No one knows what to expect from the CAT. The questions in some sections get more complex than others. While sometimes, the easier sections are flooded with questions that have been framed to intentionally bowl the student over. With CAT going online from this year the situation has become even more unpredictable.
On close analysis, it is possible to ascertain three factors that decide whether the test is easy, moderate or difficult. These are:
1. Total Number of questions in the paper and the number of questions in each section i.e. Quant, Verbal and DI.
2. Total time available and the time you must allot to each sub-section.
3. Degree of complexity of each question.
The constant swapping of these three factors manages to astound the student every year. The degree of difficulty of the question paper varies from student to student. A section that is difficult for one candidate maybe an area of interest and highly scoring for the other. Eventually, cracking the CAT boils down to dealing with three things - time, difficulty and speed. The swapping of the total time allotted to answer, the number of questions and length and complexity of their statement decides whether a set of questions were easy, moderate or difficult. Hence, constant analysis and daily practice is vital.
Let us exercise our analytical skills by closely looking at the CAT from years 2000 – 2008. CAT 2000 contained lengthy and complex questions that were void of high-scoring topics. The questions were also those that had not appeared in the past three-four years. Till the 2004 exam, the level of difficulty varied with each paper. CAT 2004 onward, the difficulty level of the CAT paper was better-rounded with varying levels of difficulty in each section. In some sections, the questions got trickier and sometimes more time-consuming while other sections had a word-per-mark count of 125 words. The questions oscillated between those that are formula-based to others that simply require common sense. The 2007 CAT marked the reintroduction of grammar, para jumbles and vocabulary.
Since CAT 2004, questions have been getting easier to solve but trickier to initially comprehend. Adding to this, assessment company Prometric, which has been roped-in by IIM, has a reputation of presenting crafty and lengthy statement-based questions in the Quant as well as Verbal sections. This means that students must focus on each and every question that they stumble upon through the year. The trick is not to answer a larger number of questions but to consistently answer a balanced set of questions which offer an optimum representation of all areas. Monitor your performance everyday and with each test answered, compare your performance with the best in the country.