Shiladitya Saha, CAT 99.85%iler shares sectional preparation guidelines

Shiladitya Saha

While preparing for CAT, test-takers need to remain focused and must follow a study plan. Attempting mocks tests regularly and putting in hard work is the mantra to success. However, many aspirants have numerous questions regarding the preparation of the exam. 

Shiksha spoke to Shiladitya Saha who appeared for CAT 2016. Here is his sectional preparation strategy that helped him score 99.85 percentile in the exam.

There are a number of reputed coaching institutes that specialise in providing detailed tuitions for CAT aspirants. It is important to recognise that each of these institutes has incredible experience in this niche educational sector. They generally have highly qualified faculty members who have an experience of preparing hundreds of candidates over a number of years. They are well acquainted with the diverse variety of questions that have been asked in previous years and also have perfected the optimum framework in which to teach students with regard to sequence of topics taught and the timeframe to be dedicated to each topic. The actual value of the latter may not be evident at the outset but in my personal experience, it plays a vital role. 

Moreover, by joining a coaching institute, a candidate gains easy access to seemingly less important advantages like regular doubt clearing sessions, advice on section wise preparation strategy and optimal approach during CAT. Post declaration of CAT results and announcement of interview calls, candidates receive guidance on GD/WAT/PI approaches and even apparently unimportant issues like the proper way to fill up forms for different management institutes. A coaching institute also provides candidates with exposure to fellow aspirants which generally leads to developing and fostering a healthy competitive attitude among the former. All these little things incrementally add up to enable an individual to secure a high percentile, convert his/her interview call and finally secure a spot at his coveted B-school. Therefore, I strongly recommend that aspirants join a coaching institute to reap these benefits. 

Having said this, we must also realise the fact that a proportion of aspirants may find it difficult to join such institutes due to various constraints (accessibility, time etc.). For the latter, it is imperative to join the online mock test series program of any one institute.

There are varied opinions about this question ranging to from 1 year to 6 months to 3 months. However, in my experience, there is no right time. CAT is all about practice. The more you practise, the better prepared you are on the actual examination day. So, the time at which one needs to start preparing would depend on the amount of time one is able to invest on a daily basis. It is advisable to start as early as possible in the calendar year so that a candidate has enough time to gauge his/her weak areas and invest more time in those areas. Dedicating time to preparation over a longer period of time is more fruitful instead of trying to jam everything into a very tight schedule by following a hectic study routine. Certain concepts can only be mastered through repetitive practice over a relatively long time period.

There are several stories revolving around exceedingly rigorous routines followed by previous CAT toppers, some of which I personally found very scary to say the least. Although I cannot comment on the veracity of these stories, let me tell you that the sum total of the number of hours put into preparations means little when not done in an effective way. The key is to stay in touch with each of the three sections daily and dedicate a little bit of extra time to the weaker areas. Also, starting with a casual, relaxed approach and incrementally increasing the hours of study and finally following a lighter schedule for say the last 15 odd days is a good idea, since going forward with a very tough schedule from the very beginning might drain candidates of their energy and interest/motivation. 

The study material and books that one follows really do not make any difference in the end. The material provided by any reputed coaching institute will generally be comprehensive (compiled using questions from previous years' papers) and will be mostly similar across different coaching institutes. There are several online platforms where students can access similar study material at the payment of a fee. So, as long as a candidate covers all the material provided from any one source extensively, he/she will be in good shape.

The sectional preparation strategy will depend on a particular candidate's personal strengths and weaknesses. However, the following are general guidelines for the 3 sections:

VARC - 70% of the VARC section consists of reading comprehensions. Since time is always an issue, the key is to be able to read very fast, read accurately and understand each line. This is possible only when one has relatively high proficiency in the English language, a good vocabulary and a decent command over grammar. If one perceives that he/she is weak in this regard, one can improve by reading newspapers or articles. It is advisable to read from foreign sources, preferably the USA or the UK, on a daily basis. In addition, solving RCs based on diverse topics will also help. Focussing on greater number of RCs from different topics as opposed to individual long RCs is generally a better strategy. This may be augmented by listening to political or business debates in the USA/UK on the internet.

For the other 30%, it is necessary to have a good command over grammar. The preparation for RCs will also help considerably in solving parajumbles and other questions.

LI/DR - The logical reasoning and data interpretation section has by far been the most difficult section in the last few years regardless of the background of a candidate. Over the last few years CAT has transitioned from data intensive DI sets to more logical ones. So, in my opinion, it would be more helpful for candidates to focus on as many different types of LR sets as possible and on those types of DI sets that require more conceptual approaches than on ones that require expertise in fast calculations. (An on-screen calculator is provided nowadays, so it is futile to expect questions that test your mental arithmetic/calculation skills).

QA - Success in the QA section again predominantly depends on speed and accuracy which can both be garnered only through practice. With sufficient practice, candidates will be able to identify different types of questions in minimum time and what each question actually requires them to do.

This is again another area where the importance of practice is paramount. Through the numerous mock tests that a candidate should appear for, he/she will be able to identify those questions which are easy/moderate/difficult. The most reliable strategy is to solve all easy questions first, then the moderate ones and finally if time permits the difficult ones. It is important not to get hung up on any particular question if in spite of the question’s appearing to be easy, a candidate is unable to arrive at the answer. The mantra of CAT is to solve what you can and if it is not possible to solve something, to move on. Every fraction of a second counts. 

With regard to DI/LR, since the questions are in forms of sets of 4, generally a candidate who is able to solve the set will be able to solve all the 4 questions. However, here again, if any 1 or 2 questions in a set cannot be solved, the candidate should move on to the next set. 

Finally, when one is not 100% sure about the answer, one should not attempt it. Negative marks should be strictly avoided.

As I mentioned earlier, with practice, it is possible to gauge the difficulty level/amount of calculation required to solve different types of questions. Solving the easy questions in the beginning not only saves a lot of time but also boosts the confidence level of the candidate. Solving questions in a sequential manner as they appear on the paper is not a good strategy. However, individual candidates can easily come up with strategies that suit them personally through mock tests.

Before even starting to prepare, appearing for a mock CAT will reveal a lot in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Subsequently, through regular mock tests, candidates can identify their weak areas by looking at their sectional percentiles and also finding out where they made mistakes by following the solutions that are provided post exam. The aim should be work on these areas once identified with a target of progressively improving their scores in the following tests.

Most definitely. Falling back on your performance in 3 hours of a particular day for your entire professional career is never a good idea. Candidates should have a backup plan and appear for other examinations like XAT, IIFT etc. even if they have primarily focussed on preparation exclusively for CAT.

Dos -                             

1. Take as many mock tests as possible and go through the solutions exhaustively.

2. Practise each section daily, even if in little bits.

3. Try to gauge the amount of time you are taking in solving questions by timing your practice sessions.

Don'ts -       

1. Never feel stressed by poor performances in mocks leading up to CAT and just keep preparing.

2. Do not neglect any section, even if you perceive yourself to be good at it.

CAT scores are used for admission to 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and various other top B-Schools. Are you eligible for the IIMs? To know more, click on the image beside.

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