Cat has more surprises in Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR) when compared to the other sections. The difficulty level of this section fluctuates from being the easiest of all the sections in a year to being the toughest.
This section is the closest to check the ability of the students’ potential to become a future manager. This section tests the students’ ability to handle stress and also the decision making ability with limited resources — time, data, calculation speed, etc.
Tips for DI: Unlike other areas, this area has fewer formula/ concepts. The representation of the data will be different – table, bar graph, etc., but the type of questions asked in any form of representation will be broadly similar. So, the students should not worry about the representation of the data.
One of the most important aspects of DI is speed of calculations. They should not depend on the online calculator; in fact an online calculator is a bane in disguise as it is time consuming to use the mouse based calculator. They should spend at least 15 minutes on speed math everyday.
There’s a difference between taking Paper based tests and Computer based tests and this comes to the forefront when students try and solve DI and LR questions, so students should prepare accordingly.
Tips for LR: Logical Reasoning is comparatively distinctive because of the uniqueness required in attempting as the questions require mostly no formula application. LR questions generally consist of lot of statements where each of them individually act as clues to the answer. Questions can be answered correctly only considering all the individual statements together in a whole sense.
The Golden Rule is that if students have difficulty in understanding the questions in first couple minutes, leave the question and move on to the next.
Neglecting any of DI and LR may lead to missing out on easy questions. Choosing the right set is also important as this will determine the number of sets and subsequently the number of questions which can be attempted. As all questions carry equal marks, it’s better to spot questions which can be easily answered.
— Arvind Mantry, Centre Director, Chennai, T.I.M.E