Tagged Strategy

Verbal

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 are 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 (and so, multiple. 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 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 done here is 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 directed towards 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! Just because of 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.