Hey thanks for your suggestions. Also i am getting about 25 marks in verbal on an average with attempting 2RC's and few non-RC's. Is it possible for me to attempt only these with 100% accuracy? Rather attempting more questions with a slightly low accuracy?
Hi Biswanath, Paritosh, Akshay, this is my take on your questions.
If the format of CAT 2022 is similar to CAT 2021, we can expect 4 RCs and 8 non-RC questions. A score of 24 (say, 10 correct & 6 wrong qns) got the 85%ile in VARC last year. We need to get 40+ to get the 99%ile (say, 16 correct questions and upto 8 errors).
So the number of questions that you target should be somewhere in between, based on whether VARC is your strong point or not. If this is one of the sections which you are good at, try and read as much as you can, solve RCs daily, solve a mock and a sectional every week and ensure that your accuracy and speed are both high. A good rule of thumb is 75-80% accuracy in this section (if it's higher, check if you are leaving qns or going slowly; if it’s lower, slow down or improve your focus).
If VARC is not your strength, try and get at least 24-30 marks here and get higher marks in QA/DILR. Be flexible as the number of questions you answer will also depend on how difficult the section is - you can take a few mocks with varying difficulty levels to firm up your strategy, we have the Guided MockCAT pack which can help.
@Akshay, the time taken will depend on how many questions you target. If you are targeting 10-12 questions, this could be 3 RCs or 2 RCs + a few non-RC questions. Then you have about 10-15 mins per RC. If you’re targeting a higher score, you need to get to 10-12 mins per RC. Don’t be in a rush to tackle all the questions unless your average accuracy is 3/4 in RCs.
@Biswanath, check out the questions and the first 2 paragraphs in the RC. Consciously summarise the first 2 paragraphs and see how much you have taken it. But remember that a tough RC may have easier or direct questions so you can also try the questions even if there are some parts you don’t understand. This is particularly helpful for Abstract RCs where we may not get the entire passage. More practice will help you identify when it’s okay to attempt questions and when you should just leave it - analyse every test in-depth for this, you can use the Mock tracker for this. You can also read more articles from our Free Telegram channel (https://t.me/crackcatwithiimlgrads) to enhance your understanding.
@Paritosh, please focus on accuracy first. Try and understand if your errors are because of the passage understanding, vocabulary, logical reasoning errors or just because you are panicking and rushing. Once you have identified this based on your past tests, you know what to focus on. You can read more or practice more questions to improve reasoning skills. Formulating an answer before reading the options also helps. Make sure to focus on the passage, don’t skim it to save time. Once you are consistently getting 6/8 correct, try and add non-RC questions or a 3rd RC. 6/8 in 2 RCs is 16 marks, and 3 correct non-RC questions (or another RC) will get you to 25 marks. If you are not able to reduce your errors, consider coaching.
I am able to solve only 2RC’s in test and my accuracy is also low. Is there any test taking strategies i am missing out on? Should i focus on accuracy or increase my number of attempts?
Hey Ram kumar, choosing the right RC in the exam comes with practice. Also, once you have taken the test analyse as to in which genre of RC's you are getting good accuracy. They might be your strong areas to focus. Try and solve them in the subsequent tests as first priority. Similarly you can look for the RC's genres you are not so strong and try to read more on that. This might give you an idea as to which RC to go for while you are taking the test. You can also watch some of the techniques which can help you to up your score in verbal herehttps://www.mockat.com/lesson/category/reading-comprehension-part-1/.
Have a good day!
Hi Veera, taking 20 minutes for an RC and getting the answers all correct is a good sign. Keep practicing them and read consistently. Over time, you can see the difference in your speed. We post an article daily in our telegram group https://t.me/crackcatwithiimlgrads. Keep doing the point of views for them. Also, you can go through our lesson videos on RC solving techniques(https://www.mockat.com/lesson/category/reading-comprehension-part-1/) to sharpen your approach. All the best for CAT 2022
Hey thanks for your suggestions. Also i am getting about 25 marks in verbal on an average with attempting 2RC's and few non-RC's. Is it possible for me to attempt only these with 100% accuracy? Rather attempting more questions with a slightly low accuracy?
Hi Biswanath, Paritosh, Akshay, this is my take on your questions.
If the format of CAT 2022 is similar to CAT 2021, we can expect 4 RCs and 8 non-RC questions. A score of 24 (say, 10 correct & 6 wrong qns) got the 85%ile in VARC last year. We need to get 40+ to get the 99%ile (say, 16 correct questions and upto 8 errors).
So the number of questions that you target should be somewhere in between, based on whether VARC is your strong point or not. If this is one of the sections which you are good at, try and read as much as you can, solve RCs daily, solve a mock and a sectional every week and ensure that your accuracy and speed are both high. A good rule of thumb is 75-80% accuracy in this section (if it's higher, check if you are leaving qns or going slowly; if it’s lower, slow down or improve your focus).
If VARC is not your strength, try and get at least 24-30 marks here and get higher marks in QA/DILR. Be flexible as the number of questions you answer will also depend on how difficult the section is - you can take a few mocks with varying difficulty levels to firm up your strategy, we have the Guided MockCAT pack which can help.
@Akshay, the time taken will depend on how many questions you target. If you are targeting 10-12 questions, this could be 3 RCs or 2 RCs + a few non-RC questions. Then you have about 10-15 mins per RC. If you’re targeting a higher score, you need to get to 10-12 mins per RC. Don’t be in a rush to tackle all the questions unless your average accuracy is 3/4 in RCs.
@Biswanath, check out the questions and the first 2 paragraphs in the RC. Consciously summarise the first 2 paragraphs and see how much you have taken it. But remember that a tough RC may have easier or direct questions so you can also try the questions even if there are some parts you don’t understand. This is particularly helpful for Abstract RCs where we may not get the entire passage. More practice will help you identify when it’s okay to attempt questions and when you should just leave it - analyse every test in-depth for this, you can use the Mock tracker for this. You can also read more articles from our Free Telegram channel (https://t.me/crackcatwithiimlgrads) to enhance your understanding.
@Paritosh, please focus on accuracy first. Try and understand if your errors are because of the passage understanding, vocabulary, logical reasoning errors or just because you are panicking and rushing. Once you have identified this based on your past tests, you know what to focus on. You can read more or practice more questions to improve reasoning skills. Formulating an answer before reading the options also helps. Make sure to focus on the passage, don’t skim it to save time. Once you are consistently getting 6/8 correct, try and add non-RC questions or a 3rd RC. 6/8 in 2 RCs is 16 marks, and 3 correct non-RC questions (or another RC) will get you to 25 marks. If you are not able to reduce your errors, consider coaching.
All the best!
I am able to solve only 2RC’s in test and my accuracy is also low. Is there any test taking strategies i am missing out on? Should i focus on accuracy or increase my number of attempts?
Is there any ideal time to solve a CAT RC?
Sometimes I am reading through an RC and not understanding it, how can I identify this quicker?
Hey Ram kumar, choosing the right RC in the exam comes with practice. Also, once you have taken the test analyse as to in which genre of RC's you are getting good accuracy. They might be your strong areas to focus. Try and solve them in the subsequent tests as first priority. Similarly you can look for the RC's genres you are not so strong and try to read more on that. This might give you an idea as to which RC to go for while you are taking the test. You can also watch some of the techniques which can help you to up your score in verbal herehttps://www.mockat.com/lesson/category/reading-comprehension-part-1/.
Have a good day!
How can I choose the correct RCs?
Hi Veera, taking 20 minutes for an RC and getting the answers all correct is a good sign. Keep practicing them and read consistently. Over time, you can see the difference in your speed. We post an article daily in our telegram group https://t.me/crackcatwithiimlgrads. Keep doing the point of views for them. Also, you can go through our lesson videos on RC solving techniques(https://www.mockat.com/lesson/category/reading-comprehension-part-1/) to sharpen your approach. All the best for CAT 2022
I am taking more than 20 minutes for an RC but getting them all correct. How do i reduce my time taken?