of 2 hours, and hence 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 vocab 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. At the end of 2 months 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. (Past CAT Papers :https://www.iquanta.in/test/cat-previous-papers)
● Expert Tip for VA : 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. Practise any PJs you may encounter without options. Initially, pick any book (preferably Sujit Kumar) for practice and then diversify ur sources to include old mocks, tests, CAT group questions etc. Vocabulary isn’t that important per se. So, instead of cramming up words, just look for the meanings once u encounter them in your daily reading. CAT 2015-2023 was all about grasping and understanding power, rather than proficiency in English. [ must ]
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 right now : https://www.iquanta.in/test/free-cat-study-material
Other Sources : Verbal : Sujit kumar/NK sinha[ or any coaching material like iQuanta Hardcopy CAT Material] just for practice and in case of any doubts you can simply post on iQuanta Group to clarify.
4) Vocab : Norman lewis ( optional, not necessary). Best way is to get the essence of a word rather than cramming the words. Hence while reading an article, in case of any tough words just use google to understand the essence and comprehend the passage.
5) Grammar : Wren n Martin ( optional, not necessary). Not necessary for CAT, but you can refer in case you are preparing for other Non CAT exams.
6) RC : Refer to Past CAT Papers : https://www.iquanta.in/test/cat-previous-papers and sectional & Mocks. For enhancing reading speed refer these 3 sites : aeon, Arts & Letters Daily, The atlantic. (must)
■ We can see lots of success stories which had something in common in their prep :
1) Keep solving Questions from your materials and in case you get doubt, post in iQuanta group. Somebody will help, if no one helps then tag me I’ll try to clear it.
2) Make a note of new things you learn. It helps a lot. And keep revising. Be regular this whole year.
3) Take two Mocks: One mock will be suggested apart from iQuanta mocks (iCAT). They will start around May June. And do analyse mocks. Till then try to cover all basics before you start taking Mocks. iQuanta questions were on same level as CAT 2023.
4) In case you need an offline coaching then checkout the results of nearby coaching centre and get the feedback from their students and then take your decision.
5) In case you need an online coaching ( preferable for working and college going people due to time constraints) , Checkout the results of online classes and get their feedback from toppers. If you want to know the art of solving and get your doubts cleared within few minutes, then iQuanta course is best suited. iQuanta classes are known for concept building, application and the art of solving, doubt clarification and very much result oriented.
● Choose your CAT 24 Course here: https://www.iQuanta.in/cat-2024
● CAT 24 Course Details & Flow here: https://www.iquanta.in/details/cat-full-course-2024 (Classes started)
Most importantly : Try to solve question in CAT Preparation iQuanta or iQuanta Paid group, that too quickly, if possible try to be first one to solve. Make it a competitive environment. This has helped me get the speed when I was appearing for CAT 2015 and all my friends/ students who got phenomenal percentiles.
-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 June Mid even iQuanta course will complete its syllabus before mock season starts.
● Mid May: Assess your strengths & weakness by analysing your Mocks.
● June – Aug : Read important concepts from your weaknesses and regularly update your cheatsheet. 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. (One of the Most understated piece of advice)
- This is where your IIM ABC Practice Batch will help. From June to September there will be daily 12 QA, 3 RCs, 3 LrDi sets.
- 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 questions wrong on the same topic in the next Mocks. This way you’ll be plugging in all your loopholes.
- September : Take 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 : Chill out & Crack CAT!
- January: Thank iQuanta 😛
Note : We will start discussing topic wise questions and strategies for CAT in CAT Preparation group on Facebook. So you may add your friends preparing for CAT and tag them in this strategy post.
Remember, Obsession beats talent.
Consistency beats ability.
Constant work beats skill.
Creation beats affirmation.
People say winners don’t do different things but do things differently, I say do it with more perseverance, dedication and of course smartly.
-Indrajeet Singh
If you are looking for structured CAT preparation along with 24*7 doubt-solving, you can rely on iQuanta’s CAT 2024 Course.
