Dear Arjun, for preparing for CAT, it is good to know the exam pattern because the pattern has been changing over the years. CAT is an online examination of 3 hours duration.The questions in the exam will be of MCQ and TITA type totaling 100 questions. MCQ are multiple choice questions, for which candidates get multiple answer choices. Each Question has 3 marks and a wrong answer takes away 1 mark. However Type in the Answer questions are exempted from Negative Marking.

CAT exam paper can be Categorised into 3 parts:

Quantitative Ability
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

The Verbal Ability section and Reading Comprehension has 34 Questions, Data interpretation-Logical Reasoning section has 32 MCQ questions and Quantitative Ability has 34 MCQ questions totalling up to 100 questions. Each Question has 3 marks and a wrong answer takes away 1 mark.

Now you should set your goal if you want to get into IIMs or top B Schools or any MBA College would do. Because CAT exam will be held at different slots, CAT scores will be normalised to ensure equivalence in the difficulty levels of the exams for both slots. IIM Kozikhode will normalise the CAT scores using percentile equivalence. Adjustment of location and scale differences of score distributions across different norms and then scores will be normalised. These scores will be then converted into percentiles for shortlisting and selection purposes. While CAT score remains the main criteria for selection, IIMs also consider other factors like previous academic performance, work experience, gender and Academic diversity. Once you set your goal, first things first, know the syllabus. And go through the previous papers to analyse and prepare a comprehensive plan and set priorities according to the importance of different topics across sections.Customise your own study plan based on your strengths and weaknesses. Gauge your preparation from time to time by taking mock tests. Solve questions to check your levels of preparation but not to set any targets. Remember, its ok to have cheat days and relax. But make sure you have a plan and stick to it for the next few months.
NCERT books will sharpen your basics and you need strong basics for preparing for any entrance examination. Once your basics are in place, because the time period for preparation is quite less, your preparation should be extensive and thorough. Now we will help you how to prepare yourself for each section. Before that we will give you a faint idea of how IIMs guage your CAT score section wise:

IIM Indore:

                                  QA          DLR          VARC         Overall
General                    80            80                80               90
NC-OBC                   70            70                70               80
SC                             55            55                55               60
ST                             45            45                45               50
PwD                         45            45                45               50

So scoring in every section is important. And how do we do that?

Quantitative Aptitude covers almost 30% of the CAT question paper. QA can be categorised into Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Advanced Mathematics. Practise chapter by chapter and develop mental calculations. Like practise more of basic summation, subtraction, fractions and tables. Numbers, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Ratio, Proportionality, Time-Distance, Time-Work, Mixtures, Averages, Partnership, Permutation and Combinations, Probability, Set Theory, Progression and Series, Line, Angles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Polygon, Circles, Ares, Volume, Height and Distance, Coordinate Geometry, Basic Trigonometry are few important topics.

Preparation tips:

Because this section involves mathematics and takes most of your time, your focus should be on solving the problems efficiently in the beginning. Even if it takes time, practise upto perfection. Practise as many questions as you can in the conventional way. As and when you get a grip on the subject, you can go for short cuts. Memorise tables, square roots, cube roots, conversion from percent to fraction, etc. Solve sample papers on Mathematics. In the beginning, do not worry about the time it takes. As you practise, you will get the hang of the subject and it will be easier for you.


In Verbal Ability session, command on your English, Grammar, Vocabulary, Understanding of the given paragraph are of more importance. Reading English NewsPaper will also help you in your preparation.

Preparation tips:

Read articles from time to time. Follow newspapers, magazines, and watch the news channels and browse the internet to keep yourself updated. You will need a lot of reading to help you in the comprehension section. You will need speed to help you in this section and you can achieve that only by thorough practise and reading. Take time to understand the question because most answers are interlinked.


Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning needs to be practised as much as possible. Comparison of data, Data Analysis, taking clues, interpreting missing data, coming to conclusions and making future projections will be covered under this Category. The questions here are interlinked and so if you get one formula correct, cracking the next few questions will be easy. So it's important to memorise and practise formulae. You should cover topics like Data tables, Data Charts, Bar Diagrams, Pie Charts, Graphs, Data Comparison and Analysis.

Preparation tips:

As this is the most tricky section, this needs a lot of practise. Solve as many sample papers as possible to get the hang of the section. Make notes when required. Regular practise can help you understand and solve the questions easily as time goes on.

hi!

) Get your basics right – This is the fundamental step for your overall preparation. Make sure you are aware of the type of questions being asked in the examination.

2) Challenge yourself – Try giving one mock test in the initial few weeks of your preparation. This will make you realize where you stand in the race. Don’t get demotivated or overconfident with the result. Just swallow your ego and do the next step.

3) Practice – For QA and DILR, solve a wide variety of types of questions from different sources. There would be no point in solving 100 questions of the same type. For VARC, read articles from different areas. Further, maintain a habit of keeping a time limit for each exercise.

But keep in mind that CAT is more about solving accurately than it is about speed.

4) SWOT analysis – Few mocks in between will help you identify your Achilles heel. Just remember, to crack CAT you would have to be consistent throughout the 3 sections. Work on your weaker sections and you could see your scores increasing gradually. Don’t expect things to be great within a short time frame. Work hard and be patient.

5) Mocks – I cannot emphasize more on the importance of this point. In the last leg of your preparation, give a lot of mocks. Maintain an excel sheet to track your performance.

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