CAT 2016 revision tips: Identify your strengths and weaknesses

By Reema Sehgal & Girish Khare

Various exams keep changing their patterns from time to time – it comes with the territory. It would make sense to view CAT 2016 pattern change as an opportunity, rather than as a threat.

In any case, everyone is in the same boat. The most important implications of the changes are that students have to build more stamina to sustain their performance over 170 minutes and that students may have the time to attempt a few more questions from their area of strength, to push their score upwards.

You should know at least 5 ways to enhance your revision strategy.

At this juncture, students need to ensure that they are comfortable with all the sections – Verbal Ability (VA) & Logical Reasoning (LR) and Quantitative Ability (QA) & Data Interpretation (DI).

For VA & LR, they need to widen the scope of their vocabulary and grammar preparation by covering as many words and usages as possible and they need to deepen the scope of their VR and RC preparation by intensive practice that ensures a higher speed and accuracy.

For DI & QA, students are advised to make themselves familiar with different types of representation of data and the questions that can be asked based on the same. Students are also advised to revise all the approximation techniques so that calculations can be completed fast. For Logical Reasoning, practice is the key.

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Candidates must identify their strengths and weaknesses before the exam commences. Here are five tips on how to do it right:

1. Diagnosis

It is imperative, for each student, to diagnose his/her problem correctly. It should be the first step. One should not just keep solving more and more questions without understanding whether the core issue is speed/accuracy/basics/weak application.

2. Analysis

The identification of strengths/weaknesses should be on the basis of analysis of performance in the practice tests and not on the basis of what student perceives to be his/her strength or weakness. The area in which the student has been able to attempt more questions with high accuracy is the area of his/her strength while the area in which the student has not been able to attempt too many questions and/or with less accuracy is the area of his/her weakness.

3. Execution

Once the areas of strengths and weaknesses are identified, students are advised to build on their strengths and work on their weaknesses by solving questions from different areas. Analysis of every question is essential. Student should identify the reason for every question he/she got incorrect-- whether the mistake was because of lack of understanding of important concepts or whether it was because of mere oversight or a calculation mistake. If the mistake was because of lack of understanding of important concepts, student is advised to spend time on understanding the concept. Student should also see if there is any easier or faster method of solving the question for the questions he/she got right.

4. Preparation

Most importantly student should ensure that he/she is adequately prepared in all the areas so that he/she can answer at least easy questions from all areas, including the areas in which the student is weak as at times CAT throws surprises by asking several questions from one area.

5. Revision

In this remaining time, prepare like your life depends on it.  Learn from your mistakes. Be open to revising your strategy once you see the questions in the paper. You should have various plans in place for various possible scenarios.  Once you have decided your strategy, at any moment during the exam, you must think only about the question at hand.

About the Authors

Reema Sehgal is the Academics Head (Verbal) at IMS Learning Resources Private Limited

& Girish Khare is Academics Head (Quant) at IMS Learning Resources Private Limited.