CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN

CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN

CAT Verbal Ability section: Overview

CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN The CAT verbal ability section is one of the toughest section of CAT and accounts of thirty four percent of the total CAT score. And, If you want to crack the CAT exam, It is important that you  have a good command over verbal ability section.As most CAT aspirants prepare for this section in an unorganised manner, they pay the price for it . If you want an IIM admission, this is one of the first thing  that you have to manage, you must be organised and systematic in your preparation CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN

Check out courses by Pathfinder Education Services for systematic and Organised preparation of Verbal ability

CAT Verbal Ability section : Pattern 

The CAT exam, for the last five years , has had thirty four questions in the verbal ability section. Out of these thirty-four questions, around twenty seven questions are MCQs, while the rest are short answer type questions. The marking pattern for this section is the same as that for the other sections: +3 for any question answered correctly and -1 for any question answered wrongly. The short answer type questions do not have any negative marking. Further, the total duration of the Verbal Ability section is also the same as that of the other sections: 60 minutes.

CAT Verbal Ability section: Last three years breakup 

Here an analysis of the last three years CAT Verbal section to understand the breakup of questions asked in CAT Verbal section.

Question 2019-1 2019-2 2018-1 2018-2 2017-1 2017-2
RC 24 24 24 24 24 24
Para Jumbles 5 5 5 4 4 4
Para Summary 3 3 3 3 3 3
Odd Sentence 2 2 2 3 3 3
CAT Verbal Ability Section – Year wise and questions type wise

Based on the above table we can see that roughly 70% of all the verbal questions of CAT are Reading Comprehension (RC) questions. Thus, RC is the most important part of the verbal section. You can not score well in the verbal section of CAT if you are not well prepared on RC.

Another point to note here is that articles of RC are sourced from a wide variety of sources. For example, 4 of the passages of CAT 19 slot 1 were sourced from foreign newspapers and magazines such as TIME magazine,  The Atlantic, New Yorker, The Guadian Newspapers. Relevant articles may also be taken from other sources such as, books, journals, research papers etc.

Common Question Types in CAT Verbal Ability section

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Grammar
    • Three or four sentences are given and you have to pick which of the sentences are grammatically wrong
    • One sentence may be given with an underlined part, and you are asked to identify which is the best replacement for the underlined segmen fo
  • Verbal Reasoning
    • Critical Reasoning
    • Para Jumbles
    • Para Summary
    • Fill in the Blanks
    • Para Completion
    • Odd sentences out

Although CAT has focussed on a set pattern of questions for the last three years, it is not necessary that CAT exam will only have those kinds of questions. They can ask any question which  tests a candidate’s proficiency in general English.

How to prepare for the CAT Verbal Ability Section

Students rarely prepare for the RC section systematically. Verbal Ability demands regular preparation on a daily basis. Reading is a skill and will take some time to develop. Don’t expect that some magic will suddenly increase your comprehension or for that matter reading speed in a very short period of time. There are a few steps which you could take to prepare for the CAT verbal ability section

Build Vocabulary

CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN First step is to build your vocabulary. You should be able to understand words in their context. Therefore, you should work on your vocabulary on a daily basis. Generally, we do not recommend cramming of words. However, if you have not been an avid reader of English or if you started your preparation late,   cramming of words is essential. Cramming does help to develop vocabulary in quick time. However, such development of vocabulary is only temporary.CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN

Broaden your reading

CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN Working on vocabulary is easier if it is supplemented with concentrated effort at reading varied material from different resources, online and physical. Try to read a variety of topics, politics, economic, psychology, marketing, philosophy etc. You could also read a variety of authors on fiction. Also, you could try to read different categories of fiction, such as fiction related to law and cases, fiction related to medicine, fiction related to future and so on. Each category has its own typical vocabulary which you come across again and again when you read such books. Thus, helping you master those words.CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN

Work on your grammar

CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN If English is the most neglected aspect of CAT preparation, grammar is the most neglected aspect of CAT Verbal section because grammar has not appeared in the CAT verbal section for the past few years. Yet, grammar is important for your verbal section indirectly. One, other  MBA entrance exams may have some questions of grammar  and two, being good at grammar helps you in developing precise comprehension. This second point is rarely understood by the average CAT test taker.CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN

Practice questions under time limits

CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN Apart from reading and developing vocabulary, you should solve questions regularly. Make sure that you solve questions under time limits. The most important point here is to make sure that after solving a set of questions you perform a thorough analysis. Make sure you look at the solutions of the questions you did not choose the correct answer for and reason why the correct answer is more appropriate than yours. And to prevent yourself from making the same  mistakes, keep a log of your errors to identify and correct them over a period of time. Maintaining a log of errors is one of the best ways to ensure that you are able to identify mistakes, group them and then take corrective action on the mistakes.CAT VERBAL ABILITY SECTION PATTERN

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