Note From Editor -> Free CAT Mocks 2025: Daily Sectionals!
Now let me take you to every section and provide some resources or suggestions you can try for preparation-
VARC
This section sets the tone for your paper, but it can be unpredictable. The RCs are from diverse topics, and you have to be on your toes throughout to understand the passage's context. The secret to this is simply reading daily – to improve your understanding of the language and get a hold on vocabulary. You can look at –
- Aeon Essays- They cover a wide range of topics, and you can prepare for anything and everything from here.
- Newspapers- These will be crucial in the later stages for PIs, but you can make a habit from here only; the editorials are an excellent source for improving reading comprehension.
- Books- You can read many good books and try to comprehend passages.
- Mock-Taking Strategy- One Strategy that worked for me was 30:10. Give 30 minutes for the passages (around 7.5-8 minutes for each passage, try to solve as many questions as possible from the RCs, and then have around 10 minutes to solve the verbal ability questions which can be a sufficient time for them)
DILR
This is the make-or-break section for you, as a small mistake can cost you the whole set. It needs a lot of practice so that your mind can remember the patterns, reducing the time to solve sets. The patterns can be developed over time, but this section demands hard work if someone is not good at this.
You can look at Aptitude Jab (which contains a lot of sets from various levels of difficulty); PYQs are a good source to look at, as well as any coaching material.
Mock-Taking Strategy: My Strategy was to look at every set for 2-3 minutes; if I felt I could solve the set, I took it up and tried to solve it, and if not, I would switch to a different set. This ensured minimum loss of time and maximum attempts. You can also spend 4-5 minutes reading all the sets continuously and then take up sets you feel are from your strong areas. This Strategy will eventually improve as your mind develops to recognize the patterns.
QA
The only section that needs conceptual clarity, according to me, is the formulas and different concepts ranging from arithmetic to modern maths. You have to be clear with them to solve questions, which also requires consistent practice. Around 30-40% of the paper has questions related to arithmetic directly or indirectly, so you cannot leave this along with Algebra.
You can look at Rodha's playlist on YouTube; it is a comprehensive playlist covering all the topics and concepts.
Mock-Taking Strategy- I used to solve the paper in rounds, mostly 2 or 3 rounds so that you can maximize your attempts in the paper. Earlier, I used to solve the questions in the order of questions only, but that didn't work for me, so I switched to this Strategy. In the 1st round, go through all the questions, solve the easier questions first, and mark the questions that you can solve in the subsequent rounds. Then, go through the marked questions in the later rounds and try to solve as many questions as possible.
CAT demands consistency and practice from everyone to be able to crack it. Of course, there are outliers, but on a general level, you are required to take time. Be healthy physically and mentally, and everything will be fine. On D-day, don't panic; if something is not going your way, look ahead and try to maximize your chances. You still have a lot of time left, and you could be the one getting into the top colleges next year.
Enjoy this phase as it's gonna get difficult only. All the best to everyone. I hope to meet some of you next year.
Regards,
Ayush Aggarwal | XLRI Delhi-NCR | CAT- 99.54%ile |XAT- 98.64%ile
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