CAT 2012: DI section: Prepare as daily routine

Many a times exhaustive preparation for exams need out of box ideas which might give impetus to preparation and make it more interesting. 

For preparing for traditional DI, pick up any newspaper or business magazine. Some graphs are usually given and the data is captured in those graphs. So you should do some mental calculations based on that data. 

For example, while watching a cricket match, calculate the run rate before it is flashed. We go to a petrol station and hardly check the right amount supplied — calculate the prices and the quantity wherever you go. 

Such regular mental calculations would start building up the base and looking at different forms of graphs will build in understanding of the DI.

Building logical ability is difficult in so far as preparation for DI section of CAT is concerned. This is not to say that logic cannot be developed but the fact is that only looking out for the solution in the puzzles will not work.

 If you are working on the puzzles, you should spend time with the puzzle rather than looking for solution.

Nevertheless MOCK Tests are need of the day to achieve mission CAT 2012.

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: LR or Logical Reasoning needs to be tackled differently

LR is quite different in nature compared to other sections. Hence one needs to highlight some general strategies specifically applicable to LR.

Accuracy is far more important in LR. There is no bigger mistake than getting the complete set wrong. Avoid making guesses or reading in a hurry as it would lead to decreased accuracy. As far as possible do not attempt LR in the beginning. If you get the set wrong or if it is tough and takes more time, that would affect your performance subsequently.

Use the option substitution method judiciously. LR questions are typically not meant to be solved using substitution of options. The most effective way is to understand the logic behind the question and solve it. There are exceptions to this rule though and you should use them wisely.

Read and understand the common data and questions thoroughly. LR questions appear lengthy as compared to DI sets as they typically offer more information in text. While reading them, one might feel a lot of time is wasted.

Yet, it helps to understand every condition thoroughly before attempting the questions. You may need to revisit the conditions while solving questions. Consider it time utilized not wasted.

LR, when tacked differently will get you good scores and ultimately you will achieve mission CAT 2012.

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: Tips for immediate action for DI Section

For taking immediate action to improve in DI section, CAT 2012 aspirants may take following actions:

Most DI questions will consist of a bunch of statistics, numbers & diagrams that might look scary at first instance but are actually not at all difficult to solve. In fact the trend has been: the scarier a DI set/caselet looks, the easier it is to solve. So before you lose heart & move on to an easier-looking set/caselet, scan that scary set & the list of questions in it. There will be at least of couple of “sitters” (questions that can be easily answered). So Scan the Question.

The Data Interpretation section is calculation-intensive. And by “calculations” we mean stuff like 556/874 and not 2*9=? Such calculations can eat up your time. It is imperative, therefore to get very, very comfortable with calculations. Learn shortcuts that will help you calculate in your head or better still; figure out how Vedic Math works. It will help you a lot. So Hone your Calculation Skills/Speed.

Get on to Mock Tests and achieve mission CAT 2012

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: Quick ways of solving Quant problems (QA)

The CAT-Crackers ought to keep certain methods in mind while tackling questions related to Quantitative Aptitude (QA).

Direct method: You may also call it "The Conventional Method" of solving questions. We can solve the question based on the information given by applying the formula. But we no longer get questions in CAT requiring direct procedure.

Substitution method: This method is useful in solving problems related to algebra. A few values in the question given can be swapped with the other values to get the answer.

'Elimination' method: This is considered to be the most effective one as far as CAT questions are concerned. Options give some inkling of the answer and through expertise gained by regular practice you can easily tackle the questions.

'Observation' method: In this method, a repeat pattern can be observed and answer can be formalized accordingly.

Simultaneous method: Two methods can go concurrently. First half of the questions can be done using direct method and when the picture becomes clear, elimination procedure can be used.

To conclude QA requires practice and best is to take Mock tests to achieve mission CAT 2012.

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: VA: What is Critical Reasoning and why it is important?

Critical Reasoning is an analytical way of thinking about issues for analyzing and evaluating information gathered from observation and experience in order to come to certain conclusions. 

Critical Reasoning clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions. ‘Critical’ as used in the expression ‘critical reasoning’ denotes the importance of thinking to an issue, question or problem of concern. ‘Critical’ in this context does not mean ‘disapproval’ or ‘negative’.

Critical thinking can occur whenever one judges, decides, or solves a problem; in general, whenever one must figure out what to believe or what to do, and do so in a reasonable and reflective way.

In CAT 2012 examination, CR questions are important as they test the candidate’s ability to think in a rational manner. In the exam you generally face a hypothetical situation and the critical reasoning tests you on how well you understand what you are reading. The strength of your logical powers is tested through these questions. CR questions could play a significant role this year’s CAT with its VA+ LR mix.

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: Arithmetic in QA

CAT aspirants note that 15-20% of questions in any CAT paper fall under this head. Major topics that you need to cover are Set Theory (especially Venn diagrams) and problems on Time, Speed and Distance, both of which are always asked.

Both of these topics are covered as part of the school syllabus, but may need some brushing up on. Sometimes, questions on topics such as Linear Programming are also asked.

Another are Miscellaneous problems which do not fall under any head. They are rarely asked, and even when they do appear in a CAT paper they do not number more than one or two.

They are purely tests of mathematical aptitude, and you cannot learn how to solve them. The advice, for dealing with these problems, is to try back-substitution of answer choices, or to avoid these problems altogether.

CAT aspirants need to go for the preparation of QA with mock tests and note that only that will lead to you to achieve mission CAT 2012. 

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: Pre-requisites for the preparation of DI section

Improving your calculations is the first step to improve your Data Interpretation. You need to work on both accuracy and speed to improve this section. Speed can be increased by practicing regularly. Vedic mathematics can also help you to increase you speed. It is not necessary to follow Vedic mathematics if you are not comfortable with it. 

To improve your speed try doing calculations in your mind rather than using pencil/pen. In the starting it would take some time to do calculations in mind, but slowly and gradually you will see a mark difference in your speed.

Solve different type of case lets instead of sticking to one type. Develop your skills to solve different case lets.

Data interpretation is not a subject to be learned instantly. It improves with practice. Regular practice can do wonders in your speed as well as analyzing case lets.

What best can be option for practice than Mock Tests? Go for it ‘n’ number of times as this will help you to achieve mission CAT 2012!

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: Tips on Tackling LR differently!

LR is quite different in nature compared to other sections. Hence one needs to highlight some general strategies specifically applicable to LR.

Accuracy is far more important in LR. There is no bigger mistake than getting the complete set wrong. Avoid making guesses or reading in a hurry as it would lead to decreased accuracy. As far as possible do not attempt LR in the beginning. If you get the set wrong or if it is tough and takes more time, that would affect your performance subsequently.

Use the option substitution method judiciously. LR questions are typically not meant to be solved using substitution of options. The most effective way is to understand the logic behind the question and solve it. There are exceptions to this rule though and you should use them wisely.

Read and understand the common data and questions thoroughly. LR questions appear lengthy as compared to DI sets as they typically offer more information in text. While reading them, one might feel a lot of time is wasted.

It helps to understand every condition thoroughly before attempting the questions. You may need to revisit the conditions while solving questions. Consider it time utilized not wasted.

For you, time is fleeting so get on to Mock tests and achieve mission CAT 2012 successfully!!

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: What are Para Jumbled Questions in VA?

What are Para Jumbled Questions and why are PJ questions important? These are the questions which bother CAT aspirants. Let us understand. 

Para Jumbled Questions consists of a group of sentences that have been jumbled up. The goal in these types of sentences is to rearrange the sentences in the original sequence. In para-jumble questions, you will be given a paragraph made of four to five sentences whose original sequence has been changed and you have a few minutes to figure out what that original sequence was.

Para-jumbles are significant because they have been regularly appearing in the CAT and other MBA entrance tests. There is a good chance of three Para-jumble questions appearing in the 20 questions of the Verbal Ability section.

Secondly and more importantly — PJs are one of those questions of the CAT in which you can improve your skills dramatically within a short span of time. It is probably one of the few areas of CAT VA where the scope of ambiguity is limited.

You have to go for Mock Tests as that will get you achievement of mission CAT 2012!

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: QA has tough questions of Algebra and Number Theory

CAT aspirants should ensure to understand that Algebra and number theory provide the major chunk of questions in any CAT QA section – 55-60%. 

Topics that you need to look at are Permutations and Combinations, Probability (very basic, including die and card problems and perhaps Bayes’ theorem), Functions, Progressions (A.P, G.P. H.P. and A.G.P), Logarithms, Equations (Quadratic and Linear/Simultaneous) and most importantly, Number Theory.

Number Theory problems are usually very simple. They require certain tricks that you can pick up from any good textbook. Number theory contributes 3-4 questions to every CAT, and so it is a very important topic.

You should be comfortable writing numbers in their algebraic form (e.g. a three digit number having digits xyz can be represented as 100x + 10y + z). You should also learn about divisibility tests.

Practice QA with Mock Tests at MBA Rendezvous and get questions with solutions being updated after every 10 days. 

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: How to maximize scores in VA?

CAT aspirants must be thinking how does one maximize ones chances of clearing the cut-off of Verbal Ability Section? 

One obvious but humanly impossible task is to end up reading all the literature in the world. A more realistic and do-able solution is to read up some of the best books on as diverse topics as you can.

RC Passages, Idea Completion Questions, Multi-blanks, Jumbled Paragraphs etc. have appeared from very diverse areas. So why not read up sufficient amount of material in each area and make yourself at least less uncomfortable, if not more comfortable when they appear in the paper.

When you have read more and diverse topics, your comfort level and understanding (especially of passages) will shoot up dramatically. This will save valuable time in comprehending very complex data and make you more convinced about the answer that you think is the most appropriate one among the five choices.

There is no other answer to ensure competence in the Reading Comprehension Questions for

CAT 2012 than reading extensively, reading a lot and reading diverse subject matter. The more varied books and magazines you read; the more familiar you become with different presentation styles and techniques of sentence formation.

Go for VA mock tests and achieve mission CAT 2012.

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: 106 Institutes have registered to use CAT 2012 scores besides 13 IIMs

CAT aspirants note that besides 13 IIMs who will primarily use only CAT 2012 scores for selection process, 106 other Institutes will also use CAT scores this year.

To know list of B schools you can visit MBA Rendezvous

You are getting enormous opportunity to seek admission in top hundred B schools besides thirteen IIMs at all India level. 

As reminder, you need to keep top of mind that CAT 2012 exam dates have been announced and important dates are: 

• CAT 2012 Exam:  11th October 2012 to 6th November 2012 
• Registration: 30th July to 19th September 2012
• CAT 2012 Result will be out on 9th January 2013 

If time and speed are the ingredients in CAT exam then anxiety and stress also club with the preparation hence, you need to go for SWOT for each step as that would ensure that you are at peace with pace of CAT exam.

Have bold face and be persistent with your preparation, you will achieve mission CAT 2012!!

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: “Think Positive and act accordingly”: Preparation Strategy

You must understand that CAT is not impossible to crack. People have done it before and will continue to do it, so why not you? You just need to continue systematic preparation and CAT could be probably one of the easiest tests to crack. 

Besides IIMs More than 100 top B-Schools take CAT as a standard written test. Your idea of getting into a good B-School starts with CAT and such exams, and the route to the same is not as difficult as it is made out to be.

CAT is all about Time management. The most important part of any competitive exam is the strategy that you adopt. Given enough time, you will realize that you can solve almost all the problems in the mock test. The fact that the same has to be done within a fixed time and that too by making as few mistakes as possible is what makes the task challenging on the final CAT day.

Each one of you is capable of getting there if you prepare systematically. There is enough time to revisit your basics , get on to practice with Mock tests and achieve mission CAT 2012.

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: Speed and Accuracy in QA

In QA important facts are to focus on are speed and accuracy. They play vital role in your quant preparation and will help you score high in the Quantitative Ability part of the CAT 2012. 

You can also refer to the basic preparation material available on our website for the Quantitative Ability section and then progress towards the books meant for CAT preparation. NCERT arithmetic text books from classes VIII to X are the best to strengthen your basics for Quant Problems.

Apart from the NCERT books, the other books you may refer are:

• How To Prepare For Quantitative Aptitude For The CAT by Arun Sharma (TATA-McGraw Hill publications),
•   Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by NishitSinha (Pearson publications),

• Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Kumar Verma (Arihant publication) and

• Quantitative Aptitude for MBA Entrance Examinations by AbhijitGuha (TATA-McGraw Hill publications)

Preparing your own topic wise time table is also very useful. You should prepare it in such a way that you get to alternate days for preparing or revising each area. For instance, Monday - Arithmetic, Tuesday - Algebra, Wednesday - Geometry, Thursday - Modern Math, Friday - take test, Saturday - analyze, Sunday - revise weak areas. This way, you could cover all the areas in the Quant equally,

You must also take a couple of speed math tests every week and Mock Tests are the best. You will not only remain up to date with your preparation level of the Quantitative Ability section for CAT 2012 but will also be able to excel your speed and accuracy.

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

CAT 2012: Vocab Tips - Developing a Winning Memory

We can easily recall things by their associations. When you set your mind to remember any particular word, your conscious effort should not be to vaguely mug it up but to understand it and retain so that it shall be impressed and retained. 

The student who will "cram" for CAT 2012 will not be able to makes any permanent addition to his knowledge. As recall without association is very difficult and sometimes confusing and "cramming" allows no time to form associations.

Therefore, if you find a word difficult to remember, do not waste your energy on mugging it up and then on emphasizing it to return. Try to recall some other fact or name associated with it.

If your memory is good in most respects, but poor in a particular line, it is because you do not interest yourself in that line, and therefore have no material for association.  

To improve your memory you must increase the number and variety of your mental associations. Many ingenious methods, scientifically correct, have been devised to aid in the remembering of particular facts. These methods are based wholly on the principle that that is most easily recalled which is associated in our minds with the most complex and elaborate groupings of related ideas.

Cramming is almost prohibited to raise vocabulary so go ahead with practice and usage and achieve mission CAT 2012

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM

 

CAT 2012: Useful Tips Section Wise

To give you a clear idea about the preparation strategy for each section of CAT 2012, here are few tips:

For Quantitative Ability, you need to brush up your basics well and focus on your calculation tricks to reduce solution time, lower the mistakes and emphasize on accuracy. Practice is what makes Quantitative Ability friendly to anybody. Just practice a lot and you won’t need to mug any formula and any trick. Things will turn out eventually in your favor.

Data Interpretation is all about studying and understanding the data that are in question. DI involves a lot of calculations and to get things correct in less time, learning the tricks and tips of Vedic Mathematics is the best idea. Analytic skills are tested extensively in DI; therefore the CAT 2012 aspirants need to practice DI questions well. 

Logical Reasoning section has neither any written syllabus nor any prescribed formula. You need to think logically in order to find out the solution of the problem stated in this section. You need to organize your thinking ability step by step in order to find out a solution. 

Unlike Quantitative Ability and Verbal Ability, there is no limit to the possibilities in Logical Reasoning. It is most unlikely that any caselet that you have solved before will ever turn up in CAT. The section has only one thing to learn: approach and that again, could be learned through practice and more practice.  

Prepare with Mock tests and achieve mission CAT 2012.

Author: MBARENDEZVOUS.COM