We are here to discuss the preparation strategy for CAT 2017. Preparing for an exam like CAT is not an easy task. And it becomes more difficult when you are a working professional. Coming back home after working for 9 hours in the office and some 1-2 hours of traveling every day not only exhaust you physically but mentally. The real challenge which arises here is to manage your time for the preparation.
Before we start and guide you through a regular study pattern which you must follow let us answer some of the basic queries which every working professional faces, who plans to take CAT.
Should I quit my job to prepare for the examination?
Many of you think that quitting your job will help you out in the preparation. The answer to this question can be best judged by you only. The preparation strategy which we are going to talk here is based on your dedication of 1-2 hours daily on your weekdays. If you think that you are able to take out this much of time every day than we would suggest you not to leave your job and go that extra mile to get what you have aimed for. But, if your job is taking a toll on you and you are drained of all the energy that you are not even able to take out 1 hour also every day, then you should surely take a break.
Also, you are shooted up with this question in your PI round, so you should be well prepared for your reason of taking a break.
When to take a break for CAT?
As we are talking about the preparation strategy for coming 3 months, then we would plan the breaks according to that. To clear your concepts you should take a break of a week or 2 in the initial month to clear all your basics and doubts about the sections. Another break should be taken a week before the exam, to revise all the concepts as well as the important questions marked for the revision and to completely focus on your exam leaving all the work pressure behind.
CAT 2017 Preparation strategy
Know your Area
We have been talking about this in all our preparation articles. Whether you are fresher or a working professional, it is very important to know your strong and weak areas before you start preparing. Knowing this helps you to plan your strategy of the preparation. You need to give 1- 2 mock tests to check this.
Time division
You need to dedicate at least 1-2 hours on a daily basis on the weekdays to studies. This is not a standard time, you can modify (increase) according to your capacity. There can be days when you return less tired or feel more energetic than every other day, on those days you can study that 1 or 2 hour extra.
Weekends are the time when you have a complete day in your hand. You can dedicate around 8-10 hours on weekends, or may be on a certain holiday. Remember that you need to be more focused and disciplined in this time, as the conditions in which you are preparing is different from the one in which the freshers are preparing. You should remember that you need to go that extra mile to achieve what you have aimed for.
How to prepare Section Wise
Keep initial month for learning the concepts of different topics of each section and to have a rigorous practice of different levels of the questions.
Quant: Be clear with all the topics. Learn all the formulas and properties. If you need a small break for it, take it. Clear all the concepts and gain confidence in the same. Practice more and more questions and then give the sectional tests to check your preparation.
Verbal Section: The best way right now to develop a good reading habit and to prepare yourself for the comprehension you should read good blogs. And this is the time when office internet comes in picture.
Solve at least 4-5 RCs every day.
For Vocabulary, it is the perspective of an individual to go for it. Some prefer learning 5/10/15 words per day as per their convenience. Some practice vocabulary from different Apps available.
Learn tips and tricks for the Verbal Ability section: Para jumbles, Paragraph Completion, Summary etc.
Practice more and more questions from these sections and give the sectional test to have a regular check over your preparation.
LR and DI: The only key to perform well in these areas is practice.
Learn the basic concepts of solving these sections. Solve past year practice papers to have a better practice in these areas.
Practice, practice, and only practice is the key to excel in any of the section. Along with practice keep revising the concepts on a regular basis.
Mock CATs: It is very important to give mock tests on the regular basis. In the initial month when you are in the learning phase, give mock tests every 10 days. And when you are done with enough practice and covering all the topics once, make these attempts of mocks more frequent. Don't skip the analysis of mocks as it is very important to know where you are making the mistakes and then to improve accordingly.
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