Rajesh Rikame, IIM Bangalore Batch of 2012
The fifteen-day run-up to the CET is of paramount importance when it comes to maximizing your score. It is during this time period that one fine tunes one's test taking strategy to the best possible extent.
By now you must have realised your areas of strength and weakness. A good test taking strategy is to traverse from questions 1 through 200 and solve the ones which you are strong at and visit the left out ones later. Intelligent guessing is typically encouraged for the unattempted questions in the end. Regarding darkening of ovals in the OMR sheet, you need to be extremely careful as you have to attempt the test with a black ball point pen. Darkening the ovals should neither be done question by question nor at one go. Instead, you can choose to shade the ovals after a set of questions, say after every 40 questions. It also serves as a welcome break.
Here are some pointers towards how individual sections in the CET could be tackled.
1) Quantitative Ability: The key to crack questions based on QA is to think without ink. The more you write, the more time you spend. Shed away the conventional ways or approaches of solving problems which involve a lot of writing and instead try to solve them mentally. This would help you save a considerable amount of time.
2) Visual Reasoning: Avoid attempting questions related to this section at one go. It is a general tendency to accumulate all the questions pertaining to visual reasoning and solve them towards the end of the test as they are perceived to be difficult to crack. Instead solve them as and when they appear in the order of the question paper. Your efficiency with regard to these questions would certainly increase.
3 Codes: For the questions pertaining to coding and decoding, you may choose to write down all the letters of the English Alphabet (in both obverse and reverse order) on the test booklet as soon as you receive it. This would save your valuable time while attempting the questions.
4) Reading Comprehension: In CET, it doesn't serve any great purpose in reading the entire passage and then answering the questions. Instead, quickly scan the passage and try to figure out the essence of each paragraph and then jump on to questions. Most of the questions would be factual in nature and that would make your task a lot easier. Negate the wrong options and narrow down to the correct option instead of going the other way.
5) Data Sufficiency: Avoid looking at both the statements together at the beginning. This normally will fox you to mark 'Both the statements are required to answer the questions'. Look at each statement separately and only when you are convinced that it can/cannot answer the question, move on to the other. This will help you increase your accuracy.
6) Logical Reasoning: A chunk of the CET booklet will be occupied by questions pertaining to this section. So make the best use of the next fifteen days to sharpen your skills with regard to various types of questions asked in this section.
7) Verbal Reasoning: At times, even the best of the best struggle with this section in getting a hundred percent hit ratio. While attempting these questions, do not let your knowledge come in the way of answering the questions. Make use of the information given only. Also avoid spending more time on these questions. These questions should be preferably done towards the end of the test.
By now you must have realised your areas of strength and weakness. A good test taking strategy is to traverse from questions 1 through 200 and solve the ones which you are strong at and visit the left out ones later. Intelligent guessing is typically encouraged for the unattempted questions in the end. Regarding darkening of ovals in the OMR sheet, you need to be extremely careful as you have to attempt the test with a black ball point pen. Darkening the ovals should neither be done question by question nor at one go. Instead, you can choose to shade the ovals after a set of questions, say after every 40 questions. It also serves as a welcome break.
Here are some pointers towards how individual sections in the CET could be tackled.
1) Quantitative Ability: The key to crack questions based on QA is to think without ink. The more you write, the more time you spend. Shed away the conventional ways or approaches of solving problems which involve a lot of writing and instead try to solve them mentally. This would help you save a considerable amount of time.
2) Visual Reasoning: Avoid attempting questions related to this section at one go. It is a general tendency to accumulate all the questions pertaining to visual reasoning and solve them towards the end of the test as they are perceived to be difficult to crack. Instead solve them as and when they appear in the order of the question paper. Your efficiency with regard to these questions would certainly increase.
3 Codes: For the questions pertaining to coding and decoding, you may choose to write down all the letters of the English Alphabet (in both obverse and reverse order) on the test booklet as soon as you receive it. This would save your valuable time while attempting the questions.
4) Reading Comprehension: In CET, it doesn't serve any great purpose in reading the entire passage and then answering the questions. Instead, quickly scan the passage and try to figure out the essence of each paragraph and then jump on to questions. Most of the questions would be factual in nature and that would make your task a lot easier. Negate the wrong options and narrow down to the correct option instead of going the other way.
5) Data Sufficiency: Avoid looking at both the statements together at the beginning. This normally will fox you to mark 'Both the statements are required to answer the questions'. Look at each statement separately and only when you are convinced that it can/cannot answer the question, move on to the other. This will help you increase your accuracy.
6) Logical Reasoning: A chunk of the CET booklet will be occupied by questions pertaining to this section. So make the best use of the next fifteen days to sharpen your skills with regard to various types of questions asked in this section.
7) Verbal Reasoning: At times, even the best of the best struggle with this section in getting a hundred percent hit ratio. While attempting these questions, do not let your knowledge come in the way of answering the questions. Make use of the information given only. Also avoid spending more time on these questions. These questions should be preferably done towards the end of the test.