Omkarp : Awesome post bhai! 
This week's mocks & sectionals:
Aimcat 1307(from pdf): 104 57 47 (around 99.6-7 percentile)
Aimcat 1309(from pdf): 93 46 47 (around 98.69 percentile)
CL Proc Mock 8: 101 67 34 😞 😞 (95.45 percentile)
TIME VALR sectional 2: 53 (20-7)
TIME QADI sectional 3: 70 (24-2)
@nits2811 said: this week was insane 4 mocks in 4 days...had messed up the schedule big tym..MC 1307 79 52 131iCAT 06 70 58 128PM8 78 36 1141306 48 45 93learnings: dont drain urself and over exert..keep it simple ..its only CAT after all...
english ka kya soch raha hain.. tera toh mere jaisa hi haalat hain dekh raha hoon :P
finished reading the chat transcript now,, logout ho gaya tha kal.. ye gtalk bada torture hai--
thanks for the va analysis omkar- mast hai woh plan..
koi QA ka bhi daalo..
i on the other hand have to start studying, basics bhi hue nahin hai ab tak as shown by my fluctuating mock scores.
however have been giving time mocks-
Aimcat 1306-103
Aimcat 1307-95
lot of studies to be done .. dekhte hain office se comp-offs le kar padhna padega..
guys can ping me for verbal.. scores bahut nai hain but i guess i can tell u about attempting the section 2 RC and grammar part.. parajumble bhi ban jaate hain..
Qa is my nemesis so have to work on it,..
@abhishek_sharma said: Disclaimer : Please take the suggestions mentioned below at your own risks; they are tried and tested but so is the online CAT.Considering that in the next 10 days, I would be leaving for IIM L, it would be tough to answer individual queries as I want to enjoy the limited days of freedom before hel(L) takes me over. I am writing a global post which might help some.Let me set a benchmark firstAny score below 29 Correct and 0 wrong, won't get a 100%ile in sec-1. Ideally, only a 30 correct will bring a 100%ile. 29 correct and 1 wrong will get a %ile of around 99.93.So, know your target and realize that it isn't a cakewalk and be prepared to work hard.Let us look into Quants Know your enemy :-21-22 questions. Around 10 very easy, 5 moderate, 4-5 tricky, 2-3 tricky and tough. By tough, I don't mean olympiad level. Except for 1 to 3 questions from PnC and Probabilty, all the questions are from the mathematics syllabus upto class-10.Time: It is enough if one does not get stuck in a tricky question. If no lead in 1 min then skip the question.Stage-1Symptom : 1)Do not recall the theorems from geometry, mensuration, algebra etc. 2) Have to use pen to calculate tables upto 20, squares upto 30, cubes upto 20, square roots upto 20 and cube roots upto 10.Cure: 1) Learn the tables upto 20, squares upto 30, cubes upto 20, square roots upto 20 and cube roots upto 10. It is shameful if the answer to 17*7 does not come instantly to your mind. 2) Solve the basic QA material - Arun Sharma or Time material. Don't waste a lot of time, try to finish in 2-3 weeks. Skip questions which seems solvable. 3) Maintain a notebook of all the formulas.Stage-2Symptom : 1) Basics are clear. 2) Speed is slow.Cure: 1) Solve questions mentally, without using pen. It will take time for the effect to be visible but is the single most effective way of improving speed. 2) Never get into the trap of vedic maths. Waste of time and low ROI. Moreover, it takes time to become a habit and under stress situation read CAT, old habits aka normal calculation methodology resurfaces.Stage-3Symptom : 1) Basics are clear. 2) Speed is decent. 3) Low accuracy. 4) No clue in 5-6 questions, even after dedicating time to themCure: 1) Practice a lot. 2) Do not have any weakness. I repeat, do not have any weakness. Be prepared to solve a seater from any topic. 3) Solve last 10 year CAT papers. 4) Solve previous year mocks and analyze your performance.Stage-4Symptom : 1) Things are perfect in mocks.Cure: 1) Pray day and night . So that you are not normalized.Generic suggestions:-1) Data Sufficiency questions are tricky, time taking and have a high chances of getting wrong, so be careful and attempt them after attempting easy questions. 2) QA questions are heavy with Number System, Geometry and Algebra. Be really good at these three topics. 3) Do not prepare at random. Analyze your performance. If you get a question wrong then look for the mistake and never repeat it again. Just appearing in mocks won't help. 4) Don't get into the trap of too many shortcuts and complex formulas. Keep it simple and stupid. The questions are very basic.Let us look into DI Know your enemy :-8-9 questions spread over 3 sets One of the sets will check calculation acumen and will involve operations on big numbers One of the sets will check visual acumen and will have charts and graphs. Last set may be from Set theory/Venn diagram or anything generic.One of the set will be very easy, other two will be moderate. At times, one set can be very tough.Stage-1Symptom : 1) Have no idea of basic charts eg: pie charts and graphs eg: line graph, bar graph etc. 2) Calculation speed sucks. Cure: 1)Solve basic DI material of any coaching institute.Stage-2Symptom : 1) Basics are clear. 2) Speed sucks.Cure: 1) Learn the art of approximation and mental calculation. The ratio and proportion chapter of Arun Sharma QA will help a lot in this. Google some article to know more.Stage-3Symptom : 1) Basics are clear. 2) Unable to solve all questions. 3) Low accuracy.Cure: 1) Solve last 10 years CAT papers. They have all possible DI sets and have good questions. 2) Then practice mocks and sectionals.Stage-4Symptom : 1) Things are perfect in mocks.Cure: 1) Pray day and night . So that you are not normalized.Generic suggestions:-1) Have a look at all the sets first. Decide on your comfort level and then solve in the order of easy to hard. 2) Skip a set as soon as you realize that it was actually tough. 3) Not necessary to solve all the questions of the three sets. One of the questions in some sets is quite tough. Skip it. 4) Expertise at judging a set or a question as tough will come with practice.My experience in sec-1 of CAT'111st question, could not solve. 2nd question could not solve(read it wrong.) 5 mins passed with zero attempts. Felt the pressure. Asked myself to be calm. Took deep breath. Solved 3rd question then 4th. Attempted all QA questions except 3-4 questions. Attempted all DI questions. Had 17 mins remaining. Attempted rest of the QA questions except for one. 11 minutes remaining with 29 attempts. Revised all the questions. Last 2 mins. 1 question remaining. This question was from Probability. It was my weak area and I hadn't worked a lot on it, but I always used to analyze the questions from mocks, suddenly I recalled a method and the answer was one of the options and the method made sense. Marked the last question.I never had awesome speed and my average attempts in mocks used to be around 22-24 questions. Mocks like every good thing has some flaws. They are unrealistic . Sec-1 of mocks is tougher than that of actual CAT. People will kill previous year mocks and lot of questions get repeated in mocks from previous year and hence score unrealistic percentiles, when actually the basics and question selection skills are not developed very well. Focus on having your basics clear. Being pro at solving tough questions never helps and it is proved by the fact that people who own the Quant thread on PG and nail those tough questions, are unable to own the QA section of CAT, because CAT checks basic and demands speed and accuracy.So my final suggestions are:- 1) Never panic. CAT is all about nerves. 2) Do not have any weakness. 3) Don't waste too much time on solving tough questions. Specially on threads where the competition is - who posts tougher questions and who solves it faster. 4) Keep your basics clear. 5) Not learning from mistakes is suicide. 6) Read the question very carefully. Half of the mistakes are because of not understanding the question properly.ATB,Abhishek Sharma IIM Lucknow 2012-2014 CAT'11 : 99.87 (sec-1: 99.93 sec-2: 95.15) Member : Pagalguy Dream Team 2011.P.S. Few more things to add, which I will update after sometime. P.P.S. Don't ask me to mail the materials. I don't have the time and net speed at present. Moreover, everything is easily available. So stop being a freerider and put some effort by using Google.
thanks to Achilles heel for sending this post to me- we all can use it i guess
@firsty said:thanks to Achilles heel for sending this post to me- we all can use it i guess
Yea, this one is probably the best for QADI. Helped me a lot. :D
^ ^
This one post helped me a lot 😃 and i really thank @abhishek_sharma for this exhaustive post on QA section 😃 I remember I was in 40's in the QA section when I read this post. I can today manage 60-70's ! in the same section. VA is my nemesis but I guess I might have a similar effect by @Omkarp 's post on VA section 😃 !
have created the dropbox UDT folder nd have invited d UDT members to join...
pls join nd share whtever quality prep material u hv....
AIMCAT 1306: 103
@raven_007 @anupam001 Pls mail me the chat transcript. I couldn't attend due to travelling and stuff.
@raven_007 said: @nits2811 tera qa post kab dega?
sry 4 the delay was a lil busy wid some homely work...wld b up in an hr...
@bemad said: have created the dropbox UDT folder nd have invited d UDT members to join...pls join nd share whtever quality prep material u hv....AIMCAT 1306: 103
Mujhe wahan add hone ki permission hai kya ?? Won't delete any stuff surely :P
@Estallar12 said:Mujhe wahan add hone ki permission hai kya ?? Won't delete any stuff surely
ha ha bhai sure....PM me ur id...waise DT wale permission maangte nhi dete h....:P
@bemad said:ha ha bhai sure....PM me ur id...waise DT wale permission maangte nhi dete h....
Gmail ID is same PG ID.. :P
@CBZ123 said: @raven_007 @anupam001 Pls mail me the chat transcript. I couldn't attend due to travelling and stuff.
sent :)
Disclaimer: I am a normal person with normal skills and I am writing this post on the behalf of fellow UDTians and its a very very long post.
First u need to understand that this is just CAT which tests u on basic aptitude with a few applied things. This is not a JEE exam that you have to prepare day in day out, burn the midnight oil, etc. So first and foremost thing to excel in QA is to remove watsoever phobia you have and have a complete focus on watever you do.
Now the common problems people face in QA or DI or LR :-
-> The number of attempts are low.
-> The accuracy is low.
-> My attempts and accuracy are inversely proportional.
-> Not able to do justice to my ability and hence score less.
-> Time Management is a big problem .
-> Though I can solve all the questions when I am at home but not able to so in a mock or under time constraints.
-> Kind of a hit and miss in the section i.e. scores keep on varying.
-> You are just not able to score well.
Well these are generally the hue and cry of most of the people .
Following may be the reasons of the person not doing well on a consistent basis :-
-> You do not recognize ur strengths and weaknesses.
-> You haven't practised much.
-> You just dont get it at times even though u have a good hang over the basics.
-> You waste a lot of time in attempting difficult questions which leads to a low attempts.
-> You make guesses at times which leads to a lower accuracy.
What I do ?
I generally don't study for this section at all, I just attempt the mocks one or two sectionals or topic tests, that is it. You cannot learn aptitude in a space of one month or something, it is something which has been built over the past 20 years but what u can definitely do is improve it. Whenever i approach any question from this section, first i dont pay any heed to the clock because i kno that in a normal aptitude test u wont b asked JEE probs and it shld b solvable by an average person ( CAT is nothing but an elimination test ). If i get too much tangled in the question i generally leave it, but u shld kno that if this was a difficult question u are bound to get easy questions later on which u wld b able to attempt in 30 secs and make up for the lost time. Most of u think that the biggest enemy in this section is TIME but blv me u never start a paper to attempt 100 % questions, u give a mock to get the best and that is only possible when u go in the paper with a clear mind, my avg attempts in this season has been 23-26 questions and i would have attempted 30 questions may b once i think, so if u wld roughly take out the time per question its 3 mins, which i think is more than enuf. I approach the paper as it comes to me, attempt the questions i am sure of and generally don't attempt any fancy questions from geometry because most of the times these types of questions are speed breakers.
CAT Perspective :- It has 20-21 questions in QA and 9-10 in DI.
-> 7-8 absolute sitters shld take hardly 30 secs.
-> 5-6 easy but tricky shldnt take on an avg more than 2-3 mins.
-> 3-4 medium shldnt take more than 2-3 mins again.
-> 2-3 difficult, better left out if u are an avg person.
-> 3 DI sets with each being easy, moderate and difficult.
So roughly at the max 5-6 difficult questions, so u have 23-24 questions to play with and last time in 90% of the slots, an attempt of 20-22 questions with 90% accuracy wld give u sumwhere arnd 99%ile.
So u can easily see that TIME should never be an issue in this section, once the issue of TIME is out of ur mind u can do wonders in this section.
QA is generally divided in to following blocks:-
-> Number System
-> Algebra
-> Geometry
-> Modern Maths
-> Arithmetic
Now lets analyse each and every block with respect to different type of ppl and CAT perspective.
NUMBER SYSTEM
Seriously one of the all time favorite topic of a paper setter. There could be endless possibilities in this topic but in CAT generally basic things are checked. Master all the basics in this chapter and u shld b able to solve most of the questions frm this block.
A People perspective
People generally are afraid of this topic because of the type of problems which can be framed from here, but in the end these problems are nothing but 1+2 = 3 only if u have the basic skills.
-> Weak ppl: Try and learn all the basics from this topic ( just the basics ) and implement them, even though u are not able to solve question in mocks, dont wry in CAT u shld b able to solve a few questions definitely.
-> Medium ppl: I think u shld b knowing this topic pretty well but the execution is probably lacking, work on ur grey areas and u wld improve.
B CAT perspective
Generally a CAT paper has sumwhere arnd 3-5 questions from this topic and blv me the luks are generally deceptive, questions which ask u to find remainders, last two digits, those are generally the most easiest of them all.
C Sources
-> The best source to practice NS is Total Gadha booklet, but i guess time is not on our side to probably do this booklet but if u want u can have a look at it and just see the solutions to the questions u haven't seen b4 in NS and that shld be enuf
-> Prepathon ( A blessing in disguise for every1 )
-> Test Gym is the best and complete source to do everything in QA or DI or LR.
-> TIME sectionals and MC's are very very close to CAT in all sense.
-> Previous year mocks and CAT papers.
ALGEBRA
Again a very favorite topic of the paper setter, the best way to approach algebra questions is to make assumptions, do substitutions and proceed. To score well in algebra u need to be thorough with the formulae and where to apply them in a particular problem, learn all the formalue by heart and u shld b able to solve almost all the questions but with enuf practise.
A People Perspective
People start learning hi-fi things in this topic which is not required at all, they are generally afraid of the monster like luking functions questions or sumthin, but algebra is also abt linear equations, quadratic equations as well which are very easy and generally questions which u wld have solved in 9 10th are asked.
-> Weak ppl: Learn all the formulae and the basics, thats more den enuf for algebra and dont b afraid of the questions because the luks are definitely deceptive in this topic
-> Medium ppl: u are probably erring in applying the right formula at the right place, so practise dem from ur funda buks
B CAT perspective
A CAT paper has 4-5 questions from this block and most of them on linear equalities and inequalities and quadratic equations.
C Sources
-> Again test gym is the best source to do them
-> TIME topic tests
-> previous year mocks and CAT papers.
GEOMETRY
This is probably the achilles heel of almost every1, the best way to approach this topic is to make figures and assumptions and also master the art of making figures to scale, that would solve most of the questions in CAT.
A People Perspective
People generally don't invest too much time in this topic thinking that it wont yield much, but it has a few fixed set of theorems which CAT generally tests. So for every1 keep a note of the the formula or theorems that wr used in a particular problem appearing in a mock and revise dem every alternative day, in a week's time u shld b able to master it.
B CAT Perspective
CAT has again 4-5 questions from here and most of them are formula based such find the area of this polygon, find the height of this traingle, radius of this circle, etc. One or two fancy problems which shld be not attempted. Learn the art of eliminating options in this topic and u wld solve 1-2 problem widout knoing anything abt the problem. If u want to kno that then attend the SQC by GP.
C Sources
-> Probably the best source is previous year CAT papers, there are limited problems from here which CAT ppl ask.
-> TG booklet again is very comprehensive, do watevar u told u for NS.
MODERN MATHS
Probably one of the toughest topics in QA and the difficult questions are generally from this place. It houses PnC, probability, sets, etc. Seriously if u are not strong in this topic then u cant do much abt dis in the last one month. Best way to learn is to keep a note of the varied type of problems which hv appeared in CAT and how they have been solved.
A People Perspective
People are generally afraid of this topic and they do hv a reason...99% of the time u solve a question it may turn out to b wrng, that is wat is faced by every1. In PnC if u miss out on a single case then u r gone for all money, so to attempt PnC problem its best to brk it in small bits and pieces and approach so that u dont miss out on anything. Even if u are afraid of this then learn the basic formulae and basic question types which have appeared in CAT and pray to GOD that these only are asked in ur slot and 4got abt the difficult question coz that most of the ppl wont b able to solve it.
B CAT perspective
CAT has 2-3 questions from here which asks u to calculate how many ways..whats the probability etc. In probability u can eliminate two options widout even luking at the question coz generally there wld b two options whose sum wld be 1, so either of the option wld b the answer.
C Sources
-> CAT previous year papers, learn the techniques used and revise dem every alternative day.
-> Test gym.
ARITHMETIC
One of the easiest topics but sadly CAT doesnt ask much questions now but who knos in ur slot it may ask u a lot of arithmetic. The favorite topic in this block is TSD, which on most of the occasions can b solved by using options, ratios and mixtures which is very basic and easy to master.
A People Perspective
People generally enjoy this topic more than anything else, so not much to really do in this block.
B CAT Perspective
CAT may give u 2-3 questions, i think i only had 1 odd question from here in my CAT, but the ultimate sitters come from this topic only.
C Sources
-> Test gym
-> Previous year CAT papers especially 99-03.
I think all the BLOCKS have been covered comprehensively.
General way of approaching the first section
Whenever u start giving an xam, just think that u are here to enjoy urself, u aint in a war where u wld either survive or die, coz the day u start getting this feeling ur scores wld automatically boost, and seriously u shldnt go for attempts in section, go for a balance bw accuracy and attempts.
Weak Junta:- First and foremost thing u shld b having sum strong points, so go to the questions from that topic and focus only and only on those questions, take as much time as u want and get dem 100% correct, den attempt one DI set which shld be easy for u out of the three, the best way for u to proceed in CAT is attempt 16-18 questions but with more den 90% accuracy, and blv me u wld b able to attempt even more than 18, the thing is jus keep ur cool.
Medium Junta:- Well i think u have more strong points then weak points so u are in a range where if u by chance falter u cld miss out on the cutoff, the best way for to approach is start from question 1 and start attempting dose questions which u r comfortable with and dont even touch or look at the questions from ur weak areas, den in the second round solve dose questions frst which u wrnt able to solve in round 1 and are frm ur strong area, dis generally happens because of mental blockage initially, u shld b able to attempt 20-22 questions easily in CAT which can transpire to more than 99%ile provided u have a gud accuracy.
Strong Junta:- Go for the full monty in this section and attempt as many as u can and better dont go with any figure in the xamination hall, rest u r champs urself.
How the analysis should be done?
I generally divide the analysis in two parts
-> After mock analysis.
-> After result analysis.
i dont kno how many of u do after mock analysis but i wld give u a unique way of analysing dis section. Whenever u are done with a mock or a sectional den take a 15 mins rest, refreah urself and comeback for another session.
Suppose u gave 1306 today, wenever u complete the mock in the end dere's one window which shows all the questions and the answers u marked, i wld suggest u not to close that window rather start analysing den and dere itself, First ryte down all the numbers of the questions on a sheet of paper say 1-30, solve all the unattempted questions first and ryte down dere answer on the sheet, u alrdy kno how many wrng u have and how many correct, now ur job is to find the questions u have attempted wrngly widout knowing whether they are actually wrng or not, so start with the first question and solve it again and if u are 100% sure that this is correct den mark a tick against this question on the sheet, even if u think that this cannot be wrng after completing the mock, den also solve that question again to check on any silly mistake, so this way u are wrking over time to find out the mistakes widout actually knowing in which question u have done dem.
What this will do is :-
-> It will strengthen ur concepts.
-> U wld b able to figure out the mistake and would definitely be conscious abt it next tym as u figured it out with intense solving of the question.
-> U wld definitely improve in the next mock.
Now every1 knows the after result analysis, check on if theres any other way to solve the question from the solution, check the answers for the unattempted questions, solve them again if u get them wrng, so this is the most holistic development that u can have in the last month.
( Now u wld get the window in the Non invigilated mock but for the invigilated mock u wld advise u one thing, dont submit the test at the centre, when 2-3 mins are left in the second section, close the window, come back home, open it and complete it and den start the after mock analysis )
General Mistakes committed
-> Question not read properly.
-> Misunderstood the question.
-> Forgot some condition given in the question.
-> Misread some condition.
-> Took something for granted or assumed some foreign thing nt pertaining to the questn.
-> Calculation error.
-> Read something from the question and solved for something else.
-> Used wrng info i.e. was given 21 took it as 12 or sumthin.
-> Calculated the right answer but marked the wrng option in haste.
-> lost concentration in between solving the question.
Have u ever thought y dese errors are committed, because of only one and only one thing the clock that goes on ticking away. I told u TIME would never be ur enemy in CAT, solve question with complete concentration and u wld never ever face dis problem again, jus b4 giving any mock revisit these mistakes u committed, remember dem and dont commit dem again, i kno its not easy but over a period of time u sld b able to come over it.
Practise in the last one month
As is the saying practise makes a man perfect is absolutely in sync with this section.
Now u alrdy have the prepathon going on 30 questions each day for a a particular topic is more den enuf, my advise wld b to keep a register with u while attending the prepathon and ryte down any new concept or trick u come across and revise dem again after 2 days and b4 CAT and b4 u attend the prepathon make sure u have revised the basics of the topic.
-> Prepathon which is 3 hrs. After te prepathon is over start attempthing the previous year CAT papers from 99-03 first den if u have tym u can go for oders as well.
-> Two topic test from ur weak areas which shld take u 30 mins each and 45-60 mins for analysing.
-> Give 2-3 mocks in a week depending on ur comfort, but i wld strictly advise u not to give more than 3 mocks in week.
-> Give one sectional tests of 70 mins and 90 mins for analysing.
-> Start analysing one mock from the past and keep a note of the mistakes u committed in it.
-> I have maintained an xcel sheet for myself which contains all the errors.
In short in a week 3 sectional tests from QA and 2 topic tests from ur weak areas and u need to invest nearly 10-12 hrs barring the prepathon in a week, as the prepathon is on u can skip the topic test is u want and make sure u always motivated and dont over do things, this is not the ryte time to burn out, do things slowly slowly and learn with each day.
EDITED
Just one more thing that came to my mind, i didn't mention anything regarding speed because i never blv speed is much of an issue in section 1, ppl say try and do questions orally dat wld save tym, but hav u ever thot practically how much tym does it save, luk u cld only solve sitters by not using a pen, suppose a paper has 6 sitters, using a pen u wld solve it in max 30 seconds but u remove any error by using a pen whereas if u solve it orally u wld solve the question say in 15-20 secs but dere is a chance that u may make a small error, even if u get all correct u hardly save one minute but the probability is high that while trin to solve quickly u may make an error which nullifies everything, so its better to write and solve den do any question orally, but u r a better judge of ur ability so do accordingly and i never solve any question orally until nd unless i am 200% sure that it is correct.
PS :- That's it, have been typing for the past 2.5 hrs and i have probably given all the gyan, ab bhi kuch bach gya hon toh pta nhi, coz i have given it everything.
@anupam001 dekh lena ek baar if everything is covered or not...agar kuch missing lage toh let me kno would update it..
@nits2811 said: Disclaimer: I am a normal person with normal skills and I am writing this post on the behalf of fellow UDTians and its a very very long post.
I haven't read it entirely yet. Sirf sub-headings aur length dekhke it seems like an INSANE post!!!!
Kuch bhi nahi choda hai aapne!!!!
Thanks a tonne for your effort and exhaustive coverage...
Serioulsy.. \\____O//
@Omkarp said:I haven't read it entirely yet. Sirf sub-headings aur length dekhke it seems like an INSANE post!!!!Kuch bhi nahi choda hai aapne!!!!Thanks a tonne for your effort and exhaustive coverage...Serioulsy.. \\____O//
yup for the past 3 hrs almost ..i jus realised...mein ek mock de diya aaj fir...ab isse jyada aur kuch nhi ho sakta...
@visionIIM-ACL sir aapse thodi si request hain..that if these two posts can b moved to the first post of this thread..so that it can help one and all...