Managing the time well is paramount to scoring well in the CAT exam. CAT has 3 sections with a sectional time limit of 1 hour. Though this setup reduces the burden on aspirants to manage time between the sections, managing the time while taking a section remains an issue. In this article, let us see how to manage time in CAT exam to maximize your score.
Taking CAT online mock tests helps a lot in learning about time management. Going through the previous year papers of CAT will help to know about the composition of the paper. Before moving on to how to manage time in CAT exam, let us have a brief look at how to manage time till the CAT exam. Try to complete the revision of basics before the end of September. CAT online crash course will help a great deal to refresh the concepts. From October, take at least 2 mocks a week and analyze them thoroughly.
How to manage Time in CAT exam?
Mock tests will be of great help in improving the time management skills. Take a lot of mocks to know your strong suits. Develop a strategy based on your strengths and weaknesses and put it to test in the mock tests.
VARC section:
- In the VARC section, try to complete the RCs first. Off late, the VA sub-section has become tougher as compared to the RCs.
- Also, when you have less than 10 minutes to go on the clock, having an RC left will put you under tremendous pressure.
- Even if you have 6 VA questions left with 10 minutes to go on the clock, you can solve 3 to 4 VA questions comfortably.
- Also, most of the VA questions do not carry a penalty and hence, you can afford to take your chances with them when the time is about to run out.
- Therefore, try to complete the RCs and para summary questions first and keep the PJ and out of context PJ questions for the end.
Time management: Try to dedicate 40 to 45 minutes to solve RCs and devote 15 to 20 minutes to solve VA questions.
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DILR section:
- The DILR section has become tough over the years. One should be extremely careful while selecting the sets to attempt in the DILR section.
- Invest the first 10 minutes of the section to select the sets to attempt. Go through all the sets and select the sets that you think you can solve.
- Also, note down the order in which you wish to attempt the sets you have chosen to attempt.
- Always start with the set you are confident of solving.
- Getting a set or two right will provide the much-required morale boost in the section.
- If you have invested more than 12 minutes in a set and have gotten nowhere, move on to the next set. Have a time cut off for each set.
- Also, if a particular question requires a great amount of effort to solve as compared to the other questions in a set, skip such questions.
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Quantitative Aptitude section:
- Try to attempt the quants section in 2 or 3 rounds.
- In the first round, attempt the questions that can be solved within 2 minutes. Even a tough CAT paper will have 15 to 20 such questions.
- Just solving these questions correctly will push you past the 95th percentile. In the second round, select the questions you are confident of solving but will take some time to solve.
- In the third round, start solving the questions you are not confident of. Try to attempt all the TITA questions you are not confident of solving in round 3 since there is no downside to it.
- Just like DILR, have a fixed time cut off for each question. Do not invest more than 3 minutes to solve any question in round 1.
- Relegate the tougher questions to subsequent rounds. Do not let a tough question break your momentum in round 1.
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We hope that this article would have helped you know how to manage time in CAT exam. For more useful articles, try going through how to prepare for logical reasoning for CAT exam and how to get into IIMs with poor academics.
