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Enhancing CAT Mock Performance - A Comprehensive Guide
Ridhima Jindal
Updated on 07th October, 2024 , 5 min read
Considering the difficulty level of the exam, the CAT Mock Tests are a vital tool to strengthen the preparation. The mock tests not only help in understanding the CAT exam pattern but also help you in understanding the kind of questions that are asked in the exam.
In this article we will provide you with some guidance about the CAT mocks like how to enhance your CAT mock performance, how to analyse your mocks, mistakes to avoid, and the importance of the CAT mock tests. CAT toppers swear by these mock tests to enhance their CAT preparation.
You May Like: Time Management Tips for CAT exam
CAT Sectional Breakdown
Before we deep dive into the CAT mock tests, it is important to understand the sections that are covered in the CAT exam and also the time limit that is there for each section. Let us begin with understanding a brief breakdown of the CAT sections.
The CAT exam has 3 sections and each section is allotted a time limit of 40 minutes. The total exam is for 120 minutes for the general category students while it is 53 minutes and 20 seconds for the PwD category candidates for each section. The CAT sections are divided as follows:
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
- Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Also See: CAT Previous Years' Question Paper Free PDF Download
What Are CAT Mock Tests?
In technical and exact terms a CAT mock test is a simulation of the actual CAT exam where there are 66 questions from each of the three sections and the candidates need to answer those 66 questions in 120 minutes. Just like the actual exam the section will automatically close after 40 minutes and the student will not be able to revert back to the section once submitted.
Read in Detail: CAT Exam Pattern
Once the student has completed all the sections, the exam will automatically close and the candidates will receive their CAT scores on the spot.
Tips & Tricks to Enhance Your CAT Mock Scores
In this section we aim to provide you with some useful tips and tricks to enhance your CAT mock performances. These tips will serve as a guiding force for the aspirants in preparing for the CAT exam. Check these tips for CAT mock enhancement below.
Build The Basics
To ace any mock test, the first and the most important thing is to be clear with the concepts and understand the basics. Candidates need to have an in-depth understanding of the formulas and theorems so that they can judge which formula needs to be applied at which point. This will not only save time but will also help in gaining conceptual clarity.
Practise More and More Questions
As they say - ‘Practise makes a man perfect’. The key to performing well in any section is to practise as many questions as possible, especially from your weak areas. Do not leave any stone unturned and try to solve as many questions as you can. This will help you in understanding your strengths and weaknesses and will also help you in gaining an overview of how you need to go ahead in your preparation technique and strategy.
Time Management
Time management is an important skill as the CAT exam is a time-based exam and you have only 40 minutes per section. There are 24 questions in the VARC section, 22 in QA, and 20 in the DILR section. This means you have only about a minute or maximum two minutes per question.
Practising and solving mocks will give you an idea about your time management skills and will help you in understanding how to manage your time effectively in the exam. These mocks will not only help you with time management abilities but will also help you in improving your speed, accuracy, and mostly your problem-solving skills.
Get Feedback
Just solving the mock tests is not enough. The mock tests will be effective only if you analyse them and get proper feedback regarding your performance. It is crucial to understand the mistakes you made in mock so that you can work on them and rectify them before the actual CAT exam. This will lead to improved performance in the mocks as well as the actual exam.
You can get this feedback from a mentor, peer, colleague, or even your teachers. You can also connect with study groups online or concern with those who have already given the CAT exam or will be giving the exam.
Work on Problem Areas
The most effective strategy to enhance the mock score is to work on your problem areas as soon as possible and not commit the same mistakes again and again. We have provided a table below which gives the action steps for the right answers, wrong answers, and the unattempted questions. This will help you understand the steps you need to take for each of these answer categories.
Type of Question | Action Steps |
Right Questions | Revise these questions and focus on reducing the time taken to solve them. Understand why some questions took longer and aim for quicker, accurate solutions. |
Wrong Questions | Keep a log of these questions, including the mock number and date. Attempt to solve them on your own without looking up answers. Note your mistakes and devise strategies to avoid them in the future. |
Unattempted | Try to solve as many of these questions as possible. Understand which questions are time-consuming or challenging and leave them strategically. |
How To Analyse the Mock Tests?
While solving the mock tests is important, it is even more important to analyse them. The analysis will help you gain an added advantage by understanding the areas where you need improvement and the areas where you have performed well and are your strengths. In this section, we have given a few pointers to help you understand and answer the question -’How To Analyse the Mock Tests?’
Identify the Questions and Themes: The first step towards analysing a mock thoroughly is to understand the kind of questions that you answered in the mocks and the theme around which these questions are built. The theme of the questions is an important part of DILR.
For example, DILR includes questions based on family or blood relations, number puzzles and sequences, sets, etc. So you need to identify that most of the questions were asked from what kind of set. Were maximum questions based on blood ties, or number sequences, or something else. If you identify this you will be able to understand what topics carry the highest weightage. However, do not base your assumption on just 1 or 2 mocks. Analyse at least 10-15 mocks to understand these question patterns
Keep A Log: Solving mocks is effective only if you keep track of what went wrong. So maintain a separate notebook or a log of the questions that you were able to answer, the section where you struggled the most, the number of right attempts, unattempted questions, and the number of questions that were wrong. You can also note down the specific questions that you answered incorrectly so that you can understand in detail the type of questions where you need improvement.
Examine Each Section: Analysing the mock is not just about the whole exam but analysing each section but analysing each section as well. You should carefully examine, out of the three sections, which sections you performed the best and which section needs the most improvement.
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