The CAT exam for 2022 is about ten months away; it’s the best time for aspirants to get ready with a well-formulated study plan to ace the exam. CAT is a computer test conducted by one of the IIM’s every year on a rotational basis. This exam assesses candidates based on their aptitude, reasoning, and verbal ability skills. The exam pattern has undergone several changes over the years. Due to the pandemic in 2020, the total time duration was slashed from 180 minutes to 120 minutes. The IIMs shortened the sectional time to 40 minutes.
Along with the increase in slots from two to three, the number of questions was also reduced from 100 to 76 in the 2020 exam. The number of questions was further reduced to 60 in the 2021 CAT exam. The CAT Entrance Exam being one of the sought after management exams in India, requires consistent practice and enormous effort. The below article will give you an understanding of the syllabus, marking scheme, and the importance of the Common Admission Test.
Why is the CAT Exam Important?
The dream of getting into the IIM is cherished by every aspirant who wants to pursue a career in business management. The CAT is a national-level entrance exam that is extremely important for students who want to pursue their MBA through these IIMs and top management institutions. The exam consists of three sections, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR). The VARC section covers various topics like Para Jumbles, Cloze Passage, Para Summary, Sentence Completion, RC Passages Based Questions, Inferences and Vocabulary. The DILR syllabus of the CAT exam includes topics from Caselets, Seating Arrangement, Puzzles, Blood Relation, Syllogism, Tables, Pie Chart, Venn Diagrams and Bar Graph. The QA section of the CAT syllabus includes all the topics of Mathematics from Number System, Trigonometry, Time and Work, Geometry, Algebra and Mensuration.
A candidate receives three marks for each correct answer. One mark is deducted for every incorrect answer. All the MCQ types and TITA type questions contain the same number of marks. TITA questions and unanswered questions don’t have negative markings.
Benefits of Solving Previous Year Paper:
Before approaching the question paper, make sure your concepts are clear with a solid grasp of the fundamentals. By working on the CAT Question papers from the previous year’s, you will learn how to manage your time and respond to different types of questions.
- Aspirants will be able to grasp the question paper pattern better, changes in the exam pattern from year to year and the difficulty level of the exam.
- Practising previous year questions allows candidates to analyse their performance, identify areas of weakness and get them better. Additionally, you can get the concepts cleared to avoid further mistakes.
- Systematically solving past year exam papers will improve your accuracy and speed.
A thorough understanding of the CAT syllabus and exam pattern is an essential step every CAT aspirant must take towards preparation. Try taking mock tests regularly to gauge your preparation level and time management as you progress through your CAT preparation. Read the newspaper regularly to boost your vocabulary skills.