One key change in the exam in CAT-2024 was the sectional time-limit and division of the exam into three sections. What this means is that you can no longer piggy-back on Logical Reasoning for clearing one section of the exam and you need to work on your Verbal Ability skills as will. In short, Reading Comprehensions (RCs) can no longer be left on their own and this would surely throw a spanner in the works for some of you.
Keeping the above analysis in mind, we have a list of four things you need to do in order to crack the Verbal Ability section of CAT-2024. Which are these five things? Keep reading.
1. Be prepared for a variety of question types
The first thing that a change of pattern brings is uncertainty in question types. Make sure you are prepared for a variety of question types that have appeared in the last 5 years. These include questions on:
- Para completion
- Confusing words
- Word Usage (phrasal verbs)
- Sentence Completion
These topics were missing from CAT 2020 but might just make a reappearance this year.
2. Best practice for CAT RCs is still previous year CAT RCs
You might search a variety of sources for CAT RCs but still the best source of CAT RCs are previous year passages. So make sure you solve them. How to solve them? You get books in the market that feature passages and questions from CAT 1993 onwards. Pick up one of these books and solve these passages.
3. Diversify your reading
Irrespective of the pattern change, there is one thing for certain: RCs will feature in the exam. This means you should be ready for those challenging pieces that are going to require every ounce of your energy and mental stamina. For reading such diverse range of topics, make sure you do two things:
- Read quality international publications, such as The Guardian, The Economist, Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Slate and Project Syndicate.
- Make sure you diversify your reading and read articles from topics such as sociology, science, psychology, philosophy and literature. You can refer to sites such as Scientific American and National Geographic for science articles. For others, you can run a quick Google search and identify the top blogs area-wise.
- 4. Stop trusting your Gut Feeling
For once, you should stop trusting your gut feeling and selecting the first answer option you think is correct in Verbal Ability questions. Stop for a minute, think about the other options and eliminate them. This way, you can improve your accuracy in this section with the highest variations in percentile scores.Make sure you follow these tips and you could be well on your way to maximizing scores in this vital section. These small but important things can make a vital difference to your scores.
