CAT Strategy Tips for the last 30 Days
Finally, you enter the last lap of preparation for CAT-2015. You have 30 days for the exam and this means it is critical that you use the next month in the best possible manner. In this short and sweet article, I will simply outline the things you should be ideally doing at this time. Remember, these are generic guidelines and you might be already committed to some of the tasks I outline in this article. So you can identify the ones that gel well with your current preparation strategy.
Let’s get to the tips then.
Verbal Ability:
● Make sure you solve 2 to 3 Reading Comprehensions a day. In case you solve a mock on a given day, your RC practice for the day is covered but you need to make sure you analyse the mock and identify your mistakes.
● Focus on revising one Verbal Ability topic every day. The important topics are: Para-jumbles, Para-completion, Summary Writing and Critical Reasoning.
● Make sure you revise Grammar rules and tips. In case you have not taken up Grammar till now, then you just go through the basics and the topics which are relatively easier. A comprehensive study of Grammar at this stage is difficult and not advisable. In case you have covered it in detail, then you can take up complete revision for the area.
● For vocabulary, only revise the words you have previously studied. Learning new words at this stage is not advisable.
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning:
● Make sure you solve at least 2 LR and 2 DI sets a day. In case you take a mock test on a given day, your practice for the day is done.
● Make sure you cover all previous year CAT sets. The previous year sets are still the best resource to acquaint yourself with the kind of tricks used by CAT in this section.
● Make sure you try to convert data and logical conditions into tables, equations or easy relations. Try to capture the most relevant information on your scratch pad. LR and DI are all about being able to understand the nature of data and information provided.
Quantitative Ability
● Run through the list of topics for CAT QA and analyse what percentage of the complete syllabus you have covered. In case you have covered less than 50%, then you need to make sure you cover the basics for another 30% in the next 15 days. The remaining time is mainly for revision.
● Focus on revising key concepts from your strong areas. CAT is all about maximizing your strengths and the QA section inherently has topics that require revision.
● Start going through key formulas for areas such as Trigonometry, Geometry and Mensuration.
● In case you do not understand some topics, then it is better that you only cover the bare minimum basics for these topics and focus on your strength areas. At this stage, it might be tough to develop conceptual understanding of topics. So it is in your best interests to revise and strengthen some areas. Remember, this is only applicable if you have attained proficiency in about 70%-80% of the areas in this section. If that is not the case, you need to scramble and put in some hours to cover concepts for the remaining areas.
General Tips
● Those of you whole are not able to finish any individual section in time, make sure you take up a number of timed section tests and practice completing as much as possible within the given time limit. It is all about focusing your mind and ensuring your efficiency improves in the given section. Practice would most definitely help here.
● Do not take undue stress and let you mind divert to possible scores, percentiles and so on. At this stage, the focus should be on improvement and ensuring you cover the maximum number of bases. By thinking about the results, you are only eating into the time that is actually going to help you increase your scores.
● Make sure you take one to two mocks only every week. An excess number of mock CATs won’t help you at this stage. You are better off with focused preparation and eliminating your weaknesses.
● While you are solving questions in any particular mock, make sure you maintain your focus and limit yourself to solving questions alone. Do not let your mind wander to things that you cannot control. It is clichéd but it is best to live in the present moment while solving any exam.
This completes a set of tips that you should keep in mind for the next 30 days. Use these to maximise your preparation efficiency.
Happy Learning..:)