The real preparation of CAT begins when one starts giving mocks. But then, just giving it without analysing won't help anyone. And there are a few tips and tricks, that one could experiment with while giving mocks and carving out a fine tuned strategy for each section. Today I'll discuss the VARC mocks.
While this section could be a slow paced section in a 3hr pattern, the 2hr test requires one to speed up the process considerably. It tests more than just reading speed and comprehension capability now, because one might have to make critical decisions in a crunch of time to accomodate as much questions as one can while also wisely identifying and steering clear of the traps too. Strategies you could use :
Going All Out : The best suited strategy for people who have a good hold on their reading speed and on their accuracy too is to finish one RC under 6 minutes. And focus on attempting all the questions(or
almost all 21-22/24). What this helps in is keeping a balance between positive and negative scores, because when we attempt all, and we have done our home work correctly, chances are likely that more attempts will lead to more correct ones. In the best case scenario, this is the one strategy that can maximize the score,
because not cutting down on the number of questions itself means that you have more avenues to score.
3 RC All VA: When we are being selective on the number of questions attempted, then one way to go about it is
leaving out an entire RC. If you see the trend in CAT previous year papers, then atleast one RC is there where
difficulty level is high as compared to the other moderate and easy ones. Now you can read the first 5 lines or introductory paragraph of each RC and skim through the questions to decide which RCs are you attempting and which ones would you be leaving. This gives you a good amount of time to do the other RCs and VA well enough. And that can ensure a good score provided you are very confident of the ones you attempt.
4 RCs Selective VA : Similar approach as above, if you have a stronghold in reading passages and remembering the details, and you can get the underlying meaning at once and don't have to look at the RC again to answer the questions, the attempt all 4 RCs. In this case, select the VA you would be doing. As there is no negative marking for para jumbles and odd one out, you could attempt them even if unsure. Summary reading takes up time and selecting the correct option too is not very easy. So that is the one you can leave out when being selective on this front. Or if you can easily spot the option which takes in all major points of the paragraph, the do summary and leave out the PJs. In any scenario, odd one out must be attempted, after all, typing just one number costs you nothing.
Things to look out for :
1. In RCs, take extra care while reading questions like "The author suggests all of these EXCEPT" or "NONE of these are TRUE other than" or "ALL of them are FALSE according to the passage BUT". These are keywords and change the course of your answer completely.
2. Always keep an eye on the timer, and as soon as you've exceeded the safe limit of 8 minutes on an RC, speed things up, and if the questions appear too difficult, you can maybe skip and return to the question later if time permits.
3. In para summary, look for the X Y Z points and eliminate the ones that are missing either one or more of them. Elimination works better than selection here.
My two cents : While devising a strategy is a good thing you should do, always remember the
unpredictable nature of CAT. It might also be that all 4 RCs are super easy or that 3 of them are way too difficult. It can be that out of the blue they start giving grammar questions, or complete the sentence with the best possible match. So in that case, the single most thing that will stand out is your calm and adaptability to such a situation.
Hence, even no strategy is a good strategy then.
Till then, stay true to the prep.
Recommended:
- "From An ICU To Scoring 99.83%ile In CAT" - How Shashwat Made It To IIM Calcutta Against All Odds - https://bit.ly/3Qucdev
- CAT 2021 Score Vs. Percentile - Check Details Here - https://bit.ly/3JYUI3n
- I Couldn’t Believe My Eyes When I Saw A 100%ile Against The VARC Section, Ft. Aditya Doiphode, CAT’21 VARC 100%iler - https://bit.ly/3Ap8adF
- CAT 2022 Study Plan For Students And Working Professionals - https://bit.ly/3BWqRH5
CAT Notification is released, Now is the time you take your preparation seriously and go the extra mile. To aid CAT aspirants, we have compiled a few sectional tests as a giveaway. Take them now and see how your accuracy turns out!