DILR -Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning - the most terrifying, horrendous, murderous, mind numbing, gut-wrenching section in CAT.

1. Why is this section -DILR like that ?
2. If that is so, what can be done about to tackle that ?

Coming to the answer for the first question, it is to be noted that for each of the last 3 years -2015, 2016 and 2017, a net score of 50% marks has been around 99 percentile in DILR section. That means, around 99% of the CAT population (that means more than 1,98,000 IIM aspirants out of 2 lakh) could not answer more than 50% of the DILR questions correctly. In fact, not a single person in the country could get 96 (out of 96) in any of the two slots. That only goes on to prove how difficult the section is.

So, ‘Why is that more than 99% of the CAT population were not able to solve even 50% of the DI LR questions”

Ans:-> There are two reasons.

REASON 1:-> There is a great deal of randomness and high level of uncertainty when it comes to DILR section. Even if you complete all the qs from all the books in Universe (related to DI/LR), there will still be something new, something very different which you may come across in the exam.

One of the major reasons is the questions (in DI/LR) are designed set based (and not individual qs like which are there in Quant. By set based qs, I mean some information will be provided in the form of caselet or charts and followed by 4 qs). While, the decision to leave a Quant question can happen very fast (say in about 30 sec or max of about 1 min per question). But here, in DI/LR, you can never be sure as to when to quit. You may feel like quitting after 11 mins. But you never know. If we spend one more minute, may be we can crack that entire set. It’s a very tricky situation.

When To Quit or When NOT to Quit !!

There is NO formula for the same. The answer lies in discipling oneself. One has to discipline oneself in NOT spending unnecessary amount of time and fix an upper limit of say 5 mins or 6 mins on any set and in case, no breakthrough is happening in that 5 or 6 mins, one has to come out of that set quickly. In any case, you are coming out of that set ONLY temporarily. You can always go back to that set (say after 20 mins) when the chances are very high that you will visit that set with better ideas (your subconscious mind was always working on the same).

REASON 2:-> The second perspective from where the set has become very difficult is even if we do crack the set and are able to decode the subtleties of the same, still there are bound to be at least 1 question (out of 4 qs) per set which will be extremely difficult (which will have a tendency to demoralize even seasoned professionals), because there will be some additional information which will be provided.

Ok !! Fine !! Point proven !! The DI LR section is VERY DIFFICULT. What next !! How do I go about for that !! I need some good and motivating news !!

That’s what many of you must be thinking as of now !

Yes !! There is some good news amid all this DI LR gloom. For that, we got to dig deeper into the score cards of earlier years.

Let’s get to some facts pertaining to last year 2017.

1. A net score of 67 + marks (out of 96) in DILR -> 100 percentile.
2. A net score of 48 marks (out of 96)-> 99 percentile
3. A net score of 36 marks (out of 96)-> 95 percentile.

The numbers speak all.

YES !! It is all about a right strategy !! Deep knowledge, a good strategy, practising all possible variants + a dose of luck are what is required to be able to cross 95 percentile. It can be seen that anyone solving 3 sets (out of 8 sets) CORRECTLY would have taken one to 95 + percentile.

SUMMARY:-> One need NOT get 100% marks. Even 60% marks is a HUGE score !! For that matter, a net score of 40% marks in each of the last 3 years has been more than 95 percentile.

For some of you, the above information may just appear so unbelievable. (Generally, we tend to equate percentile with percentage. That means, if somebody has got 90 percentile in DILR, we may have a tendency to think that he must have got 90 percentage marks. Well, that’s far away from truth and that’s what we got to realize).

Now, when we know the dynamics of the exam in terms of what is a good score, let’s get to what can be done in terms of Preparation Strategy. Here are some pointers.

STRATEGY

Surprise element is a key feature of the CAT exam. You are never sure as to what may or may not come across. That doesn’t necessarily imply that one has to just leave this section outrightly. There are some models of qs which are extremely important. Those can be categorized as:

LOGICAL REASONING

a) Seating Arrangement -Linear

b) Seating Arrangement -Circular, Rectangular, Hexagonal etc

c) Distribution -Matching

d) Venn diagrams

e) Cubes

f) Selection

g) Binary Logic

h) Other Puzzles which involve Quant angle

DATA INTERPRETATION

a) Tables, Bar, Line, Pie Charts, Caselets

b) 3 D charts (Triangular charts)

c) Network of Pipelines -concepts like “Slack”

d) Spider Chart/Spider Model

e) PERT/CPM chart

However, in the last 3 years, the trend has been more towards ‘Integrated Models”. These models involve a mix of DI and LR.

STRATEGY…..

An easy to moderate caselet can take about 10 mins to crack, A difficult one more than 15 mins. In one hour, when there are 8 caselets, on the face value, brilliantly designed sets/ caselets will appear almost of the same level of difficulty. It can take about 5 mins just to understand if a set is easy/difficult. Well, there is NO formula derived by which one can say that (xyz set) is easy or difficult. Difficulty level can be assessed if one has solved a large number of sets before hand. However, there are some broad guidelines like:

• Length of the set: Not always, but many a times, it has been observed, that if there are large number of conditions (if the set is very lengthy), then that can derail the entire process of cracking the set successfully.
• Sets which involve Qs related to Maximization/Minimization. Such sets could be taxing -can cause real headache. Maxim/Min qs imply that there is NO unique answer. Try and attempt such qs once one has tried out easy ones(or the ones which have unique answer) before hand.
• Quantum of Numbers (Or quantum of Variables). Many a times, the difficulty level gets enhanced because of higher number of variables.
• Take the following 2 examples to understand this point.

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EXAMPLE 1: Here, there is ONLY ONE variable. Name of the person

Five persons -A, B, C, D and E are seated in a row. A is two places to the right of C. B is three places to the left of E. D is three places to the right of a person who is four places to the left of another person.

How many arrangements are possible ?

EXAMPLE II: Here, there are 2 variables -> Name and Salary.

Five persons -A, B, C, D and E are seated in a row. Each of them is earning a different income (in Rs lakhs) which are 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (not necessarily in the same order). D is three places to the right of person earning Rs 3 lakhs. The person earning Rs 4 lakhs is three places to the left of E. The person earning Rs 5 lakh is next to persons earning salares (in Rs lakhs) which are prime numbers.

How many arrangements are possible ?

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Well, the above two cases are classified are EASY (from CAT point of view). But the trick is this. If any set is EASY, one got to crack that in less than 6 mins. Generally, the higher the number of variables, the difficulty level tends to go up (at least at the perception level). So, if anyone is new to DIlR, one may find EXAMPLE II to be slightly more difficult when comapred to EXAMPLE I.

What to do next ?

In general one should try and solve about 3–4 sets/day. Set the timer (for more than 50% of the sets).

Where to practice from ?

There are two levels of practice:

1. Practising qs (Actual CAT papers):-> There are tonnes of free resources on the net. IIMs released question papers for both the slots for last year (2017). That way, there are 16 sets (to practice and available as a free resource). Further qs are also available for years 2008 and earlier. Cummulatively, around 80 good and difficult sets are there as free resources (just google CAT 2008, 2007 2017 etc) and you will find those sets on public domain.
2. Practising qs (Specific areas). Here one has to solve qs from individual area till one gain enough proficiency. For e.g, if one is solving qs from ‘Seating Arrangement”, one has to be comfortable with various sub-models like ->

• Seating arrangement when all are looking in the same direction.
• Seating Arrangament when some are looking towards North and some looking towards south
• Arrangment of two groups of persons where one group looking towards North and another group towards South
• Arrangement of persons along with some other parameters to be decoded for.

So, there is, definitely, a way out by which one can look at gaining proficiency in DI LR section before the D-Day.

A) PREPARATION FOR DI PART

1) Calculations, Calculations and Calculations

Half of DI is sheer calculations. The other half is Comprehension. Practice Speed Maths - regular practice required (Daily about 5-10 mins) (Speed Maths related to calculations (Addition, subtraction, % calculations, comparison of fractions). This builds confidence especially dealing with Calculation Intensive qs. For e.g, on that front, you got to practice basic things like

(Note: The following are very elementary things, the qs of these types can never be asked in exam but the absence of these can simply dampen the prospects of speeding up the prep level).

a) Tables upto 20

• (For e.g, what is 126 as a product of two numbers in all possible forms).
• Try and answer these questions in less than 5 sections -> 18X8, 19X7, 17X9, 19X8 etc

b) Squares upto 25. Ofcourse, for other numbers (in general squares of any other number, be it a 2 digit, 3 digit, 4 digit, you should have a mechanism to arrive at that value).

I will give you a simple example. Say, we need to find the square of 509. Divide 509 in two parts -> 5 and 09.

The answer comprises three parts.

• First part = [math]5^2 =25[/math]
• Second Part = 2 X 5 X 09 = 90
• Third Part = 9^2 = 81.

Now collate all the three parts and put them together and arrange them one after the other.

Ans: for the square of 509 is 259081.

c) Fractions and multiples. You cannot ignore this one. This is so so important, almost half of DI questions are built around percentage calculations. A good command over Percentage calculations is such an important prerequisite. Just check this how comfortable you are on this front.

a) 37% of 864 (Hint: Pls note that 37.5% =3/8)

b) What is 48% of 80 ? (Hint: 50% =48% +2%)

c) What % of 48 is 80 ? (Hint: What % of x is y. The answer is (y/x) X 100)

d) A number changes by 20%, 30%, -10% and then again by -10% successively. What is one single change equivalent to that (without using pen and pencil)

(Hint: Two successive changes of a and b is equal to one chnage of a + b + ab/100)

Don’t worry if you have not been able to get the answers for the above questions. Just keep practising daily. A high degree of mental toughness is required. Work hard and you will DO it !!

We all are blessed with infinte level of mental toughness. We should just believe in that.

For the points as mentioned above(SPEED MATHS), spend about 10 mins (daily) but be consistent about that. You be creator of the questions and you be the judge (in terms of the time you are taking to solve qs)

II) COMPREHENSION

Considering the nature of qs coming across, many a times it so happens that the entire set gets missed out because we are not able to understand a “particular line/word in the set of about 15 lines” in that caselet. That could be very painful.

Consider the following words. -> “Only”, “At least”, “At most”, “Not greater than”, “Not lesser than”, “Unless”, “Only if” etc.

Again, this is one area where you have to practice so much that even the intricate lines can be comprehended with ease. Just read a lot (just read and read and read and read) from variety of topics especially Business newspapers, different games (like Football, Hockey etc) -that will help in visualizing what happens in qs related to Games and tournaments or just about any article and every article. Basically, you have to develop a likingness towards large chunk of data (given in any form).

For e.g, if any condition says something like this:->

“Unless A is selected, B is NOT selected”.

The above statement will imply which of the following ?

1. If A is NOT selected, B is NOT Selected.
2. If B is selected, A must be selected.
3. If A is selected, then B may or may not be selected.
4. If B is not selected, then A may or may not be selected.

Well, the answer is “ALL of THE ABOVE ARE CORRECT”

The idea is if we are not 100% sure about the meaning of the word “Unless”, the entire set can go for a toss.

Consider another statement:->

In a group of seven persons(A, B, C, D, E, F, G), the number of persons to the left of A is same as the number of persons to the right of B. All the persons are looking towards North. In which all places can A and B be seated ?

That implies, if A is at 1, B will be at 7 (and vice versa). Similarly, if A is at 2, B will be at 6 (and vice versa). In the same way, if A is at 3, then B will be at 5 (and vice versa)

SUMMARY: We got to be keep learning something new on a daily basis. We got to be careful about some frequently encountered words/statements (as mentioned above). Solve 3–4 good sets in DI LR on a daily basis. But Be mentally prepared for any maverick set coming across much different from types as outlined earlier. Have a deep desire to master this area and that’s what matters !!

That implies a huge degree of PASSION is required.

As someone has rightly said :

And when you want something, the entire UNIVERSE conspires in helping you to achieve it !! -Paulo Coelho

All the best !!

Okay, picture this: you and I are sitting down, talking about DILR, that section in CAT that can feel like trying to solve a puzzle blindfolded. It's tough, right? I've been there, trust me. Let's break down how I tackled it, keeping it real and structured.

Phase 1: Getting Familiar with the Landscape (The "What Am I Looking At?" Stage)

• Goal: To understand the different types of DILR sets.
• How I did it: I started by exploring various DILR sets. Tables, graphs, logic puzzles, games – I wanted to see it all. It was like going to a museum and seeing all the exhibits. I'd find sets online, in books, wherever. I didn't care if I couldn't solve them at first. I just wanted to see what was out there. I started noticing patterns. Some sets were about data, some were about logic, some were both. This was intriguing. Therefore, I began to categorize the sets. This helped me to understand what kind of problem I was looking at.

Phase 2: Building the Muscle (The "Practice, Practice, Practice" Stage)

• Goal: To improve my logical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• How I did it: I made DILR a daily habit. Even if I was tired, I'd try at least one set. It's like going to the gym; you have to be consistent. I used a timer. Time management is crucial. I'd set a timer and try to solve a set within a specific time limit. This was significantly hard. I analyzed my mistakes. I'd go back and see where I went wrong. This helped me learn from my errors. I used iQuanta's resources. Their iMock was like a real CAT test. It helped me get used to the exam environment. The analysis was good. It showed me my strengths and weaknesses.

Phase 3: Refining the Approach (The "Getting Smart About It" Stage)

• Goal: To develop effective strategies and improve my overall performance.
• How I did it: I focused on understanding the different types of sets. Some were about data interpretation, some were about logical reasoning. I learned to stay calm under pressure. If I got stuck, I'd move on. I could always come back later. I used iQuanta's CAT 2025 course. The DILR material was helpful. They explained the concepts clearly. Their hard copy books were useful. Additionally, their Facebook community was a great place to discuss DILR sets. People shared solutions and asked questions. Their YouTube channel was a good place to learn tips. Presumably, practicing in a like exam situation will help.

Key Takeaways:

• Variety is key. Expose yourself to different types of sets.
• Consistency is crucial. Practice daily.
• Time management is important. Practice under timed conditions.
• Analyze your mistakes. Learn from them.
• Use good resources. iQuanta's resources were helpful for me.
• Staying calm is very important.
• Likely, your own strategy will be a blend of these things.

It's a journey, not a sprint. You'll have good days and bad days. Just keep at it. You'll get there.

Alright, let us have a casual conversation about LRDI. You're feeling weak at it, and that's okay. So was I. its totally okk becoz we are not versed with this section.

Step 1: Know what is LRDI

To see what LRDI sets are like and get used to the I started with easy puzzles. Sudoku, logic grids, stuff like that. It's like make up your brain versed with LRDI . I looked for different kinds of sets. Arrangements, selections, comparisons. I wanted to see everything. I tried to do at least 2 set a day. Even if I didn't feel like it. Consistency is good. eventually, this helps you get a base.

Set 2: Building Up Your Skills

Be better at solving sets and get used to time limit.

I buy a time watch and track my time. Time is important. I wanted to get used to it. I checked my answers. If I got it wrong, I looked at why. I used iQuanta's LRDI inception . Their iMock was like a practice CAT. It helped me get used to the feel of it and their mentors especially ALP and raj kumar sir give a whole new different approach.. Besides, their CAT 2025 course had good stuff. They explained things in a simple way. Their Facebook group was helpful. People shared tips. This was considerably helpful. Their YouTube channel had good videos
and most important iquanta had launched LRDI inception module which is similar to cat level and their mentors make life easier by solving those sets and give new approaches on how to solve similar kind of sets .

Phase 3: BE calm and have confidence and faith in yourself

Goal: To get ready for the actual CAT exam and stay calm.

How I did it: I tried different ways to solve sets. If one way didn't work, I tried another. I tried to stay calm during the exam. If I got stuck, I moved on. I kept practicing. Therefore, I got better. Likely, everyone will find their own way.

Tips for You, Since You're Feeling Weak in LRDI:

1. Start small. Don't try to solve hard sets right away.

2) Practice every day. Even a little bit helps.

3) Learn from your mistakes. They are your best teachers.

4) Use a timer. Time is your enemy if you don't practice with it.

5) Stay calm. Panic makes things worse.

6) Use free resources. There are lots of them online.

You know, sometimes LRDI feels like a obstacle in your way to CAT. We all felt somewhere. And honestly, the fact that you're looking for ways to improve? That's huge. You're already taking the right steps. So, keep at it. Don't get discouraged by a few tough sets. And remember, it's not just about the score. It's about the journey, the way you learn to think. And trust me, you'll surprise yourself. You got this.

Hi, Suriya KIng! Thanks for A2A.

I agree that the difficulty level of LRDI has increased over the past couple of years, so we also have to level up our preparation in LRDI.

I believe that any coaching basic material is good to start with as it will familiarize you with the topic. After that, the best practising material is previous year’s mocks combined with previous year’s CAT papers. I did most of my practice from the previous year’s mocks and last year’s CAT paper. Also, taking up live mocks this year will be good practice for this section.

So, in my opinion, one should focus on four things:

1. Any coaching basic material.
2. Previous year’s mocks.
3. Previous year CAT papers.
4. This year live mock.

I hope it helps!

In case you need the previous year’s mocks or coaching material then feel free to reach out.

And don’t forget to upvote!

Like every other section of CAT, you will find easy and difficult questions in the DILR section. In CAT21, out of the 4 sets, one set was easy, there were 1 or 2 medium level sets and 1 or 2 difficult sets. The key to crack the section is to select easy sets and solve.

If you think in terms of number of sets, then solving 3 or 4 sets in DILR section would be difficult. But getting a good percentile is definitely possible.

If you get 2 sets of 6 questions correct (36 marks) you could end up scoring 99.5%ile.

Getting 1 set of 4 question and 1 set of 6 question (30 marks) could fetch you 98.3%ile

Getting 2 sets of 4 questions (24 marks) could fetch you 95%ile.

Though DILR is considered as a difficult section to deal with, if you follow a proper strategy, you will be able to score a good percentile.

Patrick Dsouza

6 times CAT 100%iler

We’ve all been through this!

DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) section of CAT can be perceived in 2 ways :

Type - 1 Uncertain, Endless, Terrifying, Mind-Bending, Long-Winded, Yawn-Inducing

Type - 2 Simple, Effortless, Intriguing, Straight Forward, Logical, Marks Fetching

If you can relate to Type - 2, don’t read further because you know how to deal with this section.

If you are someone with Type -1 views, I have some Practical Tips to convert it to Type - 2.

Practical Tip - 1 : Analyze past trends of actual CAT

It is worth noting that for past three years 2020, 2021 and 2022, a scaled score of around 50% can place you at 99%ile in DILR section. What this means? It means 2 things -

• 99% of the total CAT Applicants i.e. around 2,20,000 IIM Aspirants out of total 2.22 Lacs participants could not answer more than 50% of the DILR questions correctly.
• You don’t need to improve your score by maximizing your attempts, you don’t need to solve every caselet and if there are 4 sets for 40 min, you don’t need to allocate 10 min per set.

Practical Tip - 2 : Identify the Type Correctly

When I started my DILR preparation during my final year, initially I was so enthusiastic about it, I thought “Wow, finally a section, where I can jump to solving sectional tests, no concepts to go through, no skill to build, no formulae book to maintain.” I could’ve never been so wrong in my life.

After a few days of dispiriting attempts, I realized I skipped the most basic step of this section - “Identification of the set Type”. I would urge you to don’t even bother solving the whole set until you master the Art of Identification. Lately, CAT has started mixing 2 types which makes it a little less obvious to determine Type at first glance.

Practical Tip - 3 : Know when to Quit and when Not to

While the decision to leave a Quant/VA question can take from 30 sec to 1 min or a passage can take upto 2 min while you skim through it, in DILR you can never be so sure. So a wise strategy would be to set a threshold for such cases, for example after 4–5 min, I’ll move on to the next set no matter what & I’ll circle back to it later. When you take a break and go back to it later, chances are very high that you start noticing crucial points that you’ve been missing all along as your subconscious mind was working on it in the background.

Practical Tip - 4 : Don’t try to solve all the Questions of a Set

Imagine a caselet has 6 questions and you were able to solve 4 of them & now you think you have almost all the information required to solve the remaining two. You’ll be tempted to complete the entire set, but don’t, it’s a trap. You can always circle back to it, but don’t let your ego stop you from solving 2 easy straight forward questions from another set.

From PT - 1, it is evident that you need to get at least 50% questions right to get in the 99%ile bracket, and those points can come from any number of sets.

Practical Tip - 5 : Quickly Assess the LOD & Reject

While there’s no perfect formula to assess the Level of Difficulty (LOD) of a caselet, here are some broad guidelines to make the right decision :

• Check if the set is too lengthy to read, most probably it has too many constraints and information that adds to it’s difficulty level. Generally, it would be a wise decision to keep lengthy sets for later as they might bore you to death and derail you from solving other sets as well.
• Sometimes a set can be difficult due to higher number of unknowns or variables than usual, as it can result in more possibilities (or combinations) and hence might take more time to arrive at the correct answer.
• Look out for questions that are related to Maximization/Minimization, such sets might leave you perplexed. Since these types of questions have no unique answer, so you can never be so sure and they might put a dent in you confidence level.

This pretty much sums up my understanding of how one can improve their DILR performance.

Apart from this, for making calculations faster some generic things like fractions, tables, squares, cubes etc. might help.

For ex. “8.3333% of total population knows Hindi.” would mean that 1/12th of the total number & since we are talking about humans it will be an integer & it has to be divisible by 12. Once you go through the options & see there’s only one option that’s divisible by 12, you know what to do.

Thanks for reading & I hope it helped!

Cheers, AK

DILR is supposed to be the toughest of the three sections as far as CAT is concerned. It is also the easiest sections to improve among the three sections. It usually improves with enough practice. If you want to crack 1 or 2 sets it will be sufficient to be good at basic level DILR questions. Lets try to understand how to go beyond it.

The process of solving a LR set which forms the major portion of the section is

1. Represent the data properly (avoid wastage of time)
2. Find the starting point
3. Solve the set

Students usually falter in the first two steps. They dont represent the date properly - which leads to confusion or after they put the data down they do not know where to start.

Advise you to look at common ways to represent data. For every different set that you come along, look at how it is represented. If you come across something different that you feel is important, note it down in a book. Once you know the different ways to represent data and which sets to represent in what way, your first step will be taken care of. One common mistake that students commit out here is that they miss out on some data. Ensure that all the data that you have is represented properly.

Another common problem is that students end up reading the set multiple times to represent the data. This is waste of time. Ideally you should be able to represent the data in 1 or 2 reading.

Once you have represented data properly, the next step is to know where to start. Different logic sets have different ways of starting. A Matrix based sum is best started by keeping one variable as benchmark. An arrangement sum is best started with the variable where most information is given. Unfortunately a lot of students are not aware of this and end up wasting a lot of time just thinking how to start. Again try to look at different type of data sets and how to start. You will get patterns over a period of time and then can use them to solve DILR sets.

Patrick Dsouza

6 times CAT 100%iler

Honest Review of 2IIM online coaching for CAT.

I decided to prepare for CAT at home. In my final year of graduation, I couldn’t prepare much so decided to dedicate a year for CAT preparation. I was browsing on the internet for best coaching for CAT as I wanted an online one and came across the 2IIM YouTube channel. I found Rajesh Sir and Bharadwaj Sir. Rajesh Sir cracked CAT many times with a 100 percentile, so I decided to purchase it. The comprehensive course. Now coming to course.

VARC- As I had reading habit so I didn’t find the video lectures much helpful. The verbal Sir was good though and he tried his best to explain. Bharadwaj Sir used to share some really interesting articles every day on the Whatsapp group. That really helped me improve my reading ability. Nothing extraordinary apart from that. As Bharadwaj Sir used to suggest to keep reading as much as we can. And Rajesh Sir takes only a few lectures on VARC initially then other Sir takes. All videos are recorded. The study material was good though (Hardcopy).

DILR- Honestly the DILR puzzles taken by Sir initially were doable but later videos just were too tough to understand. Then some other Sir takes lectures on DI which I understood any of rarely. Overall DI videos didn’t really help me well. But the study material provided was good with some basic sets to practice (Hardcopy). All videos are recorded here as well.

Quant- Now Rajesh Sir conducts lectures entirely and there is a lot of it. With due respect, Rajesh Sir has great knowledge no doubt but not everyone is an IITian to understand with his pace. Moreover, the videos had been recorded some 4 to 5 years ago. Yes 4 to 5 years ago. Not all but most of them. The same is the case with DILR and VARC. Only the Arithmetic part is what I mostly understood from the lectures. Lectures recorded here as well. The study material was good though here as well (Hardcopy).

Test Series- I just gave 2 to 3 mocks and they were super tough, to be honest, that really demotivated me. Testdojo has good sectional tests but most questions are repeated with many mistakes in them. Frankly, the test series is tougher than TIME’s AIMCAT with No Video Solutions.

Verdict-

My major concern was always that I am dedicating a year, so will I receive enough online support with respect to online education. The answer is none. Rajesh Sir is like a mammoth in CAT and no one can even dare to reach his stature or even ask a question to him personally. Only rarely he used to upload support or motivational videos. I don’t remember that when we needed him the most during the last month of the CAT exam did he make regular appearances. I mean we paid readily such a huge amount just by looking up-to him. Bharadwaj Sir was available only via WhatsApp, to be honest. And we were just added in a WhatsApp group in the name of support with hundreds of other students. He has his constraints, I can understand that there is limit up-to which he can guide. But for preparation, not just material but constant support and motivation is what matters the most. And online education platforms really fail there. I would suggest 2IIM to create a batch of maximum 10 students on WhatsApp or other platforms and assign a mentor to constantly guide them throughout because we are paying a huge amount. If self-study was to be done then would have done it with the help of many other YouTube channels like Shikshak, Takshzila, Edusathi, Rodha, Wifistudy and many more. Why did we choose you, you should understand this and that is support which is like none. Lectures conducted live would make more sense as we can ask doubts then and there only and clear. Honestly, I found more help from IMS, TIME, Career launcher video solutions of mocks of some of my friends than that of 2IIMs online lectures. 2IIM team didn't even bother to call us back and ask for CAT results.

In a nutshell, my CAT didn’t go well. No personal grudge against anyone but just an honest opinion. I don’t want someone else to do something as blindly as I did just by looking online. Better buy Arun Sharma CAT books and refer free YouTube channels like Shikshak, Takshzila, Edusathi, Rodha, Wifistudy to name a few. I found them more helpful. And prepare all by yourself, just buy mocks from any of Big 3 (Either IMS or TIME or CL) as Sir says and refer to them or join IMS or TIME or CL classroom coaching.

Most of the reviews here are by faculty themselves based on which I purchased the course. And I am not marketing for someone else. This is just an honest review from a student's perspective and personal opinion.

P.S.- I am an Engineer with 8 CGPA in my Graduation.

Hope this helps!

Most of the DILR questions that come in CAT are logic based. One will be able to improve ability to solve logic based sums by understanding patterns. It is like practicing chess or sudoku. The movement you know the underlying fundamentals and are able to identify common patterns, you will be able to solve the sum faster.

To understand the patterns, first understand the basic type of logic sums that do come in the exam. Once you understand that, solve varied kind of questions and try to identify the pattern in that type of question. Find out what is the best way of solving for different kind of patterns. Write it down in a book so that you learn them. Keep trying to find similar patterns in different kind of DILR sums that you solve.

Over a period of time as you solve more and more sums, the ability to identify different patterns will automatically improve.

Its like Chess. One of the important practice element is solving a lot of puzzles. That should help to form patterns in the mind in terms of different positions on the chess board. If a similar position comes in the exam (it is not the same but similar), one should be able to identify the patterns from the puzzles or games played before and apply the same to the given position on the board. The more you practice puzzles the better you will be. It is said that any average person can become a grandmaster if he can dedicate enough time to Chess.

Same is the case with DILR. Any average person can master it with enough practice and proper patter formation.

Patrick Dsouza

6 time CAT 100%iler

DILR will be the most tricky section with the time per section being reduced to 40 minutes. With one hour, a student could afford to waste 10 mins on a set and still make a comeback in the exam. That will be difficult in a 40 minute test.

While making the strategy I would assume that there will be 6 sets of 4 questions each.

Strategy for the section would vary based on your comfort level and the number of sets that you are expected to attempt.

Strategy 1: If you are looking at just clearing the cutoffs. Can go through the entire paper in 8 to 10 minutes. Pick up 2 sets and try to solve it in the remaining time. Getting 1.5 to 2 sets correct would get you a high percentile.

Strategy 2: If you are a student looking at reaching 90%ile. Can go through the first 3 sets in 4 to 5 minutes and pick up an easy set among these and solve. (If you do not find any set easy then go ahead to the next set). Repeat the same for the next 3 sets. In the end you can try and pick up 1 more set from the remaining set and solve. 2.5 to 3 sets should easily ensure that you cross 90%ile.

Strategy 3: If you are aiming at a 99+%ile. Solve as you read the set. If you find it easy solve it. If you find a set difficult then mark it as medium or tough and leave it. Can come back to medium level sets in the second round.

These are some of the strategies for DILR section in the exam. Try to experiment with the same and modify based on your comfort levels.

Patrick Dsouza

6 times CAT 100%iler

Hi,

DILR is the make or break section and re-writes the future of CAT aspirants.

In the 10 days that you have, just revise the mocks that you gave, and brush up the fundas of LR section like Seating arrangements, Circular arrangements, Round-robin matches, Knock-out matches and DI is all about your calculation speed. Try to formulate strategies to crack arrangements questions in these 10 days.

On D-Day:

It is all about picking easy sets in DILR section. Spend 5 mins on a single set and if you feel you can crack the set then go ahead or just leave it and start solving the other. Keep repeating the same and solve the easiest sets first and then try for easier questions in other sets. That’s it to ace DILR..!

Note: **** Don’t panic. Never give up. To share my story, last year I was unable to solve even a single question in first 30mins. All the first five sets of mine were very tough and the last three were very easy. I solved those three sets with 100% accuracy and was able to solve 4 more questions from all the five tough sets. Though the question paper will be similar, the order of questions will be different to everyone and if you get tougher sets at the starting, don’t just panic instead search for easier ones and ace the DILR.

All the very very best and rock the exam…:)

According to Sayandip, [cat 2023-99.99%iler, LRDI-94.44%iler, IIM-A convert], from C2C MENTORS, this is how DILR should be dealt with:

1. Basic topics

Basic topics like linear arrangements, circular arrangements, selection, distribution, venn diagrams etc.; should be at least be learnt broadly before starting to solve questions related to the topics.

2023’s CAT paper wasn’t easy; it was at a medium-difficult level. But that doesn’t mean that you start solving the previous year questions from the beginning itself. So, start with easy questions which gives you more clarity and ease while dealing with the topic.

Basic topics should take around 2 months max.

2. Minimum 25-30 sets from each topic

Take a chapter and solve minimum 25-30 sets from respective topics.

3. Don’t start doing mixed topic sets.

Start solving mixed sets or completely new sets, around June/July when you are absolutely sure about the basic level of preparation you’ve done till now. Though mixed sets can come in CAT, don’t start solving from there as you may get overwhelmed.

Let’s say at least 5-6 topics are done with 25-30 sets each, then go for mixed sets.; for example: Distribution+Venn Diagram, Tables+Arrangements, Arrangements+Distribution etc.

4. Irrigate your creativity.

Imagine and create different possible variation of a question you have been solving, preferably mixed sets.

LRDI has max 9-10 main topics, so completing the topic isn’t important, but when you try thinking different changes in the question, formats, patterns etc.; the strength and ability to think develops.

Challenge yourself and try your own permutations and combinations with the questions.

Once you follow this till here, DILR will be a cakewalk for you after 6-7 months.

5. Don’t rush, take it slow.

It is advised that you focus on the quality and depth of your preparation instead of completing the topic to tell yourself that you have done it.

Even in the midnight hour, if someone wakes you up and show you a question of games and tournaments or set theory, you should be able to distinguish it based on the difficulty level, whether you are going to attempt it or not, whether it’s accuracy will be a cakewalk for you or not.

You literally have 6-7 months, don’t panic, just put quality efforts into important topics. Even if you give 15-20 days for one topic from now on, even then you can actually be at a very good level of understanding by the time you are required to focus on mocks.

Coming to mocks, we’ll play them in the last 1-1.5 months.

· For repeaters:

Not every repeater is the same.

For 96-97%ilers: Start giving mocks’ give them at least 2 times a week, (assuming your preparation is already been done well enough before); start with higher level sets [medium-difficult level].

For 90+%ilers: Start with sectional mocks, or good level sets, focus on EQ, and refine your strategy.

For 70-80%ilers: Consider yourself as a fresher, start fresh, make your basics strong.

Sayandip gave overall 40-50 sectionals, but properly gave 78 full length-2 hr. mocks, followed by analysis hours, which sometimes takes more than 2 hrs. (3-4 hrs.) with full dedication, which is definitely something we all can learn from.

Upvote and follow for more answers, from CAT2CET.

What other DILR based questions you have? Let us know!

:]

The weightage of each section in the Common Admission Test (CAT) exam varies from year to year, and it ultimately depends on the specific test pattern set by the conducting body, which is typically the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). All three sections of CAT such as Quantitative Ability (QA), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) – carry significant importance in the overall evaluation of candidates.

Weightage according to each criteria:

Verbal Ability

Para summary, Para jumbles, Inferences and Sentence Completion - 10%

Reading Comprehension

Questions based on passages, order of sentences, para meaning. - 24%

Data Interpretation

Tables, Pie Charts, Graphs, Venn Diagram - 16%

Logical Reasoning

Seating Arrangement, Blood Relation, Syllogism And Caselets - 16%

Quantitative Aptitude

Geometry, Arithmetic, Algebra, Mensuration, Number System - 34%

Definitely. 100%. My first cat attempt was very bad. My DILR percentile was low.

The score will improve with consistent practice and mocks. Most important word is “consistent”.

Regularly practice. Solve as many sets and attempt as many mocks as possible. And analyze each mock and DILR section to check your accuracy in terms of judgement (selection of the right set) and in terms sets attempted (no of attempted questions being correct).

And reattempt the sets of DILR you solved initially again towards the end of October. That will be the best way to judge your progress.

I was able to attempt only 2 sets initially at the start of my second attempt preparation.

I got 99 percentile in DILR section in the actual CAT.

So regular practice and analysis can improve your score.

Hope the answer was helpful.

All the best

Cheers!!!

DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) - Topics and problems on DI :

Tables -Calculation based

Tables – non- calculation based

Bar charts

Pie Charts

Line graphs

Spider graphs

Triangle graphs

Scatter diagrams caselets

DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) – Topics and problems on LR :

Linear arrangement

Circular grouping and distribution

Selection

Venn diagrams

Cubes

Networks and roots selection

Binary logic games

Tournaments other puzzles

Strategy for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Section :

Work on a Strategy: The DILR section for CAT requires a proper and a great strategy. If one strategy doesn't work, you've to build another.

Maintain Diary: The candidates must maintain a small diary to note all the words uncommon to them.

Do Revision: You must do revision every week and eventually after completing the syllabus and other important topics to get a better understanding.

Attempt mocks regularly : Attempting mocks regularly is of utmost importance as it will help you in understanding your strength and weakness.

Books for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) :

How to prepare for Data Interpretation for the CAT by Arun Sharma

How to prepare for Logical Reasoning for the CAT by Arun Sharma

CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri

Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE !!

There is no shortcut no set of formulas to excel in DILR section within one month

Stretch your problem solving muscles:

Do not to look at official solution even if you are not able to solve the puzzle/problem after trying your best. Try for few hours without bothering about time limit. Even if you are not able to solve it after few hours, do not look at solution. just skip it at that time and come back after 1 or 2 days and try to solve that problem again. Think from all the different perspectives.After repeating this process 2 or 3 times, if you are not able to solve it, then only look at solution.

Revise again and again:

Mark the questions which you are not able to solve at first attempt easily or you learned something new by solving that question. Come back to such questions after every month. And revise the concepts, solve those questions. In this way, you are making sure you remember everything that you have learnt till now.

Get acquainted with as much different DI-LR areas as you can. There was not a single question on conventional DI-LR areas like pie chart/bar chart etc in CAT 2016. Only thing they checked was your problem solving ability. So it is important to solve the problems from as many different areas and as many different types as possible . This will not only increase your analytical skills but also help you to tackle with surprises more effectively in CAT .

How to increase your attempt in DILR:

One common issue faced by all aspirants:

They will waste too much time on only 1 question and will end up performing poorly even after good problem solving skills. To tackle this issue , follow below simple method:

Pick up any one set to solve. After 2/3 minutes, decide if you can solve this set within 10 min. Attempt the question only if you think that you can solve it within 10 minutes. Otherwise leave it. And attempt next set.

With more and more practice, you will make accurate decisions regarding your attempt and gradually your decision time will decrease to 1-2 min.

This is very simple but effective method which I applied in actual cat 16.

Thanks for the A2A.

I’ve covered approach to LRDI sets in two answers on Quora. You can read them here before I address your specific query.

Prasad Sawant's answer to How do I prepare for DI and LR for CAT 17 to get a score of 99+ percentile?

Prasad Sawant's answer to How did you prepare for LRDI for the CAT exam?

What can you do in one month?

1. Solve 2 LR and 2 DI sets daily (minimum) in a timed manner. Make sure that these sets are the ones that you haven’t solved before. Suggested time is around 60 minutes for 4–5 sets. Solve as if you’ve 50 minutes. Last 10 minutes as buffer.
2. Best source for LRDI questions: Past CAT, XAT, IIFT, SNAP papers. If you’re done with these, Arun Sharma or N K Sinha should be fine.
3. Pay attention to the following things:
1. When do you decide that you want to solve this set
2. When do you decide that you want to leave this set
3. How much rough work are you doing on the sheet (A4 size)
4. How much time are you taking to solve the entire set
5. What is the accuracy
4. Revise the sets that you solve in a week at the end of the week. Just go through them again. Should not take more than 2 hours
5. Use calculator whenever you need it but be thorough with mental calculations and approximations
6. Make notes after you take a mock on your strategy, sets, your overall mental performance during one hour of LRDI

This should be enough. Don’t take too much stress. Won’t really help. As long as you can identify what’s solvable and do justice to it, you should be fine.

Hope this helps! All the best! :)

DILR stands for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning. CAT is a Common Admission Test whose scores are accepted by almost all the colleges in India. On the other hand, the IIFT score is accepted by only the IIFT Delhi, Kolkata, and Kakinada campuses in India. Below are some of the major changes between these exams

Apart from all these changes, there is also a huge difference between the syllabus of the DILR section of CAT & IIFT. While CAT is a more time-intensive exam, IIFT is more logic intensive. Questions are comparatively easier in IIFT if compared to CAT. IIFT also has questions framed on topics such as blood relations, Coding-Decoding, Arrangement puzzles, Number series, Input-Output, etc. CAT on the other hand only focuses on time-intensive questions like arrangements, spider charts, scattered data, etc.

Other than these, both the exams are of different types but require an equal amount of preparation and consistency. All the best for both these exams.

Thank You!

The Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation (LRDI) section of the CAT exam is often considered challenging due to its undefined syllabus and evolving pattern. To excel in this section and achieve a high percentile, it's crucial to develop a strategic approach. Here's a comprehensive strategy for CAT aspirants:

Understanding the Syllabus: While the LRDI section lacks a defined syllabus, you can broadly classify the topics as follows:

Logical Reasoning:

• Arrangement Puzzles
• Team Selection
• Ranking Puzzles
• Generic Puzzles

Data Interpretation:

• Bar Diagrams
• Pie Charts
• Word Problems
• Tables

Effective Strategy:

1. Solve Sectional Tests: Since LRDI comprises 32% of the CAT exam, start your day by solving 2 logical reasoning sets and 2 data interpretation sets. Consistent practice is key.
2. Previous Year's Question Papers: Begin by solving previous years' question papers. After working through around 50 sets of LRDI papers, you'll start recognizing patterns in question types and approaches.
3. Take Mock Tests: Mock tests are essential for CAT preparation. Given the vast and undefined syllabus, mocks help you understand the types of questions that may appear in the actual exam.
4. Analyze Mock Tests: After taking a mock test, thoroughly analyze it. Identify recurring mistakes, revise, and create a new study plan to address your weaknesses.

Strategies for Solving LRDI Questions:

• View LRDI questions as puzzles.
• Practice solving standard puzzle templates like grid puzzles, arrangement, cubes, tournaments, sequences, and selections from various books and study materials.
• Focus on finding quicker solutions for questions that follow familiar patterns.
• Strengthen your basic math skills, especially in areas like numbers, percentages, pie charts, and bar diagrams.
• Build mental stamina by practicing previous years' CAT exam papers and coaching study materials.
• Recognize repetitive patterns in questions over time, which will help during mocks and the actual exam.
• Opt for LRDI mix sets instead of individual LR/DI sets for more comprehensive preparation.
• Read long puzzles thoroughly to avoid making assumptions that could lead you in the wrong direction.

Tips to Speed Up LRDI Question Solving:

• Seek advice from CAT toppers who have cracked the exam. Learn from their strategies to save time during the actual CAT exam.
• Get comfortable with diagrams and tables and draw them when necessary.
• Create a mental legend (icons/symbols) for longer names and be consistent with it.
• Consider code constraints, which often involve filling in the blanks. Think beyond the obvious and explore alternative solutions.
• Pay close attention to specific words like 'all,' 'only,' 'some,' 'none,' 'if only,' 'other,' 'than,' and 'unless.' These words can provide valuable clues for problem-solving.
• Improve your calculation speed by using surrounding numbers to expedite calculations, ensuring you stay within the time limits.

Recommended Books for LRDI Preparation:

• "Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning" by Gautam Puri
• "Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation For The CAT" by Nishit K Sinha
• "How To Prepare For Data Interpretation For CAT" by Arun Sharma
• "How To Prepare For Logical Reasoning For CAT" by Arun Sharma
• "A Modern Approach To Logical Reasoning" by R.S. Aggarwal
• "Data Interpretation" by Nishit Sinha

In conclusion, there is no shortcut to preparing for LRDI. To succeed, follow these steps diligently:

1. Solve previous years' papers to understand question patterns.
2. Take mocks, including topic-wise, sectional, and mixed sets.
3. Analyze mocks to identify and address weaknesses.
4. Develop efficient strategies for solving recurring question types.
5. Practice consistently, maintain composure, and stay focused during the exam.

Before reading the preparation strategy, please go through the following points -

• This answer will limit itself to the preparation strategy and not discuss how to attempt the DILR section in the mocks.
• This section was (still is) my personal favourite and I believe that the concepts came a bit naturally to me.
• Don’t let the fact scare you that it is called the toughest section of all. It is challenging, but very interesting at the same time.

As I already mentioned in the answer regarding my preparation journey, I started preparing for DILR in the first semester. The books I solved were:

• Arun Sharma’s book for Logical Reasoning.
• Arun Sharma’s book for Data Interpretation.
• T.I.M.E’s Logical Reasoning Booklet (basic).
• T.I.M.E’s Data Interpretation Booklet (basic).
• T.I.M.E’s DILR Booklet (advance) [could not complete].

The online resources I used include sectional tests of T.I.M.E, free question banks of 2IIM, Learning Roots, SBI PO and RBI past year papers.

Please don’t feel overwhelmed by the list. In order to cover the basics, any one book for LR & DI (either Arun Sharma or your coaching material’s) is sufficient. In order to hone the skills further, you can refer to ‘n’ number of resources and question banks.

An important note - You must have heard that ‘DILR requires a lot of practice’. This statement is correct, but incomplete. If you keep practicing the lengthier method of solving the question, you won’t get better. Using the right approach is a must, even if you know ten ways to solve the question.

The steps for DILR preparation are the simplest of all -

1. Get to know the types of questions (topics) of DILR.
2. Grasp the tricks used in each type.
3. Build a mental legend for the nomenclatures/symbols used.
4. Develop the ability to decode the constraint in action.

It may be unclear at this point as to what these steps mean. In order to help you understand them better, I’ll take the help of some illustrations:

Step 1 - Know the Types

Go through the index of the book, get to know the types by solving some easy questions of each type. This is important and will come in handy when in the actual CAT, you’ll face a situation like this -

When you have 8 sets to attempt and 60 minutes at your disposal, selection of sets becomes an imperative art and in order to make that selection possible, you should be able to identify the type in seconds to choose if you want to attempt the set or not. So, get to know the types very well.

Step 2 - Grasp the Tricks

Each type has some tricks, which can help you save time in solving the set. These tricks can be either found in the books/study material or learnt by practicing the same type again and again. You can note these tricks in a diary to ensure that every time you attempt a question from that type, you remember to apply the trick. Please note that you will anyway have to use the right method to solve the question, knowing the trick just saves the time and effort that you would have otherwise wasted on the wrong approach.

For example:
In a circular arrangement question, the moment you read that you’re supposed to arrange 4/6/8/10 people around a circular table, you should know the trick to plot the circle quickly -

These tricks, no matter how simple they seem, save a lot of time. With frequent application, they become an automatic response to the stimuli (the question). Maintain a repository for these gems.

Step 3 - Build a Mental Legend

This is more of an automatic step, but still, I’m sharing it for your knowledge. I used to denote the key to all the symbols and abbreviations as the ‘Mental Legend’. Before you get more confused, please have a look at this illustration (just read the statement without giving it much thought)-

So, my ‘Mental Legend’, after reading the question, would (automatically) denote the names and genders like this -

This Mental Legend is unique for every person, we all mentally create symbols and abbreviations that denote something. Just make sure your legend remains consistent as it’d avoid the chances of silly mistakes.

Step 4 - Decode the constraints in Action

The reason I loved DILR the most was because I always found the constraints so interesting, as if they were eager to say something more than what appeared on surface. A difficult DILR set is called difficult because its constraints try to trick the reader. Once you catch the hidden meaning of the constraint, you’re sorted. Let’s see what this means:

This is an incomplete question, but I’m just trying to illustrate how your mind should decode this constraint in action (the moment you see it).

So, seven people -

B sits exactly between A and C -

Now, many of you may be thinking of something like this -

Which is absolutely correct. But, exactly between may also mean -

So, make sure you understand, in totality, what the constraint wants to convey. Trust me, in DILR, each and every word is important.

This is all I can think of in regards to my preparation strategy for DILR. If I recall something in addition to this, I’ll edit the answer. Meanwhile, you can use this and try to create your own strategy for tackling this section.

There’s a quote by Albert Einstein, “If you want different results, do not do the same things.” This quote always kept me going whenever I was stuck on a DILR question. If you ever face such a situation, remind yourself of this quote and dig deeper, there must be something you’re missing. Try again, find it and when you do, notice the smile on your face. That eureka moment, that smile will act as a sign that you’re improving!

If you want to crack the DILR section in the exam, the important skill you need to learn is to be able to identify easy DILR sets and solve. Once you are comfortable with the easy sets, you can look at solving difficult sets.

In both CAT16 and CAT17 I was able to solve all the 8 sets and score 100%ile. There are methods and tricks to ace DILR. But even if one had solved 3 sets in CAT17 one would have scored 95+%ile. And there were 3 doable sets in both the slots in CAT17. Unfortunately, students were so engrossed in trying to solve the difficult sets that most of them missed the easy ones. Last year when I was giving individual feedback on strategy for students who wrote my mocks (which I do every year), I realised that this was a major area of improvement for a lot of students.

Therefore it makes sense to first master the ability to identify easy sets and solve. Once you do that then focus on building your base for solving tougher sums.

Students rely too much on CAT notes and mocks to build their DILR ability. But as seen in the last 3 years of CAT, IIMs are not looking at bookish knowledge but out of the book thinking. So apart from solving sums from the mocks it makes sense to build logical thinking by solving puzzles and riddles.

Thirdly for every logical sum that you solve go back and check if you can find a method which is better or which can be generalised to solve many sums. If possible discuss the same with your friends or faculty.

You can focus on five things to improve your LRDI in the last week of CAT

1. Solve new sets on regular basis. Solving 2 or 3 sets daily will help you to keep in tough with the process of solving LRDI. For some students if they do not solve LRDI sets for some period of time, they see their scores going down. So it is important to keep in touch.
2. Analyse your old sets and find out if there are any areas where you waste your time. Could be in selection of sets or reading the set or putting the data. Also check the cause of your mistakes that you have committed. Being aware of these during exam could help you avoid the same.
3. Know and be aware of patterns to solve different type of sets. This can again be learnt from going through your past sets. Knowing different patterns will help you to understand which pattern will suit which type of problems.
4. Solve a puzzle everyday. Could be sudoku, kakuro, hidato, or any other logical puzzle. Solving puzzles could help you to keep your mind sharp.
5. Practice calculations. There are a few sets which requires calculation. Being able to calculate simple sums quickly could help save time.

Patrick Dsouza

6 time CAT 100%iler

I would recommend not to keep specific target but go with the flow. First try to get the first set correct and then the next and so on. Have a proper strategy in place.

In one of the CAT attempts I went to the exam with the confidence of cracking all the sets as I had scored 100%ile in DILR section in the previous 2 attempts of CAT. There were 8 sets with 1 hour for the section. So my strategy was not wasting time in selection of sets but solve sets as and when it comes. I tried and attempted the first set and after wasting 12 minutes on it could not crack it. Here I was wanting to crack all sets but with 12 minutes gone had not even been able to crack the 1st set. Took a break replanned the paper. I gave up hope of solving all the sets and focus on solving easy sets and skip the tough ones. That helped me to relax and approach one set at a time. I followed my new strategy and was able to crack 5 of the sets in the first round with enough time to spare. Came back and was able to solve the remaining 3 sets - even the first one which I was unable to solve in the first round.

Keeping targets could lead to additional pressure. We do not know the toughness of the section. If the section is easy we may have a lower target than the attempts required for the desired percentile (Psychologically once we reach our target we tend to slack). If the section is tough it may result in lesser attempts than what our target is and will result in added pressure in the next section (the fact that we did not reach our target could be at the back of your mind).

Patrick D’souza

6 times CAT 100%iler

Quants Section is solely based on practicing variety of sums.

You need to study at least for 1–2 hours, but that doesn't actually matter, what matters is how much hard work you do and how much focused you are in your preparation.

Preparation Tips for quant section :

1. While completing the syllabus, avoid trying to solve topics that are in the books but do not appear in the exam. Some of the topics that students spend a lot of unnecessary time studying are Base Theory, Remainder Theorems, most of the formulas in Permutation and Combination, most of the theory in the Functions topic, higher level geometry concepts, etc.
2. You need to skip solving Quant sums that are really tough - Level 3 sums in the book. These are questions that will take a lot of time and most of these questions in the books are mathematical rather than logical.
3. Always you've to focus more on quality rather than quantity. Its fine if you do not solve all the sums in the book, but for every sum try to solve it on your own for atleast 5 minutes.
4. You need to have good methods for sums that you are solving. Most of the time you will not get the method, but trying will help you improve.
5. Later, you've to learn how to classify a sum as easy or tough in a short time. Selection of question is important for cracking the exam.
6. For solving the Quant section of the exam, you need to build a proper strategy. Most students have a faulty strategy and hence do not perform to their potential in the exam.
7. You need to attend various live sessions & watch youtube videos that provide you with the correct strategy and some tips.

All the best!

Disclaimer - I work at 2IIM.

There are two courses:

Green Course consists of Online Course covering Quants, DI/LR and Verbal extensively through Videos, Slides and Tests interspersed with each other. It also has Topic wise tests, 8 Mock tests and 4 Previous Year CAT papers with detailed solutions. Green course also provides access to material related to GD/PI/WAT. We have classes for XAT Business Decision Making included in this package as well. Price of Green Course is Rs. 22,000.

Comprehensive Course has everything that is included in the Green course, and adding to it, we ship a set of 10 physical books to your mailing address through courier. Price of Comprehensive Course is Rs. 25,000.

The Online course can be accessed anywhere, anytime and any number of times. Course validity is till Jan 31, 2020, which means you will get access beyond XAT 2020.

It is a full fledged Online CAT Preparation Course.The course includes slide-decks, videos, check-point quizzes and CAT-Level Tests and Mock CAT Series. Most products available are either test series, e-books or recorded classroom lectures or secret Facebook groups for that matter.

2IIM’s Online course has the added advantage of viewing the videos any number of times and is extremely helpful for people who like to prepare at their own pace.

The tests are available in the form of checkpoint quizzes and Prep Edge quizzes that are pegged at the level of CAT. Doubts and queries can be put up in the discussion forum and they will get answered within 48 hours. Inside the discussion board, you can also view questions and answers posted by others in a particular lesson. This is a particularly useful feature.

And no one knows the CAT as well as 2IIM does The faculty at 2IIM take the CAT regularly to assess the various aspects related to the exam . They then apply it while making any further modifications to the course. Mr Rajesh is a 4 time 100 percentiler in CAT and an IIM - B alumnus and Mr Bharathwaj Uday is an MBA grad from IIT Madras.

If you register as a free user, you can access a part of the course ( 5 full classes are free). Try the course for free at online.2iim.com

A2A

The beauty of the DILR section at the CAT lies in the fact that there is very little one can do to prepare for the exam day. The amount of uncertainty is huge and there will rarely be a question that you would have seen earlier. So, with content out of the window, the game changer in this section is the ability to deal with nerves and simplify information into a consumable form. In the last few days, you might want to focus on these things and be mentally fresh when you would be taking the test:

a. The change in the level of difficulty vis-a-vis the mocks: While there are indeed a lot of beautiful sets that are designed by the mock test providers, they do tend to go a tad overboard when it comes to the difficult sets. Over the last few years now, CAT has generally avoided extremely calculation intensive or case intensive sets (except the one or two outliers). So, I would strongly suggest that you avoid forming a rigid strategy based on your mock performance. Just try to answer one question while analysing your mocks: Have I solved all the easier sets before this? If you are able to identify the easier sets, half the battle is won

b. Be prepared for the dead space: DILR is slightly different compared to the other two sections because of the style of attempt. Typically, you will be marking 3 or 4 questions quickly followed by an interval of around 10 odd minutes. If you get rattled easily, these 10 minutes will hurt you a lot. Add to that a few minutes spent in solving those sets that you won’t break through and you get a recipe for panic. The key lies in making peace with these gaps and making sure that you are alert to the timer while attempting a set

c. Solve sets from the past CAT papers: If you haven’t done this seriously till now, it is highly recommended that you tackle one past CAT paper every day now onwards alongside your regular prep. There are a lot of gems in the past CAT papers (Naya Purana mixer grinders, Erdos number, CAT leak, Stock traders and more recently, the one on electives, Chess pieces, finger scans and so on) and if you are able to solve these, you should be okay

d. Focus more on accuracy: Considering that the spread is pretty narrow (last year, a variance from 25 to 45 marks, was a jump from a 90 percentile to a 99 percentile), it makes sense to avoid guessing as much as is possible. If the paper is of similar level of difficulty, make sure that you are not making basic errors in reading the question and clicking your answer in the 3 easy sets that you will be solving. A lot of people go with a fixed mindset of attempting 4 sets, which adds unnecessary pressure and so, they end up making a couple of avoidable mistakes

e. Get into the habit of reading the information carefully: Considering that you are dealing in terms of time per set, you have a good couple of minutes to make sense of what a set is trying to say. The biggest mistake I have seen candidates make is to read the question in a hurry. That leads to missing out on critical bits of information and unwarranted assumptions, both of which are dangerous. The CAT sets are designed in a slightly different manner compared to the mocks and so, you might want to get used to the style of paper setting at the CAT

f. DILR is overrated: To be honest, if you look at the context, a prepared candidate could have easily solved 3–4 sets in each year from 2015 - 2017. However, we have seen a lot of promising students fall short of that mark simply because they were too scared of doing poorly in the section. Treat it like just another section, solve one set at a time, forget the cutoffs, percentiles, scores and historical trends and you will do a lot better than most

Hope that helps. All the best!