Hello,

The best to start preparation is by knowing the syllabus and exam pattern of the exam.CAT scores are considered for admissions to MBA courses in IIMs and other top MBA colleges.The questions will be from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension,Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation.The exam is of three hour duration and there will be 100 questions in total.Also practice by solving previous question papers and mock tests.

Check out the links below for more details on the syllabus and sample question papers :

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-syllabus

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-exam-pattern#CAT-2020-Exam-Pattern

CAT is an online examination of 3 hours duration.The questions in the exam will be of MCQ and TITA type totaling 100 questions. MCQ are multiple choice questions, for which candidates get multiple answer choices. Each Question has 3 marks and a wrong answer takes away 1 mark. However Type in the Answer questions are exempted from Negative Marking.

CAT exam paper can be Categorised into 3 parts:

Quantitative Ability

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

The Verbal Ability section and Reading Comprehension has 34 Questions, Data interpretation-Logical Reasoning section has 32 MCQ questions and Quantitative Ability has 34 MCQ questions totalling up to 100 questions. Each Question has 3 marks and a wrong answer takes away 1 mark.

First things first, know the syllabus. And go through the previous papers to analyse and prepare a comprehensive plan and set priorities according to the importance of different topics across sections.Customise your own study plan based on your strengths and weaknesses. Gauge your preparation from time to time by taking mock tests. Solve questions to check your levels of preparation but not to set any targets. Remember, its ok to have cheat days and relax. But make sure you have a plan and stick to it for the next few months because even Rome wasnt built in a day.

NCERT books will sharpen your basics and you need strong basics for preparing for any entrance examination. Once your basics are in place, because the time period for preparation is quite less, your preparation should be extensive and thorough.

Quantitative Aptitude covers almost 30% of the CAT question paper. QA can be categorised into Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Advanced Mathematics. Practise chapter by chapter and develop mental calculations. Like practise more of basic summation, subtraction, fractions and tables. Numbers, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Ratio, Proportionality, Time-Distance, Time-Work, Mixtures, Averages, Partnership, Permutation and Combinations, Probability, Set Theory, Progression and Series, Line, Angles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Polygon, Circles, Ares, Volume, Height and Distance, Coordinate Geometry, Basic Trigonometry are few important topics.

Preparation tips:

Because this section involves mathematics and takes most of your time, your focus should be on solving the problems efficiently in the beginning. Even if it takes time, practise upto perfection. Practise as many questions as you can in the conventional way. As and when you get a grip on the subject, you can go for short cuts. Memorise tables, square roots, cube roots, conversion from percent to fraction, etc. Solve sample papers on Mathematics. In the beginning, do not worry about the time it takes. As you practise, you will get the hang of the subject and it will be easier for you.

In Verbal Ability session, command on your English, Grammar, Vocabulary, Understanding of the given paragraph are of more importance. Reading English NewsPaper will also help you in your preparation.

Preparation tips:

Read articles from time to time. Follow newspapers, magazines, and watch the news channels and browse the internet to keep yourself updated. You will need a lot of reading to help you in the comprehension section. You will need speed to help you in this section and you can achieve that only by thorough practise and reading. Take time to understand the question because most answers are interlinked.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning needs to be practised as much as possible. Comparison of data, Data Analysis, taking clues, interpreting missing data, coming to conclusions and making future projections will be covered under this Category. The questions here are interlinked and so if you get one formula correct, cracking the next few questions will be easy. So it's important to memorise and practise formulae. You should cover topics like Data tables, Data Charts, Bar Diagrams, Pie Charts, Graphs, Data Comparison and Analysis.

Preparation tips:

As this is the most tricky section, this needs a lot of practise. Solve as many sample papers as possible to get the hang of the section. Make notes when required. Regular practise can help you understand and solve the questions easily as time goes on.

Overall,once you know the syllabus, it's easier from there on.Go through the previous papers to analyse and prepare a comprehensive plan and set priorities according to the importance of different topics across sections. Customise your own study plan based on your strengths and weaknesses. Gauge your preparation from time to time by taking mock tests. Solve questions to check your levels of preparation but not to set any targets. Remember, its ok to have cheat days and relax. But make sure you have a plan and stick to it for the next few months

We can recommend a few books for you:

• NCERT books to cover the basics from 6th to 10th Class
• Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Saxena
• Quantitative Aptitude Quantum for CAT by Sarvesh Sharma
• How to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Arun Sharma
• Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exams by Abhijit Guha

You can also download free downloadable e books at: https://bschool.careers360.com/download/cat-ebooks

CAT is one of the important entrance exams for every MBA/PGDM aspirants. Manytoppers and experts suggest that taking mentorship and coaching for CAT is beneficial to a great extent. But it is not always mandatory. Instead of choosing a random topic from the syllabus, you must break your preparation into sections. Sub-topics from each section should be selected and then strategy on clearing concepts must be made. Never leave any concepts doubtful or unsolved. If possible make your own notes, flashcards etc. These will help you in the revision day. Once done with the syllabus and concept clarity, you should move towards solving previous years papers. Give mock tests as much as possible. ThroughCAT mock tests , you will get an idea about the difficulty level of the paper, how they can navigate between the three different sections. Time management is one more important thing you should look upon. You can use the internet and prepare through various preparation sites. Remember that practise will increase your efficiency.

CAT Mock Tests-
http://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-mock-test

Some books you can use for your preparation-
For Vocabulary, Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis, Normal Grammar Rules from Wren and Martin.
For LR-DI, Books by Arun Sharma and by Nishant Sinha (Pearson). For Quantitative Aptitude, Quantitative aptitude by Arun Sharma.

Hey,
Common Admission Test or CAT is a national level entrance examination that must be aced if you want to get into top Business Schools of India.
Since,you are beginner,then you can get yourself enrolled in a good coaching institution.
Just go through the previous years papers to get an idea of the syllabus and pattern. Work on learning the concepts.
For detailed information follow the link given below:
https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/how-prepare-for-cat
Hope this helps.
Good luck.

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