Sumedha is a CAT exam candidate. She is in the final year of her engineering course. Her CAT preparation has been very quant oriented because she likes mathematics as a subject. Hence, she has been scoring well in the quant section, but is unsatisfied with her performance in the verbal section. She speaks about this to her mentor.
Her mentor, like the senseis of yore, takes out a dusty box from the top shelf. As he wipes the dust off the box, the words “Scrabble” come into picture. Sumedha looks at the box in bewildered confusion and exclaims, “How do I master one of the top examinations in the country by playing a game of Scrabble?”
“The problem, my child,” says the teacher in a tone that borders between light-hearted fun and intense focus, “is that you are not looking at the bigger picture. To truly master something like the CAT question paper, especially the verbal section, it is important that you pay more attention to how much more interesting and fun you can make the process.”
“So, let’s play!”
CAT Preparation- Having the right approach for Verbal Ability
Verbal Ability is the section that can really boost your result. This can also be a differentiating factor in getting a higher percentile than your peers. But the problem with verbal section is that it is very unpredictable. You can practice a lot for quant and be sure that the questions would be solvable due to similarity in pattern. But in verbal section you can never be sure, even after practice. The reading comprehensions are different each time. Other questions are equally different. So, now the questions are how to crack such a section?
We have a list of 3 CAT preparation tricks that can help you achieve higher percentile by scoring good in verbal section.
Praqtice Fact file: The CAT Verbal Ability section usually has 5 types of question – Critical Reasoning, Paragraph Forming (Para Jumbled Questions), Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension.
Here are the 3 tricks for verbal section which need to be a part of your CAT preparation:
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Measure time taken for each question
It is important to increase the reading speed, but it is also equally important to also focus on the average speed to answer RCs. The trick is in being speedy yet accurate. Just rushing and skimming would not help. While you practice for the verbal section and RCs in particular, you should always challenge yourself against the clock. Try to improve with each phase of your CAT preparation.
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Not just practice, but PRAQTISE
Verbal section requires a lot of practice undoubtedly. However, the approach that you take towards practicing is what makes the difference. Why practice using traditional pen and paper methods when you can record and measure your speed, accuracy, and historical performances. Instead of studying the verbal section, you can actually play it out with your friends and challenge them to earn points and awards.
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Error checking
While many other blogs will advise you with tricks like ‘read more’, ‘practice as much as possible’ and ‘stay calm’; we would advise you with a more practical approach. While you keep reading and practicing, you must invest proper time in checking the errors you made, the answers you got incorrect and the repeat mistakes. Forums like PRAQTISE help you out with fully worked solutions for each question. If you proactively keep checking for the errors you make, you are less likely to be bothered even by the trick questions in the exam.
A PRAQTICAL APPROACH: With the quantitative aptitude section, you can learn a few finite rules that will help you solve questions correctly and quickly. However, with the verbal reasoning section, there are no formal set of rules. There are just customized tricks and techniques. Your approach to learning and answering makes a major difference here.
A Praqtical Look:
As already mentioned the VA section can be a game changer. But it is unpredictable at times. So the best way to crack the verbal ability section is to read a lot, practice, solve the doubts, identify strengths and weakness. You need to monitor your performance closely during the entire preparation period. Then devise a strategy for tackling the verbal part of the CAT syllabus. Choose the questions wisely and attempt accordingly. Remember, that great strategy is not only about opening the right doors, but also about closing the wrong ones.
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