CAT 2022: Preparation Tips

Candidates must be aware of the CAT 2022 preparation tips to help them prepare CAT 2022 in an effective way. Students must be able to manage the time during CAT 2022 exam and use tips and tricks to solve questions. So, it is important for aspirants that they must be aware of the preparation tips before starting CAT 2022 preparation. Keeping in view the above-mentioned factors, candidates must follow the below mentioned preparation tips to prepare for CAT 2022 and score good marks in CAT 2022.

Candidates must create and follow the study plan for the available time for CAT 2022 preparation
Aspirants must follow the important books and magazines and solve quizzes to increase the knowledge required for CAT 2022.
Candidates must appear in available CAT 2022 mock tests.
Students must download and solve the previous year’s CAT 2022 question papers.
Students must also listen to the tips provided by CAT toppers.

CAT 2022 Preparation Tips: Subject Wise

Students might also be interested in subject wise CAT 2022 preparation tips. CAT 2022 Subject wise preparation tips are mentioned below:

CAT 2022 VARC Preparation Tips

This section is designed to check the English language skills of the students. This section includes Unseen Passages, Para Jumbles, and Reading Comprehension type questions. Some of the preparation to solve these types of questions are mentioned below:

To solve reading comprehension questions, students must read the passage after reading the questions extracted from the passage.
For unseen passages, candidates are advised to choose the questions that they can answer easily. Students can avoid questions involving critical thinking and can choose questions from factual passages.
Candidates are advised not to make a guess for grammar related questions. Students are advised to make a knowledge-based decision for these types of questions
If candidates find any complex question that they are not able to answer, that type of question must be skipped to avoid negative marking.
Students are advised to divide the section into two subsections i.e., VA and RC.
For para jumbles, candidates must repeat the questions or move to and fro in the questions multiple times to make a correct decision.
Candidates who are doing good with this section must focus on Vocabulary, sentence completion, critical reasoning, para jumbles, para completion, summary etc.

CAT 2022 QA Preparation Tips

Candidates must start the preparation in a sequence of the topics.
Candidates must start preparation with Number systems, then Algebrs, permutation and combination and other topics.
Start preparation with basics as it will be difficult for students to solve complex questions.
Students must learn techniques for saving time. Candidates are advised to learn tables up to 40, cubes up to 20, squares up to 30 etc.
Students must train themselves to solve questions in 2 minutes as there will be allowed an average of 2 minutes for each question.
Students are advised to maintain a formula book to revise them regularly.

CAT 2022 DILR Preparation Tips

Since this section is known to be the difficulty of the three sections. So, students are advised to practice more and more questions from this section to ace the cutoff score. Below are some of the preparation tips for CAT DILR that students must follow to ace the section:

Important topics from DILR include Blood Relations, Propositions, Syllogism, Seating Arrangement, Data Arrangement, Puzzles, Statements and assumptions.
Syllogism from DILR has more marks to score in CAT. It is advised to practice this topic more and more to make a good score in CAT 2022.
Students are advised to use Venn Diagram to solve questions.
For inequality based questions, aspirants are advised to use the king, soldier, and public technique to solve questions involving arrangements.
Aspirants are advised to solve first easy questions then gradually solve questions up to the hard questions.

CAT Preparation Tips by Toppers

Below are mentioned tips by CAT 2021 toppers for preparing CAT 2022:

Ritik Gupta: Got 99.99 percentile in CAT 2021

Students can score better in VARC by giving mocks and practising regularly.
Students can increase analytical skills by practising Sudoku and must solve sectional mock tests.
For the QA section, Ritik Gupta advised students to learn basics, shortcuts, and tricks from related youtube channels.

Aditya Bansal: Scored 99.95 percentile in CAT 2021

Students are advised to regularly read newspapers and online magazines for improvement in reading and vocabulary.
Students are advised to try to create a tabular form for each DILR set for easy comprehension.
Advised students to practice option elimination for the QA section to save time and advised to invest maximum time in this section.

Ashna Dawar: Scored 99.73 percentile in CAT 2021

Advised students to read editorials from The Hindu and practice and solve questions of varying difficulty
Take mock tests and practice about 2-3 sets of DILR daily.
Give sectional mock tests, solve previous year’s papers and clear and revise the basic concepts in QA.

Chetan Bhatt: Scored 99.77 percentile in CAT 2021

Advised students to review the questions after appearing in sectional mock tests and also advised students to improve vocabulary by reading lots of books and articles.
Practice lots of questions and learn important fractional percentage conversion for DILR.
Give sectional and overall mock tests and consult Arun Sharma’s books for the QA section.

Aman Goel: Got 99.66 percentile in CAT 2021

Advised candidates to read newspapers, novels, articles, or other books regularly to increase reading ability, vocabulary and speed.
Advised aspirants to refer to Arun Sharma’s books and solve more and more questions for DILR.
Advised students to refer to Career Launcher`s books for CAT QA preparation and solve lots of questions.

CAT 2022 Paper Analysis

CAT paper analysis 2022 will be updated here after the conclusion of the exam. Last year, the number of questions was reduced to 66 including 24 questions from Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, 20 from Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and 22 questions from Quantitative Aptitude. CAT 2021 was held in 3 slots i.e., slot-1, slot-2, and slot-3. The slot-wise CAT 2021 paper analysis is discussed below:

CAT 2021 Slot-1 Paper Analysis

In slot-1, the QA section included the maximum number of questions from Arithmetic and Algebra. This slot included easy to moderate difficulty level questions.
VARC included questions of moderate level difficulty. The maximum number of questions asked were from Reading Comprehension. Questions were also asked from Para Jumbles, and Summary based questions.
RC included 4 sets with 4 questions each.
DILR included questions of moderate level difficulty. It included 2 DI sets of 4 questions and 2 LR sets with 6 questions each.
The questions asked in CAT 2021 slot-1 were lengthy.

CAT 2021 Slot-2 Paper Analysis

VARC included 4 RC passages with 4 questions each of easy to moderate level difficulty.
QA included a maximum number of questions from topics- Algebra, and Geometry
In the DILR section, 20 questions were asked from topics including Graphs, Charts, and Caselets and the questions were moderate to solve.

CAT 2021 Slot-3 Paper Analysis

QA was time-consuming because of the tricky questions asked in the section.
VARC included a maximum number of questions from RC and the difficulty of the questions was moderate.
The number of questions from DILR was similar to the previous two slots. This slot also included 12 questions asked from DI and 8 questions were asked from LR. Questions asked in DILR were difficult.

Last Minute Tips to CAT 2022 – CAT Preparation with the end in sight

The CAT 2022 Exam is just a few weeks away now and with this, candidates and aspirants start to panic. This leads to a more erratic CAT Preparation as their panic reduces their efficiency as well as clarity of mind. This article is aimed at giving some of the last minute tips to CAT 2022 which can help streamline their CAT Preparation in the final month.

Some of these tips may seem like common sense but they are much more difficult to implement than you may think. Let us start off with some easy tips first:

As the CAT 2022 Exam nears, people start losing their heads and this makes them erratic and inefficient in their CAT Preparation. This leads to wastage of time and can lead to even more panic for the candidates. In order to avoid this, it is essential for the candidate to formulate a CAT Preparation strategy which will ensure that they will stay on course for the CAT 2022 Exam.

In order to formulate this CAT Preparation strategy, there are a couple of things that need to be done:

Combine your calibre with accuracy ::Make a judgment call on which sections you need to focus on during this final phase of the CAT Preparation. This will help you decide on the allocation of time required for each section. This can be done with the help of the previous year CAT Analysis which can be found on this page. It contains all the relevant details about the CAT 2022 Exam including the syllabus, exam pattern and all the operational details.
Engage yourself in stress-free reading :: Modify your routine such that you are able to read as many newspapers as possible. This will aid not just your CAT VARC Preparation but will also help you in the processes following the CAT 2022 Exam (interviews and group discussions)
Try to improve credibility by learning the main concepts of the section and enhancing your problem-solving speed. Try to strengthen your brain calculations and refrain from performing the same on rough sheet. Try to sift out easy set of questions from the previous year sample papers which were 12 in QA section and 12 I.e 3 sets in DILR section and solve them first. For QA, look out for questions that seems familiar to you and is light-handed on calculations and for DILR look out for simple arrangement questions or bar chart-based and line chart-based questions. After you know you have successfully completed easy questions, divide the remaining time into equal parts and shift your radar to time consuming questions.
Find your middle ground :: Find the happy medium between flexible and rigid in terms of the schedule that is prepared. This is because the rigidity will ensure that you put in the amount of effort required for the CAT Preparation while the flexibility ensures that you are able to make the necessary tweaks in your CAT Preparation plan according to the information that you gather.
Sort your necessary documents :: Ensure you have the necessary documents in place for CAT 2022 Examination I.e your hall ticket for CAT 2022 and your government ID proof. Also, the credentials of your hall ticket should match the one on your government ID. This will save you a lot of time on the official day of examination. Also, take precautions against Coronavirus disease by ensuring proper social distancing and self-sanitization.
Final Checks :: Go through the main CAT sample paper and CAT official mock released by IIM Indore to familiarize yourself better with the CAT pattern or type of questions asked in CAT. Understanding the concepts and solving all the questions correctly can lead you to 99%ile in the actual CAT exam, as attested by previous year CAT toppers.
Ensure you have the necessary documents in place for CAT 2022 Examination I.e your hall ticket for CAT 2022 and your government ID proof. Also, the credentials of your hall ticket should match the one on your government ID. This will save you a lot of time on the official day of examination. Also, take precautions against Coronavirus disease by ensuring proper social distancing and self-sanitization.
Go through the main CAT sample paper released by IIM Lucknow to familiarize yourself better with the CAT pattern or type of questions asked in CAT. Understanding the concepts and solving all the questions correctly can lead you to 99%ile in the actual CAT exam, as attested by previous year CAT toppers.

It is essential for each CAT 2022 aspirant to keep these things in mind while preparing for the CAT 2022 Exam. With these 2 benchmarks, the aspirant should be able to devise a CAT Preparation strategy for the final month.

Role of CAT Mocks in CAT 2022 Preparation Strategy

One piece of advice that you will get from every source when you are deciding on how to prepare for CAT in the last minute is to give as many mocks as possible. This is because the CAT Mocks will be able to simulate the actual CAT 2022 Exam better than any practice question. The exhaustion at the end of the long exam and the time pressure of the exam itself cannot be completely reproduced in while you are doing your CAT Preparation for CAT 2022.

Some things that should be kept in mind while using CAT Mocks for CAT 2022 Preparation are:

Give as much importance to Mock analysis as the actual CAT Mock itself. This will allow you to benchmark your performance against your CAT Preparation level. While scoring a low mark in one of the sections does not mean the end of the world, it should be a cause for concern this close to the CAT 2022 Exam.
Based on the CAT Mock Analysis, the CAT Preparation plan should be flexible enough to solve issues that crop up during the analysis. It is important to be conceptually clear on all the important topics so that you stand a good chance of clearing the CAT 2022 Exam.
Give at least 2 mocks a week with complete analysis. This would allow you to identify issues faster and make sure that any blips are swiftly rectified. It would also allow you to have a look at various different types of questions that could be asked in the CAT 2022 Exam.
Schedule the mock in the same time period as the actual CAT 2022 exam. Everybody has a certain period during the day when they are most productive and alert. If you are lucky, your CAT 2022 Exam slot coincides with that timing. However most people are not so lucky due to which we need to trick our body into that state of mind during the exam slot. This can be done with repeated practice during that particular time slot which will acclimatize you and ensure that you are performing at the peak of your abilities at the time of the CAT Exam.

If these guidelines are kept in mind, the CAT Mocks can take your CAT 2022 Preparation to another level.

Believe in working smart, rather than working hard

CAT has been a prominent examination for having good number of loopholes and eye-washes. After all, it is an aptitude screening examination, often mistook for an intellectual examination. There are a few common guidelines which you need to follow as soon as possible, as there are 2 months in hand for you to give substance to your CAT preparation. The sooner you start pre-exam checks, the better state of mind you would be in a few days before or at the time of examination. Here are a few tips which will help you prepare smartly for CAT 2022, without breaking a sweat:

The most effective way to work smartly is to time yourself while solving each question. As you might be aware that the sectional time limit of CAT 2022 has come down to 40 minutes from earlier 60 minutes, so you need to shift your focus from learning the concepts to enhancing your speed and accuracy during the examination. For this, you need to earmark at least 3-4 mock tests every week followed by intensive performance analysis for each mock. Frequent mock simulation will but your current preparation strategy to test and enable you to solve maximum questions accurately and within the required time frame. This will also cut down your chances of making mistakes and increase your motivation for CAT 2022.
Focus on solving last year’s question papers. As CAT syllabus has stayed the same since inception, do not scavenge for syllabus add ons. Studying the entire CAT syllabus is a well known myth. This will be an unnecessary burden for you. Instead, bolster the concepts which you have already learnt and practice more and more questions based on that. On the exam day, scan the CAT question paper from top to bottom and identify questions you can solve without moving many muscles. Those questions will give you that initial boost of confidence and will lead you to solve the rest of the paper energetically.
Identify the trick questions. With few days remaining for CAT 2022, you ought to be in a state where you can pick out trick questions from CAT question paper. CAT consist of 100 questions but since this paper is a sole-check of your aptitude, it would try to confuse you by introducing unsolvable “sitters” in the examination. These types of questions are not meant to be solved by anyone. Beware of wasting your valuable time on such questions. In fact, if you are not able to understand a question in 2 minutes, chances are that you would not be able to solve it all. Students who do not attempt even a single question in CAT also end up scoring more than 50% in the exam. Hence, it is necessary to let go of the trick questions in the examination.
Read the questions correctly. Reading a question correctly increases your chances of solving it correctly. Many a time, students who are aware of how to solve a particular question end up solving it incorrectly. This mainly happens because of “confidence overshoot”. Glancing at the question once can put you in a state of illusion that you can solve this question blindly. However, this can lead to wrong interpretation of the information provided in the question leading to an incorrect solution. Hence, take time to read your question and start solving only after you understood it properly.
Try to solve the Verbal Ability and the Paragraph based questions before the RC questions. As RC is the most-lengthy part of VARC, it is advised to start your VARC section on a lighter note. Beginning with easier questions would not land you in a state of quandary which is likely tp happen with RC questions. Also, use the “POE Technique” I.e Process of Elimination to solve the RC questions fast and effectively.

CAT Preparation 2022 : The last straw

Believe in working smart, rather than working hard. CAT has been a prominent examination for having a good number of loopholes and eye-washes. After all, it is an aptitude screening examination, often mistaken for an intellectual examination. There are a few common guidelines which you need to follow as soon as possible, as there are 2 months in hand for you to give substance to your CAT preparation. The sooner you start pre-exam checks, the better state of mind you would be in a few days before or at the time of examination. Here are a few tips which will help you prepare smartly for CAT 2022, without breaking a sweat:

Time yourself, very important :: As you might be aware that the sectional time limit of CAT 2022 has come down to 40 minutes from earlier 60 minutes, so you need to shift your focus from learning the concepts to enhancing your speed and accuracy during the examination. For this, you need to earmark at least 3-4 mock tests every week followed by intensive performance analysis for each mock. Frequent mock simulation will put your current preparation strategy to test and enable you to solve maximum questions accurately and within the required time frame. This will also cut down your chances of making mistakes and increase your motivation for CAT 2022.
Focus on solving last year’s question papers :: As CAT syllabus has stayed the same since inception, do not scavenge for syllabus add ons. Studying the entire CAT syllabus is a well known myth. This will be an unnecessary burden for you. Instead, bolster the concepts which you have already learnt and practice more and more questions based on that. On the exam day, scan the CAT question paper from top to bottom and identify questions you can solve without moving many muscles. Those questions will give you that initial boost of confidence and will lead you to solve the rest of the paper energetically.
Identify the trick questions :: With few days remaining for CAT 2022, you ought to be in a state where you can pick out trick questions from the CAT question paper. CAT consists of 100 questions but since this paper is a sole-check of your aptitude, it would try to confuse you by introducing unsolvable “sitters” in the examination. These types of questions are not meant to be solved by anyone. Beware of wasting your valuable time on such questions. In fact, if you are not able to understand a question in 2 minutes, chances are that you would not be able to solve it all. Students who do not attempt even a single question in CAT also end up scoring more than 50% in the exam. Hence, it is necessary to let go of the trick questions in the examination.
Read the questions properly, for heaven’s sake :: Reading a question correctly increases your chances of solving it correctly. Many a time, students who are aware of how to solve a particular question end up solving it incorrectly. This mainly happens because of “confidence overshoot”. Glancing at the question once can put you in a state of illusion that you can solve this question blindly. However, this can lead to wrong interpretation of the information provided in the question leading to an incorrect solution. Hence, take time to read your question and start solving only after you understood it properly.
CAT VARC to your rescue :: As per the updated CAT 2022 exam pattern, CAT VARC difficulty level is going to be lower than CAT 2019 and this can be a blessing in disguise for CAT aspirants. Try to solve the Verbal Ability and the Paragraph based questions before the RC questions. As RC is the most-lengthy part of VARC, it is advised to start your VARC section on a lighter note. Beginning with easier questions would not land you in a state of quandary which is likely to happen with RC questions. Also, use the “POE Technique” I.e Process of Elimination to solve the RC questions fast and effectively.

Learn to Relax

While it may seem rather counterproductive compared to all the previous suggestions, it is important to remove some time for you as well. This will ensure that you do not burn out before the actual battle and will also keep you refreshed during your CAT Preparation.

Any leisure activity which will help you refresh yourself can be done at this time. If it includes something like reading novels or newspapers, it is even better as it will aid you in your CAT VARC preparations well. However it is important to keep your mind clear of all worries as it will only hamper your quest to recharge your batteries and go for the CAT Preparation again.

Anxiety can be a good servant, but a bad master. Do not let anxiety choke you up or cast a shadow over your confidence while you edge closer and closer to the examination. You have spurt in significant efforts to prepare for this examination and you are all set to face it “head on”. Think of it as a “two-way street”. Walking on any of the two ways in front of you will be significant in the longer run of life. Having this perspective will ease a lot of pressure and help you dart your focus towards the exam. Once your focus is in place, success is bound to trip in your favor.

Do not let your anxiety take control over your confidence

Conclusion

As it is with any performance sport, it is important to be in the right frame of mind at the time of the main event which in this case is the CAT Exam itself. As long as you follow the steps given above and customize it such that it suits you best, you should be able to cover a decent amount of ground and be ready for the CAT 2022 Exam when it comes your way.