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The CAT Chronicles

BW Online Bureau Nov 08, 2014

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[CAT has always had a reputation of throwing up some surprise or the other. The nature of the test keeps undergoing a change and it is not what one would call a predictable exam. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is to ensure that it remains an aptitude-based test, a test that tests ones genuine skills and comfort levels in Verbal Ability, Quant and Data Interpretation, rather than a test that one can crack by only working for long hours a day. CAT 2011 was no different with the IIMs suddenly coming up with a notification that the exam would have only two sections, instead of three; and more significantly, that both the sections would be timed with 70 minutes given to each. Hence students could not navigate between sections, nor come back to the first one after the allocated time had elapsed. This is also reflected in the number and kind of questions that appear. Earlier, the CAT used to be a four-section exam, with close to 150 questions. The number of sections was then subsequently reduced to three, and the number of questions too kept decreasing. What is more, the test-taker was given an additional half-hour to do the paper-CAT is now a two-and-a-half hour test, as opposed to the earlier two hours. The number of questions stood at 75 (in 2006, 2007), 90 (in 2008) and around 60 in 2009 and 2011. While the same number of 60 questions was kept for CAT, these are now divided into two sections with a time limit for each question. What this means is that the level of difficulty of questions has increased. The focus is now not on mere formulae and direct questions, but also on reasoning and aptitude based questions, that test one's potential holistically. The candidate needs to have a good level of comfort with all the respective sections; reinforced by the presence of sectional cut-offs. Let us look at the trends for the CAT paper as a whole: <table style="width: 600px;" align="center" border="1" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="8"> <tbody> <tr> <td> </td> <td>CAT 2011</td> <td>CAT 2010</td> <td>CAT 2009</td> <td> CAT 2008</td> <td>CAT 2007</td> <td>CAT 2006</td> <td>CAT 2005</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Number of Sections</td> <td>2</td> <td>3</td> <td>3</td> <td>3</td> <td>3</td> <td>3</td> <td>3x2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Number Of Questions</td> <td>60</td> <td>60</td> <td>60</td> <td>90</td> <td>75</td> <td>75</td> <td>90</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Table from: Sidharth Balakrishna's book, ‘An Introduction to the CAT: Tips From An IIM Alumnus' (4th edition). Now let us look at how the various sections in the CAT paper have undergone a change over the years. The Verbal Ability Section CAT 2005-2007 had 25-30 questions in the Verbal Ability section, while the 2008 CAT paper saw a larger number of 40 questions. witnessed a change in the English section with there being a larger number of questions, 40 instead of the usual 25-30. The CAT 2009 paper, which was the first time that the CAT was held as a Computer-Based Test, had an overall total of just 60 questions to be done in 2 hours and 15 minutes. There were an equal number of questions in every section (20 each). The same trend was repeated in CAT 2010. CAT 2011 saw Verbal Ability being combined with Logical Reasoning, and having 30 questions in all. The focus in this section has shifted from knowing difficult words and the rules of grammar to knowing when to use certain words (context-based usage) and a good level of comfort in English as a language. Questions pertaining to the rules of grammar are of less importance than earlier. As far as Reading Comprehension (RC) is concerned, the focus has shifted to inference-based questions, rather than direct questions. Questions asking the ‘tone' employed by the author or which statement the author is most likely to agree or disagree with, are becoming common. The answer is not to be found within the text, but ‘inferred' by the reader. Students must prepare well for these questions, for RC remains a very important component of the Verbal Ability section as a whole, and questions pertaining to this topic are to be expected every year. The Quantitative Ability Section Algebra and Arithmetic remain the most important components of the Quantitative Ability section. The questions have become more and more analytical and reasoning-based over the years, with direct application of formulae becoming rare. However, ‘sitters' (easy questions that can be solved quickly) can still be found in this section and the candidate must watch out for these. The number of questions in this section was between 25-30 in the CAT exams from 2005-2008. These reduced to 20 in CAT 2009 and 2010 in line with the decline in the overall total number of questions in the test. CAT 2011 saw this section being combined with the Data Interpretation section, with the total number of questions being 30. Data Interpretation and Analytical Reasoning Various types of graphs and tables can now be seen in the CAT test and a greater number of caselets (sets of 4-5 questions with the same data) are to be found. Recent tests have required the candidate to demonstrate an ability to reason out things logically and use information to construct his/ her own table. As mentioned above, CAT 2011 saw this section being combined with the Quant one, with the total number of questions being 30. As in the Quant section, the number of questions in this section were between 25-30 in the CAT exams from 2005-2008; which reduced to 20 in CAT 2009 and 2010 in line with the decline in the overall total number of questions in the test. (An alumnus of IIM Calcutta, Sidharth Balakrishna is part of faculty of top management institutes. He has authored a number books on management: his latest book is called An Introduction to CAT: Tips from an IIM Alumnus (Pearson))