" Some Arcticle Relating to Cat Preparation "

 " JMET 2010 Post Exam Analysis "

The JMET 2010 had four sections with each section having 30 questions each like last year. There were four options for each question, each correct answer carried +1 mark while each wrong answer fetched -0.25 marks. The total time available for the test was 180 minutes.

    The four sections were Verbal Communication,Logical Reasoning, Quantative Ability and Data interpretation and sectional cut-off was mentioned in the paper.

 

The details of the question papaer are:

 


Verbal Communication:

In VA , the RC passages were short but inferential, specially the one on the evolution of philosophical thought.The VA questions were moderate and most of them could be done. The questions based on direct vocab were not easy and were only possible to do if the meaning of the word was known.

 

Logical Reasoning:

 

The logical reasoning section also had questions on verbal reasoning which is pretty common in JMET. There were 13 questions of mathematical reasoning which were easy to do leaving one or two. The questions on verbal and logical reasoning were of moderate difficulty level and most of them could have been solved. A few questions were confusing and ambiguous though. In one question based on familty tree the question had the name Rita while the answer options contained the name Geeta which created some confusion. The number of questions on syllogisms and logical conditions were a bit too many. Few of them were apparently easy but not easy when actually tried.
Overall an attempt of 22-24 was good.

 

Quantitative Ability:

 

The section of quantitative ability was most evenly balanced compared to other sections and covered the whole spectrum of syllabus ranging from basic questions on time and distance to advanced questions on functions and differential calculus. There were approximately 15 questions from Basic arithmetic and algebra, 6 questions from Geometry and rest were from either from Permutations and Combinations, Probability or Calculus.

 

Most of the questions were doable and an attmept of 24-25 questions should have been made.

 

Data Interpretation:

 

DI was arguably the easiest section of the lot. And barring a set on Scatter plot all sets were easy and had questions based on direct observation without asking for long calculations.  There were three sets on Line and Bar Graphs, Two sets on Table and Caselets, One set on Pie chart and one scatter plot.

 

One should have attempted a minimum of 24-25 questions in this section.


 

Overall the paper was more or less like last year with the difficulty level in QA and VA a notch above than last year.

 

For a student to manage at least a call from one of the IITs he should score around 70-72 marks.


 

"Why do We Read"

Well, everyone keeps saying, Read  Read and Read. But Why????  Why in the first place do we need to read.  This one questions baffles our mind, and especially a students’ mind.

The reason/s to read can differ from person to person. People read for fun, for pleasure, for knowledge, to know about happenings in and around their city/country. Reading can be a pastime for many and a source of studies or research for others. Moreover, when we talk about reading, we usually mean reading for reasons other than studies. Academic reading forms a different section altogether. There we have no choice but to read our A B C’s of Physics and Chemistry, and pass the exams.
Whether you agree or not reading always proves helpful, short term or long term.

Benefits of Reading

•    Reading helps learn new words.

Reading fiction/non fiction familiarizes you with new words. You tend to see the usage of many words you would never have heard. Hence, you improve your vocabulary.

•  Reading helps you speak well.

If you read good stuff, you tend to use good vocabulary is speech. A good reader is one who keeps his mind open, notice new words, grammar, syntax and thus implements it his own speech.

•    Reading stimulates your brain.

A well read person would have a better IQ than a non reader. You learn more things, knowledge increases, thus increasing your capability.

•    Reading brings you closer to life

When you read other people’s experiences, adventures etc, you get to know what all happens in this world; good or bad. You can relate to the misery of other people. Reading helps you empathise.

The above list can be endless. As a student, sit and ponder what would happen, had you not been reading?? The results could have been disastrous.

 

To further this discussion, Emily Dickinson the famous writer had a grand sense of the readersinglequotes motive: "There is no frigate like a book," she wrote, "To take us lands away." She understood that words on the page held power wildly beyond proportion to what they seemed to be. She ended her famous poem about books this way: "How frugal is the chariot/ That bears a human soul!". Reading has always been a venerated task. Many poets and authors have written on the importance of books.

 

To conclude, we can say, the more you read, the more confident you will feel. Reading broadens your spectrum of knowledge. It gives you the courage to participate in any kind of discussion. You get to know facts, current affairs, stories, experiences, gives you academic knowledge with an edge over others.
 

"Do's & Don'ts on the Exam Day"

Ok. So we have huffed and puffed our way and we are finally there. The biggest management entrance examination in India is on its way. And this time it is unlike any of its predecessors, adding just that element of uncertainty to the proceedings. All the preparation has been done and it is time to tighten your seat belt for that final lap. So, at the cost of possibly repeating ourselves here are a few last minute tips to ensure that you have the cat in the bag this time.

 

First and foremost, enjoy the paper. Agreed that it might be one of the most clichéd lines, but nothing helps in cracking any exam as well as taking it up as a challenge rather than a series of questions. If you think you have solved a particularly challenging question allow yourself a smile. You deserve it and this will help you to reenergize for the next question.

 

And be willing to admit defeat. When you get to business school or even now you might be aware of terms like opportunity cost and sunk cost. These are what are at play when you sit down to give the CAT paper. When you are spending much more time than you should in a single question/set of questions, remember that you are losing out on the opportunity to possibly lap up a few easy questions. Do not think that just because you have spent five minutes on this question you will necessarily have to get this right. That five minutes is anyways gone, forget about it.

 

Read the questions properly. This is not a 6th standard examination where you might get marks for using the correct methods even though you have copied the wrong set of data for that question. You either get it right or wrong. No room for ‘silly’ mistakes here.
 

And don’t compare your scores with people who have given their tests on other days. This is something which comes into play only this year. Again given the vagaries involved in CAT normally and especially this year, coming to conclusions about your performances based on your interactions with few of your friends when you consider the fact that over 2 lakh students write the test and the sample size you are dealing with is especially small. One more point worth noting here is that, if your friend who wrote the test on 29th November thinks that verbal was the easiest section, do not blindly start with the verbal section. Remember, he might have found it easiest because it was his strongest section. So, if you had all along started with DI do not attempt to change it now. This is not the time to be flaashy.

 

Never give up. You might think that you have done really badly in a section and that for all practical purposes, CAT 2009 is doomed for you. Don’t. As much as we have repeatedly advised to not approach this exam in a purely relative manner, this is one time when it might help to think about the rest of the candidates. Maybe you were not the only one who’s performed badly in that section. Maybe it was one of those sections that everyone found ridiculously hard. Maybe you just gauged your performance in that section wrongly and for all you know you might have actually done really well. So remember, it ain’t over till the fat lady sings.

 

As we have stressed a lot of times the key to cracking the CAT is to the comfort factor when dealing with the paper. Do not be shocked or overjoyed at the extreme difficulty or relative ease of a particular section compared to previous years. Remember that CAT is known for the little twists and turns that it provides in each paper and it is the ability to tackle this that will determines your performance. So remain calm and focussed throughout the paper. As they often say in cricket, play each ball on its merit, do not think about the previous delivery or the next delivery. A delivery might scoot off the pitch or jump off the pitch and knock you on the head, but the key is to regain the focus and dispatch the next delivery to the boundary.

 

A rather weird tip : get to the exam hall early and try to acclimatize to the temperature there. Remember that unlike the previous exams, this CAT is an online test and this means that typically  the AC will be in full swing and might be even more chill than you expect. Carry a jacket or a sweater, just in case. You should not be left ruing that you were affected by the excessive air conditioning.

 

Avoid talking to the students who you could just possibly meet on their way out if your slot is in the afternoon. Last minute knowledge gained on the paper pattern or difficulty is not going to help. Just stay focussed. Try and start a conversation with someone there in case you need something to try and avoid being excessively focussed on the paper.

 

Read the instructions very carefully, before the exam and in the question paper. Remember that there is a very big difference between maximum and minimum, a possible call to the IIMs. Look for for NOTs and differences between at least and more than. These are just a few examples where a proper look at the questions is important. Agreed that we get only limited time overall, but that does not give you the licence to skim through questions. This is the only chance you will get to crack the exam in a whole year.
This is what you have been waiting for a long time now. Remember this, you have done all the hard work. You can do it and there is nothing to stop you from cracking the CAT.

 

So, what do you do after you’ve written the exam. This time thankfully, there will possibly no shows on TV which will give you those dreaded possible cut offs for every single day. So, it means that you can possibly return to normality faster than previous years. Use the next few days to catch up on those lovely movies you missed out on during your preparation. The main thing is this : get out of the CAT mode. The results aren’t going to be out till January, so why bother thinking about it till then. Start preparation for your other examinations, but only after you have taken a well deserved break.

 

By the time we are back next week, a lot of you would have written the CAT and be rather proud of how you’ve done and a lot many more of you might still be having last minute jitters. To all of you, we at Top CAT Coaching have this to say : Be confident, be calm and be sure of the rewards for all the hard work you have put in preparing for the CAT! We hope to join you in your preparation for your interviews!

"How to maintain a Positive Attitude "

Having understood what is attitude, we also need to learn to maintain a positive attitude. This is quite a difficult task as the surroundings might be negative. Being surrounded by negativity, maintaining a positive attitude is a challenge. Let’s see, how we can overcome this challenge.

•    Start each morning with a fresh outlook on life. Mentally prepare yourself by deciding what kind of attitude you will have about the day’s activities- just as you physically get ready for the day.

•    Get yourself a pep talk (as the coach does before the match) before your day begins. Talk to fill your mind with positive thoughts & feelings (affirmation) & thus create a positive atmosphere around yourself. For example, you can say: I am positive, enthusiastic, motivated, happy, healthy and successful or may be write these phrases on a piece of paper and see it frequently.

•    .Clarify & Prioritize: Another way to maintain a positive attitude is to clarify what you want to accomplish in life. Four simple steps

i)    Clarify your purpose : A purpose is something you fulfill each moment that you are in balance with your life. (A purpose is a simple, positive statement of why you are here). A purpose isn’t a goal statement, which one can achieve.

ii)    Discover your purpose: by identifying & prioritizing your most important roles in life (at home, at work, community etc) List positive qualities that you aspire to be e.g. caring, honest, happy.

iii)    Visualize your future, with a clear picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish in your lifetime (you can become what you think about). One of the most powerful techniques for achieving life goal is visualization (creating a mental image of something happening in future). Believing in your dreams can motivate you to become what you want to.

iv)    Set goals for yourself (To help your dreams for the future become a reality, you need to set short & long term goals) to stay headed in the right directions.

To provide steady fuel for your energy, create a list of long term goals to be accomplished in life time & break them into several interim short term goals to help you chart your progress.
 

•    Prioritize your action: It is the final step in gaining control of your life’s plan, so as to maintain a positive attitude by simplifying your life.

•    Enjoy the moment: Another way to maintain a positive attitude is to stop worrying about the past or dreading the future & just enjoy the present.

As the adage goes:

The past is history, the future is mystery.
Today is a Gift, That is why we call it the present

.

•    Express – Don’t suppress, your feelings

 

Since your attitude is the energy you create with your thoughts & feelings,  one way to maintain a positive attitude is to openly express your feelings / emotions (but without hurting anyone).

 

When you smile, you communicate your happiness. It is a symbol of contentment & satisfaction.Take a long, slow, deep breath & smile.
 
 

Smile also makes others feel good. It is always given in return