The Common Admission Test (CAT), the all-India national level computer based test conducted by IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) as part of the entrance exam for admission to various management programs is scheduled to be held on December 4, 2016. We take a close look at the 180-minute test.
CAT 2016, while having no specific syllabus, is divided in three parts:
Section I: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Section II: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
Section III: Quantitative Ability
Some of the questions in each section may not be of multiple choice type. Instead, direct answers are to be typed on the screen, Prof. Rajendra K. Bandi, Convenor, CAT 2016, IIM Bangalore had stated during the announcement of the test earlier this month.
He said all these rules and conditions will be explained in the Tutorials, to be released on October 18, on the CAT 2016 official website.
The tutorials are to help the candidate understand the format of the examination. They are also advised to work on the tutorials, well in advance. Use of basic on-screen calculator for computation is alsol allowed during the test.
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Candidates will be allotted exactly 60 minutes for answering questions in each section and they cannot switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section.
Now, let us take a look at each of the three sections in detail.
Section I: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
This section is divided into 2 parts, Reading Comprehension and English Usage. The Reading Comprehension has around 5 passages followed by 3 to 5 questions from each passage.
English Usage includes questions on grammar, vocabulary etc. It would have sections on Fact inference judgment, Fill in the blanks, Grammar, Para completion, Para jumble, Sentence correction, Verbal reasoning and Word usage (vocabulary).
Experts advise candidates to focus on grammar and learn at least 5-10 words each day so that within 100 days will result in a richer vocabulary by 500 to 1000 words. Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension require candidates to become familiar with the type of questions and paragraphs. At least half hour is to be spent every day to brush up this particular section. Reading the editorials of the newspapers is one of the ways of improving comprehension.
Section II: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)
This section tests the candidate’s ability to take quick decisions while having only limited inputs. It takes practice and speed to complete within the prescribed time limits.
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The topics included in DI are Data Sufficiency, Bar Graphs, Tables, Case-lets and Pi-charts. The on-screen calculator becomes useful in this section as most answers involve calculations. Intense practice is required and candidates would do well to solve at least 3-4 sets every day after setting a time limit.
Candidates could enhance their Logical Reasoning skills through solving crossword puzzles, Sudoku, riddles, family tree etc.
Section III: Quantitative Ability
The level of difficulty in this section is difficult to moderate. This is a key area and candidates should take care to practice a lot to earn rewards in the form of good percentile points.
The section has the Number System, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry (lots of questions in the past 3 years), Permutation & Combination/Probability. Questions on miscellaneous topics like Set Theory, Trigonometry, and Logarithms can also be expected.
