Through my last two articles about CAT , I have realised that I haven't been able to help you all much with what I learned . I have drawn that conclusion from the response which I have recieved.
So I will be posting one last article as I promised on Importance of Logic.After this I might want to use this blog space for personal use, though I am not sure about the extent.
Anyway , Let me start.
If I tell you that it is not necessary to master both verbal and quant for CAT , will you believe me?
If I tell you that just one section can help you cross the line , will you believe me?
Well , it is true that one section out of verbal and maths is enough for you to get a call from the IIMs but you need to master just one thing along with your favourite section and that is LOGIC.
I will talk from my point of view in the following paragraph.
I was good with the verbal section but maths was a tough nut to crack for me and as the D day of CAT came closer , my worries ,related to handling of the quant section, skyrocketed.In this scenario I took shelter under LOGIC. I realised that if I remove the 20 questions of pure maths from the quant section and 20 questions of pure English from the verbal section , I am left with 20 questions. 20 out of 60 questions which do not require formulas, just logical thinking and mental maths.
Now consider this scenario (Purely hypothetical):
CAT has witnessed that a score of 90-120/180 can help a candidate score a percentile in the range of 96-100.
Now if you are good with one section say English then out of 20 questions , you can answer 12-13 question: 13*3=39 marks (subtract 3-4 marks which are incorrect) :: 35 marks
In your weak section , say quant, if you get 5-6 questions correct out of 20 then : 6*3=18 marks (subtract 4-5 marks for incorrect) :: 14 marks
Sum total:: 49 marks.
Out of the 20 direct questions of logic (10 Data Interpretation and 10 Logical Reasoning) if you can get 16-17 correct then : 16*3=48 ( subtract 1-2 incorrect) :: 46 marks
Sum total:: 95 marks , expected percentile range(depending on the normalization) = 96.5-98
So you attempted around 43-44 questions out of 60 (70 percent ) and got a very good percentile and you didn't even have to master both the sections , just your favourite section plus logic and average knowledge of you weak section.
Now how to improve your logic.So start from the very basic as you still have 4 good months in your hand,I started in july and yet was able to make it my strong point by mid august, so you have to start with the building blocks.Start solving puzzle books(George J. Summer's puzzles and teasers), start solving sudoku( for those who do good , those who don't like me let me tell you that 2-3 weeks of sudoku made me think faster ) and most importantly start solving previous years DI and LR questions espcly of IIFT and CAT as they are really helpful. No need to solve Arun sharma or any other book , previous years , a book of puzzles , sudoku , and some games on word power and riddles and mental maths (like quick addition,subtraction and approximate multiplication) are more than enough to make your brain work faster and get you closer to those illuminations while solving questions.
Precaution: I do not promote or motivate leaving aside one section or not working hard on your weakness, if you are a determinant soul then put in extra hours, solve as much as you can , get your basics right beause only a balanced sectionals can make you cross the big 98+ percentile mark and I literally have not seen anyone who has a great variation in his/her sections get coveted calls from the top management colleges.
This post is only to make you realise the importance of logic in this exam and how much it can help you by improving your score with no prior learned formulas or concepts.
Also it is high time you start thinking about time management and section management and hence start strategising and this post can help you formulating your strategies around the "4" sections if I may say so.
So I will be posting one last article as I promised on Importance of Logic.After this I might want to use this blog space for personal use, though I am not sure about the extent.
Anyway , Let me start.
If I tell you that it is not necessary to master both verbal and quant for CAT , will you believe me?
If I tell you that just one section can help you cross the line , will you believe me?
Well , it is true that one section out of verbal and maths is enough for you to get a call from the IIMs but you need to master just one thing along with your favourite section and that is LOGIC.
I will talk from my point of view in the following paragraph.
I was good with the verbal section but maths was a tough nut to crack for me and as the D day of CAT came closer , my worries ,related to handling of the quant section, skyrocketed.In this scenario I took shelter under LOGIC. I realised that if I remove the 20 questions of pure maths from the quant section and 20 questions of pure English from the verbal section , I am left with 20 questions. 20 out of 60 questions which do not require formulas, just logical thinking and mental maths.
Now consider this scenario (Purely hypothetical):
CAT has witnessed that a score of 90-120/180 can help a candidate score a percentile in the range of 96-100.
Now if you are good with one section say English then out of 20 questions , you can answer 12-13 question: 13*3=39 marks (subtract 3-4 marks which are incorrect) :: 35 marks
In your weak section , say quant, if you get 5-6 questions correct out of 20 then : 6*3=18 marks (subtract 4-5 marks for incorrect) :: 14 marks
Sum total:: 49 marks.
Out of the 20 direct questions of logic (10 Data Interpretation and 10 Logical Reasoning) if you can get 16-17 correct then : 16*3=48 ( subtract 1-2 incorrect) :: 46 marks
Sum total:: 95 marks , expected percentile range(depending on the normalization) = 96.5-98
So you attempted around 43-44 questions out of 60 (70 percent ) and got a very good percentile and you didn't even have to master both the sections , just your favourite section plus logic and average knowledge of you weak section.
Now how to improve your logic.So start from the very basic as you still have 4 good months in your hand,I started in july and yet was able to make it my strong point by mid august, so you have to start with the building blocks.Start solving puzzle books(George J. Summer's puzzles and teasers), start solving sudoku( for those who do good , those who don't like me let me tell you that 2-3 weeks of sudoku made me think faster ) and most importantly start solving previous years DI and LR questions espcly of IIFT and CAT as they are really helpful. No need to solve Arun sharma or any other book , previous years , a book of puzzles , sudoku , and some games on word power and riddles and mental maths (like quick addition,subtraction and approximate multiplication) are more than enough to make your brain work faster and get you closer to those illuminations while solving questions.
Precaution: I do not promote or motivate leaving aside one section or not working hard on your weakness, if you are a determinant soul then put in extra hours, solve as much as you can , get your basics right beause only a balanced sectionals can make you cross the big 98+ percentile mark and I literally have not seen anyone who has a great variation in his/her sections get coveted calls from the top management colleges.
This post is only to make you realise the importance of logic in this exam and how much it can help you by improving your score with no prior learned formulas or concepts.
Also it is high time you start thinking about time management and section management and hence start strategising and this post can help you formulating your strategies around the "4" sections if I may say so.
