Another misconception is that the online format makes RC more difficult. Some of the fallacious reasons advanced are:

The test-taker can no longer underline important parts of the passage that would  have been helpful in locating the correct answer.
Since the passage is displayed on only half of the screen, the test-taker has to  scroll up and down a number of times to read the passage.
Since, only one question is available at a time on the other half of the screen, overviewing all the questions becomes time consuming.
Talking of the third fallacy first, let it be known that all the questions are visible on the right half of the screen, while the passage is available on the left. So, the passage and the questions can be viewed simultaneously. Underlining never helped in cracking CAT RC, because the test requires the student to comprehend the underlying idea, rather than the detail. Scrolling up and down the passage repeatedly also means you are looking at the detail whereas you be looking for the underlying idea instead.

In most cases, the test-taker cannot attempt each question based on each passage. So, the best way is to choose what suits you best. Select the passage for attempt that you find interesting. Your interest means you understand, or will understand easily.

Remember every RC passage has a one-line gist. A 10-line gist means you did not understand the underlying idea.

So how should you go about cracking the RC section of CBT CAT?

Construct a “Dot Diagram” of the passage
Remember the dot diagram that you find in the kids section of a paper or magazine? There could be hundreds of dots. When once you join a few dots to form a picture, the other dots become irrelevant. Your RC is like that dot diagram. The hundreds of words are like the hundreds of dots. The questions revolve around the picture and not around the words. So get the picture out of the dot diagram.

Now how do you join the dots? Our advice:

Pre-read (First reading: 1 min)
Get a feel of the passage by reading the opening lines of each paragraph (the opening paragraph in particular) as well as the concluding lines of the last paragraph. Also have a look at the question stems (not the options).

Speed read (Second reading: 3 min)
Say you have to drive a train from Delhi to Mumbai. Should you drive at the same speed throughout? What about the stations that fall along the way? You will definitely slow down and even stop at some of the stations. Do the same thing in the case of RC.

I keep forgetting as I proceed: Speed read the first paragraph. Write down its gist in one single phrase on your scratch sheet. Do the same thing in case of the other paragraphs. Now you have five ideas for (say) five paragraphs. The common link among these five ideas is your dot diagram.

Post-read (Third reading: 30 sec)
This is to make sure that the picture you made was right. Look for repetitive words and phrases in the passage. These have to be part of the picture.

The opening paragraph and the concluding paragraph are important. But remember if the test-taker is smart the test-maker is smarter. Sometimes there may be nothing much in these paragraphs. So don’t overdo it.

Linking up the answers
You will be able to view all the questions together. But the answers to various questions based on a passage should have some link. And the link is provided by (you guessed it) the picture that you formed.

The basic rule is a known factor. One has to be an avid and good reader of English. The preparation must be such that a student is able to read and comprehend a sentence in one go. Repetitions or going back and forth will not help the cause.

Nevertheless, for scoring high marks in a MBA entrance examination, one needs to be smart as well.

Firstly, it is important to practice on all types of topics during preparation for entrance tests. Many students prefer to go to tutorials and benefit from a series of practice tests and mock tests conducted by them. Very often, RC tests have an option, say, to attempt 5 out of 7 or more passages.  Now, the passages, which are left unattempted, are most probably the ones that were either lengthy or difficult to comprehend.  It is advisable to practice these passages, later on at home.  The students will be in better frame of mind during MBA entrance, if they cover them as well.

Secondly, it is important to be an intelligent reader. Answering questions would be easy, if the student focuses on what the passage is trying to convey, rather than on the specific words or jargons used. Again, one has to practice and learn to fine tune the reading speed in accordance with different topics and their complexity. It helps in faster understanding of passage and swift answering of questions.

Thirdly, it is preferable to attempt the RC section after the English Usage (EU) test.  The initial few minutes of the test may create nervousness.  Attempting EU, which is far easier, before RC, provides the much needed warm up. It may also help in gaining confidence before attempting RC which requires high levels of concentration, fast reading and quick comprehension.

Fourthly, one is advised to glance through the RC section. This is important:

a)  to have an idea of the length of different passages and number of questions at the end. Remember, it is not necessary that a bigger passage will have more questions or a small passage will have fewer questions. To save time, it is advisable to attempt those passages first, for which passage/questions ratio is less.

b) each passage may be diverse in terms of subject-matter and flow of language.  The passage may relate to social concerns, politics, philosophy, economics and business among others. Again some passages may be difficult to comprehend and some may be easier. Therefore, one needs to choose those passages first, which he or she is comfortable with.

c) time management is extremely important. Students who are not so good in mathematics may be required to devote more time for that section. It is more crucial for such students to take preparation for RC very seriously, which would enable them to complete the RC section efficiently in less time.

Finally, and more importantly, one is required to be calm and confident while attempting the RC section. It’s a combination of preparation and temperament, which holds the key for scoring high marks in a MBA entrance examination.

PROLOGUE :

the day i born in you

you open the out side world to me

you let me see the in side of your goodness

when I first breath my first breath it is in you

In you i finding me the people who I am

In you I see my family and world.

walking down the fields of familys, and valliages of homes

I hear mama call me, “Lovely, Lovely”

I see your picture . A picture of happiness, peace, and lovely beauty. The day I went and met you at the river, I see me and see the beautiful water that cleaning you. Now today I see you, I don not see you in flash back no more. I see you in T.V. The bad have come and there no more life in you

WHY I HATE PINK :

A NARRATIVE POEM BY AN IMMIGRANT TEENAGED GIRL FROM HAITI.

” Let me begin with a caveat to you and all those who find these pages. Do not trust large bodies of water,  and do not cross them. If you, Dear Reader, have an African hue and find yourself led toward water, with vanishing shores, seize your freedom by any means necessary. And cultivate distrust of the colour pink. Pink is taken as the colour of innocence, the colour of childhood, but as it spills across the water in the light of the dying sun, do not fall into its pretty path. There, right underneath, lies a bottomless graveyard of children, mothers and men. I shudder to imagine all the Africans rocking in the deep. Every time I have sailed the seas, I have had the sense of gliding over the unburied. Some people call the sunset a creation of extraordinary beauty, and proof of God’s existence. But what benevolent force would bewitch the human spirit by choosing pink to light the path of a slave vessel?”

— from ‘Someone Knows My Name’ by Lawrence Hill

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,
Making the green one red.”

— William Shakespeare, Macbeth (Act 2, Scene 2)

NOTE : “Incarnadine “ – noun, crimson or pinkish-red color; variant of ‘incarnatino’ or ‘flesh color’, based on Latin ‘incarnare’ – Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

WHY I HATE THE COLOR PINK – A narrative Poem

As a child of Ten

I would, in evenings, Often,

Stand upon the Haitian Shores Atlantic

And watch the angry waves, frantic

Break upon my homeland’s sandy beaches

Then, I knew my sea to be just Green, Blue, Blue-green,

That day I sat there on a friendly familiar rock

And gazed at what promise the Western Horizon held for me,

I knew not then,

I would only be able to return when

My sea would by dry of tears

And my world would be shattered by nameless fears.

As I sat there then,

I loved it best, when

I would be drowsy with the beauty and the dance

Of a wave playfully kissing my feet, perchance;

And I would barely have time to say hello

When my mom would call & it was time-to-go.

But, I would tarry awhile,

To say goodbye to my watery bluegreen friend,

Say to him “Stay true to me, till the end”

Then, as a child’s Parting Gift, untie my ribbon Red

Gently place upon the ebbing tide, and watch, as it sped

Without changing color –its own or the sea’s –still Blue, green and Red.

Then years went by

And home and Haiti were like a hazy fog,

Now my American schooldays were like slog, slog, slog.

But still, for the shoretimes spent, I would long

To you, My Friend The Eternal Sea,

I write and dedicate this song !

Then, one fateful day in January,

I was dressing for school, in a hurry,

When Cassandra, crying to our room sped :

Bev! Our home, our home, our folks, our land !

Destroyed. Razed to the ground and people dead

Vanished ! as  by a Magician’s Sleight of Hand !

What will we do?

Where is our uncle, our aunts, our Cousins??

Our lovely little house, no more??

Who to ask?

What to do?

So many questions shouting in my ear;

And Answers? None. I fear, fear, fear !

A week later,

With my dad I fly

Like a sad, angry Homing Pigeon Free,

With no letter to deliver,

Just My Dear Old Friend The Sea,

How I long to see, hear and feel Her !

I saw the damaged houses

I saw the cracked-open streets.

I saw the carrion feeding upon the dead

I saw my folks wandering, lost and naked

I saw the lives uprooted and shattered

I saw that, now, Nothing Mattered !

Why are the folks nowhere to be seen ?

“Some have been buried, some just swallowed by the Earth,

“Some were by vultures picked clean

“But most, my dad told me ;

“Could not even get so lucky,

“They were simply dumped into the Sea. !”

The Sea

The Sea !

My Old Friend, the good old

Blue-green Sea !

I longed to share my grief

With My childhood friend, the Sea.

Soon as I could,

There I was, I stood

Upon the childhood’s Shore

My Sea-friend? Nowhere to be seen !

It was Blue-green No More:

It was a gory, bloody Incarnadine !!

______________________________________________

EPILOGUE :

And do not show me flesh AGAIN !

And do not talk to me of Voyages Across THE SEAS,

And Pink, which was my favorite THEN

And Now, if I see the color : I FREEZE !

Now, I never mix my REDS with WHITE,

Watchin’ yer own, floating dead – it’s a ghastly SIGHT !

______________________________________________

THE END

Dated : June 8, 2010, Miami Dade, Florida, USA

Me: Yaar, this is the last time i am writing the CAT exam. if this time nothing happens, i will continue in my field ( whereas i knew that CAT form filling is going to be an endless festival for me which i would be celebrating each year, hehe)

Me again: You know, XYZ has got admission into ABC (choice of words is not coincidental!), i have been preparing for so long but nothing happens. It all about Luck and no hard work!

Me again: I hate this job, this year i am gonna prepare for GMAT, enough of CAT now. CAT doesn’t deserve me ( innocent me )

Me again:I will apply for executive MBA now..what is the eligibility criteria for that?

There are umpteen sentences i remember which I used to share with my noble friends ( Thanks guys for that).

But now, the story has ended. Finally i got admission into one of the reputed colleges in India and i am joining on 13th June.

As they say, it is not the destination which matters, rather the journey. My tryst with this journey has ended….have learnt a lot from it and value what i have got more so because of this journey…

Have loads of stuff to write about it, but finally ending it with the crux of what i have learnt from this – “Yes, luck does matter…but it is nothing in comparison to the hard work and conviction you put in to reach where you want to be!”

CAT 2009 Pattern

Now that most of the surprises related to the computer version of CAT have been uncovered in the last two months (except for the ones you have yet to face between November 28 and December 7 at your test centres), it’s time to take a closer look at the new Official Test Interface. Moreover, the need to utilise the tabs and buttons most effectively can not be over-emphasised at this point.

Here, computer-based examination experts from TCYonline help you familiarise yourself with the test interface so as to make the most out of each feature that it offers. So here’s how to master the art of managing time effectively in CAT 2009.

Know thy battlefield
The first step in the preparation process is to know the features of the test interface introduced by Prometric. The following is a snapshot of the testing interface that TCYonline has prepared which precisely simulates the official CAT interface:

Official CAT Interface

The above snapshot shows us the four tabs. Additionally, it has also been confirmed that questions will appear one at a time as shown above. Of the four tabs, the most important are ‘Review’ and “Mark’. ‘Review’, because it is the only way one can jump through the sections and multiple questions and ‘Mark’, because, if utilised properly, it can be the perfect time-saver.

How to attempt CAT
These tips might be the same as those advised since CAT 1999 (for a paper-based test), nevertheless, the difference lies in utilising the ‘Review’ and ‘Mark’ tabs to your advantage. Here is what you need to do before starting to solve any question:

* The test will be attempted in three rounds. R-1 must take between 15-20 per cent of the total time. R-2 must take 50 per cent of the time and R-3 will take 25-30 per cent. You must, therefore, calculate the time line for the complete test the moment you read the total time on the computer screen.
* Calculate the average time per question (we’ll call it your ‘alarm time’) that you have, so that you know the maximum time a question can take. This helps you avoid getting personal with a question.
* If the initial introduction gives a listing of the sections, please take a note of the section number for your strength area be it Quant (Q), Verbal (V) or Data Analysis (DA).
* Whether you are interested or not, you MUST have at least a quick glance through the tutorial that will appear before the test.
* In order to avoid panic, please recall that:
o The only way to reset a question is to ‘re-click’ on the selected answer option. You will not find a ‘reset’ or ‘de-select’ button on the computer screen.
o In ‘Review’, you CANNOT move to a desired question unless you double-click on the question number. This is important because many of us would have practiced a ’single click’ option in their mocks and may conclude that the software is not responding properly.

Now that you know what to expect, TCYonline recommends the following three stages to help you escape the stress:

Round 1: Raise your confidence
Focus on attempting only the questions that are on topics you are strong in. A question that is expected to take less than alarm time for you qualifies to be taken up in R-1.

Now, you should also work smart. While attempting the selected questions in R-1, you must automatically prepare a list of questions that deserve to be attempted in R-2.

How?
Just put the ‘Mark’ tab to its best use. That is keep on marking the questions that are expected to take a little more than the alarm time, so that when you start R-2 you do not lose focus. Also, ensure that you do not mark more than 22 to 25 questions as you will not have enough time in R-2 to answer more than these many questions.

We urge you to start with the section that is your strong area, no matter if it is Section 3 of the test. You may jump sections using the ‘Review’ screen. This is how the Review screen will appear:

CAT Review Screen

Remember that in DI, most of the questions appear in sets of three or four. It is recommended that one set of three-four questions should be attempted in this round. Moreover, graph / table / chart-based questions should be preferred over logical games in R-1.

In Verbal, try more questions based on grammar and vocab. You should also try a few RC questions based on some specific stanza (and not the complete passage). Avoid doing inference-based RC questions, para-jumbles and FIJ in the R-1. Do para-jumbles only if the jumbled paras are very small.

Round 2: Reaching the threshold
The main target of R-2 is to clear cut-offs and ensure high accuracy. The best way to do this is to go to the ‘Review’ screen and click on ‘Review marked’ written at the bottom. Here, since you have planned and already marked the R-2 specific questions in the R-1 itself, you should be quite comfortable. Here’s how your ‘Review marked’ screen will look:

CAT Review Marked Screen

Questions of R-2 are the ones that may require a little over alarm time and need a few more calculations than those in R-1. You must try attempting two RCs in this round. The first aim is to have a balanced attempt in R-2, for achieving which you must start working on questions from your strength areas. Remember not to get carried away with only one section in R-2 and ignoring the other two. You must do that ONLY AFTER you are certain that you have managed cut-offs in all the three sections.

Round 3: Optimising the score
We say ‘optimising’ and not ‘maximising’ since a difference in attitude can make or mar your percentile in CAT. Keep your cool and be very choosy in selecting the right questions to spend your time on.

But how would you determine which questions to do in R-3? Should you choose to ‘Review all’ or to ‘Review marked’?

Actually, in this round, the ‘Review’ screen decides your navigation. You may click on the ‘Review incomplete’ tab or select one untouched question at a time and remember to get back to the ‘Review’ screen after attempting each question. However, first you have to see whether all the marked questions have been attempted in R-2 or not. If there are still a few remaining, prefer those.

Then, check the number of questions attempted in each section and see if one section has not been attempted much. If you find that you had a balanced attempt, you may now attempt the section that is your strength area to optimise your score.

The time limit for the three rounds may vary from person to person but lies almost in the given range. We recommend you to try this method in your mocks to ensure perfection.

TCYonline offers the largest benchmarking pool and the most comprehensive online CAT preparation course with access to TCY Analytics, Test Generator, Audio Visual Lectures, All India e-CATs on the real CAT pattern and e-Non-CAT Series for SNAP, IIFT, NMAT, FMS, JMET & XAT.

In 2006, MBA aspirants were shocked to find that reading comprehension dominated the verbal component of the Common Admission Test (CAT).

In 2007 and in the years to come, this section will play an even larger role.

The message for students is clear — reading comprehension, or RC, is the most important factor in the CAT’s verbal section.

For many, this change is seen as a problem. They believe that reading comprehension is tedious and difficult to study.

There is no doubt that RC is time-consuming. However, if a student is well aware of proper strategy and technique, it will become a strong point. Research shows that students with good reading habits can use RC to boost their exam scores.

For those of you who don’t have the best reading habits, let us focus on how to prepare and overcome the fear factor.

The most important point is to read consistently and for long periods of time. Unfortunately, most students nowadays do not even take this step, which makes acing RC almost impossible.

Those who do read are often limited to magazines and newspapers. Even then, they only read about Bollywood or the latest fashion tips. Given the elementary vocabulary used in these articles, it can hardly be qualified as reading. In fact, it’s just a time pass.

If you intend to take the CAT, it is necessary to read extensively and from varied genres. You should read novels, non-fiction, short stories, magazines, journals and newspapers. There ought to be a purpose — to develop your reading comprehension and to bolster your vocabulary. After finishing a piece, try to review what you read. Make sure that you have perfect comprehension, and if you are uncertain, check with friends, parents and teachers.

Also, skipping words that you do not understand can be disastrous. Instead, underline such words and refer to their dictionary meanings intermittently. This practice will surely give you amazing results. If you understand each word, your overall comprehension is enhanced and you will realise the true meaning of the piece.

If you are not usually a reader, start slowly. Begin with newspapers, then magazines and gradually move towards novels and non-fiction. One piece of advice is, ‘Read something you are not interested in’.

For example, if you hate reading philosophy, read a philosophical piece — it will give you a clear picture of your speed, accuracy, patience and focus. The passages in CAT will likely not match your tastes. They will be from the life sciences, humanities, physical sciences, social sciences, philosophy and so on.

For a student who really wants to master RC, it is necessary to have a great vocabulary. Read authors such as Ayn Rand, Stephen Hawkins, RM Lala, Alvin Toffler, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Richard Bach and J Krishnamurthy. Also, read the Bhagvadgita and ‘The Autobiography of a Yogi’. These books feature extensive vocabularies and complex sentences. Also, there’s a chance that a passage from one of these books may end up on the exam!

Now, you must develop speed and accuracy as a reader. The first technique to learn is skimming. It requires a lot of practice, but mastering it will dramatically increase your speed.

Skimming consists of quickly going through a passage and picking out the main ideas. You find key phrases and underline nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. In other words, aim at the ideas that are important and leave out phrases and sentences that are not.

I suggest that while skimming, simultaneously go through the questions. At times, you will come across a question that is linked to something you just read in the previous paragraph.

The underlining process relieves you from storing or memorising everything you read. After reading the questions you can go back to the passage, refer to the underlined areas and mark the correct answer.

You can also take the help of transitional key words, such as Moreover, Besides, Furthermore, that support the passage or the author’s view.

Words such as However, Although, But, on the other hand, are against the flow.

Finally, words like Hence, Thus, and Therefore are conclusions, and can be easily spotted in the final paragraphs or at the end of the passage. To prevent confusion, it is better to encircle these words so as to locate them easily when referring to the passage.

The test-makers also use language traps that can hurt your score. For example, a period of two years mentioned in the passage is referred to as 24 months in the question; or, the passage mentions a distance in miles while the question uses kilometres. So stay alert and keep a hawk’s eye for these traps. Apart from this, the best way for average students to complete the RC section is by using one of two strategies — Some Questions from All Passages (SQAP) and All Questions from Some Passages (AQSP).

With SQAP, you should not attempt questions with options such as None of these, All of these, Except, Least Agree, Least Disagree, True and Not True. These are the most difficult RC questions and should be avoided. Instead, answer the direct questions that, most of the time, are given in inverted commas. After answering all the direct questions in a passage, move on to the next one.

In case you find passages that give only direct and specific information questions, you can immediately change your strategy and go for ‘All Questions from Some Passages’ (AQSP). With this strategy, you answer all the questions from the passages with direct questions, while avoiding the passages that have the most indirect questions.

While taking the CAT, do not try to attempt every RC question, particularly if you are not sure of the answer, since this will attract negative marking and hurt your score.

Following these tips will help you earn the top possible marks and avoid a lot of unneeded stress.