LOGIC in CAT- the last post..

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.

I lost yet I won...

What does one do when sitting idle in his summer holidays with practically not much on the mind.He thinks about various things,diverse things, phrases , quotes , advertisements seem to fiddle with his mind.Something similar happened to me , happens to me and one particular quote which has been the epitome of our regional cinema "kyunki haar ke jeetne ko baazigar kehte hain". A TV commercial has made me think as the commercial revolves around the quote " jab mera beta mujhko haraega , main jeet jaaungi".Interesting isn't it? Wondering what? Let me try to put forward a view point.

When I think about a goal there are always two things that are arguably the concerns of many, Winning or Losing.Does one talk about a goal having two points of win and loss? A goal can either be won or lost then how can one lose yet win it? Is there a hint of a goal residing in another like a nested goal? Let me talk about it a bit more.

When we talk about a nested goal then we should achieve both the goals. Yes?
If no, then explain to yourself why would one want to lose? To help someone else? For some sort of inner peace? To create an opportunity to win something bigger and more important?
In doing all this isn't he/she ultimately achieving something or winning something for himself/herself finally? If he/she is then why say " I lost to win something?" .

Loss is when someone who wants to achieve something , some goal and he/she is not able to achieve it.That is loss, right?
How can one loss something that he/she never wanted to achieve?
For example : A coach trains a player and one day he/she beats his/her coach so did the coach lost yet won by making his/her apprentice better than him/her? I don't think so.The coach simply achieved his goal and hence won , there wasn't really a loss.Was there?

The so called loss was never really a loss beacause one never wanted to win it.He/she didn't consider it a goal which he/she was after. It was something else and this so called "loss" paved way for the victory or achievement of a goal which many would call "the ultimate victory" , "the actual victory"
so why the farce of saying " I lost to win" .

 

This morning , the passages are shining ....

How are you all doing?
Well if you are doing fine then it is good because it puts you in a situation where you are dealing with short term targets that I mentioned in my last post.Contrary to this you could also have become oblivious to the fact that CAT 2013 is no child's play and your 3-4 study hours per week will not help you to crack the top 7 MBA colleges (well if you have your 10th and 12th to make up for your low CAT percentile , good for you).
Alright! So coming back to my promise of a blog to help you all out with Reading Comprehensions.First of all , whatever I write in this regard will be a mere personal experience so donot take it as any success mantra.Second, If I am writing down something , believe me it will help.

Now the big question- How to decode THE RCs?

Let us start with some questions:

Do you like reading the passages?
Do you read novels on a regular basis?
Do you read newspaper ( not just the sports and glamour sections)?
Do you read blogs or articles on a regular basis?
Can you concentrate on anything for minimum 5 minutes?

Well, if you have any question in your favour from the ones I have asked, you are good to go with RCs. You just need to do some of the following tasks:

1)Read Different kind of articles , books , passages which should have a diversification among  themselves.for example pick up editorials from THE GUARDIAN , THE NEW YORK TIMES . These Editorials should be from the field of economics , politics , social sciences etc.

2) If you enjoy reading then atleast for CAT , read only till there where you understand and as soon as you find something perplex , STOP , read again , try to read between the lines.Give it a thought.This will actually help you in building your understanding of different perceptions and different styles of writing.

3)Try sloving 3-4 RCs in one go , in a given amount of time(say 22-24 minutes for 4 RCs). This helps you get over your fatigue.Many people enjoy reading or can read passages but their fatigue makes them succumb under pressure.Though RCs are not governed by "the more you practice the more you will master them",  yet practice helps you in being comfortable with them .

4) Pick up more and more RCs which have questions that are inference based because these are the toughest!( In the starting donot solve them in a time bound manner, start doing it only towards the end of June).To understand the theme of the passage you might have to read the RC twice or thrice. Do that.Remember it is a learning stage and not a competing stage.You can be easy on time untill you are making an effort to understand.

CAUTION:
The last point is a tested formula but it might not be helpful to everyone and only the one who is making a genuine effort to improve will be able to gain benefit out of it.So be careful while relying on this heavily.

5)Try and make your own RC.YES , YOU READ IT RIGHT!!!. pick up any newspaper articles or any other article you find and try and make questions based on your reading.MAKE SURE you include 2 inference based question in the four necessary question you make per RC.After framing the questions, you will have to frame the options also, out of which 4 should be incorrect and 1 correct.If you really want to help yourself try and make the options as close as possible and not as vague as anyone can guess.Once you do this , you will get an idea as to how an examiner thinks while framing the options, how he knows that there are 2 options which can never be easily negated to get one final answer etc.

NOW MY FRIENDS TO WHOM ENGLISH IS A BATTLEGROUND IN ITSELF

Friends, please undersatnd CAT is not testing your strengths , it is testing how you fare in your weakness and english is not a HERCULEAN task, it is a language which has been made easier to decode and decipher by CAT's emphasis on logic more than vocabulary. You just have to be honest in your attemot to master your weakness and you will see RCs is the only part in the entire exam where you are a bit relaxed and you get to solve 3-4 questions by just extracting information from the passage. No prior knowledge/formulas required.If you speak in your native language and  you do it effortlessly then the best way to start is try reading sentences of english(in passages) and translate them in your native language.This practice will help you understand the passage better.Start from today and try doing it with the next 5-6 passages you solve.You will see an improvemnet.
Now coming to your 'to do' steps.Please understand , you will have to develop understanding of the language. You will have to read certain different kind of authors to make yourself understand how an author conveys to his/her readers what is going on in his / her mind.Philosophy haunts many , particularly because they are from engineering background or they are looking at MBa from just the monetary perspective.Let me tell you one thing , logic can make you clear the entrance and fetch you a call but only deep thinking makes you outshine in the crowd of 1000's when it comes to the interviews, discussions and essays.If and when you go to a B school you will seldom realise that your comrades are all thought leaders and to outdo them you will have to be one also.

So all of you who have been shying away from reading , I donot intend to ask you to start reading the editorials of newspaper ( which can benefit you immensely) but you can atleast start with some very small novels which will be difficult to understand as they will have layers of thoughts and conclusions but if you master them , you will master CAT.

Here is what you have to do. You have to read the following 8-9 novels(very small in length) and you have to write the summary of the same as soon as you finish reading them ( The summary can be of 200-250 words).Once you write the summary , go on the internet and read the summaries written by others and see how close you got . This will help in building your understanding from the CORE and you will see yourself move in leaps and bounds.

THE NOVELS:
Animal Farm: George Orwell
The Metamorphosis: Franz Kafka
In the Penal Colony:Franz Kafka
Nine Stories: J.D Salinger
The Dead: James Joyce
The Invisible Man: H.G Wells
The Great Gatsby:Scott Fitzgerald
The Man who would be king:Rudyard Kipling
Poems and Short stories of Rabindra Nath Tagore

Once you have completed this set of novels you are free to read more novels of these authors and try to atleast complete reading one novel every 10-12 days till CAT.

After you have done reading this set of novels you should start followng the steps 1 to 5 that I have mentioned above for those who are already regular with reading books,newspaper, articles etc.
YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THOSE FIVE STEPS BUT ONLY AFTER YOU HAVE DONE WHAT I HAVE ASKED YOU TO DO FIRST.

It is a sunday morning and I am thinking how to start?
How to start with what I want to share?
How will it help?
You who are reading this, would you even pay heed to it?
Complexities, dilemmas,and a lazy night asking me to doze off and then those sweet memories of my preparation days flash in front of my eyes.
It was good to be unaware of the complexities of selection.To be unaware of the criteria, the parameter which will decide who gets a shot , who doesnot.It was only about studies.It was only about Number system,Algebra,Arithmetic (Geometry was and will never be a subject that can allow me to understand it) . It was only about Reading Comprehensions,Grammar,Critical Reasoning.The Mocks , Sectional.If one actually sits down and analyse CAT of any particular year , one is bound to appreciate the simplicity and beauty of the exam.Designed to test one's aptitude,presence of mind,patience,calmness and confidence . All of this in just 140 minutes.And then one gets on the other side of CAT and realises what is the use of such an elaborate and well crafted exam when 90 percent of BEST COLLEGES in INDIA for MBA don't give a damn about one's cat score.
Digression!
Coming back....At this moment what are you thinking? Pre final year, job,MBA? Interestingly I would like to suggest to you something that will be hard to swallow.Stop thinking about all this.These are ends and as great HARSHA BHOGLE said ends donot have the power to drive you , to make you passionate.Chasing ends doesnot really help the ordinary(for the extra ordinary , well they are destined to be successful! Don't believe in destiny till yet? ) because how can you tell what the end would be like? where will it come? what will it bring? Since you donot know anything about it so why contemplate? you can talk about where you currently are, what can you see from here and how will you reach till your next destination which should be the farthest distance that you can see from your naked eye(from where you are stadning now!)
Decoding it... when I was in this month of april , I was left with my project submissions and final exams . I used to attend college religiously and when at home I used to devote around 2 hours for study.Usually between 10-12 in the night.While I was doing this , my main aim was always to improve.Improve from what I was till yesterday to what I can be tomorrow.Can I give the quant masters a run for their money by improving(quant was my weakness)? Can I improve so much that I master both verbal and quant?
For ex: "Ohh shit!! I am not able to understand geometry and sir has already started with geometry 3.I have to finish my assignments of Geo-1 and Geo-2 asap so that I can clear my doubts before 15th may, the day when he will give us the assignment for geo-3" and then I used to work towards doing that.
Take another ex:"Mock 2 I scored 65 out of 180.In verbal I got 45 but in quant I was stuck at 20!!! Mock 3 is scheduled for this sunday.I need to revise , re revise Number systems which was taught to me in december, I will take new assignments and solve them to check how much I have retained. I will try to solve more questions of geometry, If I am able to solve 3 out of 6 questions of geometry in the paper I will be happy.Verbal I will study in the last two days.I have to work upon my weakness!"
Such immediate goals and short targets helped me analyze at each step of my preparation, my current situation and how to get to the next stop.

So since it is a start,try and incorporate this in your life and try to stay away from all kind of speculations and nonsense stuff about which B school ,how and why!!