Read on to know the section-wise CAT preparation tips 2022.
IIM Bangalore will conduct CAT 2022 on November 27th, 2022. You must prepare for the entrance exam without delay if you want admission into one of the best IIMs.
Since more than lakhs of students are appearing for the exam and there is a lot of competition, getting started with your preparation will help you crack the CAT exam with good marks.
Many changes were made in the CAT Exam Pattern 2021, conducted by IIM Ahmedabad. This year IIM Bangalore will conduct the CAT Exam.
Since there were changes in the CAT exam pattern, there are a few changes in the preparation tips. Here in this post, we have given the CAT preparation tips 2022.
Changes In The CAT Exam Pattern
The CAT exam pattern is available on the official website. Keeping in mind the changes that took place in the CAT exam pattern last year, here are a few changes that you need to make in your CAT preparation:
| The number of questions reduces from 100 to 66-70. | You need to tweak your test-taking strategies. Selecting the right questions to practice is very important. |
| Reduced the total exam duration to 2 hours and sectional duration to 40 minutes each. | Students should focus on exam preparation. |
| The difficulty level has increased. | Improve your skills on each concept. IIMs will only provide admissions to stronger skilled students. |
| Changes in the CAT Mock test-taking strategies | Know the total number of questions and duration for each section in mind while attending the mock test. Answer all the questions diligently. |
CAT Exam Preparation Tips 2022
Whether you study by yourself or join coaching classes, here is a simple 4 step strategy that will make CAT exam preparation for 2022 easy.
Step 1: Understand The CAT Syllabus & Exam Pattern
You will not be able to prepare well for the exam if you do not know the syllabus, paper pattern, and what type of questions will be asked in the exam. Moreover, you will not choose the right CAT study material without knowing the exam syllabus.
CAT Exam Pattern 2022
It is important to know the paper pattern, which has been changing since 2014.
As per the previous year’s exam pattern, the paper pattern will include the following:
- The question paper will be divided into Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Ability, and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.
- The total number of questions has been reduced from 66 to 70 from 100 questions.
- The sectional time limit for each section is 40 minutes.
Here is the tentative CAT Exam Pattern 2022 based on the CAT question paper 2021:
| CAT Sections | Total Number of Questions | Total MCQs (With negative marking) | Total Non-MCQs (Without negative marking) | Highlights |
| Section 1: VARC | 24 | 19 | 5 | This section had 4 reading comprehension pages with MCQs, Verbal Ability Non-MCQs divided into Para Jumbles, Para Summary, and Out of Context sentences. |
| Section 2: DILR | 20 | 15 | 5 | LR: 10 questions
DI: 10 questions |
| Section 3: QA | 22 | 14 | 8 | Majority of questions were asked from Arithmetic. Other on Log, Geometry, Roots, Algebra |
| Total | 66 | 48 | 18 |
Although there have been many changes in the last four years in the CAT Exam pattern, the basics have not changed. It is said that the exam pattern for the 2022 exam will remain the same. However, if required, there might be a few changes in the number and type of questions.
CAT Exam Syllabus 2022
Once you have known the CAT Exam Pattern, you need to go ahead and read the CAT Syllabus 2022. Here are some of the things you need to know about the exam syllabus:
- The CAT syllabus is vast and does not have any boundaries.
- IIM does not design the CAT exam syllabus and preparation tips.
- The CAT syllabus is based on the latest topics in the previous year’s CAT exams.
- The type of question and the number of questions will differ for each exam.
- The syllabus depends on the latest guidelines.
Step 2: Prepare For CAT Exam With Coaching Or Without Coaching?
While preparing for the CAT Exam, you always have a choice between coaching and self-study. However, you must choose to keep your time, availability, strengths, weaknesses in mind and more.
You can choose self-study with the right CAT study material, preparing without coaching, or choose weekend CAT coaching based on your requirement.
Preparing For CAT Exam Without Coaching
If you prepare for the exam without any coaching, choosing the right and best CAT books and other study material will help you prepare effectively.
Apart from choosing the right books, here are a few things that you can do to score good marks:
- Join online forums and CAT study groups on Facebook, YouTube, Telegram, Quora, and more.
- Download MBA entrance exam preparation applications.
- Choose the best CAT mock test series by MBA coaching institutes.
- Create and follow a month-wise CAT Preparation plan.
CAT Self-Preparation Tips 2022
Here are some tips on preparing for the CAT Exam without coaching. These tips will also guide you on how and when to start your CAT exam preparations.
- The CAT exam pattern and syllabus will help you analyze your strengths and weaknesses in all three sections.
- Choose the best CAT books and study material.
- Take up the CAT mock test while you are preparing for the exam. After taking the test, analyze your answers.
- If you face problems scoring good marks in VARC, you should start reading novels, watching English TV shows, and communicating with the people around you in English.
- Solving Data Interpretation questions might be a little time-consuming. Start practicing the DI questions.
CAT Coaching For Better Exam Preparation 2022
CAT coaching can help you in overcoming your weak areas. Choose the CAT coaching centers for exam preparation. The best CAT coaching centers are TIME, CL, IMS, and more.
Here are some of the factors you should consider while choosing a CAT training institute:
- The best CAT coaching center will provide you with uniform study material based on the latest exam pattern and syllabus.
- Ensure the coaching institute provides the best teaching faculty.
- Check the past year’s results and students’ pass-out rate.
- Read the student reviews about the coaching center. You can also ask your friends about the best coaching institute.
Note: Apart from attending coaching for CAT, it is highly recommended that you prepare well at home. You can also hire a personal tutor if you want one-on-one training on specific concepts.
Benefits Of Attending CAT Coaching
Here are some of the advantages of attending CAT coaching for scoring better marks in the CAT exam:
- One-on-one interaction with subject experts will help you understand concepts better and solve your doubts.
- Peer learning can also help you clear all your doubts.
- CAT coaching centers complete all the syllabus on time, ensuring enough time for revisions and mock tests.
- These institutes also provide mock tests to help you analyze your strengths and weaknesses.
Step 3: Best Books For CAT Preparation
CAT preparation books and other study material are important in preparing for the CAT exam and scoring good marks. Here are some of the best CAT books divided section-wise:
CAT Preparation Books For Verbal Ability And Reading Comprehension
Here are some of the CAT Preparation Books For Verbal Ability And Reading Comprehension:
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | 9th Edition | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension(with 3 Free AIMCATs) | CAT | First Edition | By Pearson |
| Wiley’s Verbal Ability and Reasoning for Competitive Examinations | Arihant Publications Approach to REASONING Verbal, Non-Verbal & Analytical |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT| Fourth Edition | Verbal Ability & Comprehension for CAT/ XAT/ IIFT/ CMAT/ MAT/ Bank PO/ SSC |
| 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis | A Communicative Grammar Of English |
| Word Power Made Easy: The Complete Handbook for Building a Superior Vocabulary | Word Power Made Easy |
Best Quantitative Aptitude Books for CAT Preparation
Here are some of the Best Quantitative Aptitude Books for CAT Preparation:
| Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations | Fast Track Objective Arithmetic |
| A Modern Approach To Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning (2 Colour Edition) | Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT Common Admission Tests for Admission into IIMs(Old Edition) |
| Magical Book on Quicker Maths | How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT |
| Quantitative Aptitude for CAT | The Pearson Guide To Quantitative Aptitude For Competitive Examinations |
| Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Dinesh K. Sinha | Quantitative Aptitude for CAT, XAT & other MBA Entrance Exams |
Best Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Books for CAT Preparation
Here are some of the best data interpretation and logical reasoning books to make your CAT preparation easy.
| How to Prepare for DATA INTERPRETATION for CAT |
| Analytical Reasoning (2018-2019) Session By Mk Panday |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for CAT| Seventh Edition| By Pearson |
| How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT’ – by Arun Sharma (Published by McGraw Hill) |
Step 4: Solve Mock Tests And Previous Year Question Papers
Before the exam day, you must check the CAT exam preparation by solving the Previous Year Papers and Mock Tests. Solving these question papers will help you analyze your strengths and weaknesses. So now you can pay attention to the concepts you are unsure about.
Apart from CAT mock test, you can also start taking up the CAT exam quiz, CAT previous year mock tests, and CAT sectional quiz, which will help you improve your speed and, at the same time, manage time.
Benefits of CAT Mock Test Series
Here are some of the benefits of taking up the CAT Mock Test Series:
- It helps you improve your weak areas regularly.
- It helps you manage time as there are section-time constraints in the CAT exam.
- CAT Test Series helps to practice well on various LoD questions
- The more mock tests you solve, the more you will be mentally prepared for the CAT exam
Conclusion
The first step in preparing for the exam is to know the CAT exam pattern and syllabus, then decide if you want to take up the coaching or study by yourself.
Books are the best source of preparing for the CAT exam. You must ensure you choose the right and the best book, which will make exam preparation easy.
Moreover, after completing a chapter or a concept, taking up the online mock tests and quizzes is recommended to help you analyze your strengths and weaknesses. You can also take up full-length mock tests and solve previous year’s question papers, which will help you prepare for the exam.
Here we explained the CAT preparation tips 2022 in detail! Good luck!
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