Now that the Indian Institutes of Management have adopted the CBT (computer-based test) mode for the Common Admission Test, aspirants must get used to the format. Let us analyse the situation: 
 

• CAT remains a test that not only checks your basic quantitative and verbal skills, but also your ability to select      easier questions, plan and manage your time. 
• The approximate number/ range of questions (60-70) are known in advance. This has happened for the first time   in the history of the test.
• The computer-based CAT will be similar to the paper-based one, e.g. scanning through questions and sections,     reviewing questions already seen and coming back to a difficult question. 

You need to practise: 

• Reading and solving questions on the computer screen instead of paper. 
• Scrolling up and down the screen and checking the time using the computer clock.
• Taking a large number of computer-based mock CATs. 

You also need to familiarise yourself with these changes:

• You may no longer underline sentences in RC (reading comprehension) passages. 
• In RC, the screen will be split in two parts - question and passage.
• In some questions, like geometry in Quant, or a chart in DI, you cannot write/mark on the diagram and may need to use paper. 

So, CAT remains mostly unchanged, though cracking it requires mouse management skills, too! 

CAT and English 
This section checks language skills in English - the global language of business communication. You should focus on strengthening your skills by reading a wide range of non-fiction in the e-book form to help you do well in the online format. 

Identify and focus on subjects/topics that you are not very familiar with, e.g. philosophy, spirituality, religion, social sciences, humanities, sciences, etc. to develop a comfort level with them. Spend a couple of hours every day reading and solving questions related to these subjects. Memorising rules of grammar or just cramming at this juncture will bear little fruit, so do not worry too much about it. 

Make it a point to pay attention to verbal logic, which includes questions on paragraph formation/completion, summary writing, critical reasoning, etc. Understanding the logic of the language and various techniques and approaches will help you improve accuracy as well as speed in this area. 

While attempting the examination, most of you will gain by focusing on VA (verbal ability) first and then RC (reading comprehension) - assuming these appears in CAT. Allocate time proportionate to the marks allotted to both. Read all questions in the ‘allocated’ time, attempt the questions you know and leave the ones you are not sure of. Do not get stuck with any question. If you have time left, devote it to the RC section. 

Moving on to RC, spend some time scanning the passages and questions and choose passages with easier questions. These are not necessarily the easiest passages. Attempt as many passages as you can. If there are some difficult (inferential) questions in a passage, leave them, without being tempted by the thought that you must attempt all questions since you have invested time in reading the passage. Similarly, if you plan to leave a passage, check for some easier (non-inferential) questions that you may be still able to attempt without fully reading/comprehending it. 

Do not set any minimum number of questions to be attempted as your target. Going by the past few years’ CAT papers, ambiguity and close options are likely, so proceed with caution while attempting the verbal section. 

Dhrubajyoti Banik & Ankur Jain
Source:www.campus.shine.com

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