Boost VARC scores in CAT | How I Scored 99% in CAT in 5 Months | Personal Tips

Summary

In this educational video, Anushka Man shares valuable strategies for tackling the Verbal and Reading Comprehension (RC) section of the CAT exam. She emphasizes the importance of time management, suggesting a division of 40 minutes between RCs and verbal ability. Anushka advises viewers to set a minimum number of questions to attempt and a fixed time for each, highlighting the need to move on from a question if time runs out. She also discusses choosing RCs based on comfort with the topic and improving vocabulary by reading essays on various themes. The video concludes with tips on understanding central themes in passages, eliminating wrong options, and assessing one's risk-taking ability in exam scenarios.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video focuses on strategies for tackling the Verbal and Reading Comprehension (RC) section of the CAT examination.
• ⏰ Time management is crucial; viewers are advised to divide their 40 minutes effectively between the RC and verbal ability parts.
• 📈 A strategy for attempting the exam is suggested: decide on a minimum number of questions to attempt and a fixed time for each section or question.
• 📝 Reading comprehension is a significant part of the exam, with 4 RCs and 16 questions equivalent to 48 marks.
• 🕒 The speaker recommends allocating around 10 minutes per RC initially, gradually reducing this time as preparation progresses.
• 🎯 Choosing RCs based on comfort with the topic is suggested, especially for those with slower reading comprehension speed.
• 🔍 Common themes in CAT RCs include psychology, philosophy, economy, finance, literature, natural sciences, and history.
• 📘 To improve, read Aon essays daily, focusing on different themes to familiarize with terminologies and enhance vocabulary.
• 📑 Understanding the central theme, arguments, and conclusion of an RC passage is key to answering questions effectively.
• ❌ Avoid word-to-word matching when answering RC questions; focus on understanding the passage rather than memorizing details.
• 📊 Keep track of mock scores and analyze risk-taking ability to decide whether to attempt questions with uncertainty or leave them.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video by Anushka Man?

The main focus of the video is to provide strategies and tips on how to tackle the Verbal and Reading Comprehension (RC) section of the upcoming CAT examination.

Why is it important to divide the 40 minutes effectively in the VC section of the CAT exam?

It is important to divide the 40 minutes effectively to ensure that you can attempt all the questions within the given time frame and avoid spending too much time on a single question or section, which could lead to losing marks.

What is the author's suggestion for the initial time allocation for RCs in the CAT exam?

The author suggests initially spending 10 minutes per RC, which includes both reading and attempting questions, especially for beginners who may not be able to solve more than two RCs in a mock test.

How many RCs are there in the CAT exam, and what is the equivalent mark distribution?

There are four RCs in the CAT exam, with 16 questions in total, which is equivalent to 48 marks.

What is the significance of setting a time limit for each question or section before starting the exam?

Setting a time limit helps in managing time effectively during the exam, ensuring that you do not get stuck on one question or section and lose marks or time on other parts.

How can one improve their reading comprehension speed and efficiency in the CAT exam?

One can improve their reading comprehension speed by practicing with various essays on different themes, reading Aon essays daily, and gradually reducing the time taken for attempting RCs over time.

What are some common themes in CAT RCs that the author suggests getting comfortable with?

Some common themes in CAT RCs include psychology, philosophy, economy, finance, literature, natural sciences, technology, history, and prehistoric era topics.

Why is it advised not to do word-to-word matching when attempting reading comprehension questions in the CAT exam?

Word-to-word matching is not advised because the CAT exam is designed to test understanding rather than memorization. It is important to comprehend the passage and answer questions based on the context rather than exact wording.

What is the author's strategy for attempting questions in the RC section?

The author's strategy is to first identify the central theme, arguments, and conclusion of the passage, then read and understand the questions thoroughly, eliminate wrong options first, and avoid word-to-word matching.

How should one track their progress and analyze their risk-taking ability in mock exams?

One should maintain a separate notebook for mocks, noting down the date and mock score, and analyzing the minimum number of correct and incorrect attempts to understand their risk-taking ability and improve their strategy accordingly.

What is the author's final advice regarding the CAT exam preparation?

The author advises to understand one's risk-taking ability, decide whether to attempt a question with a risk of negative marking or to leave it, and to continue practicing and improving based on the analysis of mock exams.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction and Strategy for CAT VC Section

Anushka Man introduces the video, addressing the audience's request for guidance on tackling the Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VC) section in the CAT examination. The speaker emphasizes the importance of time management, suggesting an effective division of the 40-minute time limit between the RC and verbal ability parts. They encourage viewers to share topics for future videos and stress the significance of a strategic approach to maximize scores in the VC section.

05:02

🕒 Time Management and Selecting RCs in CAT Preparation

The speaker discusses the importance of time management in the CAT exam, particularly for the RC section, which accounts for a significant portion of the marks. They share personal experiences and suggest dividing the 40 minutes between RCs and verbal ability questions. The speaker advises viewers to choose RCs based on their comfort level with the topic and to familiarize themselves with common themes in CAT RCs such as psychology, philosophy, economy, and technology. They also recommend using the Aon platform to improve vocabulary and understanding of these themes.

10:04

🔍 Effective Reading and Comprehension Techniques for CAT RCs

In this paragraph, the speaker provides tips on how to read and understand RCs effectively. They suggest identifying the central theme, author's arguments, and conclusion of the passage, and ignoring extraneous details like statistics. The speaker also advises against word-to-word matching when answering questions and emphasizes the importance of understanding the question and eliminating wrong options first. They recommend practicing these techniques with sample RCs to improve performance in the actual exam.

15:05

⚠️ Risk Assessment and Final Tips for CAT VC Section

The speaker concludes with advice on assessing one's risk-taking ability during mock exams. They suggest keeping a record of performance to track improvement and understanding one's average correct and incorrect attempts. The speaker warns against the pitfalls of negative marking and encourages viewers to make informed decisions about whether to attempt uncertain questions or leave them. They remind viewers to balance the risk of negative marking against the potential gain from correct answers, and to make strategic choices based on their confidence in the material.

Keywords

💡Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension (RC) is a critical part of the Verbal and Communication (VC) section in competitive exams like the Common Admission Test (CAT). It involves understanding a passage and answering questions based on it. In the script, the speaker emphasizes the importance of RC in the CAT exam, noting that it comprises a significant portion of the total marks. The speaker suggests strategies for effectively managing time and choosing which RCs to attempt based on personal strengths and familiarity with the topics.

💡Time Management

Time Management is a key strategy discussed in the video for tackling the VC section of the CAT exam. It refers to the allocation of a fixed amount of time to each section or question to ensure that the candidate does not get stuck on any single part and can attempt as many questions as possible. The speaker mentions dividing the 40 minutes for the VC section effectively between RC and verbal ability, and setting a time limit for each RC to avoid spending too much time on a single passage.

💡Mock Exams

Mock Exams are practice tests that simulate the actual exam conditions and are used for preparation and assessment of one's readiness for the real exam. The script mentions using mock exams to develop a strategy, practice time management, and understand one's risk-taking ability in the context of the CAT exam. The speaker suggests noting down questions that were difficult or not attempted and tracking improvement over time.

💡Negative Marking

Negative Marking refers to the penalty for incorrect answers in an exam, where points are deducted for wrong choices. The speaker discusses the importance of understanding one's risk-taking ability in relation to negative marking, especially when there is uncertainty between two answer options. The script advises caution to avoid unnecessary deductions that can impact the overall score.

💡Strategic Approach

A Strategic Approach in the context of the video refers to having a predefined plan for attempting the exam sections and questions. This includes deciding the minimum number of questions to attempt and the time to be spent on each section or question. The speaker's personal experience illustrates how initially focusing on fewer RCs and gradually increasing the number as comfort and speed improve is part of a strategic approach.

💡Verbal Ability

Verbal Ability is a part of the VC section that tests a candidate's proficiency in language usage, including grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. Along with RC, it forms a significant portion of the CAT exam. The script suggests allocating time for verbal ability questions after completing the RCs, indicating the importance of balancing time between these two components for effective exam preparation.

💡Central Theme

The Central Theme is the main idea or message conveyed in a passage or essay. In the context of RC, identifying the central theme is crucial for understanding the author's argument and answering questions accurately. The speaker advises focusing on the central theme, arguments, and conclusion of the passage, and ignoring extraneous details like statistics.

💡Arguments

Arguments in an RC passage are the points made by the author in support of or against the central theme. The script emphasizes understanding these arguments as they provide the basis for the questions that follow the passage. The speaker suggests identifying whether the author is in favor of or rejecting the central theme through the arguments presented.

💡Conclusion

The Conclusion of a passage is the author's final statement or the summation of the argument. It may be open-ended or definitive. The speaker mentions that understanding the conclusion is important as it wraps up the author's viewpoint, which is essential for answering questions related to the overall message of the passage.

💡Risk-Taking Ability

Risk-Taking Ability, as discussed in the script, refers to a candidate's capacity to make decisions under uncertainty, particularly when unsure of an answer and faced with the possibility of negative marking. The speaker advises understanding one's average number of correct and incorrect attempts in mock exams to gauge how much risk can be taken during the actual exam.

💡Aon

Aon is a source mentioned in the script for reading essays on various themes, which can help candidates improve their understanding of common topics in RC passages. The speaker recommends spending time each morning reading essays from Aon to familiarize oneself with different themes and improve vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Highlights

Introduction to the video focusing on tackling the VC section in the upcoming CAT examination.

Invitation for viewers to comment on topics for future CAT preparation videos.

Emphasis on the importance of time management in the VC section, especially for Reading Comprehension (RC).

Strategic division of 40 minutes for the VC section into time slots for RC and verbal ability.

Suggestion to decide on the minimum number of RCs to complete in a mock test based on one's performance level.

Tip to allocate 10 minutes per RC initially and adjust based on improvement.

Discussion on choosing RCs based on comfort level with the topic to maximize efficiency.

Common themes in CAT RCs such as psychology, philosophy, economy, and technology.

Recommendation to use Aon for daily practice with essays on various themes to improve vocabulary and comprehension.

Advice on not exceeding 8-10 minutes per RC for beginners and gradually reducing this time as preparation progresses.

Technique to identify the central theme, arguments, and conclusion in a passage for effective RC.

Importance of understanding the question thoroughly before attempting to answer in the RC section.

Strategy to eliminate wrong options first when answering RC questions to narrow down the correct answer.

Warning against word-to-word matching from the passage to the question options in the RC section.

Importance of assessing one's risk-taking ability in mock tests and understanding the impact of negative marking.

Encouragement to track mock scores and analyze performance to improve risk assessment in the actual exam.

Closing remarks with well wishes for viewers preparing for the CAT examination.

Transcripts

[Music]

hello everyone this is Anushka man and I

welcome you back to my channel so

today's video has been made after so

many people requested on the YouTube

comments and on the LinkedIn DMS that

they wanted to know how to tackle the VC

section in the upcoming cat examination

so today's video is going to be focused

on that particular aspect only and also

I would like to tell you guys that if

there is any topic that you want me to

focus on or make a video on regarding

the cat preparation um you're more than

welcome to comment that comment that

topic below and uh I'll try to see if I

can make a video on those topics as well

so that it can help you in your

preparation for the cat examination so

let's get started with today's video so

first of all let us talk of the reading

comprehension section reading

comprehension part which is like one of

the most difficult things about VC to

tackle and also the large chunk of this

particular section so you'll have four

RC's there're going to be 16 questions

which is equivalent to 48 marks like

that's a lot you can't ignore it at all

so in this video I'll share the things

that I did and things that you might

also do to boost your scores in in the

RCs

so first of all the biggest tip that I

have for anyone who wants to improve

their scores in the VC section is that

divide your 40 minutes in this section

effectively now I have seen a lot of

people do this and I used to do this

initially too when I while I was

struggling with the section that I did

not divide my time my 40 minutes uh for

the RC part and for the verbal ability

part I would just you know get inside

the section

and just start attempting questions hay

you know haphazardly but this is the

biggest mistake that any cat aspirant

can make it is very important that

before you start giving the examination

or before you start attempting a mock

you should have a strategy in your mind

that this is the minimum number of

questions I'm going to do and this is

the fixed time that I'm going to take

for each particular section or each

particular question because if you don't

set a time limit for your yourself while

you are solving questions be for any

section even for D or qus if you get

stuck on one thing then you are going to

lose marks uh on the other part you're

going to lose a lot of time you're going

to lose a lot of marks so it's very

important that before you get inside a

mock before you start attempting it you

focus you create this rough strategy in

your head that I'm going to take this

much time per question or this much time

per section and once that time limit it

is up whether or not that section or

that question is complete I'm going to

move on I'm going to leave that behind I

think that's the biggest tip I can give

to a lot of cat aspirants and it helps

to save a lot of time that you can

devote to perhaps other sections or

other questions that might help you

score more now speaking of uh the VC

section you can do this way that you can

divide it into 2020 minutes 20 minutes

for the RC's and 20 minutes for the uh

the other part the verbal ability part

or maybe you can do 24 minutes for uh

the RC's part and the rest of the time

for the verbal ability part that is

something that you have to check based

on your performance that which section

would need how much time now speaking of

how much time you should devote to each

RC before that I would like to suggest

you guys that before starting a mock

decide it preand based on your level of

performance or your your level of

preparation that how many minimum RC's

are you going to uh you know complete in

that particular mock that whether you'll

uh complete one RC in that mock whether

you are a whether you are aiming to

complete at least two RC's in that

particular mock or maybe three or four

based on your level of performance or

your level of preparation at that point

of time suppose you start you are a

beginner at at the moment and uh you not

not able to solve you in one RC properly

in the entire section so what I did was

I used to devote like 10 minutes per RC

so that would be like I used to I was

able to solve like two RC's in those uh

in one particular mock initially and the

rest 20 minutes were for was for the

verbal ability part so 10 minutes per RC

which included the reading and

attempting questions part and the rest

of the time for for verbal ability part

and once those 10 minutes per RC was

over I used to move on to the next one

without you know delving or wasting more

time on that particular

RC now coming to choosing RC's whether

or not you should choose RC's or should

you just you know get inside the

examination and start attempting the

questions so now this strategy depends

on your level of performance I'll share

my personal experience so initially for

the first two and two or two and a half

months uh my speed was slow my reading

comprehension speed was slow so I was

able to attempt just two to three RC's

in one particular Mock and I used to

choose RC's obviously like if you are

attempting like less than four hours and

you'll have to choose one I used to

choose the one which uh with which I

used I felt more comfortable the topics

which with which I felt more comfortable

like if it was relating to psychology it

really interested me and I felt

comfortable so I used to generally

attempt those kinds of uh RC's and uh I

was really afraid of economics and sort

of uncomfortable around those subjects

and they took a lot of time for me

initially to comprehend them so I used

to leave those out so based on the

topics that you are comfortable with you

should choose the RC's uh based on that

and uh then start attempting them now

generally in the cat RC's there are

certain themes which are very common uh

on which on which the essays are based

some of the common themes that I've

observed are psychology uh philosophy

then there is economy related stuff

Financial related stuff

literature Sciences like Ai and

Technology based Natural Sciences

something related to you know the

prehistoric era or something like that

something related to history this is

also a subject that is very common in

cat RC's so I will suggest that if you

are preparing for the reading

comprehension part you should get

comfortable with the terminologies that

are frequently used in these particular

themes because when you will encounter

such an RC in the cat examination even

if you have to choose the RC's you won't

feel com you won't feel uncomfortable in

going with any of them because you'll

feel comfortable in understanding all

the all the themes that are present in

the reading comprehensions now how can

you you know improve your knowledge

regarding these particular uh themes on

which esss are based so there is this

particular source which is called Aon

which I used very frequently wherein you

have essays on various themes so what

you can do is that every morning when

you wake up spend at least 30 to 35

minutes reading one Aon essay and every

day try to switch the theme on which you

are reading the essays so when you in

open the website ofon so there will be

essays based on themes so select a

different theme every day and if you

encounter a difficult word note it down

so that your terminology and your

vocabulary regarding uh any of the them

whether it's Natural Sciences economics

Finance whatever it's like up to date

and uh whenever you are actually

attempting the mock the VC part you

don't feel like you don't understand any

of the sentences in those mocks

so this is one of the tips that I've got

for you now coming to the RC part now

that suppose you are if you are a

beginner I would suggest that you should

not take more than 8 to 10 minutes per

RC

initially and as you proceed with your

preparation you should keep in uh keep

in mind that your time for attempting a

particular set of RC reduces gradually

like every 2 weeks your time should be

reducing if not not then try to you know

polish your Basics try to read you know

spend more time reading the essays

additional essays polishing your

vocabulary attempting the sectional

marks or maybe you know uh attempting

the pre RCS present in the previous year

question papers so that your speed

increases gradually but initially 8 to

10 minutes is fine now in those 8 to 10

minutes per RC's you also have to

subdivide and finalize the time that you

will be allotting for reading the RC's

and for attempting the questions again

the entire game of cat is not just about

the you know having specific knowledge

about specific topics it's also about

time management it's a race of time you

guys you have got very little time and

you have to do a lot of things in that

time so how do you manage that time so

for so for doing that you should fix

your time uh for reading the RC for

attempting the questions the time you'll

be taking per RC the time you'll be

taking for different sections different

parts and so on now first of all if you

are speaking of the RC part suppose uh

you have decided in your mind that

you're going to take 8 minutes per hours

so what you can do is you can spend

around 4 and 1/2 4 4 and 1/2 minutes in

reading the RC's and the rest of the

time should be allotted to solving the

questions in the RC's

now speaking of how to read the RCs and

how to understand it so let me tell you

one thing that in any passage that

you'll find in any of the reading

comprehensions there is a certain

pattern and that pattern is that in

every passage there is a central theme

and based on that central theme there

are certain arguments given by the

author either accepting or rejecting

That central theme suppose an essay is

about AI okay artificial intelligence so

you'll first of all have to identify the

central theme of the passage which is

generally present in the first or second

paragraph in the first or second

paragraph you'll get to know what this

entire passage is going to be about so

once you have identified the central

theme then you have to understand the

arguments given by the author for that

particular Passage whether the author is

is in favor of AI whether the author is

in FA is rejecting the uh you know

concept of AI what is his argument about

so you have to under you know pick on

those arguments as well from the rest of

the passages rest all other information

extra information like facts and figures

and numbers this year in 1978 this

happened 2014 this happened 177% 18%

percentages whatever it is you all it is

all useless for you uh in terms of

understanding or attempting the

questions your main focus when you are

attempting an RC should be to identify

the central theme and the arguments and

what are those arguments telling us

about the theme and lastly the

conclusion of the author now the

conclusions are sometimes open-ended

that is open to you know interpretation

by the viewers sorry readers and

sometimes so it's a definitive

conclusion that the author States this

definitively so three things first of

all the central theme the arguments and

the conclusion you have to identify

these three things in the in every

passage and ignore the rest of the

numbers don't get too engrossed in

Remembering and memorizing the numbers

that you know the author had mentioned

that 78% people are doing this and that

that's just you know pretty useless

focus on these particular three aspects

now this was about how to read the RS

the reading comprehension I can suggest

that uh whatever workbook or whatever uh

you know materials you that you are

referring to you can pick up the sample

reading comprehension that you have and

then and then you know try to apply what

I just told you in those particular

reading comprehension and see if you are

able to identify those three things the

theme the arguments and the the

conclusion in those passages if you are

done identifying these three things you

are done with half the work in the RC

section now coming to attempting the

questions first of all read and

understand the question very very very

very thoroughly a lot of times people

get confused among two options because

they look identical or maybe they are

not able to understand what the question

is uh you know demanding from them and

then they end up marking the wrong

answer and that is because you're not

reading and understanding the question

carefully spend time Focus carefully and

understand and analyze what the question

is actually asking from you the next

thing is while you are marking options

this is one of the strategies that

really helped me it is to eliminate the

wrong options first rather than find

finding the right one because when you

go on you know in finding the one right

option generally in the cat examination

two three options are considerably

similar or maybe two options would be

there that are very much similar but if

you are like uh you know eliminating

those options which are like completely

wrong or not related to the question any

way so if you eliminate those options

you'll be left with the ones which are

which actually fit in with the question

so eliminate the wrong options first

before answering questions in the

reading comprehension now there's

another tip that uh my mentor at the

coaching platform that I was taking at

used to repeat again and again and it

was very helpful that is do not do word

to word matching when you are marking

answers in the reading comprehension

part that a reading that the question

mentions a certain statement and there

is a certain State the exact same

statement is also in the passage so

these two would be the correct pair and

then you mark the wrong wrong option

that's not how it works in the cat

examination they're not it's not a

second grade or you know you're not in

second grade or third grade that they're

going to ask you to find the exact words

in the passage and then Mark the answers

no they want you to understand the

passage so do not do word to word

matching when you are attempting the

reading

comprehensions now the last tip that I

have for this particular video is to

measure your risk taking ability now

what I mean by risk taking ability is

that why when you are uh you know

attempting the mocks first of all I

would suggest that create a separate

notebook for mocks wherein after the

mocks are over when you analyze them and

you find some s some questions that you

were not able to you should note them

down in that particular register so on

the front page of that register write

the date and the mock score against that

particular date and track if your mock

scores are improving day by day or not

and when you are doing that understand

your risk taking ability now what does

that mean what I mean is that you know

you should get to know after a certain

point of time that this is the minimum

number of correct questions that I do on

an average in every Mock and this is the

minimum number of incorrect attempts

that happen in the mocks that I attempt

you should have a rough idea about both

of the those things so based on that

analysis you should whenever you

encounter a question in your examination

wherein you are not 100% sure about the

answer like there is a confusion between

two options there's a 50/50 scenario so

you should know that whether you can

exercise The Leverage of going for a

negative marking in case your option is

wrong or whether you should leave that

question or not that is not attempt that

question because I have seen a lot of

time that a lot of aspirants they just

keep marking the answers in order to

increase their attempts and in that case

they lose a lot of marks from negative

marking now minus one seems like a very

little score as compared to plus three

score that you might get when attempting

the right answer but overall when your

total score is calculated the negative

marking it can really break your score

so make sure that you are aware of your

risk taking ability how much risk you

can take while attempting the questions

that you are not sure of whether you

should leave that question or you should

you know you know attempt it and take a

little bit risk because you have that

leverage because you have attempted a

certain number of correct questions

you're sure of that that it would be

cover up uh that it could cover up the

you know that particular question even

if it is wrong so risk taking ability so

these were certain tips and tricks that

helped me boost my scores in the VC

section in the C examination so if

there's any question anything particular

that you want me to make a video on

comment it below and I'll try to film a

video on that and that's it for today

guys I hope these videos help you help

you and I really really hope that you

all scored really really well in the cat

examination good luck you've got this

you can do it okay but bye