It is imperative that we before going all out into preparing for an exam get to understand the construct of the roles that a particular degree offers so that by the end of all the hard work, we do not stand looking back on our decision of pursuing that course, which often times is the case.
The syllabus of CAT & all the related MBA entrance exams like GMAT, SNAP, XAT is designed in a way to test the reasoning, comprehending & logical abilities of the candidates. In essence MBA being a professional degree of the Post Graduate level, it is designed for people who want to get in administrative /Management roles in corporates. Thus, screening on basis of Logical Reasoning & Comprehension of Different situations along with basic mathematical capabilities tests the candidates Aptitude for management course, which entails a rigorous curriculum across streams like Marketing, Sales ,Legal, Finance, Accounting, IT, Logistics & basically any & every function is key to a corporate’s Functioning.
For spanning through the breadth of these streams in a roughly 1.5 yrs program ( deducting the .5 as internship & field work) would require you to have that kind of Quick & Nimble Attitude & an Intelligent Aptitude..
Coming to the Syllabus Construct & few tips related to these sections :
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
Data is given in form of tables, charts or graphs. In this section it is tested that how candidates can interpret the given data and answer questions based on it.
| 1. Tables | 2. Column graphs |
| 3. Bar Graphs | 4. Line charts |
| 5. Pie Chart | 6. Venn Diagrams |
| 7.Arrangements | 8. Missing Data |
| 8. Puzzles |
This section basically tries to test candidates’ ability to solve complex problems quickly & accurately. For this a lot of practice through mock papers, last years solved papers can help you navigate through easily. It requires clear concepts around basics of Graphs & identifying patterns through practising puzzles. The DI & LR section is similar to that of CLAT exams, so you could pick up CLAT DI for practise purpose.
Verbal Ability & Reading comprehension
Reading Comprehension constitutes of the larger part of this section. This needs candidates to comprehend passages & answer as per the questions based of these passages. The best way to crack this section is again through practise & Practise through GMAT RC books because the pattern is very similar to GMAT. RC is more around being able to comprehend for which you should have good vocabulary & great reading skills. Reading good newspapers regularly like Hindu columns & Indian Express Editorials can help you prepare steadily.
Verbal Ability questions test more of candidate’s grammatical grasp
| 1. Jumbles Paragraphs | 2. Summary Questions |
| 3. Verbal Reasoning | 4. Facts- Inference- Judgements |
Subscribe to any good word in a day kind of websites & keep Building on it through expanding on the vocabulary & reading editorials & newspapers along with GMAT English preparation.
Quantitative Aptitude
This section that can make or break the exam for most candidates. The weightage to different topics is quite different each year so candidates need to go through each & every topic religiously & get their concepts clear
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One thing to keep in Mind while preparing for this section is that the paper is designed to accommodate Non- engineers in the MBA programs, so stress should be around clear concepts & less onto the complexity of problems. This is not an engineering entrance paper, that’s the reason topics are the same as 10+ 2 standard, however complexity lies in the tricks & time in which these need to be solved.
Last few Tips
While all entrance exams are difficult but at PG level this course being a generic course rather than a domain specific, the breadth is quite vast compared to the depth of topics.
However, for Verbal ability & reading comprehension section the English level is at par or better than most exams in India. Therefore, do not undermine the importance of Reading good & quality content/editorials from Hindu, Indian Express, Economic times. They will also help you for the Interviews post the exams. Previous years papers & Mock tests are gain very very important because all MBA entrance exams tests are also a test of speed. Practise through time bound mock test papers could help candidates keep pace with that aspect.
Last but not the least Discipline is key. Being regular is the most important aspect of Preparation Strategy. All The Best !