CAT VERBAL – THE WINNING STRATEGY

The discussion on the strategies is based on the premise that the students are through with the basics of the three broad categories of questions in CAT Verbal:
Vocabulary
Grammar
Reasoning
There are not many direct vocabulary based questions in CAT. But vocabulary base is an absolute must before reasoning comes into play. Likewise, in CAT-2006, there were no questions based on grammar. But this is more likely to be an exception than a rule. Nevertheless, the fact remains that there is an increased emphasis on verbal reasoning. Our winning strategies are:

READING COMPREHENSION:
You cannot simply ignore RC. Give it the respect it deserves. The term “Reading Comprehension” is a misnomer. The term actually means not “read and comprehend”, but “comprehend the main idea and answer”.

Speed reading strategies include skimming, scanning, column reading, phrase reading etc. The crux of the argument is that the questions are not based on the passage; they are rather based on the important ideas of the passage. So learn to read for ideas, not for words.

Don’t look for the right answers. Look for the best, by eliminating the rest.

Go through each answer option carefully and find a reason to reject it.

It is not the passage that is difficult. Invariably it is the questions that are, since most questions are inference based and there is a very thin line of demarcation between the best and the rest.

It is not necessary to attempt all the questions based on a passage. You could skip an odd question that is proving to be much too difficult.

Always keep the main idea in mind while selecting the right answer. The best answer is more likely to revolve around the main idea.

English Usage:
Have a good look at the question types that have figured in the last few CAT examinations. You may not get the same type of questions, but you will get a fair idea of what type to expect.

Expect the unexpected: But this could more likely be old wine in new bottles. Remember, CAT 2005, where the sentence completion (gap fill) questions were given in a different format with unknown words (in italics) replacing the blanks? Who knows you could find our old friend, Para jumbles, in a brand new package where there could be four paragraphs in place of four sentences.

Expect questions based on grammar: They could more likely be sentence improvement (GMAT format) rather than sentence correction. Here the key is pinpointing the error and then looking for the answer option that rectifies only that error.

For questions based on word usage, look not for an error in grammar or syntax, but an error where the word is not correctly used.

For sentence completion questions, try to catch the flow of the sentence and supply the filler yourself, before having a look at the answer options. Same is true of many other question types like Para jumbles.

For other vocabulary based questions, don’t get put off by words you are not conversant with. Try to split the words, or at least work out the negative positive. This might eliminate certain answer options straightaway.

Expect questions based on logical reasoning and critical reasoning. Reasoning based questions essentially have three parts: assumptions, evidence, and conclusion. The right answer need not touch the conclusion. Submit the assumption/evidence to denial test. If the conclusion also gets weakened, you might have found your answer.

Above all, if you get the unexpected, don’t lose your head. It is more likely to be something you have prepared for, though in a different format. Take time to decide how it is connects with what you have prepared for.


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