Topper’s Speak: How to ace the verbal section in CAT?

Learn from a CAT Pro currently studying at IIM Bangalore!

Want to know the secret sauce for success for Verbal Ability? Need to know what goes into the making of a CAT topper? Need simple pointers and tips that set you on the path of Verbal Ability success?

You are at the right place! We have this Verbal Ability tips and strategy from our very own Sruti Sajith, a 99.59 percentiler in CAT, who is currently completing her PDGM from IIM Bangalore.

The break-up of her scores is as follows:

VARC: 99

DILR: 97

QA: 96

Let’s get started with the six Pro-tips Sruti has for all CAT aspirants.

Pro-tip 1: Read, read, read

Read one article from any of the topics Philosophy, technology, history, politics, current affairs, etc in a day. Spend half an hour trying to analyse the topic after reading it.

1. Write a short summary of what is mentioned in the article
2. Write your opinion on the piece-could be a critique of the writing style or your own opinion on the topic discussed.

Initially, you will take one hour to do this, but slowly with steady practise, you will see the time duration shortening. Very soon you will become a pro at solving reading comprehension problems.

Pro-tip-2: Want to improve your vocabulary?

Read the Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis, page to page. Set yourself targets-Learn one new word on day one, then two on day two and then keep increasing the targets as and when you find yourself getting comfortable. You will become a Vocabulary Wizard by the end of two months.

Pro-tip 3: Divide and rule

Plan your study strategy with a divide and rule policy: Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, Incomplete sentences and Critical reasoning.

In the initial days of study, you can be liberal and dedicate two whole days each to each of the topics. This will give you enough time to gauge your abilities in a particular section and plan your strategy. Accordingly, you can allocate study hours to each of the subjects on the basis of how much you need to work on the subject.

Pro-tip 4: Grammar=Math

Study Grammar like you used to study your Math basics. Remember learning your 7 and 8 tables? Yes, make a list of basic rules and memorize them. And when you tackle grammar related questions you can run through the grammar rules to quickly judge which rule has been violated. This will also save you a couple of seconds for every question that you solve.

Pro-tip 5: Critical reasoning=critically important

By the end of the preparation period, most of the aspirants get a hang of reading comprehension and sentence correction sections. Very often critical reasoning section becomes the deciding factor when it comes to the differences in the final percentile scores. So, give special emphasis to this section. Your flair for critical reasoning improves with practice. It is essentially conditioning your brain to think and analyse statements in a particular way. Once it gets done you’re good to go.

Pro-tip 6: Mock tests, mock tests and then some more mock tests

This should be your mantra. Solve as many tests as possible. Mix and match strategies, prioritize on sections that you find easier, and take lesser time to solve, then pick and choose from among the remaining questions to solve questions that you are more comfortable with. Most important thing!!! Skip to the next question if you feel you can’t solve it. But just remember: you cannot get emotionally attached to a particular question.

These were a set of six guiding rules for me while preparing for CAT Verbal Ability. I hope you draw something valuable out of this and refine your preparation strategy using some of the tips above.

That’s all for now folks!!

All the best!!