by Jasveen Grewal *

If you are one of the aspirants looking forward to “bell” the CAT this year, I’m sure you’ve already started with the preparations of brushing-up your “sectional” skills. As a teacher of verbal ability, I often come across students who are befuddled about why this particular examination has questions on ENGLISH USAGE! Through this article I hope to satisfy such queries.

An MBA from the IIMs or other top-rung B-schools is a dream worth pursuing. A couple of years of rigorous training and you emerge dynamic managers with strong personalities - ready to conquer the world!

And today, as aspiring MBAs, you are awestruck by the corporate leaders. But, what if you are listening to the speech by a manager (someone with an aura, someone you have admired for his persona & are glad to be able to listen to) and he makes the mistake of saying ‘oversee’ in place of ‘overlook’. (To ‘oversee’ & to ‘overlook’ - two seemingly similar words, aren’t they? But the meaning of these two words is totally different. The two words are almost antonyms.)

The demi-god image of the manager shatters right in front of you, does it not? The situation analysis, I guess, answers the most vital question of most of the students taking various competitive exams, that is, why do we have the English Usage as a part of any competitive examination? The answer simply lies in the fact that competitive exams, especially CAT, select or reject a candidate by gauging him upon parameters, which are necessary for the candidate to be successful in the field he wishes to pursue.

Believe me, no one would like to opt for you as a student in one’s college if one has to build you up right from the scratch. One would prefer to shape you up & galvanize your skills. The drive should be present in you already! Therefore, to check your potential for the future you plan to have for yourself, you get various questions in the examination, including the questions on English Usage.