Entries Tagged 'CAT' ↓

WHAT DO WE UNDERSTAND BY DATA?

Data refers to facts or numbers, collected for examination, consideration and useful for decision-making. It is in raw form i.e. it is in a scattered form. Information refers to data being arranged and presented in a systematic or an organize form, so that some useful inferences can be drawn from the same. By data we generally mean quantities, figures, statistics, relating to any event.

WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY DATA INTERPRETATION?

As the name implies, Data Interpretation is extraction of maximum information, as required by us from the given set of data or information. In other words the act of organizing and interpreting data to get meaningful information is known as Data Interpretation. The representation of data can be broadly classified as tables and graph.

TABLES: Any statistical data pertaining to a situation can be represented by tables. Tables are the easiest and most convenient form of data representation if the data is reasonably limited.

(1) Tables present data logically.
(2) Tables give a bird’s eye-view of the data in a concise and a compact manner thereby saving time and space.
(3) The columns and the rows that constitute any table facilitate data comparison.
(4) Tables facilitate also analysis and informed decision-making, a la any other data representation type.

Description In this type of questions, certain pairs/groups of numbers are given out of which all except one are similar in some manner while one is different. The numbers in these similar pairs may have the same property or may be related to each other according to the same rule. The candidate is required to choose the odd pair/group.

EXAMPLES

Directions: Choose the numeral pair group which is different from others.

Example. 1.

(a) 83 - 75
(b) 58 - 50
(c) 49 - 42
(d) 25 - 17

Ans. Clearly, in each of the pairs except (c), the first number is eight more than the second. Hence, the answer is (c).

Example. 2.

(a) 70 - 80
(b) 54 - 62
(c) 28 - 32
(d) 21 - 24
(e) 14 - 16

Ans. In each of the pairs except (b), the ratio of the two numbers is 7 : 8. Hence, the answer is (b).

Example. 3.

(a) 42 - 4
(b) 36 - 6
(c) 32 - 2
(d) 15 - 5

Ans. In all the pairs except (a), the first number is a multiple of the second.Hence, the answer is (a).

Example. 4.

(a) 71,7,3,17
(b) 67,71,3,5
(c) 41,5,3,47
(d) 37, 14, 19, 7
(e) 11, 3, 3, 17

Ans. All other pairs except (d) consist of prime numbers only, while (d) consists of one composite number i.e., 14. Hence, the answer is (d).’

Once the exams are over, they spend their time agonising over the results. More so if it happens to be an entrance exam. MBA entrances seem to have gained popularity of late. Everyone seems to be going for them these days. Quite a few of the aspirants are clear about their objective and go towards it with a proper action plan. Many others are just putting their luck to test, or are confused on how to go about preparing. If you are a student planning to take the entrance, follow the steps below and exams will no longer torment you. Besides the MBA entrance exam, these steps will help be of interest to anyone taking an exam, be it a school level exam, college level exam, or a competitive one.

Step 1: Start early-

There is no point in procrastinating. If you start studying early for your exams then you will have more time to study. When you have plenty of time at your disposal then you can study at your own pace. You will not have to cram extra hours. Think of it as a 100m race. The student who starts early has that much of head start over the others. If need be, join a coaching class. There are a many reputed coaching classes that specialise on MBA entrances, and boast of many successful stories.

Step 2: Be clear about the sections -

Don’t waste your time reading something that will not even be asked in the exam. Find out exactly what the exam syllabus will be. Make a list of all the topics that might be asked. Most of the MBA entrances have sections on:

1. Verbal ability
2. Reading comprehension
3. Quantitative ability
4. Data interpretation
5. Analytical ability
6. General awareness

The numbers of questions under each section vary from exam to exam, but the kind of questions is similar. Next, get a list of the books that you would like to refer. Make sure that you have all the course material ready well before the exams. Don’t waste your time hunting for reading material at the eleventh hour.

Step 3: Find out what you are comfortable with O.K, so now you know the sections that appear in a typical MBA entrance exam, what next. Your next task is to find out what you know and what you don’t know about these sections. What are the sections you are comfortable with? Where do you need to spend more time? Don’t waste precious time studying topics you already know. This may be tempting as it gives you comfort but your time will be better spent if you study topics which you don’t know. You will improve only when you work on your weaker points. If problem solving is a weak point for you, spend more time on that compared to the section you are comfortable with. Sample tests track and evaluate your results. They isolate your weaknesses and thus highlight what you need to practice most. A commercial course or an MBA preparatory program will help point out to you what practice questions also reveal. That is, there are many shortcuts and tricks that can help you to find the right answer more quickly, and help improve your ability to eliminate the wrong answers. Knowing the question format and taking practice tests will train you for success.

Step 4: Formulate a plan -

After you find out exactly what you need to study, your next step should be to form a plan as to how you will study. Start with a broader plan and then break it down to smaller tasks. Smaller tasks can be better managed. Make the plan as specific as possible. Give deadlines and try to stick to these as much as possible. Don’t fix deadlines that are too ambitious and may not be achievable, as you might get discouraged.

Step 5: Execute the plan -

You now know what to do and how to do it. But you still have got to do it. This is the most crucial stage. Even the best of plans if not properly implemented are useless. You should periodically monitor your progress to know how you are doing with respect to your plan. If you are not able to meet a deadline, then you have to buckle up. Finally don’t lose steam towards the end. You may start-off with all the enthusiasm but get complacent later. A good way to avoid this is to study along with a friend. This way you and your friend can motivate each other.

Take practice tests. For best results, try to simulate exam conditions as closely as possible when taking sample tests: no unscheduled breaks or interruptions, strict adherence to time limits, and no use of outside aids. Familiarising yourself with the test taking conditions will prepare you for the day of the test and help eliminate any impediments to your success!

There are two basic elements to preparation – study and practice (good luck for those who do not follow these two). The numerical ability (arithmetic, geometry, algebra, probability, sets etc.) is of a high school level, and that is the reason many of us will have lost touch with these subjects. Moreover, a little revision and practicing numerous time savers and short cuts will enhance your performance. The verbal section will pose a lot of traps to catch even the most confident people, so some brush up on your grammar will not go waste.

There is no substitute for practice in your preparation for the MBA entrance test. The time limits that are present in the test will be very difficult to adhere to without practice. Practice makes a man perfect. Also, there is not substitute for hard work. Plan the schedule of your preparation ahead. Maintain consistency throughout your preparation. Do it on a regular basis and when time comes give it the best shot.
You can improve your performance at the entrance test quite considerably by putting a little (or a lot of) effort into preparing for the test. With this, you should be able to improve your score, which will make a noticeable difference in the options you have for choosing a business school.

A few more tips . . .

• Before the exam day, make sure you have everything you need. Double check before leaving for the examination hall. If you are writing an exam that requires you to carry a hall ticket or an ID card, then make sure that you have it with you. The worst possible start you can give yourself is to arrive for the exam without the things needed to write the exam.

• It is important to relax. Don’t indulge in last minute reading. You will gain nothing, on the contrary you will get more nervous.

• Reach the exam hall well before time so that you have plenty of time to settle down.

• Read the question paper very carefully. Do not forget to read the instructions. Don’t assume that the model of the question paper will be same as last year.

• Attempt the easier questions first. That way you can allocate more time for the difficult questions.

• Manage your time efficiently. You must attempt all the questions in the stipulated time.

• Write your name and roll number legibly and neatly. Do not scribble. Avoid scratch marks on the paper.

• If you have some time left in the end then revise your answers once. Verify the numerical calculations.

• Follow the other instructions properly

General Pattern: Management entrance tests traditionally have four areas:
Maths, English, Comprehension and Reasoning.

Some institutes add an additional section on general knowledge or business judgment. The number of sections in which these skill areas are divided, could vary. While earlier there used to be four sections in CAT, today there are three, each containing 30 questions. In one instance, CAT had only two sections with time limits for each section. To avoid being taken by surprise, it is important to do a number of tests on different patterns, within the given time frame. The test is of two hours duration. As nobody can do all the questions in the given time, the candidate must have the ability to pick and choose the questions that must be done.

Start with your preparation as early as possible. The advantage to start early is that one gets attuned to the kind of questions that are asked. Also, the time should be spent in developing extra reading habits and increasing vocabulary.

The test pattern in CAT 2005 was as follows: there were 3 sections consisting of Maths, Verbal and Data Interpretation/Reasoning. Each section had the following pattern:

Section No of questions Marks per question Total marks
Sub-section A 10 1 10
Sub section B 20 2 40
Total 30 50

The total marks of the paper were thus 50 * 3 = 150, with 90 questions. Each section had 10 relatively easy questions which carried one mark each and another 20 questions with 2 marks each.

Now, take a look at the chapter wise break up of the questions asked:
S.No Chapter/ No of questions/ No of marks
1. Numbers and number systems/ 11/ 19
2. Geometry/ 6/ 10
3. Co ordinate geometry/ 2/ 4
4. Mensuration/ 2/ 4
5. Time and distance/ 3/ 3
6. Functions/ 1/ 2
7. Logs/ 1/ 2
8. Quadratic/ 1/ 1
9. Venn diagrams/ 1/ 1

(Note: The above pattern is not an indication of the CAT paper. The pattern may change year to year so it is important to get practice of all topics to be prepared for all eventualities)

The above table shows that doing the basics thoroughly does pay, since a majority of the questions are from basic areas. Had one just done the basics or arithmetic and geometry, one could easily have been able to attempt at least 10 questions in this section. Even non-engineers could have made a respectable attempt in the paper, if only one had kept a cool mind. The cut-off for clearing this section was 10+, which most people could have achieved.

How to Prepare???

The preparation for CAT must necessarily consist of three parts. First, the student should start with doing the basics. Go ever each chapter and revise what you did in Class 10. Get a feel for the figures. Do the tricky questions given in question banks. Revision of the basics and doing exercises on each topic normally takes about three months.

After this, one should start doing sectional tests. These are tests of 30-40 sums each, containing varied sums from all chapters. The trick is to time yourself and do one section test in 40 minutes, and checking your score. Initially one may get less score but gradually one should target a score (after deducting 1/3rd marks for each wrong answer) of above 20.

It is important to do CAT-type questions at this stage. These are not available in normal textbooks or guidebooks, but must be collected from different sources. Question banks of these are available and one may also subscribe to the notes of any of the specialized institutes that prepare for CAT.

Once one is confident in section tests, start doing mock-CATs. These are very similar papers modelled on CAT. Give yourself two hours for the entire paper and check out both sectional and full-test scores. This will give you a good idea about your preparation and where you stand.

Tips :

1. Don’t be afraid of the unfamiliar. Maybe you have never seen such charts before; do not panic and approach with an open mind.

2. Practice from a lot of sources. Look at different graphs and charts and see how data is represented.

3. Note that there are no purely DI or purely Reasoning Questions. All the questions require some amount of Reasoning.

4. Look at different newspapers and also the sites on the Internet where you find graphs and charts. An exposure to different types of charts is essential.

5. In Reasoning, do some puzzles from varied sources. Several sites on the Internet post puzzles regularly. Doing these from a variety of sources will help.

6. Do a number of section tests before you start doing full-length tests. Time yourself and stick to the time limits strictly.

7. Rather than doing conventional sums, rely on logic and develop a reasoning mind. In the exam, there is no particular type of question that will be repeated, but most questions can be done by using logic.

8. Do the questions with low weight at the outset. This will give you the confidence to attempt the more difficult questions.

9. Develop your strategy by appearing in a number of mock tests. Do not change it at the last moment by listening to friends or others.

10. Finally, DO NOT panic. Even if you are scoring well in the mock tests, be prepared for something that you may not have seen before. Learn to keep control even if the paper is formidable; usually it is not.

1. Read:
This is the best in quality as one sees the usage and the context. However, it’s not a direct method for vocab improvement and the ROI in terms of new words learnt for an hr put in is low unless one’s vocab is less than average. This is assuming the average Indian English newspaper. Plus, there is additional bother of looking up a dictionary every time.

2. Vocab books like Norman Lewis and Rosenbaum:
These books look at the roots of the words, origins etc. Thus, each word has a history etc. very easy to pick up certain words and also helps to guess the meaning of a word using its roots even the one had never seen it until that moment. Downside, there are only a few words with a story. Also the roots can give misleading results at times.

3. Word lists:
Every coaching/prep book has them. Very direct approach and has a high ROI. But it looks a monumental task to finish a few thousand words. Can be done with regular effort and tools such as flash cards. The key is to learn the usage and not to memorize the words.

One can choose depending upon one’s needs. If you find it difficult to get started, option 2 is probably the best. If you’re pretty strong already reading and combining through word list may be a good way. If your English is particularly weak, read and do the word lists. Option 2 can be a support.

• Quotations. They tell recruiters what other people think, not you. Similarly, skip the dictionary definitions.

• Jargon. People who read admissions essays understand business, but not necessarily your niche.

• Typos. Your computer’s spell-check function won’t know you meant “role” when you wrote “roll.” Careful proofreading also will catch no-nos like citing the wrong school, sports team or location.

• Missing the point. Some essays fail to address parts of a question. Have a friend read yours — without revealing the topic — and then ask if he or she can figure it out

This is how you can do the Analysis of Mock Cat.

1) Check on no. of wrongs in every section and Hit rate (i.e. how many attempted and how many correct) No of questions you get wrong should be as less as possible. Accuracy rate of 80% and above should be desired.

So if you attempt questions worth 10 marks, you should get 8 or more (after deduction of negative marks)

2) Check on why you got some questions wrong?
Was it because of lack of understanding or calculation mistake or something else!!

3) Go through the complete paper once again. See if your method is the only one to do the problem, or there is a better way (in terms of saving of time esp.)

4) All this would give you real cause of your not so good performance in a section / sub section and then you can focus your efforts better!!

Topics of various GDs performed in IIM B

- MBAs should be taxed at higher rates in the country.
- Are we raising a generation of burnt out children?
- The government should stop funding the IITs and the IIMs and, instead, divert the funds to primary education.
- Profit is the only business of business.
- Democracy has hampered India’s progress.
- India should be reorganized into smaller states.
- Growth and integrity are poles apart.
- Managerial skills learnt from classroom can never match those learnt from experience.
- Government should reduce defence expenditure and spend more on social sector.
- The UN has not served any purpose in the last decade.
- Religion is a private matter and should be no concern of the state.
- Is corrupt but efficient politicians better than honest and in-efficient politicians.
- Beauty contests do little to improve the stature of women.
- To sustain India’s integrity it is necessary to devolve more power to states.
- Women reservation in parliament is against the tenets of democracy.

Aditya Biyani
Batch of 2000-02.
IIM-Ahmedabad.

I took the CAT 99 only for the 6 IIMs. I didn’t want to go to any 2nd rung B-School. Further , I believe in “Burning your Bridges”- if you have only 6 schools, you are bound to work extra hard. I got calls from all the six IIMs and converted all 6, and here I am in IIM-Ahmedabad. My preparation was gradual and steady. I worked for about 1.5-2 hours for about 2-3 months till Aug. and then for about 3-4 hours till Oct. In Nov. I took a number of Mock CATs to fine tune my strategy.

TIPS

Be REGULAR. This is most important.

Join a coaching class, but make sure it is not a shady one.

Read a lot, specially abstract topics, like sociology, psychology… Ideally your reading speed should be around 400 words and above (depending on the type of passage) by the mid-Nov.

Pace your preparation steadily. Ensure that you “peak” around 1st week of Dec.
Practice mental maths, like 2 by 2 and 3 by 3 digit divisions. This would give you the requisite speed in Data Interpretation.

Practice Maths regularly. After taking Mock CATs , ANALYSE your mistakes, as to where you could have done better. Also make sure that you read the whole paper and not leave out any “sitters”. These are generally placed after a “toughie”.Find out your strength areas, where you need to maximise your marks.Also spend a separate 1 hour on your weak area DAILY.

All the best!