CAT 2009 Made Easy

[sushobhan]

UNDERSTANDING READING COMPREHENSION - PART 1

THE QUESTIONS

The key to performing well on the passages is not the particular reading technique you use (so long as it's neither speed reading nor pre-reading the questions). Rather the key is to become completely familiar with the question types—always less than 6/7 and most of the time its ¾ --so that you can anticipate the questions that might be asked as you read the passage and answer those that are asked more quickly and efficiently. As you become familiar with the questions types, you will gain an intuitive sense for the places from which questions are likely to be drawn. This will give you the same advantage as that claimed by the "pre-reading-the-questions" technique, without the confusion and waste of time. Note, the order in which the questions are asked roughly corresponds to the order in which the main issues are presented in the passage. Early questions should correspond to information given early in the passage, and so on.

The following passage and accompanying questions illustrate the question types.

There are two major systems of criminal procedure in the modern world--the adversarial and the inquisitorial. The former is associated with common law tradition and the latter with civil law tradition. Both systems were historically preceded by the system of private vengeance in which the victim of a crime fashioned his own remedy and administered it privately, either personally or through an agent. The vengeance system was a system of self-help, the essence of which was captured in the slogan "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." The modern adversarial system is only one historical step removed from the private vengeance system and still retains some of its characteristic features. Thus, for example, even though the right to institute criminal action has now been extended to all members of society and even though the police department has taken over the pretrial investigative functions on behalf of the prosecution, the adversarial system still leaves the defendant to conduct his own pretrial investigation. The trial is still viewed as a duel between two adversaries, refereed by a judge who, at the beginning of the trial has no knowledge of the investigative background of the case. In the final analysis the adversarial system of criminal procedure symbolizes and regularizes the punitive combat.

By contrast, the inquisitorial system begins historically where the adversarial system stopped its development. It is two historical steps removed from the system of private vengeance. Therefore, from the standpoint of legal anthropology, it is historically superior to the adversarial system. Under the inquisitorial system the public investigator has the duty to investigate not just on behalf of the prosecutor but also on behalf of the defendant. Additionally, the public prosecutor has the duty to present to the court not only evidence that may lead to the conviction of the defendant but also evidence that may lead to his exoneration. This system mandates that both parties permit full pretrial discovery of the evidence in their possession. Finally, in an effort to make the trial less like a duel between two adversaries, the inquisitorial system mandates that the judge take an active part in the conduct of the trial, with a role that is both directive and protective.

Fact-finding is at the heart of the inquisitorial system. This system operates on the philosophical premise that in a criminal case the crucial factor is not the legal rule but the facts of the case and that the goal of the entire procedure is to experimentally recreate for the court the commission of the alleged crime.

MAIN IDEA QUESTIONS

The main idea is usually stated in the last--occasionally the first--sentence of the first paragraph. If it's not there, it will probably be the last sentence of the entire passage.

Because main idea questions are relatively easy, the CAT writers try to obscure the correct answer by surrounding it with close answer-choices ("detractors") that either overstate or understate the author's main point. Answer-choices that stress specifics tend to understate the main idea; choices that go beyond the scope of the passage tend to overstate the main idea.

The answer to a main idea question will summarize the author's argument, yet be neither too specific nor too broad.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) Explain why the inquisitorial system is the best system of criminal justice
(B) explain how the adversarial and the inquisitorial systems of criminal justice both evolved from the system of private vengeance
(C) show how the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of criminal justice can both complement and hinder each other's development
(D) show how the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of criminal justice are being combined into a new and better system
(E) analyze two systems of criminal justice and deduce which one is better

The answer to a main idea question will summarize the passage without going beyond it. (A) Violates these criteria by overstating the scope of the passage. The comparison in the passage is between two specific systems, not between all systems. (A) Would be a good answer if "best" were replaced with "better." Beware of extreme words. (B) Violates the criteria by understating the scope of the passage. Although the evolution of both the adversarial and the inquisitorial systems is discussed in the passage, it is done to show why one is superior to the other. As to (C) and (D), both can be quickly dismissed since neither is mentioned in the passage. Finally, the passage does two things: it presents two systems of criminal justice and shows why one is better than the other. (E) aptly summarizes this, so it is the best answer.

Description Questions

Description questions, as with main idea questions, refer to a point made by the author. However, description questions refer to a minor point or to incidental information, not to the author's main point.

The answer to a description question must refer directly to a statement in the passage, not to something implied by it. However, the correct answer will paraphrase a statement in the passage, not give an exact quote. In fact, exact quotes ("Same language" traps) are often used to bait wrong answers.

Caution: When answering a description question, you must find the point in the passage from which the question is drawn. Don't rely on memory--too many obfuscating tactics are used with these questions.

Not only must the correct answer refer directly to a statement in the passage, it must refer to the relevant statement. The correct answer will be surrounded by wrong choices which refer directly to the passage but don't address the question. These choices can be tempting because they tend to be quite close to the actual answer.

Once you spot the sentence to which the question refers, you still must read a few sentences before and after it, to put the question in context. If a question refers to line 20, the information needed to answer it can occur anywhere from line 15 to 25. Even if you have spotted the answer in line 20, you should still read a couple more lines to make certain you have the proper perspective.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

According to the passage, the inquisitorial system differs from the adversarial system in that

(A) it does not make the defendant solely responsible for gathering evidence for his case
(B) it does not require the police department to work on behalf of the prosecution
(C) it does not allow the victim the satisfaction of private vengeance
(D) it requires the prosecution to drop a weak case
(E) a defendant who is innocent would prefer to be tried under the inquisitorial system

This is a description question, so the information needed to answer it must be stated in the passage--though not in the same language as in the answer. The needed information is contained in the fourth sentence of Paragraph 3, which states that the public prosecutor has to investigate on behalf of both society and the defendant. Thus, the defendant is not solely responsible for investigating his case. Furthermore, the paragraph's opening implies that this feature is not found in the adversarial system. This illustrates why you must determine the context of the situation before you can safely answer the question. The answer is (A).

[sushobhan]

UNDERSTANDING READING COMPREHENSION - PART 2

Writing Technique Questions

All coherent writing has a superstructure or blueprint. When writing, we don't just randomly jot down our thoughts; we organize our ideas and present them in a logical manner. For instance, we may present evidence that builds up to a conclusion but intentionally leave the conclusion unstated, or we may present a position and then contrast it with an opposing position, or we may draw an extended analogy.

There is an endless number of writing techniques that authors use to present their ideas, so we cannot classify every method. However, some techniques are very common to the type of explanatory or opinionated writing found in CAT passages.

A. Compare and contrast two positions.

This technique has a number of variations, but the most common and direct is to develop two ideas or systems (comparing) and then point out why one is better than the other (contrasting).

Writing-technique questions are similar to main idea questions; except that they ask about how the author presents his ideas, not about the ideas themselves. Generally, you will be given only two writing methods to choose from, but each method will have two or more variations.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

Which one of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) Two systems of criminal justice are compared and contrasted, and one is deemed to be better than the other.
(B) One system of criminal justice is presented as better than another. Then evidence is offered to support that claim.
(C) Two systems of criminal justice are analyzed, and one specific example is examined in detail.
(D) A set of examples is furnished. Then a conclusion is drawn from them.
(E) The inner workings of the criminal justice system are illustrated by using two systems.

Clearly the author is comparing and contrasting two criminal justice systems. Indeed, the opening to paragraph two makes this explicit. The author uses a mixed form of comparison and contrast. He opens the passage by developing (comparing) both systems and then shifts to developing just the adversarial system. He opens the second paragraph by contrasting the two criminal justice systems and then further develops just the inquisitorial system. Finally, he closes by again contrasting the two systems and implying that the inquisitorial system is superior.

Only two answer-choices, (A) and (B), have any real merit. They say essentially the same thing--though in different order. Notice in the passage that the author does not indicate which system is better until the end of paragraph one, and he does not make that certain until paragraph two. This contradicts the order given by (B). Hence the answer is (A). (Note: In (A) the order is not specified and therefore is harder to attack, whereas in (B) the order is definite and therefore is easier to attack. Remember that a measured response is harder to attack and therefore is more likely to be the answer.)

B. Show cause and effect

In this technique, the author typically shows how a particular cause leads to a certain result or set of results. It is not uncommon for this method to introduce a sequence of causes and effects. A causes B, which causes C, which causes D, and so on. Hence B is both the effect of A and the cause of C.

Example: (Mini-passage)

Thirdly, I worry about the private automobile. It is a dirty, noisy, wasteful, and lonely means of travel. It pollutes the air, ruins the safety and sociability of the street, and exercises upon the individual a discipline which takes away far more freedom than it gives him. It causes an enormous amount of land to be unnecessarily abstracted from nature and from plant life and to become devoid of any natural function. It explodes cities, grievously impairs the whole institution of neighborliness, fragmentizes and destroys communities. It has already spelled the end of our cities as real cultural and social communities, and has made impossible the construction of any others in their place. Together with the airplane, it has crowded out other, more civilized and more convenient means of transport, leaving older people, infirm people, poor people and children in a worse situation than they were a hundred years ago. It continues to lend a terrible element of fragility to our civilization, placing us in a situation where our life would break down completely if anything ever interfered with the oil supply.

George F. Kennan

Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) A problem is presented and then a possible solution is discussed.
(B) The benefits and demerits of the automobile are compared and contrasted.
(C) A topic is presented and a number of its effects are discussed.
(D) A set of examples is furnished to support a conclusion.

This passage is laden with effects. Kennan introduces the cause, the automobile, in the opening sentence and from there on presents a series of effects--the automobile pollutes, enslaves, and so on. Hence the answer is (C). Note: (D) is the second-best choice; it is disqualified by two flaws. First, in this context, "examples" is not as precise as "effects." Second, the order is wrong: the conclusion, "I worry about the private automobile" is presented first and then the examples: it pollutes, it enslaves, etc.

C. State a position and then give supporting evidence

This technique is common with opinionated passages. Equally common is the reverse order. That is, the supporting evidence is presented and then the position or conclusion is stated. And sometimes the evidence will be structured to build up to a conclusion which is then left unstated. If this is done skillfully the reader will be more likely to arrive at the same conclusion as the author.

Extension Questions

Extension questions are the most common. They require you to go beyond what is stated in the passage, asking you to draw an inference from the passage, to make a conclusion based on the passage, or to identify one of the author's tacit assumptions.

Since extension questions require you to go beyond the passage, the correct answer must say more than what is said in the passage. Beware of same language traps with these questions: the correct answers will often both paraphrase and extend a statement in the passage, but it will not directly quote it.

"Same Language" traps: For extension questions, any answer-choice that explicitly refers to or repeats a statement in the passage will probably be wrong.

The correct answer to an extension question will not require a quantum leap in thought, but it will add significantly to the ideas presented in the passage.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

The author views the prosecution's role in the inquisitorial system as being

(A) an advocate for both society and the defendant
(B) solely responsible for starting a trial
(C) a protector of the legal rule
(D) an investigator only
(E) an aggressive but fair investigator

This is an extension question. So the answer will not be explicitly stated in the passage, but it will be strongly supported by it.

The author states that the prosecutor is duty bound to present any evidence that may prove the defendant innocent and that he must disclose all pretrial evidence (i.e., have no tricks up his sleeve). This is the essence of fair play. The answer is (E).

Application Questions

Application questions differ from extension questions only in degree. Extension questions ask you to apply what you have learned from the passage to derive new information about the same subject, whereas application questions go one step further, asking you to apply what you have learned from the passage to a different or hypothetical situation.

To answer an application question, take the author's perspective. Ask yourself: what am I arguing for? what might make my argument stronger? what might make it weaker?

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

Based on the information in the passage, it can be inferred that which one of the following would most logically begin a paragraph immediately following the passage?

(A) Because of the inquisitorial system's thoroughness in conducting its pretrial investigation, it can be concluded that a defendant who is innocent would prefer to be tried under the inquisitorial system, whereas a defendant who is guilty would prefer to be tried under the adversarial system.

(B) As the preceding analysis shows, the legal system is in a constant state of flux. For now the inquisitorial system is ascendant, but it will probably be soon replaced by another system.

(C) The accusatorial system begins where the inquisitorial system ends. So it is three steps removed from the system of private vengeance, and therefore historically superior to it.

(D) Because in the inquisitorial system the judge must take an active role in the conduct of the trial, his competency and expertise have become critical.

(E) The criminal justice system has evolved to the point that it no longer seems to be derivative of the system of private vengeance. Modern systems of criminal justice empower all of society with the right to instigate a legal action, and the need for vengeance is satisfied through a surrogate--the public prosecutor.

The author has rather thoroughly presented his position, so the next paragraph would be a natural place for him to summarize it. The passage compares and contrasts two systems of criminal justice, implying that the inquisitorial system is superior. We expect the concluding paragraph to sum up this position. Now all legal theory aside, the system of justice under which an innocent person would choose to be judged would, as a practical matter, pretty much sum up the situation. Hence the answer is (A).

Tone Questions

Tone questions ask you to identify the writer's attitude or perspective. Is the writer's feeling toward the subject positive, negative, or neutral? Does the writer give his own opinion, or does he objectively present the opinions of others?

Before you read the answer-choices, decide whether the writer's tone is positive, negative, or neutral. It is best to do this without referring to the passage.

However, if you did not get a feel for the writer's attitude on the first reading, check the adjectives that he chooses. Adjectives and, to a lesser extent, adverbs express our feelings toward subjects. For instance, if we agree with a person who holds strong feelings about a subject, we may describe his opinions as impassioned. On the other hand, if we disagree with him, we may describe his opinions as excitable, which has the same meaning as "impassioned" but carries a negative connotation.

Example: (Refer to the first passage.)

The author's attitude toward the adversarial system can best be described as

(A) Encouraged that it is far removed from the system of private vengeance
(B) concerned that it does not allow all members of society to instigate legal action
(C) pleased that it does not require the defendant to conduct his own pretrial investigation
(D) hopeful that it will be replaced by the inquisitorial system
(E) doubtful that it is the best vehicle for justice

The author does not reveal his feelings toward the adversarial system until the end of paragraph one. Clearly the clause "the adversarial system of criminal procedure symbolizes and regularizes the punitive combat" indicates that he has a negative attitude toward the system. This is confirmed in the second paragraph when he states that the inquisitorial system is historically superior to the adversarial system. So he feels that the adversarial system is deficient.

The "two-out-of-five" rule is at work here: only choices (D) and (E) have any real merit. Both are good answers. But which one is better? Intuitively, choice (E) is more likely to be the answer because it is more measured. To decide between two choices attack each: the one that survives is the answer. Now a tone question should be answered from what is directly stated in the passage--not from what it implies. Although the author has reservations toward the adversarial system, at no point does he say that he hopes the inquisitorial system will replace it, he may prefer a third system over both. This eliminates (D); the answer therefore is (E).

PIVOTAL WORDS

As mentioned before, each passage contains 200 to 600 words and only four to seven questions, so you will not be tested on most of the material in the passage. Your best reading strategy, therefore, is to identify the places from which questions will most likely be drawn and concentrate your attention there.

Pivotal words can help in this regard. Following are the most common pivotal words (But, Although, However, Yet, Despite, Nevertheless, Nonetheless, Except, In contrast, Even though)

As you may have noticed, these words indicate contrast. Pivotal words warn that the author is about to either make a U-turn or introduce a counter-premise (concession to a minor point that weakens the argument).

Example: (Counter-premise)

I submit that the strikers should accept the management's offer. Admittedly, it is less than what was demanded. But it does resolve the main grievance--inadequate health care. Furthermore, an independent study shows that a wage increase greater than 5% would leave the company unable to compete against Japan and Germany, forcing it into bankruptcy.

The conclusion, "the strikers should accept the management's offer," is stated in the first sentence. Then "Admittedly" introduces a concession (counter-premise); namely, that the offer was less than what was demanded. This weakens the speaker's case, but it addresses a potential criticism of his position before it can be made. The last two sentences of the argument present more compelling reasons to accept the offer and form the gist of the argument.

Pivotal words mark natural places for questions to be drawn. At a pivotal word, the author changes direction. The CAT writers form questions at these junctures to test whether you turned with the author or you continued to go straight. Rarely do the CAT writers let a pivotal word pass without drawing a question from its sentence.

[HEART BREAK KID]

Hey buddy great collection of note you've got there.....keep up da good work...

[sushobhan]

CAT PREPARATION - PART 1

Importance of Speed, Accuracy & daily ranking!

Almost every CAT aspirant knows that CAT is a test of comparative intelligence and NOT individual excellence. Still many test takers spend 60% of the time measuring individual performance in the regular tests. Moreover, with the CAT 09 going online this year the share of comparative intelligence tests is expected to decrease further to 20% because of the under-preparedness of many national CAT prep organizations.

What is comparative Intelligence?

Think about yourself and another 2.75 lakh waiting for the 10 deciding days of computer based CAT 09. Possibly, they all would have some trainer directing them for the C-Day. They all would have deeper knowledge of the previous CATs. Then, what makes you superior to them? How will you be “first among the equals”? Obviously, coming “First among the equals” means competing daily with all of them rather than spending last 2 months on learning and achieving percentiles. Probably, that’s the reason CAT aspirants are turning towards online test providers more than those who offer mere learning experience that lacks ‘benchmarking’ option at a larger scale on daily basis. Moreover, many have already joined one online testing programme over and above the classroom programmes in order to stay abreast on both the fronts.

Comparative Intelligence in Quant & DI

Quant and DI in CAT have consistently been rated as – difficult and challenging. Even though there have been times when people find the verbal section extremely difficult, still Quant and DI have always been characterized by the ‘tricky’ and ‘logical-input based’ questions. Thus, in order to ensure a balanced score-card one has to give due importance to achieving comparative intelligence in these two ‘Logic’ based sections.

Therefore, importance of measuring and improving your speed, accuracy, attempt and percentile in each online test that you take cannot be over-emphasized. The daily online practice and evaluation of the ability to calculate faster will not only help in speedily maintaining the blend of speed and accuracy but also in reassuring yourself that you are ready for Tech-CAT. Hence, expertise in Quantitative reasoning ability needs to be reassured on daily basis through regular online testing and analysis.

This makes it vital to study not only the nature of Quant and DI sections in a CAT but also to learn ways to master them online.

Meeting daily ranking challenge:
Is it really a challenge?

Yes! It is, – especially for those who are struck in the middle of their CAT offline preparation and expected to have access to online resources only after September 09. Moreover, the offline organizations that responded faster to the computer based CAT challenge are still struggling to provide the right testing interface to their students.


1. Method(s) of solving questions
You can use any of the four methods to answer the question in Quant or DI section.
a. Direct or convectional method as you does in your school days going from the question to the answer. This method, however, is least preferable.
b. Eliminating the options or going with the options. This is always the best and quicker way to reach the required answer.
c. Substitution of some values in the question. This method is very much useful for Algebra problems
d. Using direct method and Elimination method simultaneously.

2. Selection of Questions

While selecting the questions to attempt we have to be very careful. One must remember that in exams other than CAT we have to do complete as many number of questions as we can. On the other hand, in CAT a possible scenario may be the one where the test taker leaves nearly half the questions and still makes it to the top. The ability to select questions with easy statements and not-so-close answer choices can be developed by analyzing your MOCK CATs regularly at this stage. The expectation that CAT 09 will be Linear and NOT Adaptive further emphasizes the need of better selection of questions.

3. Improving speed of calculation

The time spent by a student in Quant and DI section on calculation is about 20% and the rest 80% is spent on comprehending the concept of the question. So beside your basic concepts you should have to work more on your calculations. It is recommended to spend at least 15 minutes daily on doing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Also ability to recall tables, squares & cubes up to 30, and multiplication between some common numbers like 13 x 12, 18 x 24 etc will be handy in getting the best out of the 20% time one spends on calculations.

4. Accuracy

Since, the time doesn’t permit us to solve all the questions. It becomes important to make sure that one solves 65% of questions at an accuracy rate not less than 80% rather than doing 80% of questions with 60% accuracy rate. If the paper is trickier, then an attempt and accuracy can be adjusted to find the optimum balance.

5. Handling traps in the language of the question

A well prepared student can fall in the traps in a few questions in CAT. You have to clearly see what is being asked in the question. For example, consider the following question:

Question: A student is expecting of getting 90 marks in the math paper and overall 75% marks in five papers but he actually gets only 80. What percentage of the marks he finally gets if the marks in other four papers are same as expected?

Solution: Well the very first answer from majority number of students will be 73% as they themselves imagine the maximum marks of a paper as 100, which is a trap in the question. This happens because in many examinations maximum marks are 100, but this does not hold true in this situation.

So the answer for these questions will be data insufficient or can’t be determined.

6. Preparing for a changed CAT-Quant pattern

Be prepared with every type of permutations and combinations for the pattern of CAT 2009. Will it have 5 or 4 options per questions; is it going to be ¼th negative or 1/3rd negative for a wrong answer; will the number of question decrease or increase; will the sections have sub–sections and further sub-sub-sections with varying marks per question or not; which topics would be visible more in the CAT 2009; what adjustments should be made in the attempt pattern if there are more questions from an unexpectedly less preferred topic like time and work etc. All these uncertainties should be addressed and discussed with your online trainers at this stage only in order to be prepared for the same.

Hence, in order to reach the 99.99 mark it becomes imperative not only to have familiarity with different ways of managing the attempt and finding the answers to the optimum number of questions but also adding a proven strength to the prevailing methods of testing to get daily ranking vis-à-vis rest of India. And to ensure this regular online testing and analysis on the resources like Online Math Tutoring | K-12 Math Homework Help | SAT-GRE Preparation is the key.

One must always remember that.

SOURCE - TCYONLINE

[sushobhan]

How average guys can crack CAT?

Are you an average guy? Do you dream of cracking CAT and zoom on the highway to success? Do you think you can do it? Well, let me show you how you can do it. CAT is after all an exam that turns all the tigers into pussycats!!

The biggest fear about taking CAT is just that …. A fear of the unknown! If you can tackle this fear half your battle is won. What are you so fearful about? It is just another exam? Or is it? It has been over-hyped just because a whole lot of people seem to be out there competing with you for those paltry seats. If you remove this fear of competing against the very best, and concentrate on bringing out the very best in you, you are almost there. Yes, almost but not quite.

To really get there you need to do an honest check of your strengths and your weaknesses. I am not speaking of your physical strength here. I am more concerned about your strengths in verbal and quantitative skills, and if you are serious about cracking CAT, you should pay serious attention to them.

There are no set formulas for cracking CAT. You speak to fifty successful candidates and each one will tell you a different story. What does this mean to you? It means that you should follow your own path to success. Listen to everyone. Learn from all, but make your own strategies and follow them to a T.

Students often ask me when is the right time to start preparing for CAT. My answer invariably is: the right time is right now. If you have decided to take CAT, what stops you from preparing for it? There is no right time like the present time. The verbal ability section demands a good grasp of grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. The Quant section wants you to understand numbers, their play and its application. The GD looks for your interpersonal, communication, and team skills. The PI is concerned about your knowledge of your self. It is as simple as that. Put in this manner it does not seem like the Herculean task it is made out to be. It actually isn’t.

So, if you have been diligent about your grammar exercises, have been reading books, understanding the basic math formulae, discussing your point of view with your friends and family, taking interest in the national and international affairs, and knowing exactly what you want from life….. Nothing can stop you from cracking the CAT.

The problem is that you have not been doing these things. Perhaps you have not been doing most of these things or all of these things. In that case, you need to start right now. There is not a moment to lose. You can not put your dreams on hold, just because you did not wake up in time. Now is as good a time as ever.

First of all start reading. You may ask, ‘reading what?’ My answer is, reading anything that interests you. When we are interested in something, we do it to the best of our capability, and that is always a good point to start from. Later as you become comfortable with the idea of reading, you should start reading newspapers (The Hindu is the best paper in India today. No other paper can match the quality of its language. Even their news perspective is very unbiased.), magazines (The Economist is the best magazine to read. You can read most of its articles online as well.), and books (by Richard Bach, Ayn Rand, Paulo Coelho, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Emile Zola, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, George Orwell Hermann Hesse, Salman Rushdie, Daphne Du Maurier, Nietzsche, J. Krishnamurthy etc). Taking a membership of a library really helps. E- Version of many books can be downloaded from the internet as well. I am told that many such books are exchanged on the Orkut communities.

All this reading will help you in improving your vocabulary, and comprehending implied meanings. For grammar, there is no book that can beat good old Wren and Martin. If you go through this book a couple of times, the grammar section of CAT will not haunt you anymore.

Start re-visiting your school math books. NCERT books for class VIII, IX, and X are invaluable in understanding Geometry. It is a fact that the CAT questions in Geometry are at NCERT level. A wonderful book for Algebra is Hall and Knight Higher Algebra. Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Pradeep Pandey is also a very good book for quant preparation. Once you are comfortable with the basics, start practicing CAT questions. Take help of Vedic Math. It may seem daunting at first but it is a fun way of learning math. Give it a try. Many successful people swear by its efficacy.

If you are still a student, start improving your academic performance. It is becoming increasingly important to be able to boast of a consistent performance. As you know every bit eventually counts on the D-day. Remember, it is never too late to start performing well.

The other question that is invariably asked is how much time to devote for preparation of each section. Again there is no one answer to this question because a lot depends upon your comfort level with each section. Generally, if you study for four hours everyday, devote two hours to quant, one hour to verbal, and one hour to DI. Your general reading and discussion time is not included in these four hours. It is best to study all three sections everyday so that your preparation is more balanced. In any case your real study time is only till August. After that SIMCATS would start and your preparation planning would change as per your performance analysis.

And finally, have confidence in your dreams. If you are given these dreams, you are also given the where withal to achieve them. So carry on……….Expect SUCCESS.

[sushobhan]

How to overcome preparation blues?

Less than two months are left for the D-day to dawn. Every MBA aspirant is beginning to get the jitters; after all cracking the CAT is no child’s play. But does it really need to be like this? Do you really need to get into these preparation blues at this stage? No, no way. Let us just get out of this crap-trap and fasten our boot straps. Here is how.

Preparation is not only about studying for long hours; there are many other supporting factors that enhance your learning.

Health: If you keep sitting in a place for a long time, while studying, please move your legs a bit. Shake a leg as the saying goes. It gets your blood flowing which helps sharpen your concentration and recall. If you are in the habit of skipping breakfast, think again. Creativity is often at its peak in the morning, eating ‘protein’ laden breakfast helps feed your brain cells. If you suffer from frequent headaches, please check the amount of protein in your diet. Never, ever, eat a heavy lunch. It makes you feel drowsy. You can lose precious productive hours this way. Stress of any kind inhibits your ability to absorb and recall information. This inhibits learning. Sometimes just absorbing some sunlight and reducing refined foods in your diet, helps reduce stress. Taking a short walk around the neighbourhood may help. Taking a 15 minutes break every hour during study sessions is more beneficial than non-stop studying. These breaks help your mind to relax and absorb information. Whenever you feel tired or stressed out go take a shower. Water is a universal solvent; it dissolves all your negativity and washes it away, leaving you freshened and loosened. Laugh often. Laughing relaxes your body and a relaxed body is more receptive to ideas. Play video games to relax. Video games can be an effective aid in learning.

Perspective and Focus: Alternate between studying Verbal and Quant. This change of subject focus helps in better assimilation of both.
Use all three ways of learning: visual, kinesthetic, and auditory. Involving all your senses in learning make for a much better absorption and recall.
Learn meditation and meditate for about 15 minutes everyday to tap into your inner resources, and strengthen your ability to focus. Walking meditation is a very useful tool. Focus on what you are studying. Don’t get distracted. Don’t try to watch TV at the same time, and don’t worry about other things while studying. Anxiety is best avoided. If you take three deep breaths every now and then, you will feel relaxed. Read as much as you can. Give a breadth of topics as well as depth. Give yourself deadlines; limit your time for learning some concept in that given time. By learning to constrain yourself, you will achieve more in less time. Plan your learning. As Led Zeppelin says, “There are two paths you can go by. You can take a haphazard approach to learning, or you can put in a bit of planning and find an optimum path.” Plan your time and balance your learning. Learning happens in layers. So build your base knowledge first upon which you can build advanced concepts.

Recall techniques: Efficient Speed reading helps in filtering out a lot of irrelevant information.Using acronyms and mnemonics helps remember information. Use visual aids. Draw or sketch what you are trying to remember. Use mind maps to see the relationship between different ideas.
Brainstorm with your friends. Brainstorming involves verbal activity, writing, and collaboration with your friends. Don’t shut any idea out. It will help you assess your own level of preparation. Use various symbols for learning. Create your own particular symbols. Organize your thoughts on what needs to be done for each day. Loosen yourself up through playing rhyming games and uttering non-sensical words from time to time. It also stimulates ideas. Learn by osmosis. Record some important lessons in your own voice and playback these lessons whenever you want to. Writing notes by hand stimulates ideas. The same does not happen while typing your notes. The simple act of holding a pen or pencil in your hand massages acupuncture points which in turn stimulate ideas. Organize your notes by using sticky color tabs to partition chapters for easy referral. Revisit complex concepts in order to fully absorb them. Repeating and revising improves absorption and speeds up learning. Collaborate with others. Form study groups.
Quiz yourself. Test what you have learnt to re-enforce the information.
Create an FAQ and write everything you know about a topic. You can even create a blog about a topic. Learn critical thinking. Critical thinking takes your learning ability to a whole new level. It involves good analytical skills to help the ability to learn selectively. Learn complex problem solving. Learning is part of this process. Ask questions to yourself. Make your learning interactive, with your friends.

Self motivation techniques: Give credit to yourself for each day’s learning. Focus on the result that you want to achieve. W. Clement Stone once said, “Whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” Believe in this dictum. If you keep your mind focused on this saying, hurdles will seem surmountable. Think positive. Have faith in your abilities to achieve your goal. Organize your time well. Make your ‘to do’ list and prioritize the tasks.
Remember that if someone else can do it, so can you. Believe in your infinite potential. Before you start working on a topic, decide what you already know and figure out what you don’t know. Then learn the later.
Multitask. Multitasking helps in time management. Think holistically. It is a mindset, so develop it. Remember that 80% of the concepts take 20% of your time and effort to learn, while 20% of the concepts take 80% of your time and effort. Recognize and ascertain which ones are which. Challenge yourself. Put yourself through tough assignments. People are often more intelligent than they realize. There is more to you than you take credit for. In a world that compartmentalizes and categorizes everything, most people are not too sure where they fit in. Teach others. The best way to learn something is by teaching it to someone else. Teaching forces you to learn. Sharing your knowledge is the best way to gain more knowledge.
Persistence always pays. Don’t give up. Anything one human being can learn, most others can learn as well. Einstein had said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Remember there is more than a new way to learn. Never believe that you can’t learn. Relax, don’t worry, and stay happy.

As always EXPECT success!

[sushobhan]

Commonsense Aptitude Test

Every youngster knows which mobile offers best value, with all complicated data on talk-time, free SMS, rate of local call, the pulse, etc., taken into account. Why does a simple similar question based on ratio proportion or unitary method looks so confusing inside the CAT exam room?

Have you ever seen a child of III or IV standard committing a calculation mistake, while buying toffees or chocolates? Why does he commit a mistake while doing a similar question in CAT, after studying maths for another decade?

Even an illiterate lady would know exactly how many more potatoes she must get, if subziwala doesn't have the change of say, Rs. 1.50, to return. Why then a learned graduate is at sea to find this out with a paper and pen?

The answer to all these paradoxes is simple. In the former situations, Commonsense is used, and in the latter, Maths.

Let's take an example. In this season of "sale" every where, you find on one shop a board that says "Buy 3, get 1 free". And on the nearby shop "Get 30% off". Ask the students in a maths class to find out the better offer and they are zapped. Many of the mathematicians will promptly find the discount in the first case to be 33.33 % and in the other to be 30%, thus declaring the first offer better. However, a little common sense (which somehow appears only when you are in the market and disappears as soon as you enter the class room!!!) would tell that in the first case, you are getting a discount of 25%, as you are not paying for 1 out of 4.

Now, ask someone to find out the sale price when an object costing Rs. 151.25 is sold at a loss of 130%. The mathematician will enter the jungle of formulas and calculation, while the one with commonsense (a rare species!!!) would know that nothing could be sold at a loss of more than 100%. Even if you give something free to someone the loss is 100%. And even if you spend something further on its disposal, that is added to the cost and the percentage loss still remains 100%.

The section on quantitative ability in CAT (and other competitive exams also) now shows a shift towards questions having greater element of commonsense rather than pure maths (this might have something to do with paper-setters having more commonsense!!!). This doesn't mean that we don't need formulas and calculations now, but that we use calculations or formulas in the situation when logical thinking (a euphemism for commonsense!!!) needs to be supplemented with these and we don't rush to the formula at the sight of the questions.

Before you enter the CAT room, the invigilator would instruct you to keep calculators and other helping gadgets (so desperately required near the half time!!!) out. Fortunately, there is no instruction to keep the commonsense out. So, take it along and use it profusely. This could be your best bell (oops, bet) for the CAT.

[sushobhan]

Here is the 13th set of materials for CAT Aspirants ....... Learn and Relearn

[vikas.kolkar]

thank u soooooooooo much............great material.............it will help me a lot!

[shamim.ahemad]

thanks buddy...it ll be very use ful to ...thank you again