5 Tips to solve Para completion questions in CAT VARC

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Para completion in CAT VARC
Para completion in CAT VARC

5 Excellent tips to solve Para completion questions in CAT VARC

Para Completion questions in CAT VARC, like the Reading Comprehension, also tests one’s comprehension skills. The para completion questions will consist of a paragraph and you will need to find the option that concludes the given paragraph in the most logical manner. Let’s discuss five important tips to solve the para completion questions in CAT VARC.

Like in RC’s the key here is to identify the chain of thought. Once the candidate is able to identify the central point and chain of thought, solving para completion questions is not very tough. One can expect around 1-2 questions on Para Completion, in the CAT VARC section. The most effective way for a student to improve in the VARC is to practice as many questions as you can. The approach that’s best recommended involves the following steps and is fairly straightforward.

These Para completion for CAT tips and tricks will also be useful for other MBA entrance exams like XAT, IIFT, SNAP and CMAT.

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Also, Try checking out previous year papers of CAT to know about the level of questions that appear in Para completion in the VARC section.

Tips and Tricks to solve para completion for CAT VARC

Following are the essential tools that will help you tackle Para Completion questions:

  • If the missing line is the last line of the paragraph, it should complete the chain of thoughts that are being expressed in the paragraph
  • The last line need not necessarily be a summary of the paragraph but it must necessarily follow the line of thought being expressed in the paragraph and complete that chain of thought
  • While solving para completion questions remember to find the chain of thoughts running through the paragraph.
  • Two common constructions of paragraphs are firstly, starting with an analogy or illustration and then tying in with the general concept and secondly, introducing the general concept and then forwarding arguments or illustrations in favor of the same. Hence, the last line of the paragraph must always state some conclusion about the general concept – a conclusion that follows either from the illustration/analogy or from the arguments made in favour of the concept.
  • If the missing line is not the last line – find the option that connects the thought being expressed just before and just after the missing line

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How to prepare for Para Completion questions:

  • Similar to all reading comprehension questions, read as many good publications as possible. Read good quality articles, essays or well-written books.
  • Try to identify the line of thought running through paragraphs. Hence, you should be able to identify introduction to concept, example/illustration, arguments made in favour and against and the conclusion drawn from the arguments.

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Let’s see some examples to see how to put the tools we discussed to use:

Examples- Para completion for CAT VARC

Instructions : From the given options, choose the sentence that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

Question-1

Relations between the factory and the dealer are distant and usually strained as the factory tries to force cars on the dealers to smooth out production. Relations between the dealer and the customer are equally strained because dealers continuously adjust prices – make deals – to adjust demand with supply while maximizing profits. This becomes a system marked by ‘a lack of long-term commitment’ on either side, which maximizes feelings of mistrust. In order to maximize their bargaining positions, everyone holds back information – the dealer about the product and the consumer about his true desires. ________________
A. As a result, `deal making’ becomes rampant, without concern for customer satisfaction.
B. As a result, inefficiencies creep into the supply chain.
C. As a result, everyone treats the other as an adversary, rather than as an ally.
D. As a result, fundamental innovations are becoming scarce in the automobile industry.
E. As a result, everyone loses in the long run.

Solution: 

Answer (E)
Option A talks only about one part of the chain comprising of factory, dealer and customer. Option B is far-fetched. Options C and D are out of scope. Only pption E completes the para in the best possible way.

Question 2:

I am sometimes attacked for imposing ‘rules’. Nothing could be further from the truth: I hate rules. All I do is report on how consumers react to different stimuli. I may say to a copywriter, “Research shows that commercials with celebrities are below average in persuading people to buy products. Are you sure you want to use a celebrity?” Call that a rule? Or I may say to an art director, “Research suggests that if you set the copy in black type on a white background, more people will read it than if you set it in white type on a black background.”  _______________________
A. Guidance based on applied research can hardly qualify as ‘rules’.
B. Thus, all my so called `rules’ are rooted in applied research.
C. A suggestion perhaps, but scarcely a rule.
D. Such principles are unavoidable if one wants to be systematic about consumer behavior.
E. Fundamentally it is about consumer behaviour – not about celebrities or type settings.

Solution:

Answer (C)
The last sentence should talk about the statement that the author made to the art director. According to the author, the statement is not a rule. So, option A and C are applicable. Between these two, option C is better because it specifically talks about this statement and not about “rules” in general. So, option C is the best concluding sentence.

Question 3:

The audiences for crosswords and sudoku, understandably, overlap greatly, but there are differences, too. A crossword attracts a more literary person, while sudoku appeals to a keenly logical mind. Some crossword enthusiasts turn up their noses at sudoku because they feel it lacks depth. A good crossword requires vocabulary, knowledge, mental flexibility and sometimes even a sense of humor to complete. It touches numerous areas of life and provides an “Aha!” or two along the way.  _______________________

A. Sudoku, on the other hand, is just a logical exercise, each one similar to the last.
B. Sudoku, incidentally, is growing faster in popularity than crosswords, even among the literati.
C. Sudoku, on the other hand, can be attempted and enjoyed even by children.
D. Sudoku, however, is not exciting in any sense of the term.

Solution:

Answer (A)
The last line of the paragraph should talk about Sudoku and the description should be in contrast to the description of Crossword. Option A captures this the best way.

Question 4:

Federer’s fifth grand slam win prompted a reporter to ask whether he was the best ever. Federer is certainly not lacking in confidence, but he wasn’t about to proclaim himself the best ever. “The best player of this generation, yes”, he said, “But nowhere close to ever. Just look at the records that some guys have. I’m a minnow.”  __________________
A. His win against Agassi, a genius from the previous generation, contradicts that.
B. Sampras, the king of an earlier generation, was as humble.
C. He is more than a minnow to his contemporaries.
D. The difference between ‘the best of this generation’ and ‘the best ever’ is a matter of perception.

Solution:

Answer (C)
We must select that sentence that follows the line of thought presented in the passage.
The author talks about the question asked by the reporter to Federer. Federer says that he was the best player of his generation but not even close to all-time best. He says that compared to “some guys” he is a minnow. So, the concluding line must be related to his answer.

Now, let’s check each of the options. Agassi might not be one of the “some guys” that Federer referred to in his statement and hence, the concluding sentence cannot be option A. Moreover, the win against Agassi does not prove that he is an all-time best tennis player. So, option A is wrong.  Option B is clearly out of scope as Sampras was not mentioned anywhere in the given passage. Option C says that Federer is more than a minnow to his contemporaries. This sentence extends the idea given in the previous sentence and hence is in line with rest of the passage. Also, this line concludes the paragraph perfectly. Hence, sentence C could be the answer.

Option D is definitely related to the paragraph, but is not related to the question posed by the reporter. Between options C and D, option C fits better because it is more related to the question posed by the reporter and the answer given by Federer.
Hence, option C is the answer.

The next step is to practice a lot of questions. Taking a lot of mocks for CAT and sectional tests for CAT will help you to get a hold on the concepts, which you can use to fine tune your test taking strategies. Also, take Free CAT Daily targets, for a rigorous practice on a daily basis.

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