The Common Aptitude Test (CAT), the all-India national level computer based test conducted by IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) as entrance exam for admission to various management programs for IIMs and other B-School. This time, IIM Lucknow is conducting the CAT 2017, that likely to be held in December month, 2017.
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) started this exam and use the test for selecting students for their business administration programs. This test consists of following sections – Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability (VA) and Reading Comprehension (RC), Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR).
CAT 2017, while having no specific syllabus, is divided in three sections – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VRC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA).
Some of the questions in each section may not be of multiple choice type. Instead, direct answers are to be typed on the screen. All the rules and conditions will be explained in the Tutorials, to be released in October month, on the CAT 2017 official website.
The tutorials are to help the candidate understand the format of the examination. They are also advised to work on the tutorials, well in advance. Use of basic on-screen calculator for computation is also allowed during the test.
Although the official announcement is yet to be made, serious aspirants must have started or planning to start their preparation for the exam. But the question might arise about the topics to be covered during the preparations in each section. AfterGraduation will guide students to know about CAT Important topics for preparations, under each of the sections. Let us take a look at each of the three sections in detail.
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Section I: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
This section is divided into 2 parts, Reading Comprehension and English Usage. The Reading Comprehension has around 5 passages followed by 3 to 5 questions from each passage.
English Usage includes questions on grammar, vocabulary etc. It would have sections on Fact inference judgment, Fill in the blanks, Para completion, Para jumble, Grammar, Sentence correction, Verbal reasoning and Word usage (vocabulary).
Reading the editorials of the newspapers is one of the ways of improving comprehension. Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension require candidates to become familiar with the type of questions and paragraphs. Focus on grammar and learn atleast five to 10 new words each day for 125 more days to get richer in vocabulary.
Section II: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)
While having only limited inputs,this section tests the candidate’s ability to take quick decisions . It takes practice and speed to complete within the prescribed time limits.
The topics included in DI are Data Sufficiency, Bar Graphs, Tables, Case-lets and Pi-charts. The on-screen calculator becomes useful in this section as most answers involve calculations. Intense practice is required and candidates would do well to solve at least 3-4 sets every day after setting a time limit.
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Logical Reasoning is all about understanding the trick hidden in the question. Candidates could enhance their Logical Reasoning skills through solving crossword puzzles, Sudoku, riddles, family tree etc.
The more you practice the questions from DI & LR, better will you perform. The DI questions for CAT are known for being calculation intensive.
Section III: Quantitative Ability
Solving QA section can be quite challenging for test takers as the level of difficulty of this section, has been of difficult to moderate level based on past years trend,.
This is a key area and candidates should take care to practice a lot to earn rewards in the form of sectional scores, which will impact their overall CAT percentile.
The section has the Number System, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry (lots of questions in the past few years), Permutation & Combination/Probability. Questions on miscellaneous topics like Set Theory, Trigonometry, and Logarithms can also be expected.
It is important to cover all the topics and the concepts and practice each concept by solving simple examples first and gradually moving towards the difficult ones. One of the important strategies to cover each topic is to make a Day-wise preparation plan and schedule some number of days to prepare for that topic.
AfterGraduation team wishes all the aspirants very best, for CAT 2017 preparation. Wanna Bell CAT This Year?? Start Your Preparation Now..Start Early and Stay Ahead.. All the Best to Aspirants..!! Please post your Feedback, Queries or Comments regarding CAT 2017, on our Aftergraduation Forum.
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