From July 2015

CAT 2015 – Official FAQs

There has been a slight change with regards to the marking scheme of the CAT 2015. As was communicated earlier, there will be a few questions (the number and type has not been specified yet) that will not be carrying any options. Instead, a candidate is expected to type the answer in a designated area. The new bit of information on the CAT website states that these questions would not carry any negative marking.

This would require a slight change in strategy from the point of view of the candidate. As there is no risk of losing any marks, it is advisable to key in answers for these questions irrespective of whether or not you are confident of having  solved it correctly. The rest of the questions will have negative marking though and so, it is better to avoid any guesswork in the questions having accompanying options.

The entire list of FAQs on the CAT website is published here for the benefit of the candidates:

Q1. I hear that CAT will be held online. Is that correct?

No, that is not correct. CAT is not an online exam. It is a digital or Computer Based Test (CBT); not an Internet-Based Test (IBT); i.e. a candidate will not take the exam on an internet site. Instead of reading the questions in a paper booklet and darkening the ovals on the answer-sheet, a candidate will read the questions on a computer terminal and choose an answer by clicking on the correct option.

Q2. How is the computer-based format different from the paper-based format?

The format of the exam is more or less the same except that a candidate reads a question on a computer terminal and clicks on the correct answer, instead of reading on a paper booklet and using a pencil to darken the ovals on an answer sheet. Additionally, a timer will be displayed on the screen that tells you how many more minutes to complete the exam.

Q3. Can I take the exam from any computer?

No. A candidate will have to take the exam on a workstation assigned at the pre assigned venue in the preferred city that was chosen by the student, at the time of the registration. These details will be given on the Admit Card.

Q4. What does a CBT exam look like?

A CAT practice exam will be available on the website www.iimcat.ac.in for candidates to get familiarized with the functionality and navigation of the actual exam. This link will be made available in mid-October 2015.

Q5. Where can I select my preference of shift and test date?

Exam shift (forenoon or afternoon) will be allocated for each registered candidate based on the city preference made at the time of application. Candidate cannot select shift.

Q6. How many sections are there in CAT 2015?

CAT 2015 will have three sections:

  • Section I: Quantitative Ability
  • Section II: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
  • Section III: Verbal Ability

Q7. Can I bring a calculator to the testing centre?

Candidates are prohibited from bringing calculators to the testing centre. You may use the onscreen calculator that will be available throughout the exam.

Q8. Are there negative marks for questions other than MCQs?

No, there are no negative marks for non-MCQ type questions.

Q9. Do the non-MCQ type questions carry equal marks as MCQs?

Yes, all questions carry equal marks. However, for non-MCQ type questions, you must type the answer.

 

Q10. How many non-MCQs are there in each section?

The number of questions varies and cannot be disclosed.

Q11. Is there a specific order for answering sections? Can I attempt sections the way I want?

You must answer the sections in a pre-specified order and this order will remain same for all the candidates.

Q12. Does CAT 2015 have a syllabus for exam preparation?

No, the CAT exam does not have a defined syllabus for CAT preparation. However, you can take our mock test to understand the pattern of exam and types of questions. Check the CAT website regularly for the announcement of mock test.

Q13. What is the marking/grading scheme for CAT? Is there negative marking for a wrong answer?

For questions other than MCQs, 3 marks are assigned for ‘correct answer’ and no marks for ‘wrong or no attempt’.

The scoring scheme for multiple-choice questions is as follows:

  • Each correct answer is awarded 3 marks.
  • An incorrect answer fetches -1.
  • No marks are given or deducted for un-attempted questions.

The same can be viewed on the official CAT 2015 website here.

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Dispelling common CAT 2015 myths

With the new pattern announced and quite a few changes, mostly superficial, being made to change the test taking experience, there is a concern among the aspirants regarding the amount of time one requires to prepare for CAT and the ‘sacrifices’ one needs to make to be in the best shape come CAT 2015. Lets try to dispel some of the myths surrounding the generic advice that many aspirants are subjected to.

Spoiler Alert: This article focuses on generic guidelines and analysis of certain myths that are prevalent among the aspirants. We will be coming up with specific scenarios and preparation strategies soon to tackle the common problems aspirants face during preparation. If you have such specific queries, comment on the post below or drop us a mail and we will cover it in the coming few days.

Myth 1: More hours of preparation per day = more success

A common query by many CAT aspirants is the number of hours they would need to put in to ensure success. A casual chat with your faculty or any of the ‘experts’ would tell you that there is no specific answer that can guarantee success when it comes to CAT. Because CAT does not have a syllabus, you need not have a rigid time table as such. The emphasis is on quality more than on quantity. So, what should be your plan to crack CAT?

Even the most fluent and consistent of the aspirants cannot tell you for sure that s/he is completely prepared to face the test. Simply put, the preparation never stops. The important thing here is to maximize the type and depth of concepts that you can cover before CAT. To start with, you need to sensitize yourself to the type of questions that appear in CAT. For that, solving all the CAT papers from 1990 till 2008 (when it used to be conducted in a paper-based format), should more than suffice. You can drop in a comment or a mail ([email protected]) and we will forward you the same if you do not have it already.

Once you are done identifying the various question types, you would need to figure out a way which works the best for you. Shortcuts and reverse engineering methods, however exciting they might sound, are not really useful in the tense exam environment. Plus, with the announcement that some questions might not have options, it becomes all the more important to get better at the technical process of arriving at an answer.

Our suggestion(s): A couple of mocks per week plus dedicated quality prep 2-3 hours a day is more than enough to get better. Quality is the key word here. Solve all previous year CAT papers on a priority basis and make a note of the various question types (section-wise, topic-wise and sub-topic-wise) and then prepare the topics which you feel you are lacking in. 4 months of dedicated prep would definitely add value to your invested time.

Have an objective before sitting down to study. Randomly reading articles and taking sectionals/mocks without any objective would add precious little to your preparation status. It might create an illusion that you are working hard but in reality, you would be going nowhere.

Myth 2: Leaving my job would mean a better chance of success

Even if you feel that your current job is holding you back and you cannot give time to CAT preparation, take a step back and think twice before quitting. As we saw earlier, you would require 2-3 hours of prep everyday plus a couple of mocks a week. If you can eke out time for that, it should be enough. If you are thinking that quitting would allow you to study for 24 hours a day, it is far from reality.

We have interacted with quite a few aspirants over the last many years now and most of them who have quit their jobs end up studying for a maximum of 5-6 hours a day. Anything beyond that fatigues your mind and lowers your concentration levels thus adding little marginal value for every extra hour put.

So, in short, pros of leaving your current job:

  1. If you are extremely stretched (getting less than 1-2 hours of prep every day) then quitting your job will make sure you get enough time to build your prep status
  2. It might work for some people who are good at keeping all their eggs in one basket
  3. For people with more than 3 years of work experience and who are thinking about switching careers, it might actually do a bit of good to your CV

The flip sides of leaving your job are:

  1. For someone who is eager to put in 6-7 hours of prep and beyond per day, there would be some degree of shock after the first few days
  2. There would be no plan B in case things don’t work out well (God forbid!)
  3. With the cost of a 2-year MBA in mind, it won’t be a bad idea to earn that extra bit in the next 10 odd months
  4. It is always easier to talk about your work profile during an interview than to focus on why-you-needed-to-do-one-thing-at-a-time
  5. For some, it might induce a false sense of complacency and in combination with myth 1 above, it might actually be dangerous

A couple of examples of people who balanced prep with their jobs without quitting (and got into IIM Ahmedabad) can be read here (part 1), here (part 2) and here.

Our suggestion: Don’t quit unless it is absolutely necessary.

Myth 3: I need to gather as much material as I can and finish it off before <insert month here>

The material that you solve is usually redundant and there quite a bit of overlap. This is not your usual Kung-Fu movie that advises you to practice one move a thousand times. The more exposure you have to quality problems, the better off you would be. The key to solving material is to understand when to let go of it. Solving 10 consecutive similar questions involving a known funda from LCM and HCF would add little value in that 1 hour. With 4 months to go, the more ground you cover, the better it will be for you. Solve the material, but do it smartly.

Our suggestion: Take a mock or a previous year CAT paper and figure out the topics in which you need help. Then go through the material till you have identified all the probable types of questions and then start working on a fresh topic.

Myth 4: To crack CAT, I should not have a life and prepare like a zombie

You might have to make some compromises but rest assured, you need not do anything radically insane to convince yourself (and your family, and your friends) that you are preparing for CAT. With a bit of planning, it is very easy to balance your CAT prep, work/college life and your personal life. The latter will keep you from burning out and so, it is very important that prep does not become a liability; it should become a part of your life which you enjoy doing. Remember that peaking at the right time is very important and so, you need to be in the best mental shape when you would be appearing for the test.

Myth 5: Taking as many mocks as one can is definitely advantageous

Almost all the success stories are based on how important mocks are and how it helped the toppers prepare for the big day (even I had taken more than 80 odd mocks during my serious attempts). But it is not necessary to model your prep on that of the past toppers. Everyone has a style of learning unique to oneself. Some like to study a topic thoroughly before appearing for the test, some like to hit the ground running and some will put in effort only when the situation demands it the most. Get to know your style and prepare accordingly. The purpose of mock taking can be either to strategize or to build content. Those who take many mocks, almost always, solely rely on them for building content as well. If you are one of those, it would be good to take as many mocks as possible, sometimes, up to 3-4 a week. If building content through material and solving practice questions and sectionals is your thing, even 1-2 mocks a week would do.

Myth 6: If I don’t get into an IIM, all is over

Many aspirants make it a do-or-die thing. If pressure brings out the best in you, it is actually productive to think on those lines. But then, there is a thin line between pressure and stress. Once it starts becoming stressful, it would hurt you more, by the day. So, it is always better to have a strong backup (in terms of another institute, a job, alternate career plans, another attempt, etc.).

Also, many aspirants overestimate their abilities and get disheartened by minor setbacks. Few others underestimate their abilities and are happy with insignificant victories. It won’t do you any good if you are stuck at either of these two ends. Once you have a definite goal in mind (one which is neither too easy nor too difficult to achieve), you can work towards it effectively. Getting into a b-school is only the first step of your journey and there are quite a few aspects that are not in your control. So, considering your ability, your current state and desired state, your expectations, best and least probable outcomes in case you decide to ‘compromise’ are key while making this decision.

Our suggestion: Appear for all those tests and apply to the institutes in which you have even a slight bit of interest. You can always decide whether to join or not depending on your status during April/May next year once you convert the institute.

The mental aspect of CAT prep is something that many candidates (and so, institutes) don’t focus on which leads to a lot of unanswerable queries and idiopathic fluctuations. I hope some of these have been addressed. Do drop in a mail/message/comment in case you feel there is something specific that you would like to read about and we will try to accommodate it in the coming few articles.

You can read more about us here and browse through our courses here.

IBSAT 2015: Notification

IBSAT is an online aptitude test conducted by The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, for students seeking admission to the MBA programs of IBS. IBSAT is a Computer Based Test (CBT) and consists of multiple choice questions. IBSAT is of 2 hours duration and is aimed at testing the applicant’s ability in quantitative techniques, data interpretation, data adequacy, vocabulary, analytical reasoning and reading comprehension.

GMAT scores (from 2013 onwards), NMAT by GMACTM 2015 and CAT 2015 scores are also accepted in place of IBSAT 2015. Candidates with GMAT®, NMAT by GMACTM or CAT scores are exempted from IBSAT 2015. MBA program offered by IBS Dehradun and IBS Jaipur and PGPM (Post Graduate Program in Management) program offered by IBS Ahmedabad, IBS Bengaluru, IBS Gurgaon, IBS Kolkata, IBS Mumbai and IBS Pune accept IBSAT 2015/GMAT® (from 2013 onwards)/NMAT by GMACTM 2015/CAT 2015 scores.

Selection Process:

Candidates who qualify based on IBSAT 2015/GMAT® (2013 onwards)/NMAT by GMACTM 2015/ CAT 2015 score will be called for the selection process at IBS in February 2016. The selection process comprises of Group Discussion and Personal Interview. The final selection is based on past academic record and performance of the candidates in Group Discussion and Personal Interview.

How to Apply for IBSAT 2015?

The application form is common for admission to MBA/PGPM program at IBS Ahmedabad, IBS Bengaluru, IBS Gurgaon, IBS Hyderabad, IBS Dehradun, IBS Jaipur, IBS Kolkata, IBS Mumbai and IBS Pune campuses. IBSAT Bulletin can be purchased through one of the following methods by payment of Rs 1600.

Online application

Purchasing application forms at any of the marketing offices

Eligibility for 2 year Management Program:

Graduation (any discipline) with 50% and above marks (as calculated by respective University) with medium of instruction as English. All applicants should have completed a minimum of 15 years of education (on 10+2+3 or 10+2+4 basis). Candidates not meeting the eligibility criteria of English medium in graduation have to submit the TOEFL/ NELT/ IELTS score by May 31, 2016.

Applicants in their final year bachelor’s degree course are also eligible to apply, provided they complete their graduation requirements before May 31, 2016. The admission will remain provisional until they produce marks sheets and degree certificates establishing their eligibility. The last date for submission of proof of graduation is November 01, 2016. Eligibility criteria will be checked from August, 2016 onwards. Hence, the onus of ensuring that they satisfy the eligibility criteria rests solely with the candidates.

Important dates:

IBSAT 2015 Application: August 5, 2015 to Dec 05, 2015
IBSAT 2015 Test Dates: Dec 15, 2015 to Dec 30, 2015
IBSAT 2015 Result: January 19, 2016
Selection Briefings: January 30 – February 9, 2016 in 40 cities
Selection Process: MBA/ PGPM Program: February 18-26, 2016

For more details, visit IBS website or contact IBS Admissions Office: 65, Nagarjuna Hills, Punjagutta, Hyderabad – 500082, Telangana

Telephone Board: 040 – 23440963
Toll Free:1800 425 55 66 77
Email: [email protected]

Impact of the CAT 2015 Notification

With the big news of the season finally out, there has been quite a bit of shock among aspirants regarding the huge changes that have taken place with regards to CAT as has been seen in the notification. With almost all the biggies done with around 8-10 mocks and with almost every serious aspirant having formalized a strategy to tackle his/her strengths and weaknesses, this change in pattern has come as a surprise to many. So, is it really that big a surprise that will tilt your world upside down or has there been some take away from your preparation so far. Lets analyse.

Option to select cities instead of choosing a center

Aspirants need not worry about this bit at all. There are quite a few cities and centers to accommodate all the takers and I would be surprised if it indeed happens that people have to travel far to take the test. The team conducting CAT would have a fair idea of the representation across cities and so, centers would be abundant. Also, a previous press release said that female candidates would get their preference when it came to venues. The only objective behind this activity seems to be the fact that many aspirants block slots in the first few days itself leading to chaos among the remaining aspirants.

Random assignment of sessions

Again, it should not make much difference to a serious aspirant. Once you get the hall ticket, you can make sure that you adapt to the time slot by taking mocks during that window only. I don’t think it would have made that big a difference even if aspirants were allowed to choose slots themselves.

Increased duration

The entire duration of the test might run close to 4 hours with the biometric analysis, verification at the center plus the waiting time. It means that CAT becomes an endurance test in addition to the quantitative and verbal knowledge it tests. It is highly recommended to take at least a couple of mocks in this manner (sitting idle in front of your screen doing nothing for at least 30 mins and then taking the test for the full 3 hours without any relief breaks, water consumption or movement for that matter). It helps kill the random thoughts that creep into your mind before the test and relieves you of the butterflies in your stomach. Few suggest going through a mental list of formulae but there hasn’t been any evidence of it being particularly helpful so it is entirely up to you as to what/who you think of during those 30 minutes.

Sectional time limits

Probably the biggest change in my opinion. The one that forces a strategy on an aspirant rather than allow him/her to form one. For people who have issues with allocating time to sections and frequently tend to overshoot the same, this would be a matter of relief. For those who had a disproportionate allocation, it would require a change of strategy. From my personal experience of taking CAT 2011, when the sections were to be attempted in 70 mins each, a routine approach to the section would suffice. Just that, in every test, there comes a brief zone wherein, you are a bit lax and end up solving fewer questions per unit time than in the rest of the test (mostly at the start wherein the amount of time left compels you to give more time per question). You have to get rid of these zones and make sure that you are on your toes throughout. Taking 1 hour sectionals would be of immense help in tackling this.

Another issue with this layout is with regards to the order of attempt. It would not be possible for candidates to switch between sections and so, the order of attempt of sections would be fixed. For those who liked starting with verbal or DI or LR, it might take some time to adapt but at a macro level, it won’t make that big a difference. The only way in which it could impact your performance in the test is in case you have had a bad section upfront. If the quantitative aptitude section has not turned out so well (fewer attempts, a bit more difficult section than usual, realization of a couple of mistakes, etc.) there would be excess mental pressure while dealing with the next section and it could snowball really badly. Even if you have had a perceived below-average performance, it is extremely important to shrug it off and attempt the next section to the best of your ability. It would really hurt to come out of the exam hall and then realize that you had underestimated your performance in a section big time.

In the previous year’s format, the pressure of the timer was on you only once – while finishing the test. Now it would be thrice. If dealing with the last couple of minutes is not really your thing, it is advisable to work consciously towards it as it could make a big difference.

The biggest worry here among aspirants (and probably the most misplaced one) is regarding the difference it would make to those who are strong in a particular section and use that advantage to motor to a big score. How would it impact these aspirants? What do you have to do to tackle this, in case you are one such aspirant?

In one line, it would not impact a serious aspirant at all. It is just another challenge that has been forced on you and you are expected to deal with it if you aspire to become a good manager. The good thing, if you are one of those who feel victimized is that, in a 1 hour shootout, you have the edge over someone who is not very confident. It is not like a test match cricket vs. T20 wherein, the more condensed the format, the worse the technically sound players and purists come off. It would have been bad if there were differential weights assigned to a section (like in CAT 2007). But in this case, attempting 34 questions in an hour will surely benefit the person who carries some confidence into it. So, however worried you might be, if you have a strong suit, you can take this very well in your stride.

What about those who are weak in a particular section? Now with the cushion of DI/LR gone, you have to make sure you cover the gaps accordingly and get better at the core section, be it quantitative aptitude or verbal ability and put in a strong performance across all 3 sections. The good thing here is that, you have a good four months to prepare and a serious aspirant can easily get better in this time if s/he utilizes the resources properly.

Typing answers on screen

It is very difficult to read text strings and account for the variations involved in feeding those answers and so, I don’t think verbal will have any such questions with the exception of parajumbles (which is again improbable considering the possibilities of case-types that could be used). The usage would probably be with regards to questions from quantitative aptitude and data interpretation wherein there will be specific data that needs to be fed (answers till a couple of significant digits, integral answers to prohibit reverse-engineering techniques to arrive at answers and so on). For a candidate who is used to solving questions first and then marking the answer, this should not be much of a surprise. In my opinion, this is just a nice gimmick to make sure people spend more time on these questions and would still be unsure of the answer. Can be avoided by a bit of awareness.

Usage of calculator

As we saw in the case of the type-answer-on-screen questions, calculators would be useful primarily in these type of questions. CAT has historically, not given much weight to calculation based questions and using the calculator seems to be more of a diversion technique to make sure that the inherently nervous aspirants fall into the trap of using the calculators more than it is actually necessary. It is akin to permitting usage of a dictionary while solving the verbal section. Sounds helpful but would not directly influence the score of a good candidate. I would suggest you go through this website and solve a few questions (from easier levels of course, it is used by JEE aspirants) to understand how calculators and no-option questions work.

Engineers vs. non-engineers

In spite of all the hoopla surrounding the whole why-do-they-want-lesser-engineers debate, there is no real indication that the system is biased against engineers. Sectional cutoffs have always been and will always be a part of CAT and it was just a matter of time before the LR cushion was removed. If more than 80% of the test taking junta consists of engineers, the same ratio would show inside a b-school irrespective of whatever changes they may make to the format of the test. Bottom line: The better aspirant will make it irrespective of his/her educational background. If you find that unfair, you are probably making the wrong career choice.

What should be the worrying factors?

To cover it all, in my opinion, the worrying factors would be:

  1. Sectional time limits: Would take some time getting used to and will need some degree of mental preparation to counter
  2. Endurance: Sitting for 4 hours to take a test is no joke. It requires some steel to do justice to the test against mental and physiological barriers
  3. Mentality: There are two ways to deal with the changes – either crib and face the test reluctantly, thus making it easier for the other aspirant to get through or take it as an exciting challenge and deal with it putting your best foot forward – the choice has always been and will always be yours

So overall, the basics remain the same with regards to content and preparation. The difficulty level (and this is purely a speculation on my part) should remain the same as it was last year at most and will probably come down a bit with all the gimmicks taking center stage. The interface and timed sections would kick in with the upcoming mocks. With the test being a little later than usual, you can expect a couple more mocks than were promised by the coaching institutes. And for subscribers of LearningRoots, a big surprise awaits (pleasant, of course)!

You can read the official advertisement here, the selection process here, the scoring and equating process here and the press release here.

The art of mock CAT analysis

One thing that is common to any aspirant’s preparatory journey is taking mock tests. Many of the serious aspirants end up appearing for anywhere between 25-75 mocks in a season. While there is no particular number of mocks that ensures success, the quality of analysis of a mock can make a significant difference to the outcome of one’s score. As highly as it is rated by CAT toppers and institutes alike, when it comes to analysis of a mock, many aspirants are clueless/resort to insufficient techniques to analyze a mock and end up defeating the purpose of the entire activity.

The commonly known, universally followed quick-fix method is the solve the paper without any time limit -> go through the solutions -> make a note of the key findings -> understand your strengths and weaknesses -> take the next mock

As much as there is merit and simplicity to this process, there could be times when you are not able to figure out how to improve in spite of following all these steps religiously. We will try to explore why and figure out a process that would be a bit more insightful.

Lack of objective/Misplaced objective

The main objective behind enrolling yourself for a mock test series should be to understand the intricacies of the test taking process through real life scenario simulation, understanding your prep status with regards to your strengths and weaknesses and trying out means to get into a better shape with each passing mock. The common misconceptions involved in mock taking are:

My percentile in mocks has a direct bearing on my performance in CAT: Mock percentiles are more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. Yes, you get to know where you stand with regards to the rest of the competition but then again, the conditions are not standardized at all, leading to quite a few variations with regards to place (home vs. in a badly proctored environment), time (leisurely over 170 mins vs. shorter duration owing to commitments/lack of time) and seriousness (there are quite a few casual mock takers who believe in upping their performance come CAT) at the very least. This results in either a false sense of security or a feeling of worthlessness and disappointment thus shifting the focus from getting better at preparation and understanding your strengths to that of competing with the others. Even straight 100%iles across mocks would mean nothing when you go for the real test except maybe, an ounce of confidence.

I am not seeing instant results in the mocks and so, should stop taking mocks for some time: Again, there are no quick-fixes when it comes to conceptual knowledge. It takes some time to get used to a concept and apply it in a real test taking scenario. You cannot force it on your brain to accelerate that process if that is not your learning style. So, it is advisable to stick to your learning process and not worry about the result much (unless of course there is a significant gap between your classroom solving ability and your mock performances in which case, you need to question your faculty or an expert who can advise on the basis of your profile, aptitude, etc.).

Wildly fluctuating scores are just a part of normal prep and these are phases every aspirant goes through: Now this depends on your definition of ‘wildly fluctuating’. For example, a fluctuation between a 95%ile and a 99%ile can be termed as normal as it would be impacted due to either an unbalanced paper, testing conditions, number of takers and so on but a fluctuation between a 90%ile and a 70%ile would point towards a major issue: either you are heavily dependent on being ‘in the zone’ while taking the test and cannot tolerate minor fluctuations (bad scenario to be in and has to be rectified before the actual test) or the fact that you are a bit reliant on the guessing game when it comes to boosting your attempts or that there is a conceptual gap and whenever these questions surface, you tend to lose it a bit. So, as a benchmark, a +3%ile fluctuation is ok and needs no special attention as such but anything consistently greater than that could mean there is something amiss. (Why percentiles, you may ask especially after the first point: absolute percentage is not really an indicator of a change in your performance, because the difficulty levels of mocks keep on fluctuating and so, you would rely a bit on your percentile to understand a trend)

If you have either of the above mentioned issues, you need to straighten your objective first and then go about taking mocks and analyzing them.

The problem with the current process

While preparing a mock, a lot of thought is put into ascertaining the difficulty level of a mock. There cannot be all easy questions and there cannot be all difficult questions. The difficulty level can be increased in two ways: 1. by making a conceptually deep question which is beyond the repertoire of a normal CAT aspirant or 2. by putting too much information in a question, leading to a disproportionate amount of time required to solve the question. In case of the latter, even if you solve it without the time constraint and succeed, it does not necessarily mean that you should solve the same question if it appears in another test. Many aspirants, under the pretext of analyzing a mock, spend hours together on solving the unsolved questions. If you ask yourself the question ‘What have I gained through this exercise?’, there won’t be a concrete answer that you could tell yourself. At most, you can say that you understood that your score could have increased by an x amount without understanding either your mental state during the test or the way forward. If eliminating silly mistakes is your only takeaway post analysis of a mock, it is not really an insight.

The ideal process

The broad steps indeed remain the same. First of all, you take a mock with some objective in mind (changing order of attempt, splitting sections, leaving certain question types for the end, using the view question paper option to understand the difficulty level of the paper before you start and so on). Taking mocks just for the sake of scoring a high percentile does not make much sense considering the scenarios we saw above. Not to say that you neglect percentiles altogether but then there is a big difference between considering your score and percentile as the principal outcome of a mock and focusing on other, more pertinent issues while keeping an eye on your relative performance as well. Mock-taking is for self-improvement, and not for showing off your competitive edge. A small change in outlook would make a big difference to the end result.

Next step would involve glancing through the missed questions once the results are out. While it is ok not to completely solve all the questions, you can keep a sheet handy and put a reason next to the question as to why didn’t you attempt it in the original test: (a) because you did not know the concept/are not particularly fond of the topic (b) because you thought that it would be too time consuming (c) because even after spending a few minutes on the question, you were not able to figure out the way to proceed (d) because you were not able to go through the question during the test due to mismanagement of time (e) fear of getting negatives. While going through the question during analysis, it is ok if you don’t solve the entire thing. Even if you are confident of having made a headway, you can let go of the question. Once you have done this, you can decide again whether you would stick to your original option behind the reason of leaving the question or would like to change it.

You can check the solution now. The possible cases are:

Mock analysis

(Click on the image for an enlarged view)

This is a broad overview of your intent during a mock. If you analyze all the questions using this framework, you can understand your overall level of preparation and the way forward while attempting the next mock.

With regards to the incorrect answers, you will encounter the following scenarios:

(a) Silly mistakes: In spite of cracking the logic and going all the way, you ended up getting entangled in the paper setter’s trap, because of reading the question incorrectly or comprehending it wrongly or because of a calculation mistake. It is a crime to make such mistakes and you should find the reason and fix it as soon as is possible. This is more critical in case you are attempting fewer questions and so, cannot afford to make such errors due to lack of concentration, minor lapses or pure carelessness while taking a mock.

(b) Conceptual errors: You might have read a concept somewhere and have imbibed the same in your system to be plugged in next time you see a question. Paper-setters thrive on this naivety of aspirants and play around oh-so-slightly with words. There is a lot of difference between 4 cards put into 8 boxes, 4 identical cards put into 8 boxes, 4 identical cards put into 8 identical boxes and 4 cards put into 8 identical boxes. If one blindly applies the ‘number of non-negative solutions to an equation’ concept in each of these cases, it would be incorrect. The better thing would be to make sure that you understand a concept fully along with all the relevant wordplay before considering it ready-to-use.

(c) Inappropriate shortcuts: A lot of aspirants get impressed by shortcuts and reverse-engineering techniques propagated by seasoned takers and past/present toppers and try to replicate the same. These techniques are a result of years of hard work and dedicated preparation and crystal clear understanding of concepts. Just because it looks easy doesn’t mean that it is easy. Many aspirants fall into the trap of blindly going for these techniques without understanding the hidden connections and end up getting a lot of incorrect answers (which gives a false security with regards to the number of attempts during a test). If you are unaware of the depth of a concept, shortcuts won’t help. Most of the time, it is better to swallow your ego and do it the conventional way unless you have mastered the art of shortcut.

(d) Guessing: Many aspirants resort to ‘intelligent guessing’ while taking a mock to boost their attempts. If it is actual intelligent guessing, it is a very good idea to do so (generalizing scenarios as equilateral triangles, integers, squares and so on). But many let go of the ‘intelligent’ part of it and mark options that they ‘feel’ are closer to what they have got. If there is no mention of the word ‘approximate’ in the question, it is a sure shot indicator that you have made some blunder while calculating the answer. In these cases, you can either check your calculation and figure out the right answer or again, swallow the humility pill and refrain from marking the ‘closest’ option.

The incorrect answers are a big revelation as to how your understanding of your strength is slightly misplaced and the minor factors that you need to focus on while attempting the test.

Regarding the correct answers, it is sufficient to sit with your rough sheet while analyzing the mock and cross checking your method with that of the given solution. If there is a shorter alternate solution, you can make a note of it and try to understand the underlying concept.

I have tried to touch the major aspects of mock analysis in this post. There could be variations to this and you can customize it according to your needs as well.

Is Poor Academics = No IIM true?

When one decides to go about doing an MBA, there are many questions one has in mind. Apart from the customary ‘Why MBA?’, ‘What is the nature of the job (and the remuneration, yes) that I would stand to get after passing out of a top b-school?’ and the silent ‘Will the life in a b-school and my job as cool as was depicted in 2 States?’ there is another question that bugs quite a few aspirants: ‘Is my profile worthy enough to be shortlisted by an IIM/XLRI/FMS or is it wise to bury the top 10 dream right away and focus on other b-schools/give up the MBA dream altogether.

Common grievances raised by aspirants when it comes to academic consideration are: Why are academics that important? Why don’t b-schools consider CAT scores only? If I am competing with someone on an equal footing (read CAT or any other entrance test), why handicap me by bringing my past academic performances into the picture? Does mugging really count for more than aptitude?

If either of these points have crossed your mind at some point in time, read along. For all ye 9 pointers, why not skip to some content based articles. Or if you are already prepared, why not test yourself with this FREE Mock CAT Series!

Why are academics considered by almost all the top b-schools?

As much as people with average-low academics (I am one of those with average academics) ridicule the high scorers accusing them of being robots and mugging chapters after chapters, it requires real skill to be able to comprehend, understand, memorize and replicate stuff. Most of the time, in your jobs, you would be doing the same thing. Creative problem solving techniques are useful only when you have achieved the optimum result that you can, working at full efficiency and more often than not, it would be the basic things that need to be put in place to achieve significant improvements (you will understand this first-hand once you enter a workplace as a manager with that branded b-school bag hanging over your shoulder). The basic point remains: consistent academic performance garnered over years of effort and skill are probably an equal, if not a better indicator of your ability to grasp things than say a one-off day of brilliance (no way I am demeaning your effort that went into getting that score, just that it is probably more difficult to do it consistently across 6 years). Companies value that and b-schools being the fulfillers of the demand-supply gap, have to consider the same while selecting a candidate. The other concern is with regards to the b-school curriculum which is again competitive and based on comprehending, understanding, memorizing and replicating concepts and the ones who have been good at these have a higher probability of doing justice to the academic curriculum. Also, the fact remains that a good aptitude might not translate into a good leader or manager and vice versa. To achieve the middle path, b-schools consider both the factors in varying capacities while shortlisting a candidate.

Can I change/boost my scores now?

If you are in your graduation, you can try to do so. Every extra point that you can get will not hurt. However, many are in their third or final year of graduation when they start figuring out their options and career choices and it becomes a bit too late to change your graduation academic performance drastically. But, it is advisable to score as many as possible even if you have decided in your heart that you want to go for an MBA at the earliest. If you are working currently, the answer is obviously a no.

What is considered to be a good profile when it comes to admissions and shortlisting?

There is no such clear cut indicator between a good and a bad profile. As a benchmark though, anything that lies north of an 80/80/80 would be a nice, easy on the eyes, steady profile while anything which is 90/90/90 would be exceptional and definitely top of the charts when it comes to shortlisting be it during admission or placements. If you have a 70 somewhere in between, it can be considered to be a moderate profile. If you have more than a 70 to handle, it would require a strong score in CAT to counter that. For variation across boards, few of the institutes have in place a system wherein, they have the list of the score of the 90th percentile of a particular board for a particular year and then they try to place your score into that matrix. If you still come out tops, you should be good to go. So, for those who come from low scoring boards, absolute scores are not considered in many cases and so, there is no need to worry about the disparity. In case of IIM Ahmedabad, Calcutta and Kozhikode, absolute 10th/12th scores are considered, IIM Bangalore and Lucknow considers your score with regards to that of the 90th percentiler in your board, IIM Indore considers your 10th/12th performance compared to the other CAT takers while IIM Shillong has a minimal percentage requirement. All these are the official criteria that were released for admission to the batch of 2015-17 and can be changed for the next academic session. You can go through the official shortlisting criteria by the IIMs.

How much of an impact does my score have on placements?

Quite a fair bit. Although, while shortlisting your CVs/going through your application details on their portal, companies might or might not have a stringent academic criteria. Generally, a candidate would make it to a shortlist on the basis of his/her entire CV and not just a single academic spike. Plus, as you get numerous opportunities to build your CV once you get into a b-school, you need not worry about the impact of your current CV on your final placement in the year 2017 (hopefully!)

Can I do something in addition to what I have so that I stand a good chance of getting into a top b-school?

Purely with regards to academics, no. There is nothing except your 10th, 12th and graduation marks that are being asked and so, except boosting your graduation score by a bit, there is not much that you can do. However, if you have an interesting internship/project/competition/event that you can ace, it might be useful during your interviews and so, if you can manage your prep time and your activity time wisely, you can go for it. Else, it is perfectly OK to focus solely on prep and try maximizing your CAT score at the moment.

How to answer the question in an interview?

There are many ways in which you can tackle this question. Few confess their academic shortcomings in the earlier part of their lives and delve into how they have improved over the years learning from their mistakes. Few have strong personal reasons (sickness, family reasons, etc.) behind the low academic performance and state the same in an interview (not recommended though as it takes away an opportunity to show your ability to learn and improve in front of a panelist while bringing a certain degree of discomfort to both the candidate and the interviewer/s). Few focus on their extracurricular interest and an emphasis on doing what interested them in their early years and being actually good at it. The bottom line is, you can defend low academics in an interview as long as you are willing to work on the reasons behind the same and mould them into your strength. Working with an experienced hand for your interviews would make sure you move past all these minor blips.

Also, you can read this thread for success stories and queries of individuals who had poor academics.

Official shortlisting criteria by the IIMs

Which IIM to choose.png

Image courtesy: www.incprocollect.com

Many of you must have wondered what the shortlisting criteria looks like for getting into an IIM and what are the various intricacies involved. We are attaching here the official shortlisting criteria that were adopted by the IIMs for CAT 2014 and admission to the the batch of 2015-17. Do take a look at these to understand what would have been your chances at the top institutes. Also, it would be wise to keep in mind that these criteria were specific only for the previous CAT season and can change this year.

IIM Ahmedabad

IIM Bangalore

IIM Calcutta

IIM Indore

IIM Lucknow

IIM Kozhikode

IIM Shillong

New IIMs (Raipur, Rohtak, Ranchi, Trichy, Udaipur, Kashipur)

IIM Sirmaur

IIM Visakhapatnam

IIM Bodh Gaya (Bihar)

IIM Sambalpur

IIM Amritsar (Punjab)

Click on the individual links to go through the shortlisting and final admission criteria.

All the best!

How to get better at VA before CAT 2015?

With around 3 months to go before you hit the last lap of your prep, for many of the aspirants, tackling verbal ability is a nightmare. There are many reasons why many good aspirants feel uncomfortable while solving verbal questions. First of all, there is no direct formula as such when it comes to verbal ability unlike quant. A majority of the section focuses on your ability to comprehend given information and be extremely cogent while deriving inferences from this information. Secondly, not much quality material is available in the market to get better at verbal ability and most of the available resources focus more on nitpicking rather than focus on broad technical aspects which are a must to strengthen the base. Thirdly, a lot of mocks focus on trivial aspects of the English language in pursuit of ‘setting’ a difficult paper while neglecting the objective behind delivering a mock test. An analogy can be drawn here wherein, there is a question in the quantitative aptitude requiring you to solve the area of a quadrilateral using Brahmagupta’s theorem or expecting you to know Josephus’ puzzle (circa XAT 2011). In these cases, the objective is not so much to allow aspirants to explore their existing intellect but to make sure that people leave the question thereby upping the overall difficulty level of the test.

What all topics come under the domain of verbal ability?

Anything except Reading Comprehension can be put under verbal ability. It can involve one or more of the following types of questions:

1) Grammar-based

2) Critical reasoning

3) Parajumbles (either ordering or eliminating)

4) Paragraph completion

5) Vocabulary (multiple usage, idioms, fill in the blanks)

6) Facts, inferences, and judgments

7) Miscellaneous (Verbal logic, series, udli and other obscure types)

The entire sub-section can be divided into mechanical and inferential types and both require a different style of thought to be cracked. The mechanical ones include: parajumbles, grammar and paragraph completion which can be cracked following simple pre-defined rules and the inferential ones include: critical reasoning, vocabulary, FIJs and others which can be cracked through a bit of application of one’s existing knowledge.

How to prepare for individual types?

It doesn’t require a degree in rocket science (assuming that there is one which says that) to figure out that the most important contributor would be practice. Many aspirants fall into the trap of getting disappointed when their line of thought doesn’t match with that of the person who has compiled the material. If you still feel there is merit to your argument (remember, your argument should not be one that is taken in the realms of your brain but in front of all the stakeholders with a hundred cameras pointed at you; in short it should be morally, politically, and ethically correct), there is no need to worry yet. It is quite possible that the interpretation of the central statement might vary and there could be multiple interpretations and hence, multiple correct answers. The important takeaway should be that the reasons behind eliminating the other options should be clear and undebatable. If you can manage that, you have learnt an important lesson from the activity. This will give you an understanding of why a particular option was deemed wrong (generalized statement, assuming something that is not present in the argument, irrelevant analogy, contradictory statements).

I will give an overview of the various things one can do to get better at an individual sub topic. Will be covering every sub topic in detail in the coming few articles.

For parajumbles, clichéd as it may sound, one should be on the lookout primarily for links. All the methods have been beaten to death but a few useful ones that I would like to reiterate are:

(i) Pronouns/shortened name/surname/nickname: If there is a pronoun in a sentence he/she/it/they etc. there should be a preceding statement that introduces the subject in most of the cases. Once you figure out which statement comes before the other, you might have narrowed down your options to at most 3 in almost all the cases.

Paper setters try to negate this strategy a fair bit when they make sure that there are two subjects in a particular parajumble with one being named after the pronoun for the other is exhausted thereby confusing aspirants. The way to work around this trap is by making sure that you identify the subject and the action it is performing. In most of the cases, there will be a difference between the ‘deeds’ of the two subjects which will make you choose the right link by simply maintaining continuity of thought.

(ii) Tenses: Ideally, all the sentences will be in the same tense. If there is a reference to a past incident, you have to make sure that all the statements involving the past incident are adjacent to each other. If there is a present and a futuristic scenario being told, you need to make sure that all the arguments of the present point towards the future and so on. This is not a difficult thing to do and once you have sufficient knowledge of tenses, you should be good to go.

(iii) Using options: Once you have identified a particular link using the techniques, you can be sure that the options that do not contain the link are to be eliminated. Another way of using options to solve parajumbles is by using the sequence in an option as it is and then seeing if it makes sense. You are limiting yourself to 4 possibilities and then choosing the best out of them. If seeing links is not your thing, you can use this strategy effectively. To begin with, almost all the questions have multiple options starting with a single statement and in most of the cases, one of these is correct. That will reduce the number of options to 2 or 3. Ideally, you should start reading with this statement and evaluate which of the options make sense if you read the first two statements together. For example: if one of the options is abcde and the other ‘competing’ option is acdbe, you have to put ac against ab and see which one sounds more logical. If you feel both are equally compelling and that statement ‘a’ should start the sentence, you can eliminate the remaining options and then glance through the other statements for abcde and acdbe. Keep on doing this till you are left with one option and you can be rest assured it is that one.

For the incorrect sentence parajumbles, the question typically asks you to find out that one statement that does not fit into a coherent paragraph made by the remaining three. A common error while attempting this type is that, aspirants go about finding the opening statement and then try to figure out the next one and so on. A slight change in strategy can work wonders here. You can try to figure out two statements that are related to each other and then try to determine the order. So, basically you are trying to find a mini parajumble of two sentences instead of three. That would make your life easier, eliminate a couple of options and pave the way ahead for plugging in the third statement. Mocks and previous year CAT papers are fair sources of parajumbles. In case your answer does not match with the one that has been provided, you can always look up for the source and depending on the authenticity of the source (an excerpt from The New Yorker, the Guardian, the Economist and so on) you will know if there is a structural flaw in your paragraph construction.

In case of grammar, it is like understanding a game. If you know the rules well, you can strategize how to play. If not, it is like throwing darts wearing a wicketkeeper’s gloves with the dartboard behind you. You might succeed but there are higher chances of you not being able to hit the target. A few common mistakes done here are that, aspirants are on the lookout for minor blips and punctuation errors, lack of a capital, presence of absence of a comma, getting tangled between British and American English usage and so on. Trust me, they are not hiring for professional editors. They want people to keep calm, view the situation in its entirety, figure out some error at a macro level and move on. Most of the time, the errors are with regards to a difference in the ‘number’ of subjects and the singularity or the plurality of the verb associated with the subject (commonly known and understood as the subject-verb agreement). Another important error is seen in terms of parallel construction of sentences wherein, it is stated that multiple activities that are performed by a subject should be in sync in terms of tense, and symmetry. The third, most common and commonly erred aspect is with regards to idiomatic usage. No material in the market can cover all the idioms and so, nothing but dedicated reading would help in this case. A good couple of weeks with your Wren and Martin or the Manhattan GMAT sentence correction guide can work wonders.

A majority of the rules for solving parajumbles are applicable in paragraph completion questions. A paragraph with a missing sentence, in most cases the last one, is given and you have to identify the best fit among the answer options. The things to keep in mind here are: logical consistency, continuity with the preceding part of the para, non-introduction of a fresh topic, keeping the trend of generic to specific or vice versa depending on the preceding sentences, continuity in terms of tenses and so on. Will be covering all these in depth some time later. The best sources to practice are online articles, and novels written by literary geniuses with the help of professional editors (this article would be of help). You can do justice to the question type if and only if you can understand the beauty of construction of a paragraph. So, be on the lookout for paragraphs and how they are ended and how a new paragraph is started. If you can manage to do that, with a few techniques, your accuracy should be up in the high 70s-80s.

Critical reasoning again requires you to think logically and separate the trivial issues from the main issues, qualities becoming of a manager. The question would be in the form of a statement or a paragraph and you would be asked to either strengthen or weaken the argument using an appropriate option. The common mistake here is a failure to understand the central argument and assuming statements that aren’t there. Also an important thing to keep in mind is that, repetition of a sentence in the central argument is not the correct enhancer of the argument and so, can be crossed out on grounds of redundancy. The better sources to prepare critical reasoning are again, GMAT books which emphasize on technical formation of rebuttals and strengtheners to arguments.

Vocabulary is not that extensive when it comes to CAT and is limited to idioms and fill-in-the-blanks questions. There is no requirement to mug up word lists and the quite overrated (in my opinion) Word Power Made Easy (it adds little value and the prefixes and suffixes can be understood through focused casual reading as well). The best thing to do is to identify contextual usage and the mood of the statement (extremes are generally frowned upon, a nice balanced, politically sound word is the way to go) and then look at both the blanks simultaneously. Technically, there is only that much you can do to attempt these. A word of advice, if you are in doubt in these questions, refrain from making an intelligent guess. In most of the cases, these ‘guesses’ are incorrect.

FIJs though almost obsolete are covered in detail here.

All this advice is quite generic and is aimed at changing your outlook towards the section. If anything else works for you, you should not hesitate in trying it. When it comes to verbal, as I said at the start, there is no one size that fits all. It is your thought process that is being evaluated in this section and everybody who does well overall in the test has it. Few people might question the undue importance given to reading books and novels outside the ‘syllabus’. But, as random as the gyaan might sound, an irregular reader seldom transforms into a good manager. Reading is immensely helpful from a personal point of view and also in situations involving placements/jobs/promotions/sutta conversations with your boss! Would NOT post the George R.R. Martin quote here. Go Google if you are unaware! In most of the cases, clouded thinking or lack of practice or general fear of failure or a perceived less self-worth deter an aspirant from tackling this section to the best of his/her ability. If you manage to keep these barriers at bay and become mentally stronger, then this is the section with the highest potential output:time ratio.

Cracking DI & LR in CAT

Ze Important Pie Chart

(Image credit: www.natcom.org plus some own effort)

When one starts preparing for the first time, all the hoopla surrounding CAT is primarily based on Quant. Most of the people are introduced to CAT in this manner and quite a few derive inspiration from this and take immense pride in being able to solve CAT-level math. The remaining few, who are inherently good readers and comfortable with grasping the nuances of the English language take to the VARC section like a fish to water. Coined the non-engineer friendly section, perhaps wrongly as there are quite a few engineers who are brilliant in this part of the paper as well and that the ‘syllabus’ does not have anything to do with one’s graduation background is a neglected fact, most of the junta are completely terrified of this section. With public opinion divided on who is good at which one of these two, there is a third section which is oft-forgotten, more so with the rise of the 2-section paper: Data interpretation and Logical reasoning.

One of the reasons behind neglecting this section is that, there is nothing to study when it comes to this section. All the aspirants, irrespective of whether they have had formal coaching or not, enter the exam with more or less a similar level of prep with regards to DI LR; the data provided is the same and in most cases, there is only one way to solve the question and there are no real shortcuts as such.

To get better at DI-LR, like any other section, or subject, or test for that matter, one needs an ample amount of quality practice. Exposure to CAT level sets is a must and one must get into that zone when solving a puzzle becomes mechanical. A quick chat with the CAT toppers would reveal that solving puzzles came naturally to them and that there was no real effort that went in specifically into DI and LR. Also, with the cushion of a split DI LR section, the focus has shifted away from it almost entirely (except the verbal fearers who still bank on LR to boost their score, a la me from 2011). With the threat looming of a 3-section paper (we will get to know probably on the 26th of July which way it goes), it becomes all the more important to think of DILR as an independent entity. So, how does one get to this level and attain so much comfort that a DI/LR set seems like a scoring opportunity than a liability. I will try to answer a few common questions which might reveal a few ‘secrets’

Where to practice from?

By now, you would have guessed that CAT papers are the best sources to practice LRDI from. Add to that a sprinkling of the current year/past year mock papers and you should be familiar with most of the question types that can appear in a test. The classification cannot be superficial as is done by many students: competition based, sports based, pie charts, bar graphs, and so on. One needs to go beyond the ‘appearance’ of the set and into the crux of the logic as the form of representation can easily be converted from one form to the other. The commonly used logical situations are: Boolean logic/Binary logic, linear and circular arrangements, maxima and minima in Venn diagrams, combination puzzles, Sangaku, deductions mathematical or otherwise and many more. Ideally, one should have a set pattern ready to approach a particular variant. For example: If there is a puzzle involving arrangements, there is usually a centerpiece around which all the other statements rotate. The key is to figure out this piece of information. There would be two steps involved in doing it: first, figure out the statement, ideally with the most bit of information and second, find another statement that is connected to the parent statement. If you can figure out such a combination, most of the time, it would bring order to an arrangements set and you would know whether to solve it or let it go in the first 30 seconds itself (I will come to this part later). So, the key is to solve as many ‘types’ of puzzles as possible and figure out a way that works the best for you. There are good sources other than previous CAT papers and mock tests that would sensitize you into developing a thinking mind. You can go for George Summers’ book of puzzles or Shakuntala Devi’s books, either this or this or this or any other reputed books available in the market (they are quite light on your pocket and are a treasure of information). In addition to this, having an interest in logical puzzles like SuDoKu, Kakuro, Hitori, Mathdoku, etc. will train your brain into thinking in a logical manner and the concepts are useful in case of more questions than you imagine; something like a Kakuro is useful in LR sets wherein there is a restriction in the way sum of numbers can be made, there are some beautiful puzzles that are direct applications of the concept of the Tower of Hanoi or even Fibonacci sequence for that matter.

How to practice?

It helps to make DI LR a part of your day to day life. Solving material is fine and it will definitely help but thinking about day to day situations as an LR set will help you think from a paper-setter’s point of view and understand the nuances of a set more easily. Even when you are reading a newspaper report or just glancing through a PnL statement or a balance sheet, you can always think about the growth rates, ratios, contributions, and so on. It sounds trivial and probably silly, but if you haven’t had that kind of outlook in your formative years, these activities will help you fill the void. The more your prep becomes indistinguishable from your life, the more fun you will have doing it. In addition to this, solving mocks and analyzing them religiously would contribute to a better score in DI LR sets in the coming few mocks.

How to solve?

A commonly faced situation in any DI LR caselet is that, it leads to disproportionate returns. The time invested can range anywhere between 5-25 minutes and the maximum marks gained would be 12. So, keeping a sense of time is very important while solving a set. Broadly considering, there are 4 DI and 4 LR sets and so, investing around 10 mins per set is not possible. So, you have to be extremely selective and sure about the difficulty level of sets so as to optimize your score.

How to work around the traps?

A commonly laid trap in DI LR is evident from the fact that, the sets that are heavy with regards to numerical data are probably the least attempted and the ones with a few data points are tried by most. So, the first thing to understand is that the difficulty level of a set is in no way associated with the amount of data in the set. If anything, the lesser the given data is, the more the possibilities are.

A good way to identify if there are many possibilities is to browse through the questions and see if there are multiple questions starting with an ‘If’. The presence of these two letters suggests that it is not one set but multiple sets that you would be attempting and so, the time:output ratio would be slightly higher. Then you can take a call depending on what your position is with regards to the time left considering your attempts and the perceived difficulty level of the paper.

In questions involving multiple possibilities right from the start, for example: questions involving multiple travel routes or multiple points in a supply chain, there could be multiple possibilities. If one is to note down each and every possibility, it would take a lot of time to solve the set. In this case, it would be a wise idea to rush through a set and solve questions using option elimination and approximation whenever possible. This would give an accuracy of at least 50% and a net gain of 4 marks in around 5 minutes which is a fair deal (and on a good day, with the right kind of negations, you can actually touch 12 marks in 5 odd minutes which is huge in any kind of paper). This would allow you to invest time in other sets which will maximize your chances of getting a higher score.

Multiple pie charts, with the base figure unknown are particularly painful and so, can be kept for a later stage while attempting a paper. Similarly, questions involving uncomfortable fractions (like a zoo set which appeared in a Bull’s eye mock) ought to be left in the first go especially if you haven’t yet ‘seen’ a sizable chunk of the paper.

Binary logic questions (involving soothsayers, liars and alternators) can be solved using a specific approach too. You should ideally go for the statement that leads to a paradox (I am a liar is a classical example) and form a table accordingly which will give you a starting point. This type of LR sets is generally twisted and one of the more difficult sets and so, if you are unable to form the logic in the first go, better to let go of these.

Simple arrangement questions be it circular or linear are probably your best bet when it comes to solving an LR set (with some exceptions of course when it can be incredibly twisted). Irrespective of the difficulty level, there would be a chain of events that you have to follow and get to the crux of the arrangement. A common mistake aspirants do is to assume something that is not obvious in a set. It is like solving a SuDoKu. Every puzzle will have a unique solution unless the number of mandatory cells are not filled. So, not assuming positions or conditions is very important in these questions. Also, the wording of the statements is quite tricky at times. For example: A sits to the left of B could be interpreted (rather, assumed) as A sits to the immediate left of B which would give you an incorrect or an impossible arrangement thereby eating into your time. So, it is necessary to be absolutely clear about the various phrases that are used and their exact interpretation. I will come up with a post on traps soon to help you understand the paper-setter’s mindset.

How many should I score in a standalone DI LR section?

There is no pin point answer to this and it completely depends on your perception of the section. If all the questions are from the difficult bracket as stated above, any score of around 20-30% would be extremely competitive (97+ percentile) if there is an equal split of moderate and tough sets, you might have to score around 50% at least to remain competitive (97+ percentile) and if almost all the sets are doable, the more you solve the bigger your boost will be. The good part with DI LR is that, it will enable you to race past your competitors if you are able to crack that ‘one-aha!-moment’. So, the better you become at this section, the better will be the improvement in your score.