Some Handy Tips And Tricks

Answer Sheet: Familiarise yourself with the dummy answer sheet in the CAT bulletin and get in some practice filling the circles as instructed in the bulletin. This will give you an idea of the format of the real answer sheet and you can save precious seconds on test day.

Follow Instructions Scrupulously: Understand and follow all instructions on test day. Often, getting a whole set of questions right can depend on key instructions that are given at the beginning.

Organise Rough Work: Do all calculations and draw rough sketches in margins alongside the questions. This way you won’t have to waste time turning pages to refer to the questions again and again.

Manage Your Time: Time management is crucial in CAT since you have to get a minimum score in each section. The first three to four minutes should be spent scanning the paper and understanding the surprise elements present in CAT. Then, check the number of questions in each section and allocate time to the sections based on your experience in the mock tests.

Order Of Sections: Start with the section you are most comfortable with. But don’t make the mistake of leaving the section you are least confident of for the very end. Sandwich it somewhere in the middle. Practise tackling sections in different sequences while doing mocks so that you are clear what order works best for you.

Selection Of Questions Within A Section: The right choice can make or mar your score. It is very unlikely that you will be able to solve all the questions in the given time. Also each question carries the same weightage. So, first select the questions you find easy and keep the difficult ones for later. The easy questions are usually those that appear very familiar on the first reading itself and the method of solving is also clear to you. Remember, it does not make any sense to do questions that are more than five lines long, as even if they are easy, reading alone will consume a lot of time. Unless you have a lot of time, don’t attempt questions from topics that are not your forte.

Two-Round Strategy: It would be a good idea to tackle each section in at least two rounds. In the first round, run through the section as fast as possible and be extremely choosy about the questions you attempt. All questions you decide to solve should be done in less than a minute. Try to finish the first round in about one-third of the time allocated for that section and try to attempt around one-fourth of the questions in that section. Attempt the unsolved ones in the remaining time in round two. In the verbal section for instance, you are likely to do questions on vocabulary and grammar in the first round and questions on para-jumbles and reasoning in the second. Use the mock tests to fine-tune your strategy for the E-Day.

Set An ‘Attempt Limit’: In addition to setting a time limit, set an ‘attempt limit’ (maximum number of questions you will attempt) for each section based on the likely cut-offs and your accuracy level. As soon as the attempt limit is reached, move on to the next section even if the time limit is not exhausted. You don’t know what is in store for you in the rest of the paper, so don’t linger on at a particular section. If the time limit is exhausted before the attempt limit, then you must proceed to the next section.

One Last Piece Of Advice: Make sure that workload over the last few days is kept in check. The benefit from too many practice tests in the last week is negligible. Relax. Spend the last days practising some weak areas. On the eve of the test, listen to your favourite music or watch television.