QA section strategy - For this section one needs to practice a lot of different types of questions from all the chapters. During the exam, I attempted the paper in three stages. In the first stage, I solved all the questions which I could do at one go till the end. In the second stage, I attempted those questions which I thought I would be able to do after giving it a try. After attempting all such questions if there was some time left I tried those which I thought were the hardest for me. In this strategy, I could solve all the questions which I could do. If one goes question by question, then there might be a scenario where one gets stuck at one problem then he or she might miss out on some easier questions at the end. In QA, there are a lot of question which can be solved by going through the options or checking with some values whether the condition is satisfied or not. This approach saves a lot of time than doing by the conventional way.
For the challenging sections, I practiced a lot and went through given examples and solved exercises to get a better understanding of the topics. I tried to figure out the parts which I was comfortable with and focused on those. In this exam, one does not need to solve all the questions. Score maximisation strategy is mainly by attempting all the doable questions and leaving out the tougher ones. So, the ones which I felt was very tough for me I left them and concentrated on my strong areas so that I was confident of solving the questions from those areas.
The different books and study materials I referred are -
- VARC section – Coaching Center study materials and previous year papers
- DILR section - Coaching Center study materials and previous year papers
- QA section - Arun Sharma Quantitative Aptitude, Coaching Center study materials, and previous year papers
Mock tests were significant for me and helped me a lot in my preparation. It helped me in my time management and finalise my strategy in attempting the paper. I could find out my weak areas through mock tests and was thus able to work upon them. I started taking the mock test from August. For the first two months, I used to take a single mock per week. Then from October, I took 2-3 mock tests per week till the date of the exam. For the analysis of the mock tests first I used to watch the video solutions of the mock test solved by experts in a real-time scenario. Watching the experts explain the paper helped me in developing my strategy and learn various shortcuts. It also helped me in improving my thinking process in case of RC questions. Apart from that I also went through the solutions of the questions which I could not solve or were wrong. If possible, I glanced through the QA questions which I got correct to see if there was any shorter way to solve them. I could modify my strategy by the mock test analysis as I could identify my weak areas and work upon them. The main positive point from this outcome was the time division plan which I could do from the analysis of mock tests. Mock tests helped me in implementing my strategy well under time constraints and make me more comfortable with the sections.
In case of VARC, I aimed to solve the 25 questions of RC in 45-50 minutes. Then I tried to address 5 VA questions in 10-15 minutes. In DILR section I tried to solve one case in 15 minutes so that I could solve 4 cases in one hour in that section. In QA, I had no particular target, but I aimed at maximising my number of attempts in the three-stage strategy. I tried to finish the first stage in half an hour. Then I gave 20 minutes for stage 2, and in the last 10 minutes, I tried to solve questions from the third stage.
Use of calculator and Non-MCQs - I used calculator only for some complex calculations. I did the necessary calculations by myself as using the onscreen calculator was more time-consuming.
In the VARC section, I attempted five non-MCQs and guessed the rest. In the DILR section, I tried to attempt cases with lesser non-MCQ questions as it made difficult for me to get the correct answer. MCQ questions are easier to solve and get the right answer. In QA section, I did not give any particular attention to non-MCQ questions and attempted them only if I was sure of solving them. Though the non-MCQ questions did not have negative marking still one does not have any idea whether they are getting the correct answer or not and thus it took more time for me as I was not confident whether I was correct or not.
In the end, the suggestion which I would like to share with aspirants is that to concentrate on the preparation and not to think about the result. Giving mock tests are very important along with analysing them. Mock tests also make one mentally strong to tackle the paper for three hours. One must keep calm on the exam day so that he or she can give their best in the exam and I wish best of luck to all the aspirants.
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About the Author:
SUBHRAJYOTI SAHA
CAT Percentile: 99.64
Graduated as an Electronics and Communication Engineer in 2016, currently pursuing PGDM at IIM Shillong. Sports enthusiast and ardent football fan.
CAT Scores-
- Overall Score- 171.75
- VARC Sectional Score-84.10
- DILR Sectional Score-43.44
- QA Sectional Score-44.21
Comments
amit kumar
How many mocks did you gave?
4 Oct 2017, 12.58 PM
+Read Replies (4)
Subhrajyoti Saha
Hi, I gave around 20-25 mocks in total.
8 Oct 2017, 12.02 AM |
Prithviraj Panesar
What was your sectional percentile? how many questions did you attempt in quant?
11 Oct 2017, 02.55 PM |
Subhrajyoti Saha
Varc-99.84 Lrdi-98.29 Qa-96.85 I attempted 18 questions in Quant
14 Oct 2017, 05.34 PM |
kunal dey
Were all the 18 questions correct ?
11 Nov 2017, 08.08 PM |
Sanjay Joel
Your reason for choosing IIM Shillong?
4 Oct 2017, 02.57 PM
Anvi Gupta
Good
Hi! Were you working from July to December?
5 Oct 2017, 09.23 AM
+Read Replies (3)
Subhrajyoti Saha
Hi, Nope I was not working from July to December.
8 Oct 2017, 12.02 AM |
Saswata Choudhury
were you questioned on why were you preparing only and not working alongside? If yes, how did u answer that? Thanks in advance.
10 Mar 2018, 11.07 PM |
Sameer P
This is a question I fear of since I have recently quit my job to prepare for CAT 18.How did you tackle it?
1 Apr 2018, 02.41 PM |
Shourya Kasliwal
Hey, Thank You for the tips. Could you please share your last 5 mock scores.
5 Oct 2017, 10.01 AM
+Read Replies (1)
Subhrajyoti Saha
Hello, You are welcome. I do not remember the exact scores of the last 5 mocks but they ranged from 145 to 160.
8 Oct 2017, 12.06 AM |
Ipsita Pattnaik
If we get the non MCQ questions wrong then will it hamper our percentile?
6 Oct 2017, 08.46 AM
+Read Replies (1)
Subhrajyoti Saha
Hi, No it will not hamper your percentile but accuracy in the MCQ questions will affect your percentile a lot.
8 Oct 2017, 12.07 AM |
MITESH JOSHI
WHAT IS THE WEIGHTED FOR PAST ACADMIC
10 Mar 2018, 11.51 AM
Klix Kiran Mallepogu
Really inspirational, thank you for the tips, how much score u used to get in the initial 1 to 5 mocks? And how you've improved. Thanks in advance.
10 Mar 2018, 02.00 PM
iim a
Sir, Please share your attempts in DI LR & VERBAL also along with the PAST ACADS & ALL OTHER CALLS YOU GOT? This would be indeed great help.
10 Mar 2018, 06.21 PM
Venkatesh Pasumarthi
I am very passionate and hardworking.
Thank you bro , This article gives me more intutive way about cat because,I am planning to give my cat this year as a fresher 4th year undergraduate and you are similar to me .
10 Mar 2018, 08.56 PM
Chirag Wadhwa
which other calls did u have?
17 Mar 2018, 10.37 AM
aakash gupta
what was your past academcis records??
1 Apr 2018, 06.07 PM