Abhishek Tahlan

You must have had this idea from your mock performance, so I would suggest being biased towards what has worked for you so far. At the same time, keep your eyes open as inference type questions might get easier this year. Don't rule any type of questions out before doing an initial scan of the paper.

02:38 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

I attempted it in 2014, which was substantially easier than in most CATs so far. 1. I started with the VA questions I found easy, marked for review the intermediate ones, and skipped the hard ones (e.g. parajumbles). 2. Then I did the easy RCs - easy is when you can understand what the topic is in one 10 second glance. 3. Then the marked for review questions of VA 4. Finally tough RCs

02:42 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

In CAT 2014 there were only 2 sections - quant+DI and VA/RC+LR. My score in VA/RC+LR section was 99.96 percentile

02:44 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

don't remember the score, just the percentile. Sorry!

02:46 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Parajumbles is unfortunately the toughest type of question in which to maintain accuracy. Only attempt these when you have narrowed it down to 2 options, otherwise its too risky. Inference type can be improved with practice, do one or two more sets before sunday. Don't attempt if it seems unnecessarily tough

02:49 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Time devoted will depend on 1. how tough it is this year 2. your performance in these sections in mocks so far. you can do the other questions first and then pick and choose from these. Don't aim to solve and fully attempt all ten. Be realistic

02:51 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

1. Depends on your mocks performance. Some will be easy, so don't rule entire section out. 2. I followed the tricks taught by coaching, i.e. look for flow of logic, past present future, information given in some sentences etc.

02:53 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Not much. I had 82 and 77. and zero work ex. FMS, XL and many other good colleges can be converted but you need a good CAT/XAT performance. Exact weightage of each part is not shared, so just focus on maximising your performance

02:56 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Lots of factors: Low 10th, 12th and engineering marks, average B-list engineering college, No work ex, gap of one year after graduation. But what has happened has happened. Some other people similar to me compensated with good interview skills, preparation and loads of activities after coming to XL. Focus on what can be improved now, and any disadvantage can be compensated for.

03:02 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Mocks analysis! read very carefully the explanation in the mock solution. After doing this 2-3 times, a pattern will emerge. Another easy way to improve is to be more careful in reading questions and options, avoiding silly mistakes, and ruling out options. Choosing which RCs to attempt is also another way.

03:04 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Mock percentage falls in the final month, because casual candidates stop giving mocks and so the competition quality is much higher (From around 40,000 to less than 18k appear in last aimcats). Don't worry about mock percentile at all. Casual candidates will be back on sunday! Focus on revision oof key areas, which will give biggest return on time spent studying (neither too easy nor too tough).

03:11 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Sometimes tone of RC can give a hint. Thinking from point of view on author can help, but 100% accuracy is impossible. Don't worry, options will be less confusing than mocks in the actual cat. Just be careful in reading and think calmly and logically. If you have narrowed to 2, go ahead with attempting the question, because of +3/-1 negative marking.

03:14 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

For VA and RC, material from time/cl whatever you joined is good enough. Along with that word power made easy (as much as you can do), along with the Hindu (at least a few times per week). try to read according to your interests as much as possible. One good hack is sectional tests. they don't require much time but are very helpful. fatigue becomes a factor when one gives only full mocks. I know all this sounds like a lot, but doing some of it will also lead to big improvements. start doing and then mix and match according to your experience.

03:21 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Since you have a lot of time, focus on building reading speed and decent accuracy levels for now.

03:28 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

Difficulty can be higher but wont be too high, because of the high no. of questions. You are right, accuracy will become much more important in this case. If after the first scan and after starting it seems tough, drop the longest most/complex RC, do your type of questions first. Use the mark for review judiciously. Once again, I agree with you. Aim for accuracy rather than speed.

03:34 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

memorization didn't work for me, and has becoming less important in the recent years. Do only as much as you like, no need to force it. Reading non fiction is as important as reading the other stuff. Keep your reading material balanced with classics, new fiction, non fiction, indian works, news and your favourite blogs. (you can check my insideiim blog as well :-))

03:36 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

No need to think in number of attempts and worst cases. just focus on getting as many marks as you can in worst case scenario. Paper will be equally tough for all. In such a scenario just focus on proper time management and not missing on the easy and intermediate questions (question choice management). All the best.

03:41 PM

Abhishek Tahlan

You're welcome!

03:41 PM