How an RC question is created: The Insider’s Perspective

Know your enemy.

RC passages are best fought like a war. You get into the mind of your opponent and from then on how to defeat him is only a matter of time. This is a tried and tested theory I subscribe to. Let me show you why!

We will think like the question setter and actually create an RC question.

MAKING OF AN RC

In the last article, I wrote about the 3 traps that an RC setter lays for you in the VRC section. With CAT 2016 expected to get neutral, in terms of difficulty, for candidates of different academic backgrounds, one can expect a slightly intriguing VRC section. Sure, developing a good reading habit would definitely go a long way in solving RCs, but even if you aren’t an avid reader, you can still ace this section with a fair amount of ease. Let me help you understand the mind of the question-setter better –

We will think like the question setter and actually create an RC question.

First is to get an article that we can use as the passage for our RC question. Here’s one that I picked from the net.

The Lokpal is a necessary but not a sufficient condition to fight corruption. Under the present anti-corruption systems in our country, there is not a single anti-corruption agency which is independent of the government control and, therefore, has the powers to independently investigate and prosecute the guilty. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has the powers, but not independent.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has independence, but no powers. In short, the government has ensured there are enough loopholes in the laws to keep these anticorruption agencies ineffective. The people will be shocked to learn that under the Prevention of Corruption Act, even if a person is convicted, there is no provision to recover the losses he/she caused to the government or the money the person made through corrupt means. With such a toothless anti-corruption system, no wonder corruption has become a zero-risk, high-profit business in our country.

All that the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill will do is to ensure the certainty and swiftness of punishment in corruption cases. Next time any individual indulges in corruption, he should know he will be investigated, prosecuted, punished and will lose his job. According to the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill, the investigations into the cases have to be completed in two years so that the guilty is punished in a time-bound manner.

An ordinary person always faces demands for bribe to get his works done. The Lokpal will ensure justice for him and punishment for those who harass him. The proposed Bill has also taken care to ensure the selection process of the Lokpal and its functioning remains totally transparent. Strong measures of accountability have also been incorporated in the proposed Bill to guarantee the Lokpal itself does not become corrupt or undemocratic.

In addition to the Lokpal Bill, many more institutional reforms like electoral reforms, judicial reforms and decentralisation of political powers are needed to make the fight against corruption more effective. The India Against Corruption Movement will take up these issues one by one.

Let’s now create a question – What is the main purpose of the passage?

As a question-setter since all we have to do is to force the test-taker to choose the best option, our ‘correct answer’ need not be THE correct answer, it only has to be the best among the four.  The sense that we get from the passage is that the current anti-corruption mechanism in the country is not effective, and a strong Lokpal Bill is necessary to fight against corruption. Since the author seems to be arguing his case, let us create the ‘best option’ as

BEST OPTION – ‘To argue a case for a strong Lokpal bill as a necessary thing to fight against corruption’

Now that we have got a ‘best option’, let us now create not so good ones. So as to set traps, we need to pick things from the passage and twist it around a bit. Let us make a LAZY TRAP. This is what we will take for the first not-so-good option ‘…no wonder corruption has become a zero-risk, high-profit business in our country.’ & ‘..the government has ensured there are enough loopholes in the laws to keep these anticorruption agencies ineffective.’

NOT-SO-GOOD OPTION 1 – That corruption in our country has become a high-profit business which is promoted by the government.

Now, for the second not-so-good option, let us set a DREAMER TRAP. Something that is not mentioned in the passage –

NOT-SO-GOOD OPTION 2 – To illustrate the point that Government is not serious about enacting a strong Lok Pal bill.  

To create the last not-so-good option, let us create an intelligent sounding sentence which is beyond the scope of the passage. This trap is for both the DREAMER and the LAZY ONE.

NOT-SO-GOOD OPTION 3 – To critically analyse the root cause of corruption in the country and provide alternatives in combating the same.

So, there you have it, our question is ready with all the traps.

Q 1. What is the main purpose of the passage?

  1. To illustrate the point that Government is not serious about enacting a strong Lok Pal bill.
  2. To critically analyse the root cause of corruption in the country and provide alternatives in combating the same.
  3. That corruption in our country has become a high-profit business which is promoted by the government.
  4. To argue a case for a strong Lokpal bill as a necessary thing to fight against corruption

Let us now make an inferential question. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

First is to figure one thing that can be inferred from the passage so that we have the ‘best option’. ‘With such a toothless anti-corruption system, no wonder corruption has become a zero-risk, high-profit business in our country.’ & ‘Next time any individual indulges in corruption, he should know he will be investigated, prosecuted, punished and will lose his job.’

What can be inferred from the above is this à that people will avoid corruption if they know there is a high chance of getting punished.

Let’s create a nice sounding ‘best option’

BEST-OPTION: There is a negative correlation between people being corrupt and people being punished for corruption.

Now that we have a ‘best-option’, let us start setting traps. For the first not-so-good option, let us take one sentence from the passage, twist it around and trap the LAZY ONE. ‘The India Against Corruption Movement will take up these issues one by one.’

NOT-SO-GOOD OPTION 1: The best way to handle corruption is to take up issues one by one.

 For the second not-so-good option, let us set a trap using these two statements – The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has the powers, but not independent. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has independence, but no powers. The author uses CVC & CBI to illustrate a point. There would be other anti-corruption agencies for which the author has not given information about their power or independence. Let us make a general inference

NOT-SO-GOOD OPTION 2: All the anti-corruption agencies in India have only one among the two attributes – power & independence.

For the last option, let us simply make it ‘ALL OF THE ABOVE’.

The question is now ready!

Q.2 Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

  1. There is a negative correlation between people being corrupt and people being punished for corruption.
  2. The best way to handle corruption is to take up issues one by one.
  3. All the anti-corruption agencies in India have only one among the two attributes – power & independence.
  4. All of the above

I guess we have now got into the mind of the question-setter and understood the logic behind RC questions.

Hope you got an idea of the traps and the next time you will be more careful. In case your accuracy in RC is low, identify the trap that you are falling into. Maybe you will outsmart the question-setter and use his trap to eliminate options. Like what Sherlock Holmes says ‘When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth’.

120 Comments

  2. Respected Sir,
    Till March, 2015 i was of the opinion that my English is good, having been passed out from an ICSE Board! However, after solving the RC book 1 of CL and the previous three mocks i’m getting apprehensive about my abilities. Its not just working out. I’m performing efficiently in the factual type or issue based RCs but philosophical or literature RCs are troubling me a lot and bring down my score substantially. Please help!
    (I’ve also completed around 28 RCs in the CL Test Gym adaptive, but i’m having difficulty answering the RCs in the advanced level)

  3. hi sir,
    actualy m in a big dilema mi strong sections lr,di have become my biggest weakness.i cant solve anything n i keep on running away from them.with da little tym left for cat how should i approach lr/di ? will using ne supplementary books b a gud idea at this tym..plz do reply sir..apart from it how should i improve my rc section it has always been my weakness.
    firstly its hard for me to comprehend the passage n wen i do so i dont remembr the minute details for questions like
    1. what would the author most likely agree with? this is one question which has always been a problem.
    2. what can be inferred from the passage?
    in this question i don’t understand whether should the answer be somthing directly taken from the passage or somthing written in own words .
    sir plz guide me how to approache lr,di and rc and how to tackle these two questions in the little tym left!!

    • Dear Krishi,

      For LR and for DI, practice is the best preparation. Analyse your performance in these two sections in the last few mocks. After this, revise the basic concepts in these areas, particularly in those sub-topics where you find yourself making mistakes. After this, practise more problems from your weaker areas. Use Test Gym Adaptive as much as possible. As regards RC, practically no one would remember minute details from a single reading of the passage. Do not worry too much about this. When you come across such questions, go back to the relevant portion of the passage and verify what the passage has to say. For inference questions, the right answer can only be determined on the basis of the options. For such questions, it is best to work by eliminating options.

  4. Hello Sir,

    Where can we get authentic solutions to the Previous CAT papers. The solutions available online on different websites, are different and incorrect also for many questions. Also, proper explanations are not given. Following these becomes difficult sometimes.
    The cl sis has no such database currently. Could you please suggest some way to procure the same.

  5. Sir

    The example you have provided is good but in mocks we don’t face such a short and easy passages which are popular in news rather the passages are much more difficult. If possible, please try to explain with a medium/difficult level passage.

    • Hi Eshaan,

      Easy or difficult – the logic more or less remains the same:

      Lets look at this one for example:

      Some of the various arguments for atheism claim that the concept of God is incoherent, that there are logical problems with the existence of such a being. Perhaps the best known of these is the paradox of the stone: Can God create a stone so heavy that he cannot lift it?

      Either God can create such a stone or he can’t. If he can’t, then there is something that he cannot do, namely create the stone, and therefore he is not omnipotent. If he can, then there is also something that he cannot do, namely lift the stone, and therefore he is not omnipotent. Either way, then, God is not omnipotent. A being that is not omnipotent, though, is not God. God, therefore, does not exist.

      Although this simple argument may appear compelling at first glance, there are some fundamental problems with it. Before identifying these problems, however, it is necessary to make clear what is meant by “omnipotence.”

      Christian philosophers have understood omnipotence in different ways. René Descartes thought of omnipotence as the ability to do absolutely anything. According to Descartes, God can do the logically impossible; he can make square circles, and he can make 2 + 2 = 5. If Descartes’ conception of omnipotence is correct, then any attempt to disprove God’s existence using logic is hopeless. If God can do the logically impossible, then he can both create a stone so heavy that he cannot lift it, and lift it, and so can do all things. Yes, there’s a contradiction in this, but so what? God can, on this understanding of omnipotence, make contradictions true. Descartes’ understanding of omnipotence therefore doesn’t seem to be vulnerable to the paradox of the stone. Descartes can answer the question “Yes” without compromising divine omnipotence.

      According to Aquinas, God is able to do anything possible; he can part the red sea, and he can restore the dead to life, but he cannot violate the laws of logic and mathematics in the way that Descartes thought that he could. Aquinas’ understanding of omnipotence, which is more popular than that of Descartes, also survives the paradox of the stone. For if God exists then he is a being that can lift all stones. A stone that is so heavy that God cannot lift it is therefore an impossible object. According to Aquinas’ understanding of omnipotence, remember, God is able to do anything possible, but not anything impossible, and creating a stone that God cannot lift is something impossible. Aquinas can therefore answer the question “No” without compromising divine omnipotence.

      The paradox of the stone, then, can be resolved. It fails to show that there is incoherence in the theistic conception of God, and so fails to demonstrate that God does not exist.

      29. Which of the following best describes the main idea of the passage?
      A. Descartes and Aquinas use sound arguments to rebut and resolve the paradox of stone.
      B. The paradox of stone is compelling but it can be resolved by understanding the meaning of omnipotence as understood by Christian philosophers.
      C. Various arguments for atheism are easily resolved by showing the coherence in the theistic conception of God.
      D. Paradox of stone does not succeed in its atheistic argument as it fails to demonstrate any inconsistencies in the theistic notion of God.
      E. Studying the works of Descartes and Aquinas brings into focus the differences on how Christian philosophers understood omnipotence.

      Option A – Lazy Trap – by twisting it bit
      It is the author who is trying resolve the argument and not Descartes & Aquinas
      INCORRECT

      Option B – Lazy Trap again – one that many will end up falling for.
      Option says – The paradox of stone is compelling….
      Passage says – Although this simple argument may appear compelling at first glance…
      Those are two very different things. The author is no way saying that the paradox is compelling.
      INCORRECT

      Option C – Broad Trap!
      The author is resolving only ONE argument in this passage – the paradox of stone. Therefore, cant say ‘various arguments’

      Option D – Perfect!
      Its there in the passage – last paragraph which is kind of the thesis statement of the passage.
      The paradox of the stone, then, can be resolved. It fails to show that there is incoherence in the theistic conception of God, and so fails to demonstrate that God does not exist.

      Option E – Twisted!
      The author is busy attacking an argument albeit using Aquinas and Descartes, he is not trying to help readers understand the differences in the various interpretation of omnipotence.
      INCORRECT

      Hope this helps

      Regards
      Gejo

  6. Hi Gejo share :

    As a reply to one guy , you have some good reading links for some RC types . I request you to kindly share some reading links for the remaining RC types also , which are :-
    1. History
    2. Literature
    3. Sociology
    4. Arts
    5. Science and Technology
    6. Business
    7. Economics
    8. Psychology
    9. Political Science

    Thanks and regards ,
    Rahul

    • There is a typo in the above question . Infront of your name , I mistakenly wrote share instead of sir . My apologies for that .

      Another typo is that I have missed the word share from the first line of the paragraph. Even after these typos , I hope the query will be clear enough to comprehend .

      regards,
      Rahul

    • Hi Rahul,

      I wont recommend anything specific. Do read random stuff from the net on topics that you find troubling. If it is arts, then you might want to read about Renaissance – it keeps coming!

      Regards

  7. Gejo Sir,
    I want to ask my querry on this short example given below( though you have explained this same passage to one student earlier):

    A certain pharmaceutical firm claims that its dietary supplement, Dietol is highly effective in helping obese people to lose weight and improve endurance. The company supports this claim by providing the results of a recent experiment that involved over 800 subjects suffering from obesity. During the 9-week experiment, each of the subjects was required to take regular dose of deitol, every day immediately after the daily 2-hour workouts supervised by a professional fitness instructor. As a result of the experiment, the subjects lost an average of 12 pounds weight per person and over 95% of all participants demonstrated higher physical endurance.

    Which of the following should I ask to author?
    A.What was the daily dose of Deitol that the subjects were required to take?
    B.What was the maximum weight lost by any participant during the 9-week program?
    C.What would be the average weight loss and the improvement in endurance in a group of subjects with similar characteristics involved in the same fitness program but not taking taking Deitol?
    D.What was the average age among the subjects participating in the experiment?
    E.Did the majority of subjects experience a significant improvement in physical strength?
    Answer is C.
    but it could be A. also, as the passage state that each subjects was required to take a regular dose of Deitol every day, immediately after their daily 2-hour workouts, but not state, what should be the extent or till what amount/quantity it should be, which option A clearly ask.
    Also, Sir in the passage, there is no discussion about any other dietary supplement, except Dietol, then how one can relate any other supplement.
    Please reply.

    Regards.

    • As a thumb rule – the first question that I want to ask is any ‘flaws’ in the argument – kind of clarification.

      During the 9-week experiment, each of the subjects was required to take regular dose of deitol, every day immediately after the daily 2-hour workouts supervised by a professional fitness instructor.

      Here’s an issue – now the question that one would have is – is it because of deitol or is it because of the work-out. What is the real cause?

      C – asks that.
      What would be the average weight loss and the improvement in endurance in a group of subjects with similar characteristics involved in the same fitness program but not taking taking Deitol?

      That’s the apt question – it tries to find out as to whether the cause is the fitness program.

      Option A is a minor issue – the bigger one is what is the CAUSE? Because the claim that is being made is based on the CAUSE.

  8. Gejo Sir,

    What should be the approach to solve a question like- a particular term is used in the passage & the author is asking ”this term is evoked in the passage to serve?”
    My approach- look for the option, which presents, most equal in meaning, to the happening of situation of the point from where this term has been used from the passage.
    Is my approach is correct?
    Can one relate this type of question, with the inference type questions?

    Regards.

    • This is a ‘Purpose’ Question…

      Normally, the context would be from the overall objective (or main idea) of the passage. Your approach seems okay. And yes, this is an inference type question.

  9. Sir, I would like to know what can I do now to prepare for my English section for CAT’14. I have been preparing for CAT since last year at CL, but don’t get my English section right.
    Now since 50 days are left, I have less time to prepare, but I want to improve upon my English section (Vocab+RC+VA+EU). I am writing mocks and getting more than 90 percentile but most of these are due to Quant, LR and DI (as i am more comfortable in these sections).
    I have read your article regarding vocab and sentence correction and i am doing the same thing.
    Please suggest some techniques for RC and VA for now that can I adopt.

    • Sir I am watching your funda book E discussion videos provided to me at my cl sis but those are not complete. algebra , number system and modern maths videos are incomplete or missing.
      Sir if you can provide these videos , It would be helpful for me as I have learned a lot by watching your discussions on percentages , ratio and tsd and your methods to solve quant ques are awsome !!!!

  10. hello GP sir,
    after a long time interval you came in touch with us through mock cat 7 analysis.your every activity(reply of query at mid night etc.) show how you are serious for us. you activity motivate us to do better. we hope remaining mock cat do it on your own & be continuous touch with us.thank you so much for do so many things and be so caring for us.thanks again & again.
    THANKS

  12. sir,i have completed all the sectional tests of nmat ..
    i got
    quant – 70
    LR- 78
    ENG – 61
    ..I had problem solving the lr questions especialy the ones tht ask the sequence or to find a missing no in a sequence .. sir which other book should i follow to correct that .. and is my score at par with the paper’s level .. and is there any other way with which i could increase the scores ..

      • Mayur, a score of 55 in English, 65 in LR, 75 in QA and total of 210 is usually sufficient to get an interview call from NM Mumbai and all other NM campuses/programs and hence QA seems to be the area in which you need to improve.

        • thnku sir for the advice .. could you tell me any other source from which i can revise the questions ..typically for nmat ..i m solving cat sectional test of quant and lr .. is tht enough .. !!

  13. gp sir and gejo sir ,a little out of the topic query ,
    sir i completed my btech in 2014 and planning to give cat 2014 ,i started my preparations just 1 month back and really feeling a bit down ,i dont have a job as of now ..what should i do ? join a classroom coaching for cat 2015 ,find a job in the meantime ?
    my academics are as follows 10th 85% ,12th 84% ,grads 79% i skipped one year in between 12 and btech due to joint entrance preparations .sir according to you please tell me the best possible options ,i am really interested in mba from a top 20 college atleast..thanking in advance

    • Rahul, if you are targeting CAT’15 then it is advisable to pick up a job as MBA preparation is not a full time occupation. While it is difficult to prepare for CAT in 2.5 months but it is not impossible, my suggestion is to give your best shot to CAT’14 and if you are not successful then consider CAT’15. CAT result will be declared on 8th December. Also you should target not only CAT but also consider XAT, SNAP, NMAT and IIFT. Given your good academic record a serious effort in the next 1.5 months should help you get a call from top 20 MBA institutes. In addition to MBA entrances you could consider the banking entrances also – IBPS and SBI.

  14. Hi GP sir ,

    I am thinking about choosing between your test gym adaptive and solving remaining chapters from your book ; ” topic wise solutions to past cat papers ” . I have already completed half of the quant chapters from it last year . what should I do , complete the remaining chapters or use the test gym adaptive each day ?

    regards,
    Rahul

  15. Respected Gejo sir,
    I have taken your virtual RC sessions in SCC.
    I had got 98.29%ile in CAT’13, with only 87.88%ile in VA.
    As a result I didn’t get call from any of the older IIMs. My strategy last year was pretty simple and suited to my strengths. The plan was to attempt LR first and get all its question answered correctly irrespective of the difficulty of the particular LR problem. Then move to Vocabs, PJ and PC since I found them easier to the other VA areas and then RC’s. I kept RC for the last because in the mocks, RC always fetched me some negative marks.
    But this plan of being over reliant on LR led me to my failure as in the exam I got struck in one LR problem and had to solve that problem over and over and it took around 20 mins and still I couldn’t get that set complete. I left it in desperation and went to other sections. Due to paucity of time I couldn’t attempt 2 RC sets and hence my total attempt was restricted to 20.
    I decided to rectify this problem this year by strengthening my VA and RC. I follow the method of option elimination explained by you in the lectures. My RC is improving but not at a great pace. My biggest problem is the speed, it takes me a lot of time to read the passage and even while eliminating options I have to read the option over and over to find the fault in it. In the mocks that I am giving I still fear attempting RC and I have not attempted more than one RC in any of the mocks taken.
    Please help me overcome this problem in RC and give some tips so that I can improve this section.
    I do no want to suffer the same fate as last year.

    P.S. Forgive me for my grammatical errors, it is my next big concern.

    Many Thanks.

    Regards
    Rishabh

    • Rishabh,

      You will have to give a certain time to a RC passage (reading it and comprehending the main idea and the critical elements). Time required depends on a lot of factors – familiarity the topic, the words used, sentence construction. The key is to keep solving RCs daily – that is the only way to improve. Dont worry about speed, the more you solve the better you will get at it.

      Not attempting RCs in Mock CAT will only hinder your scores. So, if you need the IIM seat so badly, start solving. Dedicate about 35 in those 170 minutes – see how many you can solve. Apart from mocks, keep doing 40 minute RC tests on a regular basis.

      You will improve.

      regards

  16. good evening sir,
    I follow your posts n dey have been of immense help.thank you so much for all dese magnificient posts.
    sir actuali i hav time issues wen it cums 2 solve an rc.i tak a lot of tym.wantd to knw wat shud b da ideal tym to solve a rc wid all da questions?
    secondli sir i hav been wrkin on increasin mi reading speed for months but it has been pointless.now cat being right on da cornr wat shud i do abt da rc sets.how shud i improv mi score .(mi speed is max 250)
    hoping 4 ur repli sir
    regards kn

    • What you need to improve is not the speed of reading but the speed of comprehension.

      When you read the passage, try and understand the main idea – what the author really wants to say to you. The trick is to ‘process’ the main idea and ‘leave’ the details out. When I say ‘leave’, I am NOT suggesting to skip reading – but skip processing the information. This is kind of challenging task, but once you crack this one, you will start solving RCs faster. Keep at it – there is still sufficient time – keep practicing.

      I believe that you must spend about 35 minutes in RC section and try and solve about 9 – 10 questions. That would mean – you have about 8 – 10 minutes per RC. In case you are solving 3 passages – then you have 10 – 12 minutes per passage – this I believe is more than sufficient. What I have seen with many is that – people dont give time to RC. If you cant increase the speed of RC, try to increase the speed somewhere else – say LR or EU and give that extra time to RC so that you can score more.

      Regards

  17. Hi GEJO sir ,

    Kindly give the complete algorithm to solve the following question type in RC : ” Which of the following questions would you be most likely to ask the author at the end of the passage ? ”

    Also answer one specific doubt pertaining to this question type :-
    When one of the option states a questions which poses a valid question to the main idea of the passage while another option states a question which raises a question on the last thing discussed in the last paragraph , which one should we be choosing as the correct answer choice ?

    Another doubt is : are these 2 questions types different :

    question type 1 :- What would you ask the author of the passage ?

    question type 2:- what would you ask the author AT THE END of the passage ?

    kindly reply to all the points that I have raised .

    regards ,
    Rahul

    • Rahul,

      All these questions are more or less the same thing.

      When you read any article, the questions that you SHOULD NOT be asking are:
      1. Something that has already been answered
      2. Something that the author will not be able to answer ( something that is ‘alien’ to the discussion).

      The above two things are the ones you must eliminate.

      Coming to what question you want to ask.
      1. Some logical flaw in what the author said – this will be pertaining to any major issues that you see with the argument raised by the author. My take is – flaws in maid idea gets priority.
      2. If there are no option which suggests a flaw, go for a reasonable question which addresses the next logical course of action.

      If you have any specific query – please post the passage and the question, I shall help you out.

      Regards
      Gejo

      • sir , in mock cat 2014 – 1* please explain q84 to me . In my opinion and also according to what you wrote above , the option which poses a relevant question to the main idea of the passage should be given first preference . That is done by option C . but according to the answer key provided by CL , option B is correct. kindly explain .

        According to me the main idea is : blending the best of treatment of treatment technologies of CAM and western medicine is the need of the times ” and option C poses a relevant question to this main idea and hence should be correct

        • Dear Rahul,

          As you have yourself mentioned, “blending the best of CAM and western medicine is the need of the times” is what the passage revolves around. Option c says “Has the integration of traditional and western medicine ever taken place in the past and has this yielded fruitful results?” which is completely irrelevant. Whether something was or was not done in the past does not at all have any impact on whether it is needed today. For example, suppose cleanliness is the need of the times. In such a case, whether cleanliness was present earlier is of no relevance at all. All that matters is what is required today and how it can be achieved. Option b talks about this. Hence, option b is the correct answer.

  18. Hi GP sir,

    Till last year one was able to see the time one spends on each question in mocks , but just now when I took the first mock , I saw that the feature was missing . Kindly provide the feature where student can check the time that they spend on each question . This will help us realise our strong areas and also help us know where we are wasting un – necessary time .
    Thanks in advance

    regards,
    Rahul

  19. Hello Sir..
    which college is better mdi or spjain? And what courses to apply in these B-schools.
    Also according to you which colleges one should apply to accepting CAT, XAT scores as back up option to iims.
    Also which colleges one should apply to which doesnot accept CAT, XAT scores and conduct there own exams..
    Thank you.

    • Anmol, both are very good institutes and will be considered among the top 15 MBA institutes in India, but SP Jain is likely to be ranked higher. SP Jain has a preference for students with work experience in the specialisation for which you are applying to. Freshers with good academic record also have a good chance. If you have a couple of years of work experience and/or very good acdemic record then apply to both MDI and SP Jain else apply only to MDI.

      • Sir, my scores are:
        10th- 88%
        12th- 80%
        3 yrs gap
        grad (2014)- 58%..
        what are my realistic chances for top iims and other top colleges.

        • Anmol, a 3 year gap between XII and graduation is unusual and will definitely be a point of discussion in the interview. Your final call will be a function of how well you explain this gap and the standard interview performance. However this gap (or your marks in graduation, do not make you ineligible and interview calls are possible from almost all MBA institutes except NMIMS (due to gap) and IIMB (due to 58% in graduation). Focus on your CAT preparation since a good score in CAT is the primary requirement for getting an interview call.

          • Thank you sir..Sir, this same question has been lurking in my mind ever since i opted for mba prep..i m still at a loss on how to explain that 3 yrs gap and poor perfomance in grads and 12th..and so so in 10th.

          • Anmol, This is not an issue and can be handled comfortably. Actually the only logical answer to the 3 year gap and poor academics is the truth. Do not let this distract you from your preparation and let us deal with this after CAT.

  20. Hi Gejo Sir ,

    From where shall i practise one RC on each day as I already finished all the RC from the test gym of last year . My accuracy till last year used to fluctuate between 70 & 80 . Kindly reply .

    regards,
    Rahul

    • You can look at the RCs from past CAT papers. This will be of benefit.

      Second, start marking only those questions which you are sure of – if you are confused between options avoid marking them. This would probably mean that you will have to choose questions instead of passages. By that I mean, you are reading all RCs but only solving those questions which you are sure of.

      There might be a trade-off somewhere. You will have to give a bit of extra time which would mean some other area need to done quicker to handle RC.

      Regards

  21. Hi GP sir ,

    I was reading the snap bulletin 2014 and no where did they mention anything about the academic profile score that they introduced last year . Also last year the weightage given to snap score was 40 . This year bulletin mention that the weightage given to SNAP score is again 50 marks ( like snap 2012 and before ) and the criteria appears quite similar to snap 2012 and before . Also there is no mention of academic profile score in this year bulletin . Shall I assume that snap authorities have reverted back to good old days 🙂 . Although I have read the snap bulletin myself but if you can verify whether I am right or wrong , that would be great .

    kindly reply

    Thanks and regards ,
    Rahul Arora

  22. In q 64 of proc mock 7, ‘According to the passage, Brodmann area 10’
    b. is esoteric but functional
    c. hinders multitasking

    b. can be inferred from the passage. But c. can also be, from the line one of the 5th para: “It is also what makes multitasking a poor long term strategy for learning”. Please clarify.

    • Anurag, as per the passage Broadman area 10 is presumably the last area of brain to evolve and is its most mysterious and exciting part, also while we know that during multitasking the flow of blood increases to this area we cannot say if it is supporting or hindering multi tasking and hence choice (c) has to be eliminated.

  23. Hi Sir
    Are we really going to get RCs so lengthy which are coming in MockCATs these days.I mean can I really expect these lengthy RCs in exam I dont have the practice of doing long RC’s
    Please suggest something and strategy to cope up with them.

    • Soumya, my expectation is that the length of RC passages in CAT will be around 750 words and hence we are giving slightly longer passages (800-1000 words) to ensure that in CAT you so not face any problems.

  24. Hi GP Sir ,

    I am filling the NMAT form and the last date is tomorrow . I have a couple of doubts , kindly answer them asap . The doubts are :-

    1. I have to fill preference between NMIMS Bangalore and NMIMS Hyderabad . Kindly tell me which among the two should be preferred after NMIMS Mumbai .

    2. I did engineering entrance preparations ( IIT JEE and AIEEE preparations) for 1 year after my 12th . In NMIMS form , where they are asking ” Do you have an Academic Break ” , if I click on yes — The options in the dropdown are a. First Year b. Second Year c. Third year d. Forth Year. Now these options make me think that they are asking about if a person is having any backlog in his graduation which I dont have but I did take 1 year break for preparing for AIEEE after my 12th . What should I fill in this column . Kindly reply asap.

    Thanks and regards ,
    Rahul

    • Rahul, apologise for missing out on your query. Hope you were able to complete the process. Call me at 9811155160 in case of any emergency.

      • Yes sir , I was able to complete the form filling process on time . Thanks for always being so helpful and caring for the student community . No body can match the effort that you put in for helping your students . Thanks again 🙂

  26. sir about exams other than cat ..
    like iift snap and nmat ..
    NMAT in particular ..
    1.what should i be focusing on …
    2. no of question i should attempt in order to clear the cut off (i know there is no negative marking bt there must be a minimum limit of questions to be solved .)
    3. my teachers said we ll have nmat un proc in our sis account
    bt they hvnt yet arrived

    • Mayur,

      NMAT is a ‘speed’ test. Before you know it, the paper will get over. The key in NMAT would be to ensure that you are picking the ‘right’ questions and solving them as quickly as possible (by the way there are no negative marking) and so you must ‘guess’ the ones that you couldnt solve.

      VERBAL – It will contain, vocabulary based questions, grammar, para jumbles and RC. There will be 22 minutes to solve 32 questions. Bottomline, mostly, solving RCs is out of question – since it is about 400 words and we anyways take about 6 to 7 minutes. So, you will have to rely on vocabulary, grammar and para jumbles.
      You must attempt about 19-20 questions ‘seriously’ and guess the rest.

      QUANT – Nothing extra to be done, if you are preparing for the CAT – however, the key would be pick the Level 1 questions and solve them fast.
      You must attempt about 30 questions ‘seriously’ in 60 minutes and guess the rest. In fact, here is a section you should look at maximising your score.

      LOGIC- Here is where you need to know how to solve various types of logic. It is not that the questions are difficult, but if you dont know the approach, you will be in trouble.In the 38 minutes, you should try for 30+ questions. For that you must learn (if you have not yet done) the following:
      – Series, Directions, Family Tree, Input/Output, Cubes
      – Syllogisms, Implicit Assumptions, Strong-Weak Arguments, Statement Conclusions, Course of Action, Cause & Effect, Critical Reasoning.

      Regards
      Gejo

  27. sir i wanted to have a little information about the registration in certain colleges like under cat .. u need to buy the forms of each college and fill it before even appearing for the paper or after it ..
    my first question is if this is true ..
    1. should i be worring about filling those forms during these days or i can do it afterwards .
    2. where can i find a detailed information about the rankings of the institute ..as every other website has thier own diffrent rankings

    • Mayur, unfortunately most of the good colleges have their last date of application CAT or at best before the declaration of CAT results so you have to apply without knowing your performance. You will have to apply on the basis of your Mock CAT performance.
      For my order of preference of institutes please refer to the post Jayein toh jayein kahaan 2014: Which Institute?

  28. hello sir!
    i feel quite uncomfortable in solving RCs… I solve RCs at the end of paper…. My preferred sequence of solving paper is QA (ofcourse which i am able to solve) , DI, VA & EU (though am not able to attempt many of these VA & EU questions) , LR and then RCs.. but as i attend RCs after attending whole paper it becomes quite tiresome for me to read those RC passages…and i end up marking wrong answers… could u advice something on this??
    Please help!

    • Hi Gautam,

      Two choice:

      1. Change the sequence – If so, then you will have see whether it impacts the score positively.
      2. Do not change the sequence – If so, then the problem you have to solve is -“how do I ensure that I am not tired after about 1.5 hours into the test.

      Now, my take is that you should look at (2). So why dont you ensure that everyday after you have studied for about 2 hours, solve 3 RC passages. Practice that way. So that you will be able to handle the issue of ‘being tired after 1.5 hours’.

      Regards
      Gejo

  30. Gp sir,
    Could you please provide me links or source to article on psychology, philosophy. Not comfortable with such RCs at all. Pls help me sir

  31. I saw a type of RC question which asks that If u was a given a opportunity to interview the author, which among the below question will you ask the author ?
    Gejo sir how to tackle these type of questions ?

    • Arpan,

      If I am asked to interview the author and ask a question, there would be some ‘logical flaw’ in the authors argument. Let me take a small example:

      A certain pharmaceutical firm claims that its dietary supplement, Dietol, is highly effective in helping obese people lose weight and improve physical endurance. The company supports this claim by providing the results of a recent experiment that involved over 800 subjects suffering from obesity. During the 9-week experiment, each of the subjects was required to take a regular dose of Dietol every day immediately after their daily 2-hour workouts supervised by a professional fitness instructor. As a result of the experiment, the subjects lost an average of 12 pounds of weight per person, and over 95% of all participants demonstrated higher physical endurance.

      Which question should I ask?
      A. What was the daily dose of Dietol that the subjects were required to take?
      B. What was the maximum weight lost by any participant during the 9-week program?
      C. What would be the average weight loss and the improvement in endurance in a group of subjects with similar characteristics involved in the same physical fitness program but not taking Dietol?
      D. What was the average age among the subjects participating in the experiment?
      E. Did the majority of subjects experience a significant improvement in physical strength?

      The question I want to ask is:
      What would be the average weight loss and the improvement in endurance in a group of subjects with similar characteristics involved in the same physical fitness program but not taking Dietol?

      The argument makes a claim –> Dietol is the best.
      How? –> A experiment was conducted wherein (a) dietol was given (b) they did work-out and (c) there was a professional trainer.
      I want to check which of the three had the impact. Hence the question.

      You can go with a general rule:
      1. The question has to be relevant
      2. It should address the main issue or a major flaw in the reasoning
      3. Eliminate –> ‘Aliens” (things that are not discussed) and ‘Been there.. done that’ (this already answered)

      Hope this helps.

  32. Hello sir,

    Itz really credulous the way you guide, honestly helping a lot to me.
    Sometimes facing problem in word usage type questions.
    Plz give some funda/trick on it.
    Itz really credulous the way you guide, honestly helping a lot

  33. Please explain the question below . I am not satisfied by accepting E as concluding statement as given in solution .

    A. Four days later, Oracle announced its own bid for PeopleSoft, and invited the firm’s board to a discussion.
    B. Furious that his own plans had been endangered, PeopleSoft’s boss, Craig Conway, called Oracle’s offer “diabolical”, and its boss, Larry Ellison, a “sociopath”.
    C. In early June, PeopleSoft said that it would buy J.D. Edwards, a smaller rival.
    D. Moreover, said Mr. Conway, he “could imagine no price nor combination of price and other conditions to recommend accepting the offer.”
    E. On June 12th, PeopleSoft turned Oracle down.
    Add to my
    aCABDE
    bCADBE
    cCEDAB
    dCAEBD
    eCADEB

    How to choose between A & D?

      • as per your logic, DEB should make more sense .
        could imagine no price nor combination of price and other conditions to recommend accepting the offer.”

        and hence turns it down .

        After that he gives some statement like :- called Oracle’s offer “diabolical”, and its boss, Larry Ellison, a “sociopath”..

        Isnt it more logically continuous?

        • My logic:
          C. In early June, PeopleSoft said that it would buy J.D. Edwards, a smaller rival.
          A. Four days later, Oracle announced its own bid for PeopleSoft, and invited the firm’s board to a discussion.
          B. Furious that his own plans had been endangered, PeopleSoft’s boss, Craig Conway, called Oracle’s offer “diabolical”, and its boss, Larry Ellison, a “sociopath”.
          D. Moreover, said Mr. Conway, he “could imagine no price nor combination of price and other conditions to recommend accepting the offer.”
          E. On June 12th, PeopleSoft turned Oracle down.

          C- introduces what PeopleSoft wanted to do in June
          A – Conveys what happened four years later.. that Orcale wanted to bid
          B. PeopleSoft boss became furious
          D. Gives reasons as to why he is furious
          E. Turns the offer down.

          Your logic:
          C. In early June, PeopleSoft said that it would buy J.D. Edwards, a smaller rival.
          A. Four days later, Oracle announced its own bid for PeopleSoft, and invited the firm’s board to a discussion.
          D. Moreover, said Mr. Conway, he “could imagine no price nor combination of price and other conditions to recommend accepting the offer.”
          E. On June 12th, PeopleSoft turned Oracle down.
          B. Furious that his own plans had been endangered, PeopleSoft’s boss, Craig Conway, called Oracle’s offer “diabolical”, and its boss, Larry Ellison, a “sociopath”.

          Problem 1: A –> D is not connecting. Look at the connector MOREOVER.
          Problem 2: D introduces Mr. Conway and the last sentence B mentiones Craig Conway
          Mr. Conway —> Craig Conway is normally not how the transition happens
          Craig Conway –> Mr. Conway is the better transition.

          Hope this clarifies

  34. Hi Sir,
    I recently attended SQC at pune, it was great.
    Coming to the point,
    while attempting different RC’s from different Sources i came across a doubt.
    While i was attempting RC’s from OG ’12 for GMAT, i could see a lot of questions that started with “From the Passage it can be inferred” or “The passage suggests which of the following’ — In their official solution they wrote — ‘Since the question asks about something which can be inferred from the passage, so the answer need not lie among the options that are directly given from the passage’. This logic they applied for most of the questions which started with the above mentioned lines.
    Now the doubt is- GMAT may move in this direction Does CAT also ? Will this logic in CAT also apply, shall i mark those options for these questions that are not direct excerpts (or similar) from the passage.
    Please clarify.

    • Hi Nikhil,

      What can be inferred is what is implicit – therefore, ideally should not be explicitly mentioned in passage. However, since we have to pick the best answers, it is better to not start with eliminating an option which is directly picked from the passage.

      Let me explain with two scenarios:
      A – One option is picked from the passage and the rest three cannot be inferred from the passage . Here I have no choice but to mark the one picked from the passage.

      B – One option is picked from the passage, One can be inferred from the passage. In this case, I will eliminate the one picked from the passage.

      Bottomline, dont go with a pre-decided elimination. Play based on the merit of the ball.

      Regards
      Gejo

  35. Sir , till now i never used the exact logic of critical raesoning to solve the inference based questions , i usually tried to understand the idea and flow of the passage , thats why got most of them wrong. So according to you , should we check for the availability of a set of premises for each n every option ? Is the logic exactly same as in case of CR ? If and only if i find the exact premise to arrive at a conclusion , should i go for it ?

    • Hi Mohit,

      Understanding the logic always helps. In fact the errors in inferential questions are logical errors. So identifying premise and how the conclusion is arrived from those premises helps one become more accurate in getting to the right answer.

      Use logic. It will never let you down.

      Regards
      Gejo

  36. Quite an informative article Gejo. Looking at RCs from the Qn setter perspective would definitely give backdoor entry to cracking RC Qns.
    I adopted a similar approach to Parajumble Qns

    Example (1)
    Consider, a set of jumbled sentences :
    A. Could someone, in other words, live by the ethical teachings of Jesus while rejecting the existence of a creator and redeemer God?
    B. Hamilton was no militant atheist. He was not contemptuous of faith or of the faithful.
    C. Far from it; he was a longtime churchgoer.
    D. At heart, he questioned whether the Christian tradition of encouraging a temporal moral life required belief in a divine order.

    As usual , we have to arrange the sentences above in a logical order to form a coherent paragraph/passage :
    I did it like this :

    I picked the sequence (BCD) by adopting the following line of reasoning :
    I picked (B) as the starting sentence since it introduces Hamilton. It tells that he was NOT contemptuous of this or of that. So the next sentence must tell WHAT WAS he if he WAS NOT contemptuous of so and so, This led me pick up sentence (C) ,which tells he was a longtime churchgoer.I made this followed by (D) to carry the story forward telling what Hamilton did in particular.
    The fact , that all the 3 sentences are telling about Hamilton , HIS character and what HE Questioned, everything about Hamilton, also enforces that they should come together in the correct sequence.
    Now left with (A), I thought that this could be the right concluding sentence because having told about Hamilton, the author generalises Hamilton’s character and expressing the feeling of disgust( or surprise), asks the reader “Could anybody realy be like this ?? that he can live like that while reject this and that.”

    This led me to the sequence (BCDA)

    My First Qn: is there any fault in my line of reasoning above?

    Example(2)
    Consider the same set of jumbled sentence with one more sentence added :
    A. Could someone, in other words, live by the ethical teachings of Jesus while rejecting the existence of a creator and redeemer God?
    B. Hamilton was no militant atheist. He was not contemptuous of faith or of the faithful.
    C. The questions with which he grappled were eternal, essential, and are with us still.
    D. Far from it; he was a longtime churchgoer.
    E. At heart, he questioned whether the Christian tradition of encouraging a temporal moral life required belief in a divine order.

    I followed the same line of reasoning as I did in Ex(1) that first let the sentences telling about Hamilton or anything about Him connect together. This led me to string sequence (BDE)(C)(A)
    (BDE) is a mandatory pair. I reasoned that (C) must follow (E) because (B,D and E) tells everything in detail about Hamilton and the Qns he asked. (C) generalizes that the Qns Hamilton asked were of this and this nature.
    (A) again seemed like concluding sentence to me because of the same reasoning as above that after talking about Hamilton and his Qns, the author asks in general that “Can anybody be like this ?”

    Inshort I made this picture in my mind

    [Hamilton –> His character –> The Qn He asked –> The Qns He asked were of so and so nature] —-> [Can anybody be like this?]

    This led me to string the sequence (BDECA)

    My Second Qn: Is there any fault in my reasoning for second part

    Now to see how PJ Qns are created I googled this set and found this link (http://ideas.time.com/2012/03/12/why-we-question-god/)

    I found that the 5 sentences of this PJ set occur in 2 Paragraphs, four of them in First Para and one in the other Para following the First one.

    I found that (BDE) indeed occured together in First paragraph.
    The concluding sentence of this paragraph was (A).
    Considering the scope limited to only this very para, ie, not looking at the Para2 or at the rest of the article, it is apt that (A) concludes the paragraph.
    This is what I did in Example(1) above.

    The para1 tells about Hamilton and his nature/character. Eventualy it transcends into telling about Qns Hamilton asked.
    Sentence (C) starts a NEW paragraph the Second one, the purpose of which is to tell the reader, in particular, more about the Qns Hamilton asked- the general nature of those Qns as well as their examples.

    So, central theme of Para1 is Hamilton and his nature/character.
    The central theme of Para2 is describing the Qns Hamilton asked- their general nature, the fact that those Qns still persist and then some examples.
    Both of these paras obviuosly connected to the central theme of the writeup, the title that appeared on the cover page of the magazine.

    This is what I have learned so far that a PARAGRAPH is a self-contained unit of a larger part of writing. Ofcourse, all the paragraphs connect to the central idea of the Writing/Essay etc but each paragraph can behave as a Stand-alone unit because all the sentences contained in a particular para are linked together to a single Sub-Central-Idea.

    But to the Qn in Ex(2) the Official Answer is (BDEAC)
    The line of reasoning given is that C is the concluding sentence of all the other sentences.

    My Qn(3) : Looking at all the 5 sentences together, it makes sense to me to talk about all the specifics first in sentences (B,D,E,C) and then generalize the story concluding it with sentence (A).
    What is the fault in my line of reasoning here?

    My most important Qn(4): It is only when I looked at the full passage in Googled link that the order of the statements given in OA made sense to me, because there I was able to relate the story being told to the bigger picture. But obviuosly I wont get to see the whole passage during any test. So, in this case, provided you find no fault in any of my reasonings above, how should we go about cracking such PJ sets in which sentences given are part of a different Paragraphs.
    Without knowing the theme of the paragraph(Para2 here), because no other sentences but only its opening sentence is given as one of the statements, how can we relate the sentence of this para(Para2) to the para that is featuring earlier, Para1, which has a different theme.

    To end this long story another Qn(5): In CAT, is this how PJ Qns are made difficult ie giving statements from different paragraphs so it becomes dificult for the reader to connect them together because if the set would have contained only 4 statements as given in Ex(1) above, almost everybody would have cracked it.
    (This is the reason I started my reasoning with Ex(1) above so I could decipher the mind of Qn setter, how he makes a Qn difficult)

    Many Thanks for taking out time to read this all Gejo, I couldnt help but share my curiosity(may be anxiety) with you, hoping that you can provide some respite to it by your insights.

    • Hi Sunny,

      There is one simple answer to all the questions that are troubling you in this case. Your logic for A (in BCDA) is not correct. D talks about Hamilton questioning “whether the Christian tradition of encouraging a temporal moral life required belief in a divine order.” Sentence A paraphrases and explains Hamilton’s question (“in other words”). Once this is clear you will quickly understand that the DA link has to be there in the five sentence parajumble as well. BDECA doesn’t have it. When solving parajumbles concentrate on the logic/argument of the question. Even if sentences are taken from different paragraphs they might have a common thread (Just like in RCs each paragraph is linked to the other in some way).

      Regards
      Gejo

  37. sir,
    for queston 1,why not option 2 is correct because it is covering all the aspects as given in the passage i.e. how corruption has spread its wings in the country what is to be done to curb it…pls explain.

    • Hi Rahul,

      That option covers more than what is covered in the passage . This passage is very specific – about Lokpal bill. The author is not giving various alternatives.

      Remember to eliminate two things – (1) something that is narrower than what is given in the passage and (2) something that is broader than what is given in the passage.

      Regards
      Gejo

  38. Sir,
    Inferential type questions are best answered when one comprehends the passage thoroughly.But,in passages where complex sentence structure and esoteric words are used,especially,in exotic literature ,comprehension itself becomes harder.Needless to say that it is better to leave out such passages on the day of test, and what should be done if majority of the passages are such ?

    Thanks

    • Leave something only after you are pretty sure that you will not be able to solve questions:

      Remember, from a question setters point of view, it is difficult to create difficult questions from a difficult passage.

      No pre-decided strategies. Play by the merit of each ball.

      Regards
      Gejo

  39. sir,
    i know its out of context but i prefer to ask u my doubt regarding QADI preparation. i saw in ur post that u formulated a plan for someone. can u formulate some plan for my sec1 woes and kindly help me with my QADI preparation strategy. i m a student of c.l kolkata. my mock scores-
    procmock 5- 74(sec-1),66(sec-2)=140(o.a)
    procmock 6- 40(sec-1),40(sec-2)=80(o.a)
    procmock 7- 59(sec-1),57(sec-2)=116(o.a)

    dont go by my sec-1 scores
    my hands tremble before marking any answer in sec 1. plz guide me.. looking forward to ur enlightening reply.

  40. sir,
    i need ur help ,how to tackle, the RC with rich vocabulary and with uninterested content .. like philosophy, most of the time i was getting those questions wrong. sometimes even am not able to understand half of the passage.. what to do ?
    thanks in advance, hoping for ur valuable reply

    • Hi Chintu,

      If it is rich is vocabulary and contains many unfamiliar words, then it is hard luck. If we are not able to understand the passage from whatever we know, we in for a bad ride.

      On the other hand, handling uninterested content is a different matter. Since CAT is 40 days away, it would be a bad idea to give you a basic suggestion – but let me suggest this : force yourself you solve such kinds of RC passages, the more you practice, the more you would be comfortable with it. That is all there is to it.

      Regards
      Gejo

  41. Thanx Gejo Sir for such a great article.
    The explanation above is absolutely a great one .To avoid making mistakes its very requisite to understand the RC thoroughly.
    Sir in RCs i frequently make mistakes while solving the inference questions,kindly guide me what all i should do apart from the above tips to avoid such errors.
    Regards

    • Hi Shivani,

      Most of the mistake made in inference based questions is because the lack of strong basics of critical reasoning.

      I am in the process of writing an article on the same, hope that will be of help to you.

      Regards
      Gejo

  42. Sir,
    First of all, thanks for this informative article on RC’s. I have been getting a hard time to interpreting the inferences from the passage. Like wise in the second question set which you created, all the options looks viable to me. And hence if I were to answer, I would have selected the option “D” i.e. All of the above.
    Can you please elaborate the method of interpretation?
    Thanks.

    • Hi Satya,

      Inference can be defined a process of arriving at the conclusion from the given set of premises. Loosely put, what can be inferred means what can be concluded.

      Is the following a correct conclusion?

      Premise: The India Against Corruption Movement will take up these issues one by one.’
      Conclusion: The best way to handle corruption is to take up issues one by one.

      It is not since, the author does not give any reason as to why the conclusion should be true. I cannot make the above inference.

      To be good in inference-based question, you may have to go to the drawing board and be good at critical reasoning.

      Regards,
      Gejo

    • RC from SiS would include – Test Gym, previous years CATs, all the unproctored and proctored Mocks. Also, class-sheets, RC from funda book.

      The above is more than enough….

      Regards
      Gejo

    • Because I mentioned that ALL the anti-corruption agencies have only one of the two attributes – power or independence.

      From the passage – there is not a single anti-corruption agency which is independent of the government control and, therefore, has the powers to independently investigate and prosecute the guilty. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has the powers, but not independent. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has independence, but no powers.

      There would be a possibility that there are some anti-corruption could have none of the two attributes – power or independence.

      Just twisted things around to create the trap.

      Regards
      Gejo

  45. Hello Sir,
    Just went through your article, and like every other article, it is tremendously informative. One question that I have is that, after going through the whole passage, and just seeing the 1st question “What is the main purpose of the passage”, what immediately came to my mind as an answer was that “A strong Lokpal is not the only but a necessary condition to fight corruption along with other institutional reforms required as well”. Is my inference incorrect? And if not then what if this (or similar meaning) option would have been there along with the so mentioned “Best Option” choice?
    Many Thanks.

    • Not completely correct MG. The author says Lok Pal is a necessary condition not a sufficient condition. But the passage is about why Lok Pal is a necessary condition and NOT about why Lok Pal is not a sufficient condition.

      While your statement – A strong Lokpal is not the only but a necessary condition to fight corruption along with other institutional reforms required as well, is something that can be inferred from the passage; it is NOT the central idea. Because that would mean that the author would be giving reasons as to why only Lok Pal bill cannot achieve the objective. But the sense that we get is that the author is more interested in pushing Lok Pal bill rather than giving an analysis why other bills are also needed.

      Hope this clarifies.

      Gejo

      • Sir, I’m a CL student in Delhi. My VA percentile in Mocks ranges from 54 to 99.9.

        I could also have fallen in such a trap.
        Please try to correct my reasoning-process, so that I do not make such mistakes again.

        I’ll walk you through how I construed what MG also did.

        ‘All that the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill will do is to ensure the certainty and swiftness of punishment in corruption cases.’

        Here, I reckoned that the Jan Lokpal Bill just expedites meting out punishment, but it too, would not ‘recover the losses he/she caused to the government or the money the person made through corrupt means’.

        So, I thought that since the passage clearly states that all that bill would do is speed up litigation, even it would not make an attempt to recover those losses & hence exemplifies why it is not sufficient.

        Please explain the error in my reasoning-process, so that I may not make such mistakes again.

        Thanks!

        • Sir, I always forget grammar rules.

          Should it have been
          *all that bill would do is to speed up litigation

          OR is the ‘to’ not required?

          Thanks!

          • Hi Sheldon!

            Good to see you diversify your range of interests! I hope you haven’t given up your research on Quantum Topographical Singularities in Degenerate Hilbert Spaces!!!

            Coming to the query at hand : No. In the given context, to is not required.It would be grammatically wrong to use ‘to’ here.
            Using to would make sense in other contexts though.

            For example, consider the two statements: 1. All that I do is buy gadgets.
            2. All that I do is to buy gadgets.

            Both the statements are grammatically sound and convey different meanings.

            Hope that clarified your query.

            Regards,
            Team CL

        • Hi,
          Yes, –> Jan Lokpal Bill is NOT a SUFFICIENT condition, but a NECESSARY condition. This can be inferred from the passage. There is no error in your reasoning
          With regards to the question raised by MG – Though the above can be inferred , it is NOT the ‘main idea’. The author is giving reasons as to why Jan Lok Pal bill is necessary.

          Hope this clarifies.

  46. Just brilliant. how easily you have dissected the very idea of RC. I’ve never met you GP Sir, nor Gejo Sir, but now you are a venerated figure for me. Your sense of logic is impeccable. You instill confidence in me!

    I’m eagerly waiting for your “How I attempted QA/VA” series of posts. But I guess you’re far too busy nowadays with SQC sessions.

    Thank you once again for sharing these strategies!

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