Analytical Reasoning: Strategies

Once students have got the hang of type of questions being asked in DI and Reasoning section, they must devise the proper strategies. Regular practice must be followed by well planned strategies to solve these set of questions. While practicing, students must strive to find the inherent patterns associated with different set of analytical reasoning questions and practice accordingly. Most often than not, more than one method can be used to solve such problems. Understand all these methods are of paramount importance which must be followed by choosing the one that works best for particular candidate.

One also must assure availability of good practice material. Having few good books for practice proves very useful during the actual exam. There are number of well compiled books available with comprehensive range of diagrams and diagrams. One of the recommended books is 'The Great Book of Mind Teasers and Puzzles' by George Summers which is very effective for such preparation. In this book, there are number of puzzles and amazing range of different questions. Few of them are quite easy whereas others are tricky. Books by Shakuntala Devi, the great mathematical wizard, are other useful options.

One should also focus upon being more 'analytical' and at the same time improve his or her 'mathematical logic'. However, this requires time and patience but then again, practice is the key. Consistency is another critical factor while preparing for analytical reasoning. One should solve questions daily. That way, mind will also get used to the habit and adopted techniques.

CAT: DI & Analytical Reasoning

Data Interpretation and Analytical Reasoning is one of the important sections of the Common Admission Test (CAT). In this section, candidates are given different types of graphs, diagrams, pie-charts, or other kinds of figures related to data. Candidates are also expected to answer questions on analytical reasoning which are basically mathematical puzzles and can be solved using various principles of logic.

While preparing for CAT, students are expected to be familiar with various types of problems. It has often been seen that particular sort of questions with little bit of modification, here and there, are seen regularly in the CAT. One common type of question is matching ones where candidates are provided with number of statements or clues to help them make the correct match. Though, time consuming, but students should bear one fact in mind that often often two to four linked questions are solved using one right sequence. The only way to prepare for such questions is proper practice. Look out for past papers and mock tests with such pattern and with reasonable practice, students are bound to get it right on the D-day.

One also comes across questions related to diagrams. In this case, simple visual inspection methodology will help students to get them used to such questions and they will also find it easier to crack such questions. Solving such problems also go long ways for future assignments including that of corporate life. One must use pen and paper whenever necessary.

The Final Tips..

CAT is as much about strategy as it is about thorough preparation. As exam date is approaching, candidates’ should start thinking about strategy. A strategy should always be flexible enough. There is no point being rigid about your strategy. One should start analyzing oneself critically. Analysis should involve, assessing your areas of strengths, subjects and questions where you always manage to perform well in mock tests. Similarly, your weak subjects should be very clear to you. It also pays to formulate different strategies for different mock tests and check which one works out better. One should be very clear about the order of questions he or she would be attempting on the D-day. Don’t press yourself hard for your weak subjects. In fact, stop worrying about them. Just give a glance to those questions set but don’t indulge in over-scrutinizing yourself. One does not really need to start afresh in one’s weak subjects at this stage of time.

Remember to choose questions wisely and judiciously. Success mantra says, candidate should pick right questions to answer. CAT tests your smart choices and not your in-depth knowledge. One should also take a full length test only once a week and analyze the answers and results thoroughly.

Finally, stay calm and relaxed. Just don’t be bookworms. Have adequate sleep, little time for movies and sports as well. Spend time with your loved ones. You should keep doing whatever you like. This has a calming effect on stressed minds. Don’t think too much about the exam and feel positive energy inside. Last but not the least, this is just an exam. World does not begins and ends with this. There are more exams to come.

Strategy Tips for CAT

A very vital method of preparation is, going through the last few years' CAT papers. One should focus on analyzing the trends, variety of topics and kind of questions. This way, student can have a slightly better idea about what sort of questions are most likely to appear in exam. This probability method of questions helps a lot in concentrating on particular set of questions.

Candidates should also strive to allocate same amount of time to all sections. Giving undue weightage to one section over others is not a smart strategy because it increases the probability of allocating less time for other section and consequently less marks which overall affects cut-off marks. Remember to treat all sections equally. Students are also advised to identify the type of questions which they consider themselves good at. Once the identification process is done, one should revise them properly so that chances of making a mistake in those questions are minimized. In the run up to CAT, last few months are all about strengthening yourself and preparing yourself to the best of your ability. It’s better to cut out any scope for errors.

All the serious candidates develop some good habits while preparing for this mother of all management exams. One must ensure, those habits remain there till the very end. One of those habits is reading. Stick to this wonderful habit. Keep reading and keep reading any and everything. Reading all those diverse topics and enjoying yourselves is the key.

Strategizing for CAT

Not much time is left for the D-day! It’s just a month away and all the hard work of months gone by will be put to a strenuous test. So how should students take this last one but very vital month before they actually sit for the most prestigious management entrance examination in India?

It all should start with finding yourself motivated to perform and give your best. The moment, the feel good factor starts generating within, things will appear much more positive and bright. Candidates need to reflect about how they have worked so hard all these months, about how they started, why they started, and finally what they wanted to attain with so much of enthusiasm. The dreams, the passion and all the aspirations and soon students will find themselves all motivated and charged up for the final hurrah!

On preparation front, students should begin with measuring their mock tests frequency. It all differs from student to student. Many find it convenient to take one test a week whereas few others used to take more than 2-3 tests per week. Important thing is to not to overdo things and acquire unnecessary stress. It’s more vital to focus and concentrate for 2.5 hours and make yourself comfortable. Revision and analysis must be followed after the test. This helps in fine-tuning the few remaining glitches in your armory. Candidates can opt for motivation classes or few yoga techniques which would help in improving concentration and focus.

Strategies for Quant

Quant refers to quantitative aptitude, a very important part of any MBA examination. Often, this section proves to be bugbear of many students. To solve that problem, we need to look at few fundamental strategies carefully in order to tackle quant section successfully.

It begins with careful choice of questions. Ideally, we should choose question that will get us maximum marks in stipulated time. This means, aspirants should always pick those questions first, they are more comfortable with. One should always read question properly and then judge about its easiness or difficulty level.

The second step is prioritizing topics according to their weightage in CAT. One can not predict accurately about the orderly importance of questions but looking at past CAT papers helps a lot in this regard. In general, sections like; Data Sufficiency, Time, Circles, Number Theory, Functions, Permutations and Combinations, Sequences and Series, Speed and Distance are some of the important sections, students should focus upon.

Third step involves Intelligent guessing. It needs smartness as well as an alert mind. It helps in narrowing down the answer options to two and then ticking one of them. Chances are, this method has good chances to pay off.

Fourth step is Substitution to simplify. There are several ways one can solve questions using substitution. This helps in saving time.

The last and concluding step is Learning Formulae and tables. This is a great way to cut down on time by using formulas. Several methods including Vedic mathematics and new forms of creative tables prove quite beneficial in subjects like geometry.

Improving Vocab- Culmination

- Associating Method. This useful method implies that, we need to relate or attach a particular word with someone or something. That associating factor could be any relative or companion or company name or sports or similar thing. For example, the word; ‘impulsive’ can be associated with a friend who has an impulsive nature or who is always in hurry. Whenever we meet or see that friend, this word will automatically come to our mind and that way, we will remember that word for a much longer duration.

- Weaving interesting stories. This method is quite an interesting way to work up one’s vocab collection. Suppose, we take a word; panoramic or kaleidoscopic. Now think of a trip to a hill station and recall the natures’ view. From that story of our trip to a certain hill station we will immediately recall these two words which signify beauty of landscape or beauty of a particular view or object.

- Source citing method. Source citing technique refers to visiting online dictionary or encyclopedia or thesaurus sites. These sites are regularly updated and for every word they mention its source of origin. That way, we learn about background of the words and ultimately learning process gets much easier.

- Swapping. This system refers to using synonyms. We have the option of using synonyms in context as well as meaning method. For example, we can swap or replace ‘impulsive’ with impetuous, rash, hasty etc. this tremendously helps in increasing our words capabilities.

These are few methods which will help the MBA aspirants in a major way towards improving their vocab and consequently improving self-confidence. Keep practicing. The words will come to you and stick by you.