Are you choosing the right questions in your Mock CATs?

Art of Choosing the Right Questions: Lots of queries pour in each day about how persistent efforts are not translating into great scores. More than knowledge, an extremely important aspect of test taking is: choosing the right questions. Therefore, the question to you is – Are you choosing the right questions to attempt?

Most of the time the reason for poor performance is not lack of knowledge but poor question selection and some test takers maybe of the viewpoint that all questions should be answered. Few rightly picked questions are sufficient to get you a desired 99+ percentile. Now, the question that should come to your mind is: Which questions to select and solve? Here is an exercise that will reveal to you how your question selection over the past mocks has been and how you can you can improve your ability in choosing the right questions.

To check out how good your question selection is, after every Mock CAT or Sectional Test you take, you should ask yourself the following two questions:

Q1. How many questions in each section did I attempt that I should not have attempted?
Q2. How many questions in each section did I leave that I should have attempted?

Obviously, the answer to both these questions should be Zero. While the answer to these questions for the students doing well in Mock CATs would be 1-2, for most of you, the answer to both the questions will be 5-6. This means that most of you have wasted around 20 minutes trying to solve questions that were difficult (Q1) and hence did not have time for the easy questions (Q2).

To be able to understand this better, pick up the last 3 CAT Mocks that you have attempted. Make a list of the topics that are your strengths and a separate list for the topics that you are weak at. Now, based on your strengths and weakness, you have to decide if a particular question should or should not have been attempted by you and then place it in the appropriate cell as shown below. This table has to be filled for each of the three sections separately.

The answers to the above two questions will give you a top-level view of the problem but to have an understanding of your problem and to find the solution, you will need to dig deeper. Suggest that you pick up the last 3 Mock CATs attempted by you and place all the question of the paper in one of the cells in the table given below. Based on your strengths & weakness, you have to decide if a particular question should or should not have been attempted by you and then place it in the appropriate cell. This table has to be filled for each of the three sections separately.

Performance Summary

Mock_­­­­­________                                             Section____________

Questions that I should have attempted Questions that I should not have attempted
Correct Incorrect Did not attempt Correct Incorrect or Time wasted Did not attempt
Good Shot Unforced Error Missed Opportunity Risky Shot Double negative Well left
Q. No: Q. No: Q. No: Q. No: Q. No: Q. No:

Now let us understand what each of these six columns stand for:

Good Shot: Good, you not only identified the easy questions but also got them right. You need to ensure that these question types are not missed in any paper.

Unforced Errors: This is criminal. These are the easy questions that you messed up and ended up with a -1 instead of a +3. You need to identify the reason for these silly mistakes. The reason could be that you rushed through the question and missed a couple of words or loss of concentration or calculation errors or plain carelessness.

Missed Opportunities: How could you miss these sitters? Most probably you had wasted time in trying to solve difficult and time-consuming questions (Risky Shots & Double Negative) and hence missed out on these sitters.

Risky Shot: These are the questions that you should not have attempted but you did and fortunately got them right. How much time did these take? Was it worth the effort? Hope these were done in R2 or R3.

Double Negative: These questions are responsible for your poor performance. By attempting these questions not only have you wasted time but also earned negative marks. Why did you attempt these questions? What is it that you need to overcome – Ego or Fear or Optimism or Love? The time that you wasted in attempting these questions could have been better utilized in attempting the Missed Opportunities (Column 3 questions).

Well left: Good work, you could identify the questions that are beyond you.

What Next?

Make this table for all the Mock CATs that you have taken so far (separately for each section) and you will find a pattern which will help you evaluate your ability to choose the right questions in Mocks and hence in CAT. Here are some things that will help you evaluate your performance once you have categorized your questions in the table chalked:

1) Ideally, most of your questions should be in two columns – Good Shot & Well Left. If this is the case, then you are safe and probably have a good score in the section.

2) If there are questions in the other columns then we have work to do. Identify the cause and work as per the suggestion given above.

3) If you have a large number of questions in Missed Opportunity, Risky Shot & Double Negative then your question selection is atrocious. You are trying to solve the difficult (for you) questions in the test and in the process missing out on the easy questions (Missed Opportunity).

4) A large number of questions in Unforced Errors indicate lack of revision and carelessness.

5). If you have a large number of questions in the In Time column then give yourself a pat on the shoulder. However if the number in Time Wasted column is higher then you need to work more smartly in choosing and solving your questions.

CAT Score Booster

To not make this process a headache for you, try CL’s CAT Score Booster. A Strength Finder that is a part of this tool is required to be filled by you. From your next mock onwards, the tool will provide you with a personalized report consisting of the table discussed above. The tool is intended to give you great insights about how well you perform your areas of comfort and how do you tackle the areas of difficulties. For each mock know what your score would have been had you not wasted time on the questions you got wrong or hadn’t attempted these questions even after spending time on them.

As your performance improves, you should fill up your strength finder again after every 15 days. Along with that, CAT Score Booster comes with articles that will help you strategize. Video analysis depicting Gejo’s, Neeraj’s and GP’s way of solving mocks are available for the three mocks that come along with the CAT Booster.

All the best

152 Comments

  2. Sir,
    Sir I am in dire need of your help because currently I am stuck in this dilemma.
    X = 91.2 %
    XII = 86.4 %
    Btech = 74 %
    I am a B. Tech final year student. I would like to take a year break after college instead of going for a job through campus placement as current placement scenario is pathetic. What are my chances of getting into IIM if I wil get a good CAT score????

  5. Hello Sir,

    I appeared for Cat’14 and scored 85%ile. I scored 96%ile in Verbal and 71 in quant however during mocks this time i am facing difficulties in attempting Verbal and my Quant is probably much better than before. Please suggest as i just have a month left for preparation now. Also, since Non-MCQs have been introduced this year please let me know how to go ahead with them. Should i attempt all of them since there is no negative marking or should i use the older strategy of solving around 75% question without any discrimination between MCQs and Non- MCQs.

    • Kriti, apologies for missing your quesry.
      CAll me at 9811155160 any time today to discuss if you have any issue wrt to your CAT attempt.

  6. Hello Sir,

    Being a commerce graduate I am facing problems when I am doing quant. During the time of mock aimcats due to lack of confidence I am either leaving or making a mistake in the sums. So even after getting good percentiles in the other 2 section, Quant is actually taking the percentile down. Since I am in a job and that too in odd timing mostly get 4 hours to study daily.

    Please help.

    • Utsab, you should practice more and more sectional tests to strengthen your hold in Quant section. If you feel your work timings are odd and you are not getting time to study for CAT, then you can also refer to our product SMART CAT CRACKER. This product delivers 240+ videos from CL Gurus (founders+ Expert Faculty) in which you get to learn smart ways of solving questions. You can study anywhere and anytime. But refer to this product if and only if your basics are on point.

  7. Sir
    I appeared for cat 15 and scored 75 percentile. And now i am planning to appear again but I’m scoring pathetic score of around 18-20 overall only.
    I am clear with my concepts but still donot know where i lack
    Even I’m confused about how to study in a well organized manner and about the strategy to prepare, also i am working with Axis Bank, so i doubt should i continue with job or prepare for cat only?
    Sir please help

    • Ayush, there’s no reason to leave the job. You should practice taking sectional tests and do an in-depth analysis of your strengths and weaknesses. Work on your weaknesses to improve your score. You can also refer to our product SMART CAT CRACKER which offers 240+ videos from CL Gurus (founders+ Expert faculty). You can find guidance on each and every topic in various sections along with handouts. They share smart ways of solving questions.

  8. Sir my Dilr performance is too pathetic.I m not able to score good percentile in this section.please guide me.
    And please tell me about about we school and Bimm Pune?is it worthy to join these b school?does this give good career graph?

    • Bhavna, you should work on your fundamentals and then practice sectional tests to give yourself sufficient practice for this section.
      Welingkar and BImm Pune are decent institutes but this will not give much boost to your profile. You should be looking forward to top b-schools.

    • sir my percentiles in the CL mocks till now is hovering between 94-98.What cat percentile can i expect if i perform the same way on D-day?

      • Soumik, you can expect a decent percentile of 98%tile in CAT 2016. Make sure you maintain at least 95%tile in CL mocks to target a percentile of +99%tile

  9. My condition in vrc section is very poor, i’m getting around 35 percentile in cl mocks. I’m really confused regarding vrc section, i dont know from where to start. how much rc should i practice daily how much time do i need to spend in verbal reasoning, i have only 100 days in my hand for cat 2016. I need your suggestion very badly, please help.

  10. Hi sir. I have completed thrice my Time material. My highest percentile till now in Aimcats is 67. I can’t go beyond that. Sir please advice me what ahould be my strategy to achieve 99+ percentile in CAT.

    • Tushar, it is about time that you quit solving the study material and start focusing on your mocks. The analysis of the mocks is extremely important for you to boost your score. Try and identify the areas of difficulty and put a little more effort on those. Consider using our Strategy for CAT’15.

  11. Are the CAT Based Section Tests in the Test Gym Classic tab in the SIS quite difficult?
    I have not been able to score good in those. Also, I am slightly confused if I should prepare for the difficult quant questions. I know that Cat’15 would be a little difficult but will there be considerable advanced level questions in the exam?

    • Anhijeet most of the CAT based sectional tests are made up of previous year CAT questions.
      Thus, they are CAT standard.
      Quant could be a little easier than this (not a lot) but VRC won’t be much different.

  12. sir,
    i have practised all the sectional tests of nmat and my avg total score has been 190(total of all three sections)how do you see this as a score?
    My date of nmat exam is 30th oct.
    What more shall i do,and any tips,if any?

  13. Hello Sir,
    How must I proceed with revision? My main area of concern is Quant. I have however completed the entire TIME course material which has an average of 150 questions from 26 topics, each. I have marked tough/tricky questions in each topic. I have completed the entire beginner section for CL in the test gym and half of the Advanced. I have given 6 mocks recently (unproctored master series 1-6). Despite doing SO many questions my Quant is still not good. I reach a score of about 30 (though upon analysis I could have got 40+).
    My main query is, I want the fact that I did so many questions to work for me for which I KNOW I have to revise but how do I do so? Given the schedule I have (3 mocks per week (6day go into giving the three mocks and analysing), how do I fit in revision and how do I revise SO MUCH?

  14. Hi GP Sir,
    I made a request for Mini Test Series (wavier coupon), It’s been 4 days I haven’t received any response from the sales team. I got only confirmation mail that My request would be processed in 24 hours, but it is more than 96 hours.
    I don’t know whom to ask regarding this, I hope you won’t mind that I wrote/raised this matter in this blog.
    My ticket ID is 44098.
    Waiting for your positive response.

    Warm Regards
    Sunil Kumar

  15. hi sir,
    sir u have emphasised a lot on revision ..
    Sir can u please explain the method we should follow while revising questions from DI & LR..
    is it like doing the entire set again or just understanding the logic and may be not solving it again..??

  16. Hi GP/Gejo Sir

    I’m struggling to get consistent score in VA section, in one mock I got 47 and in next one it went to 24. Please suggest how to minimize this difference in score.

    Thanks
    Rajan

    • Rajan, this is a major fluctuation in the score. Try to analyse he last mock to understand why did most of the answers that you marked were incorrect. Was this because the options were too close or was it because of unnecessary exam pressure. The answer to this query lies only in the analysis.

  17. Dear Sir,

    I have joined the Mock CAT Test series 2015.I have doubts in some of the solutions.Also the video analysis for each mock is not available.

    Please assist.

  18. sir , my verbal ability is very poor , how do i improve it ?could you suggest any book from which i can learn basic rules ? Please help sir

    • Ashish, persistence is the key. You must immediately begin with taking Sectional Tests. This way you would be dealing with your section of difficulty, VA, more closely. This way you will also be able to develop a proper approach of attempting questions in the VRC questions. Also, you must start reading newspapers, editorials, magazines. This will not help you in the RCs but exposure to new styles of writing will also give you a better understanding of grammar. A student aspiring for the top IIMs should ideally be attempting 25 questions in VRC in 60 minutes.

  19. Sir, until last year your ‘How I attempted Mocks’ video analysis was a part of Test Gym+CAT Mocks package. Do we have to separately purchase CAT score Booster to view your video analysis? How many mocks’ video analysis will be provided in it?

    • Smriti, in the CAT mocks package itself, mock numbers 9, 10, 12, 14 and 16 have the masters GP, Gejo, Neeraj, Gautam Bawa and Shivku solving them.

  20. Hi Sir ,

    I am a old CL student and want to purchase CAT + non CAT test series plus complete test gym . What is the cost considering that only 2 months are remaining for the exam ?
    Will I be sent all the Non CAT mocks by post to my house ? My main concern is getting the mocks at my home on time as time is crucial .
    what about the proc mocks as i live in jhansi where CL center is not there . kindly reply

  21. Sir,
    As advised by you, I will be attempt mock nmats , iift previous yr papers and cat papers as well.
    In fact I have started it from today by taking nmat sectional test , one from each section.
    Wanted to know will the level be same for the actual NMAT?

    Thanks.

    • Ayush, the NMAT sectional tests and mocks have been created keeping in mind the exact NMAT pattern and level of difficulty.

  22. Sir,
    Thanks for the blog.
    With a few days remaining for CAT, I have started my final preparations but the scores in VRC section are not that good. My scores in last 5 mocks are 141, 124( 92%), 100(81%), 125(95%) and
    105(90%). Are these scores good enough to score 95+ %ile in CAT?
    Please suggest how to use these two months in the best possible way.
    Thanks

    • Jena, you’re hovering around the 90%ile mark and a little more effort at this point of time can certainly take you 95+ %ile.

      The only way to go about this to analyze the mocks, spot the difficult questions and to revise them every week. Mid-October onwards you must start taking two mocks per week.

  23. Sir, I am almost done with my preparation.. Now I need to start with revision of all relevant concepts and past papers.. I need to know how to start with it
    Plus, I also commit silly errors in QA all the time.. it would be great if you can tell me how to revise all in quant in a stretch of some days..

  24. Hi GP Sir,

    I have encountered program exceptions while taking VA-sectional test-2 in Test Gym Classic. I haven’t checked with other tests yet, request you to pleas look int the matter as I am unable to take the test despite multiple tries to restart/ resume the test.
    Browser used: Chrome

  25. Hi Sir, I recently attempted one of the QUANT CAT sectional tests ( out of 15 ) provided in the SIS. I found it really tough compared to the mocks. Are these past CL mock questions? How valid are these for CAT prep as of today?

    • Tushar, yes these are the Mock 1 – 8 questions. They are very much relevant, however your main focus should be the mocks after the pattern change i.e. mock 9 onwards.

  26. Sir, while solving rc in cl fundabooks my accuracy was as high as 95% but in sectional tests and mock tests it dropped to 60%. Is the level of difficulty high for sectional test and mock tests?
    What should I do to correct it?
    Thanks in advance.

    • Anuja, in mock tests and sectional test there is a lot more pressure as it is time bound. The only solution to this is to take more and more sectional tests and mocks.

  27. Sir,

    I am enrolled in the smart cat cracker. I completed the VR section through the videos and the back exercises and gained good proficiency and accuracy. After a gap of a week or so i started to solve the packages and started facing problems. please help me.

    • Anadi, even if a few questions are getting incorrect you need not worry about it. However, you must start taking VRC sectional test. This way you’ll be dealing with your area of difficulty in a more direct way plus in a time bound manner. Analyze these mock tests.

  28. Dear GP Sir,
    This is my second article in your blog. Well I could not get the reference made to R1 R2 R3 . What exactly does it mean?

    Is there some other article I need to read ?

  29. Hi GP Sir,
    Could you please throw some light on the accuracy part? Prior to CAT ’14, a lot was talked about accuracy in attempting the paper. Has the game changed since ’14 CAT paper? Is the onus more on ‘How much’ rather than ‘How well’?
    Also, algorithmically on the basis of %ile how different is 16 correct+0 wrong from 17 correct+3 wrong?

    Secondly, will the cutoff for CAT(also CL’s Test Series), in terms of individual sections and overall be the same this year too?

    • Naman, on marking scheme of +3/-1, 16 correct + 0 wrong is the same as 17 correct+3 wrong. Both will get the same percentile.
      Till CAT’13 with only 30 questions in each section and an average of 140 seconds per question an incorrect answer could change your percentile significantly hence the focus was primarily on accuracy. For example a net correct attempt of 17 (in 70 minutes) was sufficient to get a 95%ile in QADI. The high level of difficulty ensured that 18-20 attempts were good enough.
      While accuracy is still important but with the lower level of difficulty, larger number of questions (50 in each section) and lesser time per question once has to increase attempts and hence one can go for high attempts with slightly lower level of accuracy.
      The cut off is always a function of the level of difficulty, since I expect CAT’15 to be marginally tougher than CAT’14 you can expect the cutoffs also to fall a bit.

  30. Hello GP Sir,

    I am a CAT 2015 aspirant. How many questions out of 100 should I have to answer (say with 100% accuracy) to receive a call from IIM A? General category, male, engineer?

    I have taken the CL Proc-Mock 1 and have fared poorly in it with a a total score of 95. [QADI: 47 (20 C, 13 W) and VALR: 48 (22 C, 18 W)]

    I have also been taking mock exams offered by other institutes and online websites. The results there have been similar, total score ranging between 85-115. The difficulty level is similar to that of the CL Proc-Mock 1.

    What I feel is happening is that although I want to focus on accuracy, I always have this feeling that I am not attempting enough questions to secure a good enough score to receive a call from the top 3 IIMs. Hence, I’d like to know the score in the exams such as Proc-Mock 1 that would fetch me a call from the said institutes.

    My accuracy takes the most hit in the RC and analytical English questions.

    Regards,
    Ayan.

  31. Dear Gautam Sir,
    I am in dire need of your counselling regarding section one QADI. I have given around 10-15 mocks till now but still I am not able to streamline my strategy for this section. I have tried 3 round strategy but it falters everytime as I am not able gauge which question to be chosen in Round 1. Sometimes, question attempts becomes very low, sometimes DI takes back seat or have very smaal time for that or miss attempting questions nos. from 40 to 50. Sir, please guide me, I am not that a bad in QA, last year I got 98 percentile but this year I have been preparing for last 4 months but results are pathetic esp due to section one.

    Sir, Pls help. Very helpful if I can call you sometime…??

  32. Dear SIr, I have been making this analysis since the last couple of mocks & my sheet is a bit crowded the unforced error section. Now these are not necessarily because of calculation errors(I am quite good in that), but maybe because I am always in a hurry!!
    Now this has proved a to be a good quality in some cases, but I want to get rid of it.
    When I solve my missed/wrong questions after the mock(without tthe pressure of time), I do those in under 2 minutes. So, sir, I know this is weird issue but How to be in control, so as to apply your brain’s maximum without the distraction of time?

    • Rohit, apologise for the delay.
      If the of unforced errors is small then you do not need to worry but if it is high then you need to slow down and read the question carefully.

  33. Sir, i am a 2015 cat aspirant. I have joined cl a month back. I have seen cat questions. I am really tense about the quant section. It is not my strength and i consume a lot of time. Moreover while in class i find my batchmates solving all the questions from the sheet faster than i can. This kind of scares me off making me feel how much i am behind them , more so because the percentile system is basically about comparative rank. Please help.

    • Dear Subham,

      You have more than a year left for your preparation. Do not worry about anything. It is good that you know your weak area. Focus more on this area and work hard. Start with the basics and then practise as many problems as possible. Use Test Gym Adaptive rigorously. This will take care of your problems.

  34. Sir
    My target is get into one of the top Tier Institute-IIM A,B,C,L,FMS, XLRI-BM
    Acads- 10th-91.2%, 12th-89.6%, B.Tech(IIT)- 80.8%
    First Attempt, CAT’13-94.25, QA/DI-97.61 & VA/LR- 77.64
    CAT’14 Mocks- Proc Mock 1- 98.56, Proc Mock 2- 97.75, Proc Mock 8- 90.95
    What approach should I adopt in upcoming 3.5 months and with new pattern coming what should be my frequency of giving mocks?

    • Eshaan, in the new pattern with larger number of questions and a lower time per question speed will be more important that what it was in the last few years. Additionally with no sectional time limits your time management skills will also be important. Online reading (e-newspapers), practicing Test Gym, 1 Mock per week till mid Sept and 2 Mocks per week there after along with regular revision is my recommendation.

    • shashank, till CAT’12 about 14-15 net correct answers in each section resulted in a sectional score of over 95%ile and an overall score of over 97%ile.

  36. Sir,
    i am NC-OBC male
    my profile:x-77%
    xii-67%
    and grad(bsc)-72% final year(ignou)
    no work experience
    what %ile should i target to get a call from top iims,fms
    also will open univ. degree be a problem during selection
    and what effect will my low score be on my cat performence.
    sir please reply need your advice

    • uv, a NC-OBC candidate with a good academic record can get calls from all IIMs at 95%ile but with low marks in X, XII and graduation you should target around 98%ile for the top IIMs (A,B & C), other old IIMs are possible at 95%ile. For FMS you should target over 93%ile.

        • uv, open university degree is not a problem at all in IIMs and most other institutes. Only Symbiosis and NM a have a bias against open university degree.

  37. Sir I need your help

    I have 84% in my class X exam but it reduces to 77% when i take all marks together
    Similarly
    I have 83% in my +2 exam but it reduces to 78% when i take all marks together
    I have 8.89 in my graduation(Btech in ECE).
    I am a general Engineer Male.
    I am currently working in TCS(exp.-6 months)
    Now my question is how will this profile effect my chances to get into the old IIMs(A ,B,C).
    I usually score around 98 percentile in my mocks…….but my profile haunts me everytime.
    Also can i provide 84%,83%,8.89 as my marks instead of 77%,78% and 8.89 while filling up the form..??
    Sir please do reply………I would be very thankful if you reply to my query.

    • abcd, you cannot change your profile and hence should stop worrying about it especially because your marks are good. My suggestion is to give your marks in CAT as 77%, 78% and 8.89. The only thing in your control is your performance in the selection process so focus on improving your CAT score and not on managing your score in X/XII/Graduation. With a 98%ile in mocks at present you could easily get to a CAT score of over 99.5%ile in the next 3 months.

        • abcd, for the top IIMs you should have a score in excess of 99.5%ile, other old IIMs, FMS, IIT Mumbai are possible at 99%ile while the new IIMs, MDI, NITIE and other IITs will need over 97%ile.

    • Kamal, till CAT’12, 15 net correct attempts in each section were sufficient for a score of over 95%ile in each section but in CAT’13 this number came down to 9-11 net correct attempts.

  39. Hello Sir,
    I was looking for the blog where you recommended the previous year papers to practice for LR and DI. I was unable to find it. Sir could you please tell which previous year papers should I practice for them? It would be really helpful.
    Regards,
    Swati

    • Swati, the post has been removed and will be put up after updation. The excerpt from the post is given below for your reference.

      Past CAT papers should not be taken as a whole but in the form of section tests. The time limit for past CAT papers should be 2 minutes per question hence a section of 40 questions should be attempted in 80 minutes. While questions from all the past CAT papers (1990 – 2008) are important, you should ensure that the following CAT papers are definitely attempted:

      1. For DI: CAT 1990 to 1999
      2. For VA: CAT 1997 to 2008
      3. For RC: CAT 2000 to 2008
      4. For LR: CAT 1999 to 2008
      5. For QA: CAT 1995 to 2008

  40. Sir,
    I am 2014 PASSOUT of btech. I want to ask that whether i should join the company i am placed in or prepare seriously at home and try for bank exams which would allow me more time for preparation. CAT 14 be my second attempt. My cat 13 score is 75 ile.
    I score 90+ in QA in all mocks but VA score drag me down! Inspite of all my efforts for this section thete is hardly any improvement. Please suggest smthg.

    • mee, my suggestion is to take up the job offer and join the company you are placed in.
      In the VALR section target attempting the 9 LR questions, 6 questions of Para Jumbles & Para Completion. After these you can look at attempting 1 RC passage.

    • Sanjay, till I answer a query I keep is as unapproved, it helps me in keeping a track of queries. The query has been responded, hope it has cleared your doubts.

  42. Sir,

    I had the privilege of attending the Smart quant cracker session u conducted @bangalore. It was extremely useful, and so is this SWOT analysis technique.

    My obvious strength is the 2nd section, where i consistently score 90 plus in the mocks. However, since my quant isnt the greatest, i would like to know how can i sort of work-around in these 3 months or so, and try getting a 90 percentile in Quant. ? What would your strategy for me be like?

    PS : I have no particular strong areas within quant.

    • Harish, in these 3 months focus on attempting MCQs, Test Gym and Mock CATs. Analyse each paper in detail, identify the important questions and revise them at least once a week. The topics that you should focus on are Algebra and Geometry followed by number system.

  43. Sir, Is someone with 3 years of gap between +2 and grads..also 50% in grads ,general category student hold any chance of getting into IIM A,B,C? Can it happen? Has it happened? Sir, a straight answer would be appreciated. So that I can face the reality at the earliest.
    10th (2006)- 90%
    12th (2008)- 84%
    3 years gap..dont know how to explain.
    surviving through tutoring students.
    Grad (2014)- 50%
    pls reply sir. thank you.

    • Sanjay, gap is not a problem but due to 50% marks in graduation IIM A and B are not possible unless you get a 100%ile in CAT. IIMC does not consider graduation marks hence it is possible since you have very good marks in X/XII, a general category candidate needs over 99.5%ile for a call from IIMC. All other IIMs and other top MBA institutes are not problem.

  44. sir I want to ask that how many questions to be attempted in CAT exam (every sections individually) to get 95-98+ %ile.
    or
    we can say what is the minimum cut off for every sections individually…

  45. 1388; 3309 and 7151 were divided by a certain three digit number. The remainder in all three cases was found to be the same. What is the remainder. Answer is 113 sir I m not able to understand the concept required to solve this problem it is from takeoff booklet.

    • Ashish, if the remainder is the same in all three cases then the difference of the numbers will be a multiple of of the divisor.
      For example, both 15 and 33 leave a remainder 3 on being divided by 6 and the difference of these two numbers (33 – 15 = 18) is a multiple of 6, or the divisor (6) is a factor of the difference (18).
      Thus in this question, the answer should be a factor of (7151-3309) and (3309-1388). Check the choice to get the answer.

  46. sir,I would like to know some ways improve my accuracy during the exam…. plzz suggest me something regarding it

    • Ankita, accuracy is a function of revision. Every time you take a paper, identify the important questions and revise them every week. Do this for all the Mocks and section tests that you have taken.

  47. How indicative are the scores of cmat mock 1??

    I scored 261 marks and got 95%ile overall.
    81%ile in quants
    90 in LR
    99.6 in VR
    75 in GA.

    Do u think sir that actual cutoffs would be similar.
    nd how much does an nc-obc guy of outside maharashtra needs to get in jbims.

    • Vishwaas, it is indicative of the actual percentiles of last years CMAT.
      For OMS category there are not reservations for SC/ST/OBC so you will need to target 340 to be reasonably sure of getting into JBIMS

  48. GP sir
    I have a basic doubt, in a triangle ABC rightangled at B the circumcenter O lies on the side AC and circumradius is equal to 1 cm. Therefore side AC will be 2 cm. How to calculate the area of this triangle plz help!!!

  50. Sir,
    How to analyse RCs post writing a mock cat.
    I have observed that I have been scoring less in RCs (~60% accuracy) and spending a lot of time per RC in exam (~30 mins for 2 RCs). Also, if by any chance VA is tough then I end up with dismal score in VA/LR section. I generally don’t guess in RCs and VA but eventually find very less accuracy. Hence, I want to know the way to analyse RC/VA so that I never repeat them again. Thanks in advance!

    • Ravi, to analyse a RC passage, first attempt the RC passages that you did not attempt in the designated 70 minutes and then decide if the decision of not attempting these passages was correct. Check which of these passage types you would like to attempt/not attempt in future. Go through all the questions again:
      1. the ones that were correct, check if you can eliminate other options or find additional reasons to identify the correct choice and the ones
      2. the ones that were incorrect, find the correct answer along with the reason. See if you can eliminate the incorrect options.
      VA questions, Para-jumbles and Para completions, have to be analysed similarly. Please refer to the blog post Things you must-do after every mock you take

  51. Hello Sir,

    After analysing the mock tests i have given by now, following are the conclusions i have with me
    – VA/LR is not much of a problem.. i clear cut offs if my parajumbles and RCs are okay and i know i can improve by practicing regularly. but i ve managed to clear quant cutt off only once. though, i used to think i am better at quant before giving mock tests.
    – Normally the case with my quant section is that Round 1 takes a lot of time approx 40-42 mins with 7-8 attempts, and then in 25 mins i m left with all three sets of DI and other questions for R2.
    And i usually lose focus while attempting DI because of less time left. and i end up attempting only 1-2 questions in DI- from same or different sets (these are the ones that do not require whole table to be formed) plus 1-2 ques from quant in R2.
    So on an average my attempts are 11-13, with mostly 8-9 cprrect.
    -but wen i solve the questions again, without checking answrs and without time limit. m able to solve 18-19 questions.
    – Also sir, i realise the reason for my slow speed is that during the tests, the smart tricks usually take few mins to strike me.
    and at times i make careless and the most stupid mistakes.

    – my strong topics are – percentages, ratios, Tsd, number system, (by strong topics i mean the topics, i prepared well in the beginning of my preparation and that can become my sole strengths, after good revision)
    algebra – i like algebra but m currently preparing it
    P n C and Geometry : my weak areas and hav nt practiced them much as yet. i mostly leave geometry questions unattempted.
    DI – I try solving 2 sets everyday, not very strong.

    sir, this is the most important question i want to ask u, in order to best utilize the time i have, what should be my strategy right now?
    Should i first work on my weak topics Algebra, Geometry? since these hold a major portion of the exam.
    Or should i first brush up my strong topics and then go for these.
    or instead focus on giving section tests and mock tests.

    I am targetting IIMs, i hope it does not seem too tough with the above analysis.

    Thanks
    Gunjan

    • Gunjan, With VALR under control and sufficient knowledge in QADI you are well placed to do well in CAT. Since you are able to solve QADI questions without time constraints lack of knowledge is not an issue. 7-8 questions in over 40 minutes of R1 in QADI clearly indicates lack of revision. Revision is essential for increasing speed and hence attempts in the paper.

      In the next 2 weeks shift your focus from practice to revision. Please attempt the QADI questions from all the Mock CATs (Proc & Unproc) that you have taken so far. Do this twice, identify the important questions and revise them every week till you almost remember the questions. Continue with this for all Mocks and MCQs that you take. This will ensure increase in speed. Hope you have done all the exercises in the DI fundabook.

      While you can ignore P&C and Probability, you cannot afford to leave Geometry and Algebra. Practice Algebra and Geometry questions from past CAT papers, the Mock CATs and the section tests. Do practice the MCQs in the Fundabooks of all topics.

      • Thanku sir, following ur advice i have started revising all the previously attempted questions.
        Algebra is fine sir, i have done all the “Check ur understanding” questions from the fundabook and currently i m practicing it from the Test gym. and i l chalk out something for geometry too..

        and no sir, i have not completed all the fundabook MCQs. I mean i have attempted some books completely but not all of them.
        Same is with DI, for which i started preparing late and m using Adaptive Test Gym right now, but not performing very good in it.
        Please advice something for this too sir.

        • Gunjan, once you attempt the MCQs from QA Funda books, do go though the videos of important MCQs that are being uploaded on your SIS. The videos of Percentage and Ratios have been uploaded the others will also be uploaded shortly.

  52. Sir
    In geometry whenever question related to application of similarity of traingle is present it takes a lot of time to find the particular combination of figures which leads to solutions. Can you suggest some techniques to solve those fast or by practise we may become perfect in them.

  53. Sir,

    The above approach is really helpful for Section 1 wherein one gets to know if a question was worth attempting after seeing the solution. However , in Section 2 , the answers are pretty subjective and one goes by the “gut feel” . Will the same approach be valid for that too ??

    • Vinay, this is applicable in Section 2 as well. Section 2 also consists of different types of questions – Verbal Reasoning, RC and Logical Reasoning. Based on your strengths you can decide which ones should be R1 or R2 or R3.

  54. Hi Sir,
    after analyzing the mocks I have given it has come to light that my VA score are becoming dismal because I am missing out on the doable LR sets. I generally do va followed by rc and allot 20 mins at the end for LR but some how I am not able to crack them and to make my miseries worse when I attempt the LR sets after the mock I am able to do them in the stipulated 20 mins.
    I thought of attempting them at the start but my only apprehension is that if I am not able to crack them then my VA gets off to a bad start and I dont want to jeopardize the whole section.
    Please advice.

    • Sandip, 20 minutes for 3 LR sets is low, it should be around 25 minutes. Also if LR is your strength area then you should not be leaving it for the end. Continue with your VA (15-20 min) but follow it with LR (25 min) and then finish it with RC. It is okay if you leave 1 RC passage un-attempted.

  55. ques 41 mock 6

    sir the ques asks that Which of the following does not highlight a point of difference between the patrician and the populist purposes of art?

    now the passage in the first line of the last paragraph states that
    “What both the patrician and the provocative shared was a primary concern for the people making the art.”

    now option a says “The former placed importance on the producers of arts. ”

    so clearly this statement is wrong and hence not a point of difference that only ‘former placed importance in producers while the passage has said that both placed imp.on the producers…

    so why cant option a be the right answer??
    pls elaborate

    • Vishwaas, The question is not about the difference between Patrician & Provocative but but between Patrician & Populist. The statement that you have mentioned gives the commonality between Patrician & Provocative (that both catered to the producers of art).
      Populist was for the masses hence choice (a) is incorrect as it correctly highlights the difference between Patrician & Populist.

  56. sir so many time it is not possible to identify the easy question’s so what we do ? and how to identify easy question’s at very fast speed to reduce risk and time?
    thank you 🙂

    • Sanjeev, this comes with practice. After every Mock or section test that you take, create the table mentioned in this blog post and you identify the ones that you should/should not have attempted and you will be able to do identify the right questions to attempt in 10-15 sec.

    • Vishwaas, I have been traveling and do not have a copy of the paper (Mock 6) to answer your query. Will do so by Tuesday.

  59. Hello sir,
    with around 1 month left for the CAT,, i would like to know how to improve and increase my quant score.? i have have been relatively scoring very poor in quant section in the mocks… 🙁 please help…!!

    • Sneha, in the remaining time focus on practice and revision. To begin with attempt all the QADI questions in the Mocks that you have taken so far, identify the important questions and revise them at least once a week. Additionally, practice questions from Test Gym Adaptive.

  60. Hi Sir,

    I have been following your blogs diligently and find them really helpful. I have been getting good percentiles in Mock Cats (in the toppers list every time) also my AIMCAT rank is in the Top 200. I have ok ok CGPA and board percentages and I am really keen on IIMA and with the new selection criteria of TOP 50 from every stream (I am an engineer, so lot of competition :() getting a direct interview call, I have some hope. Can you please advise me on how to prepare in the final 2 months. Thanks!

    • Sneha, in addition to top 50, they have also made the AR score additive instead of multiplicative so it improves your chances significantly. What are your X, XII and Graduation marks? In the last two months you should focus on practice and revision.

  61. Sir how much time one should devote in a DI set/ RC set/ LR set ( rather any group question) to decide whether it is worth attempting?? Many a times i spend too much time in a DI/ RC set only to miss out some sitters.

  62. Sir this strategy is good but i have not understood my strengths and weaknesses yet. sometimes i am able to do algebra questions correctly some times number systems. How to decide if the question belongs to R1/R2 or R3 ??? For any question generally if i have a slightest of idea of what to do then i attempt it in R1..but sometimes that itself takes me more than 3 minutes and sometimes i even have to leave the question. Can you write a post on how to identify our strengths and weaknesses and R1 questions???

  63. Hi Sir,

    In R1, we need to attempt only easy questions. But,How to decide if a DI set is easy and can be doable within 2 mins or not? I mean, to solve DI questions, we need to first understand the set which takes up most of the time.

  64. Sir I have a problem of not reading the questions properly or reading in haste and missing some crucial points.So a lot of questions appear for me in the 2nd and 3rd column.I rarely mark answers without being sure..but as you can see my scores are heavily affected due to the above columns.Could you suggest something? (Like how much time alloted for reading Q in R1 and deciding to leave it for R2)

  65. i could really identify my question attempts with those categorized by you..i would like 2 as 1 thing..table filling is a big issue for me esp in the stress and time constraint of exam..could you please guide..

  66. Superb , i have read and tried the way you explained categorizing ques. smartly will be using it today in proc. hopefully it will in my veracity.
    Thanks a ton Sir 🙂

  67. EXCELENT sir!!you are showing what everyone tends to miss during an analysis.We expect your unwavering guidance throughout our preparation.

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