cat 2013 - cat prep strategy for beginners - spanedea
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"www.spanedea.com/cat" - " Blog.Spanedea.com" Strategy for Beginners, tips and tricks for CAT prep by IIM Alumni Prepare and Score high with the best Online CAT Coaching provider, Spanedea. Live Online 1to1 classes by IIM AlumniTRANSCRIPT
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Live One-to-One Online CAT Classes by IIM Alumni
CAT PreparationPreparation is an important component of
the key that unlocks the door to a seat in a good management institute - IIMs
CAT Preparation requires hard work, meticulous planning and systematic implementation
A correct mix of theory and concepts, practice, simulated testing and detailed analysis
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Analyze, Understand & Plan the preparation Preparing for the exam 3 levels of preparation required to crack the CAT.
KnowledgeExam StrategyConfidence and Performance under pressure
3 Steps to ACE CAT Step-1 Learn all about CATStep-2 Do Self Analysis for CATStep-3 Execution: Mastering your strengths and
improving on your Weaknesses Study Plan
Never Prioritize topics – study all What is prepared & what needs to be learnedTime Management Set accomplishable goalsStick to your plan
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8 important steps for CAT PrepIdentify where you standBuild the Foundation - build the basics |
Revise the fundamentalsStudy Plan and Time ManagementSectional Tests and ExercisesStart acing mocksEvaluation and analysis Know your strengths, work on your
weaknessesAccuracy and speed: the perfect mixtureShortcuts and strategies
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Identify where you standWhere to start?The ideal way to start preparing for any
exam is by taking a diagnostic testDiagnostic test should ideally be of similar
type as the previous CAT exam.You may take the test online/offline. Detailed analysis on the results
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Build the Foundation - Revise the fundamentalsUnderstand and Develop basic concepts
tested in the CATUnderstand different types of questions
asked in each sectionGauge your understanding by solving
questions for each ConceptAttempt extra practice problems on each
concept to go to Pro Level.Finally, move on to actual past CAT
questions – to develop the CAT mindset
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Study Plan and Time ManagementTime is precious, while everyone has the
same amount of time, only those who manage it well crack the CAT.
Budget your time – Create a study plan to manage the time effectively and efficiently.
Give plenty of time for each task and concept
Use a calendar to set specific deadlines. Don’t get nervous over deadlines; stay
calm and keep on track.
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Sectional Tests and exercisesStart taking sectional tests and time based
exercises. At least 2-3 concept or sectional tests a week See where you stand and measure
improvement. Analyze the tests in detail to check:
Where have you gone wrong?Why have you gone wrong? Solutions to questions that you did not attempt to
identify the ones that you could have attempted. Analyze your performance after every test you
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Start acing mocksStart taking mocks once every week to
frame a full proof strategy.Gauge your performance – weakness and
strengthsMock scores will also help you identify your
aim and strategy for the last few months before CAT
Start your mocks even if you have not completed the chapters
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Evaluation and analysis All the tests taken must be evaluated properly and
analysed. Have a record on a spreadsheet of all the tests that you
takeTrack your performance section wise and concept wiseCreate a flowchart which will help you know where you
stand and how much improvement you need in every section.
Analysis should include your attempted, non-attempted questions. Silly mistakes and guess work attempts.
Such analysis will shed light on your strengths and weaknesses.
Concentrate on where you need to improve
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Know your strengths, work on your weaknesses Discover the areas, where you are strong and where there is a room for
improvement Capitalize on your strengths and get rid of your weaknesses. Challenge yourself by re-practicing problems in weak areas Make stronger area into the strongest and work towards improving the
weaker sections. Always keep yourself motivated; do not stress yourself, by studying all
the time. Over dosage often, as they say – kills. How to find your strength & weaknesses – Simply pickup a past years
CAT exam papers1. Attempt as many questions as you can without putting the time limit in one2. Attempt which ever you are confident of, don't make any blind guess for any
of the questions and make calculated guess 3. Check your answers and attempts.4. Write down your overall score, along with sectional score5. Repeat step 1-4 for 4 more past year CAT paper
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Accuracy and speed: the perfect mixtureCAT is not about solving 60 questions in 140
minutes. It is about solving 40 to 45 questions with 85 to
90 percent accuracy. Attempting all the questions is not the mark of your
achievement in CATAccuracy is a distinguishing factor among 99+
percentile Focusing on accuracy may lead to spending more
than average time on the questionsSpending more time on one problem could cause
panic towards the end of the exam.An optimum mix of both accuracy and speed is
desired.
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Shortcuts and strategiesTry to find strategies and shortcuts for
different sections and concepts. Increase your speed, improve your
accuracy and reduce time per question.Collective studies with your friends and
exchange ideas and shortcuts with each other.
A common pitfall is learning the tricks without understanding them.
Best solution is to derive and develop tricks yourself from the basic principles.
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Section Wise Preparation
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Crack CATCracking CAT is all about time management and accuracy
No need to answer all the questionsCrack the maximum questions in what your are confident
about Crack the minimum required in your weak sections to clear
cutoffs Division of time so as to get the maximum out of the paper
Initial phase is building up concepts followed by extensive practice, revision and mock tests
Work diligently towards your goal, a great CAT scorePrepare through small, well-planned steps. Accomplish
each step; build upon them. Try out various exam strategies in the practice tests and
then adopt the one which you feel suits your abilities the best
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Quantitative AbilitySolving a particular problem accurately in the
least possible time matters the most Lot of practice to build up good speed, Solve problems fast from basic principles and
tricksUnderstand the formulae well rather than just
remembering them.Check for model answers; there is always a
better method to solve problems.Go over a concept again in detail, if you are
making conceptual mistakes in this phase.Improve your speed and accuracy leading to a
high percentile in this section.
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Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation Solve as many problems of all the different types
as you can to improve speed and accuracy. Master the art to transfer data on screen to the
rough sheet smartly while reading the question setUnderstanding which data is useful - large parts of
the data provided are NOT useful and redundantLearn to quickly get approximate answers by
rounding off to two decimals and match them with the correct option
Check for model answers always; there is always a better method for processing data and solving the problem.
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Verbal Ability: Good vocabulary and a good reading speed is most important. Start reading up articles on a variety of topics like science, philosophy, arts,
languages etc. From various magazines and newspapers online. Improve your reading speed and grasping the important concepts in short articles Always note down the new words and their meaning to build up your vocabulary For grammar, go through all the basic rules and the common mistakes. Summarizing a paragraph and arranging sentences requires a lot of practice, and
always go through the reasoning given in the sample answers. For RC, there are two approaches
First is reading the whole passage before answering any question and Second is going through questions first before reading the passage. Try out both the approaches and picking up the one you feel the most
comfortable with. Many questions in RC/Summary/Ordering where two answers are very close.;
Identifying the correct one comes from identifying the one which is not correct, as one answer is slightly wrong. The ability to figure this out comes from practice and analyzing the solutions.
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Create a Study PlanDevelop a realistic plan according to your needs
and schedule, and supports the way you learn. Study plan allows you to learn at your own paceCreate a plan to help you study effectively and
minimize stress during last month of preparationThe first step is to figure out how much time and
effort you must dedicate to studying for the exam by asking the following questions:How much material do you need to cover?How difficult is the material?How much time is available?Do you have any other priorities during the study
period?What is the format of the exam?How important is the exam?What is your performance target for the exam?
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Work life balance Keep yourselves distressedBalance your work/study with preparation. Be genuine to yourself and spend time every day
regularly in a systematic mannerTake it slow and do not garble all the information. Work your way through different types of
problems and keep track of your performance in every possible area
It’s about ‘You’ and you know better about yourself; device a strategy that works for you
Keep fine tuning the strategy, until you get better results
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Special advice – final year studentsPreparing for CAT & other MBA exams Graduation marks plays a major role in selection
process and also in whole careerDon’t be complacent about graduation studies
due to the CAT preparationGraduation performance reflects a candidate’s
sincerity, dedication & hard work towards their career
Getting a low score after spending 4 years is considered as immature and not serious towards career
Complete graduation with the good zealwww.spanedea.com
Final WordsCAT is a tough exam and you need to train your brain for
it. The key to success is training your mind to think
differently. Get acquainted with both the content and the length of
the test. CAT is not rocket science; it just requires a lot of discipline.CAT is a very logical exam and if you are good with logic
you should be able to do reasonably well. The challenge is not to master all concepts, or to do all
problems rightly; the challenge is to maximize the scoreYou don’t need to reinvent the wheel; all you have to do is
follow a plan which the high CAT scorers use and customize it to suit your needs.
NGUFO = (Never Give Up - Fight On)
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About SPANEDEA“Every learner is unique, and so is every learning
situation!”
SPANEDEA is an interactive learning platform through live video and audio and a virtual blackboardFounded in 2011 by IIM Bangalore 1998 batch alumni – Sanjay Bhadra, Nitin BansalBased in Mumbai, India
Get more information at: http://www.spanedea.com/CAT
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Why Learn Online Customized learning from the convenience of their
location.Sessions/course customized to particular students need
Convenience - Convenient timing
Comfort - At comfort of your place, Spend less time on
traveling and more time to learn
Teacher’s personalized teaching -1on1 live teaching through internet,
Modular course content – ebooks, interactive and customized content/ courses
Quality – best quality teachers
Availability – qualified teacher available all the time
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Benefits to students Choice – chose teachers, select courses,
Precision – exactly what is required, instead of needless 'full'
Personalization – my weaknesses at my pace, customize your own course
Doubt clearing – interactive discussion required for doubt clearing
Tutor provides comfort – provides the invaluable hand-holding
Sufficient practice – pre and post session quizzes, full exams
More focus on concepts – concept building
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For more information on CAT - http://www.spanedea.com/CATOpenedex India Pvt. Ltd., 703, C-Wing, Mangalya, Andheri (E), Mumbai-
400059, India
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