How to Manage Your 120 Minutes

How to effectively manage your 120 minutes in the CAT exam: We have reached the final stretch of the CAT exam, similar to the last curve and straight of a track and field race. We have covered enough concepts, practiced and strategized. Now, we have reached a crucial point – the space between your ears. The success of how well you manage your 120 minutes, handle tough questions or sections, and execute your plans depends on your mental management. Let’s break it down section by section, focusing on each 40-minute segment, and discuss what you need to do right, what to watch out for, and potential challenges.

Managing 40 minutes of Verbal Ability:

The primary goal in the Verbal Ability section is to maximize accuracy, regardless of how good or bad you are in this area. I have discussed the specifics of maximizing accuracy in previous posts, VA-RC Masterclasses, and the VA-RC feedback from SimCATs. I hope you have watched the LMTC VA-RC webinar and established your time management and order of attempts strategy and Manage Your 120 Minutes.

Potential Challenges to watch out for in Verbal Ability:

1. New question types: The CAT exam often introduces new question types, so don’t panic if you encounter a new question at the beginning of the test. Remember that new doesn’t necessarily mean difficult. Take your time to read and understand the directions before attempting the question.

2. Unfamiliar RC passages: If you find that a majority of RC passages cover topics you’re not comfortable with, don’t panic. Instead, brace yourself for a testing time, increase your concentration levels, and follow the RC strategies we discussed previously. Choose your questions judiciously, let go of difficult ones, or mark them for later.

3. Five minutes of madness at the end: If you realize that you have only attempted 15 questions by the end of the Verbal section, don’t panic and start blindly marking answers. This will only harm your sectional percentile. If you have answered the questions properly, eliminated options using the discussed process, and left out the ones you were unsure of, there’s no need to worry. The deduction is not that you haven’t performed well, but rather that the paper was tough. So, if you haven’t attempted enough, selectively attempt a few questions instead of randomly marking options.

Practice Tip: Solve old CAT passages that you would normally avoid due to unfamiliar content.

Managing 40 minutes of Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning:

The goal in this section is to solve easy and medium sets of both DI and LR. As I have always stated, CAT rewards all-around ability, and weaknesses in any of the five areas (VA, RC, DI, LR, and QA) can impact your performance. However, you shouldn’t leave your future to chance.

Potential Challenges in DI and LR:

1. Killer LR sets: Most test-takers are more comfortable with LR than DI, so they rely on solving at least two LR sets and one DI set. But what if the set you encounter takes up too much time? If you realize that a set should be left alone based on its difficulty, don’t waste more than 20 minutes on LR until you have solved all the easy and medium DI sets. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

2. Difficulty balance: The IIMs aim to bring diversity in terms of educational backgrounds, as evident from providing a scientific calculator. Hence, the DI sections are likely to be solvable, whereas the LR sections may pose more challenges. Be prepared for the worst.

Practice Tip: Solve all the DI sets from the past three years’ CAT exams.

Managing 40 minutes of Quantitative Ability:

In this section, your challenge will be to choose the right questions after already spending 80 minutes on solving and several hours since leaving home. Similar to DI, I expect the Quant section to have a medium difficulty level.

Practice Tip: Solve all the DI sets from the past three years’ CAT exams, if you haven’t already.