I keep getting these queries on how should one increase their score in a particular section. With just 10 days to go for CAT 2015, is it really possible to increase the score in Quant? The answer is, YES!!

There are 2 possible scenarios:

Scenario 1: You can’t solve more questions because you don’t know how to solve them!!

Scenario 2: You know how to solve most questions, but don’t find enough time to solve them!!

Today, we will look at a possible approach on how to handle the scenario 1 problem and improve your Quant score in the next few days.

Handling Scenario 1

If you belong to this category, then the easiest way to improve your score at this stage is to enable yourself to solve at least the easier questions from across areas and  maybe a few tough questions from some areas. This is how you should go about it:

Know your strengths and weaknesses

Whatever be your current scores in mock tests, a little analysis of your performance will tell you which are the areas where you generally do well and which are the areas where you don’t. Areas and topics where you consistently do well (high attempt/high accuracy) can be classified as your areas of strength(S). Topics where you have a Low Attempt-High Accuracy combination are potential areas (P) where you can improve your score. Other question types/areas can be classified as areas where you do not have a strong hold on concepts ( W ).

At the end of the above exercise, you could end up with a table as follows:

Prioritize

It is obvious that you can improve your scores if you are able to solve more questions from P and at least the easier questions from W. Prioritize the areas/topics based on the amount of effort required to master the concept and the weightage of the given topic in CAT over the years. The thumb rule for your prioritization will be as follows:

1. Low effort – High Weightage areas
2. High effort – High Weightage areas
3. Low effort – Low Weightage areas
4. High effort – Low Weightage areas

Your priority chart could look like this:

Practice with a Purpose

As a next step, solve as many ‘CAT-level’ questions as possible from identified areas in the order of priority  – for example, solving 100-150 quality questions from a particular topic, say 2D Geometry, should give you enough confidence to take on questions from this area while taking the actual test. Solving and analyzing these many questions will also ensure that you have gone through an entire gamut of concepts and theories that you might need to be aware of with respect to the particular area.

 Execute

While taking the next Mock Test, identify and attempt questions from areas that you were already strong in and areas that you have gained confidence – and I will not be surprised if you see a significant change in your sectional score.

In tomorrow’s post, we will see how to handle Scenario 2 using the ABC approach.