catcracker: Hello Sirs! Actually Iv not seriously started preparing for Verbal. My accuracy is too low. Im getting into IIMs for sure but pls tell me what kind of preparation is required for it I start NOW!!
ankur: 1. don't worry too much for vocab. 2. brush up grammar using the material 3. READING widely will help you improve RC and VA. lot of VA is dependant on reading, so with 2.5 months to go for CAT, reading will give more benefit than doing lot of vocab and grammar now.

jai: i m weak in verbal so whAT CAN I DO.
ankur: start working. read more and more. do lot of practice. 1 month later u will see a marked change!

anju: Sir, when i registered for cat online on sep 9 after filling the online form , i see that my state name has changed and ANDMAN NICOBAR AND ISLAN is mentioned. I bought another voucher and re registered. will this be any problem. How will i get refund and what is the procedure for cancellation of one slot?
ankur: You can edit the info from 18th sept to 8th oct - more details at http://www.catiim.in/catregistration_updated.html

kumar: Sir, I have two initials(R.S.Kumar----R-Ramasamy S - Suresh) how to fill my name in cat 09 form......Sorry for posting in the wrong topic......
ankur: both first names, or first name and middle name should be filled in first name. only surname should go in surname.

saikumar: sir,how to achieve good marks in rc
ankur: 1. continue reading regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

anju: Sir, is my accuracy in rc is very poor,how to improve?
ankur: learn to eliminate wrong answers which look closely related. seek help from you faculty member for this.

alchemist: I realize that I attempt too many questions in the verbal section in an attempt to score high and end up losing marks. How can I e selective in answering the questions in the verbal section
ankur: easy = that takes less time. difficult = what takes more time. so, allocate time in proportion to the marks. whatever you can solve in the given time was easy and what ever you can't was difficult and therefore should have been left, which is what you have done!

anju: is it good to learn vocab from barron (gre) word list?
pcr: anju, please look at dome of the earlier posts. In the time left, please bolster vocab thru reading, word lists are not the best way in the little time left

adhithya: sir,iam not quite consistent with my verbal ability (complete para,identifying gramatically correct sentences)inspite of the fact that i have practiced several such questions from previous amcat papers and i have finished studying grammar book for V102
ankur: consistency can be achieved with even more practice!

nag: How to Improve accuracy in RC?? Is it by Reading for more time or by Understanding the Question Properly!!
ankur: reading for more time is not necessarily a good idea. never believe that you cannot do it in less time. put pressure on yourself to finish in less and less time. that will trouble initially but help in the long run. understanding the question is of course importantly. if you do not know what to answer, then HOW can you answer it :)

top10: How does one prepare for the para jumbling and similar questions???
pcr: please check a previous post on this matter

kumar: Sir, is studying word list absolutely necessary?...what difference will it make to our score?....I dont see much importance for it in aimcats
ankur: word list is not necessary. it can help in the long run, but with 2.5 months in front of you, this may not help a lot. reading a lot will certainly help a lot.

manish: Hi sir
ankur: hello - pls ask your question!

chota: Hi Sir, I am getting marks in VA|RC everytime wd 60% accuracy..if i increase my nmbr of attmpts to 18-19..agan 10-11 right 7-8 wrng...if attmpts are near 15..agn 8-9 right..5-6 wrong..wat shld i do
ankur: attempt more ;)

adhithya: PREPARATION TIPS FOR RC
ankur: please follow the other posts on this thread.

bharath: sir in all the aimcats i have attemted 11 verbal questions and i get 6 right and 5 wrong.. should i attend more questions
ankur: study more - that will make u do more questions.

catcracker: Sir , I usually end up with 2 choices in mind for Verbal questions , then I guess due to time constraint and because of this my accuracy falls. Any help on this?
ankur: dont worry - u r doing well. accuracy is not target. higher score is! guess if u are left with 2 choice and are not able to eliminate further.

saikumar: how to prepare for rc in cat cbt to get good marks
ankur: read prev posts on same topic

rajesh: hi sir am an sc student more comfortable with RC but cannot do better in grammar and vocab. how should i improve it?
ankur: do not worry too much about grammar and vocab - just focus on more reading.

rohit: I am not very good at grammar.. but can do well in RC and vocab sections.. I have tried to improve in grammar but all efforts just disappear when I attempt Sentence correction questions.. Is it the right time I should stop working on grammar and focus on my strengths?
ankur: i agree with u

top10: If one has to alot a certain no.of hrs per day for each section, while studying, how much should we give to VA from today?
ankur: depends on ur current and target performance. where u are today and where u want to be determines ur effort!

catcracker: Sir,To edit our profile information is it necessary to buy a new voucher or from 18th we will be allowed to just login and edit??
ankur: u will be allowed to login and edit.

kar: do i need to knw the exact meaning for the word or else apporox guess is enough to find answers in verbal
pcr: guesses won't do, in most cases its the meaning in context that you should be focusing on

saikumar: rc tips especially for cat cbt
pcr: if online reading is your problem, get in some practice. Also develop the habit of making quick and brief notes to be able o keep track of the structure of the passage.

nag: What makes to Clear the Cutoff in Verbal what are the good number of attempts and accuracy to clear the Cutoff in Verbal!!
ankur: not possible to answer based on current info - can be answered only after exam is held!

rajesh: am an sc student..how much percentile do i need to get a call from iims in english and overall?
ankur: can't decide in advance - pls work harder.

manish: Hi Sir .......I belong to OBS category....Is there any resource on net which can tell how much score do you need in all the sections(section wise and overall) to get a call from IIM....let say the scores required by IIMs in 2008 bu OBC candidates
ankur: i presume you are from OBC (not OBS) category. the websites are the websites of the seven iims.

chota: Sir, Regarging B-School forms, I am circumspect about applying for SNAP...PPlsays if u go as a fresher it is pretty good...but for me i will have work ex of TCS of 2.5 yrs till i join...so as an exprncd guy is it wrth to go for symbiosis...
ankur: depends on what u expect - if u expect the moon even IIMs will fail - check ur expectations and visit the place to assess first hand!

watshaker: there are questions in which there is a paragraph given with a blank in the end.What should be the strategy to fill the blank amongst the given options?
ankur: look at over all meaning and tone of para. look at sentences that end the para than just providing a good next line.

rajesh: when am attempting RC whether i ll get all correct or 2/5? how should i improve it?
ankur: learn to eliminate wrong answer by looking at choices.

bsalinferno: hay sir, in vocab sction my accuracy levl in very low its lower thn 50%. So tell me hw cn i increase it??
ankur: don't worry too much about vocab now - focus on reading more.

sam: sir i m preparing from word power made easy for verbal it is going to complete any other i refer except cards to improve my verbal or it is sufficient & know i go for editorial section of TOI work with new words or any other thing that i can do my vocab is very poor i got -2 in verbal section
ankur: u are doing ok but i suggest that u focus on reading more than mugging up words! best of luck. -2 shd not deter you. learn to rise!

guru: I attempt decent no. of QNs in Verbal in the AIMCATs , but my accuracy is below 55%.. pls suggest me a way out(I do considerably well in other 2 sections...)
ankur: improve accuracy by eliminating wrong answers first.

piyush: my accuracy in verbal seems very poor to me . i never get above 50% correct. and i also leave my weak hand grammar. what to do.
ankur: focus on analysis of all ur answers to understand where and why u go wrong and then eliminate that trouble.

guru: I am puzzled as of how to prepare for the RC section, I finally end up answering more no. of Verbal based QNs(attending 1/2 RC passages)in the AIMCATs... pls suggest hw to boost RC prep now?
ankur: 1. continue reading regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

nag: Grammar sometimes is really Confusing and how to go about it to make an accuracy of atleast 70%
ankur: focus on basics. read answers to understand where u went wrong and make sure u don't make that mistake again. analysis of all papers/tests will help a lot.

manish: Hi Sir.....I am targetting IIFt .Please let me know what can be the cracking strategy for IIFT....since there is 150 Qs to be attempted in 120 mins
ankur: strategy does not change ! allocate time in proportion to the marks of the section!

watshaker: i score well in verbal sections but i have a problem with questions dealing with references in RCs. What should i do?
ankur: refer prev post on the same topic

hims: With the change in pattern, do we still need to prepare for vocab? Can we quit the mugging of words from flash cards?
pcr: why are you MUGGING from flash cards anyway? Build vocab through reading, use the flash cards to support that, and to test yourself

rajesh: hi sir right now my score in aim cats vary from 60-80.do i have any chance of making to iims with this score.am sc student
ankur: yes..

kiran: Sir, i have filled in the application correctly with first name and surnames and in the CAT admit form it shows like say (Kiran Podili) Podili being my surname , whereas my 10 th class certificate shows Podili Kiran.Does it going to make any difference ? Pls tell me..........
ankur: check with iim website and prometric!

hyc9p058: hi sir ...how will be the rc's pattern will it be like the gre pattern given at side of screen and any tips for rc's when attempted on cbt
pcr: please have a look at the demo on application website, for tips look at the previous posts on this chat

chota: Sir...my percentiles were prvsly cnsistnt frm 87-92.93 for 5-6 mocks..but suddenly..it had a dip...now m getting from 75-85....m not sure how to go for it now...and due to my work timings..m not able to attend classes regularly..so instead i try to give watever time i get at home..rather thn gng to classes........m not sure how to proceed from now
ankur: percentiles are a factor of your work and others' work. if others study and you don't then you'll fall behind! study more regularly!

naresh: sir i'm scoring poorly in verbal (around 10 marks) ..........Can i get good marks in cat09 if i prepare from now
ankur: yes - focus on reading - that will give the most benefit in the remaining time.

vijay: in my school leaving certificate my name is VIJAY N.But while filling the CAT application, I gave my name as VIJAY NAGARAJAN giving NAGARAJAN as surname.Should i chnage it to VIJAY N or leave it as it is?i know this is the wrong question now.But Plz answer my question?
ankur: check with prometric and iims - seems unlikely that u will be able to edit name....

hims: How to prepare for grammer? I learned all the rules but still facing difficulty in questions...guide me plz
ankur: what kind of difficulty? is it that you get answers wrong? then pratice more. if you cannot understand the answer even after looking at the solution, then basics are weak and need to be refreshed.

guru: My full name is: Sriharsha.K.V I don't have a SURNAME... as surname was mandatory I entered the following... Hope it is proper? First name: Sriharsha Surname: K.V
ankur: looks ok - check with prometric and iim website and help line number.

nikhil: SIR only two months are left hardly ... how to improve my RC and verbal.. I always get very low marks in rc .. last cat i got only 71.8 percentile while in di and quant it was above 98.. leading to no calls from any of the iim . also my joining in the company is from 30 sep so how should i tackle the problem
pcr: nikhil there is an earlier post, about 8 or 10 below, meant for someone like you. Have a look

abhushan: I have been taking the AIMCATS regularly and in addition to it the MC's and the CRT's that are uploaded on the student page. Initially for a few aimcats i scored well in the VA but for the recent ones i havent been able to score well in this section. I have had a accuracy of well below 60% for the past 2 AIMCATs, what could i do to get an improvement in this section??
ankur: get ur confidence back by looking at your aimcats where u got good score and compare them to the ones where u fared badly. see WHY you are getting the mistakes and remove that problem!

watshaker: The questions dealing with Inferences & judgement are extremely tricky.What should be the possible strategy to get them?
ankur: "this room is uncomfortable" - judgment. "because there is no AC here, there are 50 people in this room and all doors and windows are closed, so this room is uncomfortable" - inference. the basic difference is that an opinion which is unsubstantiated is J, but a substantiated opinion is I.

kumar: Sir,lets say, in cat 09, i just cleared cutoff in two sections and scored high in the third section....resulting in overall 99+ percentile will i get an iim call
ankur: difficult to say what criteria will IIMs be using this year. in past years, sometimes IIMs have given calls based on this logic and sometimes not so not possible to say with any confidence.

mittal: sir i m trying to prepare hard for the verbal ability section but it is not improving .last year i have given cat08 and scored more than 99.5 in maths and di but in english just 23 marks.this year i need atleast 99 in english but it looks impossible.what should i do sir? i have started augmenting vocab,i m also giving a verbal test daily on time portal but score varies from 10 to 25(out of 60)
ankur: i suggest that u speak to a senior faculty member at ur time center to improve. AND, WITH THAT FRIENDS, WE WIND UP THIS EVENING'S CHAT - BEST OF LUCK EVERYONE FOR CAT....CHAK DE!

sc student: AM TAKING TEN MIN TO COMPLETE THE RC INCLUDING ANSWERING.IS IT OK OR DO I NEED TO COMPLETE IT MUCH FASTER?
pcr: 10 mins an RC is not too bad, but if you can lop a minute or 2 off that, that would be even better. Familiarity with content is the key. Please keep reading - a variety of stuff !

nag: Can you Plz suggest me best way of answering RC Questions!!
ankur: eliminate all wrong ones and then focus on the remaining ones to choose the best one. more tan one answers may be correct. the answer you should mark is the one that is BEST.

sam: plz give few points while solving para jamble i.e. any sequence to keep in mind which para will come first ,which in last. so, that i can catch right one.
pcr: sam, you should track thoughtflow to deal with para jumbles. A quick read of all sentences gives you a rough idea of what the author intends to convey. Spot the opening sentence that would bring the topic into focus. Establish links through (i) tracking thoughtflow (ii) using grammar to establish pointers. Eliminate choices as the links become clear to you. Look up the 'paragraph writing' chapter in the composition segment of a grammar and composition text book. That will help, too.

amru: hello sir, how to improve verbal section?
ankur: various answers are available - please read each to get tips.

sri: Is there any chances to concentrate on particular part such as rc or grammar to cross atleast cut off marks
ankur: not possible to predict as paper pattern is unknown.

sc student: DOES 85 PECENTILE FETCH ME ANY IIMS? ME AN SC STUDENT
ankur: no idea about this year's cutoffs. check last year's from the IIMs website.

watshaker: How much accuracy should be there in VA section??
pcr: to achieve a good percentile there must be as much accuracy in VA as possible. Please concentrate on this segment as much as on the others

jv: among rc and eu..which should be attempted more sir?
pcr: if you are reasonably well prepared (backed by a reasonably regular reading habit) the eu questions should actually be quicker to do, since you'll be clear of what you know and what you don't know. But, while those may be answered quicker, don't ignore RC, that's what seperates the adults from the kids !!

piyush: i have added aroun 600 new words in my vocab. what must be my aim of how many word list till the commencement of CAT.
pcr: piyush, don't wory about the number of words, just keep adding whatever you come across in your continued reading. Read a variety of stuff.

amru: how should score 4 verbal section to get call frm IIM?
ankur: no idea. this is dependent on paper's difficulty level, no of questions in english section, marks for questions etc. no one can speculate!

sravs: i am so panic after vocab class every class why because i didnt answer atleast one question in class upto now.but i want improve (perfect)my english can u plz tel me how to do that?
ankur: don't panic! start working in a methodical manner. make vocab diary. mark words and check from dictionary. that will help!

catcracker: Sir I find that i do well in PP Aimcats, Average in Online ones but bit low in Invigilated ones? Any idea why this happens? Pls help Sir.
ankur: scores will be generally less since CBT wastes some time. but percentiles will be around the same since everyone faces this trouble

sc student: HOW MANY QUESTIONS DO I NEED TO ATTEMPT IN TOTAL? IF MY ACCURACY IS 60%
ankur: as many as possible!! :)

dolly: till now im unable to score good percentile in aim cat,so my moral is going down,wat to do??????????
pcr: dolly, don't let your morals go down, ever !! as for your MORALE - keep working, keep your chin up, do your best. Yes, it's an important exam, but it's not the End Of The World !!

sun080489: sir my aimcat verbal PERCENTILESs are--amicat16,14,13,12------81,89,58,82,,,,what should i donow on to get above 95%,,,please help me since my quant and di are weak
ankur: proper selection of easy questions by allocating time in proportion to the marks....that will make u choose the easy ones and leave the difficult ones. approach a time center for further counseling. study and devote a lot more time to maths and di than english....u need marks there too!

sandeep: Sir, suggest me how to start basic preparation for verbal? i m poor at verbal.
ankur: 1. don't worry too much for vocab. 2. brush up grammar using the material 3. READING widely will help you improve RC and VA. lot of VA is dependant on reading, so with 2.5 months to go for CAT, reading will give more benefit than doing lot of vocab and grammar now.

guru: As of now my AIMCAT percentiles vary b/w 86-93(5 AIMCATs)... how do you see my chance gettin into IIMs... How much shud one be gettin in AIMCATs to be on a confident side of gettin to IIMs??
ankur: i think these are excellent scores. please keep working hard....u will surely succeed!

sachin: sir....how to read fast on PC...because speed & conc matter. tell me how to be focus more because bit deviation while reading messsed all workk....
ankur: read more articles on PC. make them same size and same font as CAT demo. that will help. read ebooks similarly.

sam: i m frm far flung area so it difficult for me to go to time center at off class days so i cannot communicat in english and this made my verble section poor what should i do for this
pcr: A final word to Sam AND TO EVERYONE ELSE - you do have access to the net. You'll find a lot of references to suitable websites in previous posts. Have a look at those. There have also been various suggestions made in previous posts on all VA and RC aspects. Please spend some time, go over them, and implement them with immediate effect. You haven't too much time left - give it everything you've got !! All the best !

piyush: I attempt decent no. of QNs in Verbal in the AIMCATs , but my accuracy is below 50%.. pls suggest me a way out(I do considerably well in other 2 sections...)
ankur: refer prev post on the same topic

ss: Sir, how to improve accuracy in Verbal. My accuracy is below 50 % but i clear cutoffs.Pls help ?
ankur: refer prev post on the same topic

badri: Sir what can be done in these 2 months. Please adivice
pcr: Badri, and anyone else with the same query - if you haven't already started preparing, then there's no time for extensive work. Please do intensive work - go through our VO books, cover all the practice exercises in the SMs, try all the tests, and try to identify areas of weakness for concentrated work. Also, PRAY ! If you have been preparing for some time, use your general reading for application of your grammar learning and reasoning practice, apart from continued vocab building and RC practice

nag: If there are 3 RCs given what are the Steps to Select an easy Passage Quickly!! Does it help or is waste of time!!
ankur: scan first+last line of each para - that gives a good idea abt difficulty level of passage. look at questions difficulty by judging whether question is direct or indirect. (indirect ask to to understand and infer; they ask you to read between the lines, direct ask you to base your answer on what is written). choose passages with direct questions over indirect even if they seem to be from tough passages. answer selectively the direct ones by looking at questions first and then searching for relevant info from the passage. inferential questions can be answered by reading passage first and then answering questions later.

lakshman: sir, can u just brief it out how many questions out of 30 should be correct to clear the cut-off
ankur: not possible to answer based on current info - can be answered only after exam is held!

watshaker: The Verbal section takes less time than the others, wiil it help if i attempt more questions in this particular section?
ankur: yes!

cattie: sir how is a score of 118 in aimcat 1011?
ankur: good

saikumar: tips for rc while doing computer based cat test it will difficult to read the question and scroll the mouse for searching answer from passages how can i remove such difficulties while doing online cat? plz its major problem for us
pcr: note-making !! see previous posts on this chat

abhushan: Sir now that the CAT is online and we have been giving the paper mostly on a physical medium (pen paper format) till recently, it is a little difficult to get the gist of the RC passages while reading them without underlining... we tend to forget the main theme sometimes as the passage moves forward... Is there something that we can also do in addition to extensive and quick reading?
ankur: it is just a myth that u tend to forget. it is the same thing! just read more and u will get it!

anirudh: sir, do the questions that say find the logical sentence that must follow be attempted? I invariably get them wrong! I land up attempting RC's to cover up for them.
ankur: get a faculty member's help for the same. and dont leave them - they could be easy too!

dolly: im unable to recognise my strong part?wid math im very much scared.in english what aproach isod take,i think ican do english better
ankur: strong part is where u get the best percentile in proportionate time.

sachin: wat is the right way to answer rc.. reading qns first..or reading paassage than come to qns
pcr: read the passage, there's no other way. Reading the questions first is only a LAST-DITCH method, when you have abs no time left

watshaker: Can match the following sort of questions be expected in Cat9?
pcr: Not very likely BUT YOU NEVER KNOW ! Please go prepared for anything

catcracker: Sir but "this room is uncomfortable" can also be a FACT right?
ankur: no it is an opinion of disapproval.

sandeep: sir, any pariticular book required for vebal preparation? how many hours i should spend every day to click cat?
ankur: no - time material is sufficient. time required each day for cat prep is 2-3 hours for cat10

chota: Is regular practice of various RCs ,parajumbles and verbal sort of qstns from various sources possible,enough to crack this section ..and please atleast how much time should be devoted daily.........
ankur: 1. yes 2. as much as you can.

hims: With the change in pattern, do we still need to prepare for vocab? Can we quit the mugging of words from flash cards?
ankur: vocab - yes, why not!?! pls don't mug up words from flash - u shd not have done it in the past too! flash cards are for checking ur progress, not memorising at all!

nag: What is the best way of maximizing Scores in Verbal by allocating a time of 50 minutes.Please give me the time distribution!!
ankur: start with VA go to RC later. allocate time in proportion to the marks of the questions. if time is leftover in VA section, transfer extra time to RC.

ank24: what will be the expected cutoff in this section as questions are fewer??
ankur: not possible to answer based on current info - can be answered only after exam is held!

catmania: Since the VA questions in cat 09 are bound to be in the range of 25-30, how many attempts or marks should one secure to 99%tile ingoring the difficulty level of papers in cat 09.
ankur: not possible - u r wasting ur time in speculation - pls study :)

watshaker: Will there be more no of questions in VA this year also?Many say that iims give more weightage to VA?
ankur: no idea - ur guess is as good as mine :)

avi: Sir, since vocab is one part where u can actualy end up answering all the questions, how many attempts do u feel should be ok for a very good score in VA in this years CAT
ankur: no idea! attempts/score depend on paper's difficulty level, no of questions in english section, marks for questions etc. no one can speculate!

cattie: sir what should b the time distribution between rc and va
ankur: proportionate to the marks. extra time generally is available in VA - transfer that to RC.

meenu: Hello sir...What is the minimum no. of questions to be attended in verbal,to guarantee a vhigh score?.I feel comfortable with verbal section,but sometimes attending some 15 questions or so,in 30 mins,drastically affects my accuracy.
pcr: meenu, if you're attempting 15 in 30 mins, you do need to speed up and try to deal with at least 5 or 6 more

nanu: sir i hav compeleted my basic frm material of quant sm1010010 & sm101009 and also frm survesh kumar only concepet review exercise now can i directly go for aimcat analyis without going for excersie portion
ankur: not a good idea. do all exercises. otherwise u are trying to jump from 2nd floor to 5th floor directly.

kumar: sir,how and what content to read...just books or magazines or newspapers...to improve va percentile
ankur: time material, books, magazines, newspapers.

sandeep: which grammer book will be good one?
ankur: V102.

watshaker: No of options this year would be interesting?Will there be a variable no of options in coming AIMCATS or ull stick to the stratergy of 5 options only?
pcr: as always, the aimcats will continue to be designed to keep you on your toes !!

amru: I AM VERY WEAK IN GRAMMER , so how i improve grammer questions? my answers were wrong, in kind of incorrect sentences//
ankur: please read prev post on the same topic.

catcracker: Sir, will it be enough to solve the previous question papers and analyse them- For verbal section? Instead of learning the entire material now?
pcr: solving papers is good practice, whether they're old or current - but please remember it's the basics that you're putting to practice. So, please ensure, even at this stage, that you do enough to have those in place.

haritha: SIR...HOW SHOLD I IMPROVE MY VOCAB...I M READING THE WORDS BUT UNABLE TO REMEMBER THEM...?
pcr: you'll remember words and meaning better when you recall them in their context, or try to use them in appropriate sentences. Merely memorizing meanings will not do

nanu: it is going difficult for me to understand the rc , some times i m not able to understand the sentance what it is saying so how to improve my reading and vocab
ankur: 1. continue reading regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

jv: say 30 qst s gonna be the verbal pattern (for ex)..how many qst must one attempt?is there any upper limit to be on t sfe side?
ankur: not possible to answer based on current info - can be answered only after exam is held!

avi: is there any special trick in online format for RCs, my accuracy has gone for a toss in online format RCs.
ankur: no special trick - stop worrying and start believing that this is the same thing!

nanu: sir plz tell me some good books for vocabs or for verble section cards are going difficult for me to lear
ankur: 1. dont learn from cards. 2. use them to check progress. 3. word power made easy, all about words are good books.

sg: would reading novels help at this stage or should i stick to reading editorials and online articles which i do regularly?
pcr: while reading novels is fine otherwise, please don't make that your primary method now. Newspapers, magazines and online reading (sites like aldaily.com)

nag: At Present my accuracy is 35% in Verbal What is the Best way of Improving it in 2 Months time!! ( Eg: 7 out of 20 ) making the total score decreasing drastically inspite of Spending 55 min for the Section. Could you Please suggest me any tips to Improve my Accuracy effectively and Quickly!!
ankur: analysis of wrong answers - find out yourself and with the help of the solutions as to where are you going wrong. eliminate those causes....and u can increase accuracy!

sandeep: sir, which newspaper and magzine we must read from cat point of view?
ankur: TOI, HT, HINDU are all good. read MBA E&C from T.I.M.E. and also frontline, outlook, india-today, the week etc.

meenu: How to improve on english usage?.In RC,many times,i get confused with two options,and choose the wrong one.How to improve in both the sections?
ankur: both answered earlier - read prev posts on the thread.

rohit: Sir i just want to ask u how many rcs one must attempt to ensure good marks in verbal section together with the vocab portion?
ankur: not possible to answer based on current info - can be answered only after exam is held!

jaggu: sir by mistake i have entered wrong name in cat application but realized after that so please give any suggestion so that i can proceed
ankur: u can't change name even in editing mode - pls buy new voucher.

chiru: sir is there any use of cramming vocab??
ankur: very low benefit - reading is more beneficial.

sur: sir isnt word list necessary for fill in the blanks and words often confused kind of questions??????
ankur: good but not necessary - certainly not at this stage - with 2.5 months focus on reading, not on vocab only.

watshaker: What percentile score range should i end upon from now onwards im AiMcats to be relatively safe?
ankur: depends on targetted institutes.

sandeep: i have 2 yr gap. no job exp... if i will get good percentile.. is my yr gap will make ny problem for me to get iims?
ankur: not if u can explain the gap

catcracker: Sir suggest any good material for the advice/advise type of questions pls
pcr: there are quite a few paperbacks on words often confused. See if you can find MisNomer's. There are websites that help, too. Seek (google) and thou shalt find!!

chiru: sir i m gud only in rc..i tried alot..but still strugling with grammer part..so wt shud b my strategy while attempting aimcats these days??
ankur: play to your strength but do not neglect weakness. prepare for it right now and have a look during the exam - do whatever u can and leave the rest!

nag: How to learn 2000 words in 2 months!! Could you Please tell me the Best way of doing it!! Generally how many times revision is necessary to make the word Ours..
ankur: not necessary to do that to crack CAT. reading is more important than mugging up words only!

neha: I realize that the sentence correction is a problem for me sometimes.Quite a few attempts go wrong.Could you plz suggest..
ankur: what kind of problem? is it that you get answers wrong? then pratice more. if you cannot understand the answer even after looking at the solution, then basics are weak and need to be refreshed.

sandeep: sir, how many hours i must spend every day if im going to crack 2010 cat from now on wards .bcoz im a avg. standard student.. can u suggest me the right way?
ankur: 2-3 hours every day without miss. the right way is to make a Timetable and stick to it. read every thing regularly. never bunch preparation of one area. be in touch with all areas on a weekly/fortnightly basis.

abhushan: My attempt in VA section is around 50-70% depending on the difficulty level, but many a times i end up losing more mrks on RC when i try to read between the lines for the RC, we dont get direct questions more often so its quite diheartening to get the mental map of the RC but end up on the wrong side of the line. What could be done for improving on this ?? please advice!
ankur: dont be disheartened.....u r doing the right things...direct questions are generally less but can increase - if not, do whatever u can...

cat: i scored 84 in the previous cat with 99% in maths , 74%ile in verbal . Can i clear cat
ankur: yes you can!

sur: sir can i get aimcat 08 papers from time... pls answer sir. thanks
ankur: check with ur center - library may have them.

krish-cat: sir,if we start prep from now,is it sufficient to get 95+% given i am at 60-70% region in verbal,should be do those bulky rc basics book?
ankur: yes - u can reach 95%ile+ yes u shd do the bulky RC books :)

saikumar: how to crack good marks while doing reading comprehension in online cat exam.plz send reply its major problem for us
ankur: read more on computer to build familiarity with medium..

harika: sir, how to improve marks in Usage related questions? and i am getting confused in particularly "the same word used in many contexts,pick out the inappropriate option?" and facing problem with fill in the blanks...in these areas i have pure accuracy....how can i improve sir?
ankur: for fill in the blanks - improve your logic. improving vocab is of course a better idea but for that time is not available now. for usage - reading habit is a good idea which can help a lot. there is no single book that can help you with usage :(

nag: What kind of Practice for 2 Months could make One Completely Comfotable in Verbal assuming a Present Percentile of 40-50
ankur: please read other answers on this forum - already answered.

sandeep: sir is it really possible to crack IIMs at one chance with year gap 2 years and no job exp.. if ny one get99+ percentile..
ankur: yes! why not!!?!

catmania: Hi sir, i have scored 49 in VA section in aimcat 1011. considering this(1011) as cat 09, is this score enough to clear cutoffs. If so how much percentile?
ankur: check the cut off from the website - that shd help you!!

cat: in order to improve my score in the verbal section , what should i refer ??
ankur: TIME material. newspapers. magazines. non-fiction books.

naren: I cant understand the grammatical error so u pls suggest me how to improve my grammar
pcr: naren, there's a previous post on the grammar areas that you should focus on. have a look. Also, please look up sentence structure (main clauses and sub clauses and phrases, and try to implement that recognition when you consider a sentence. It will be easier to spot the errors then

m a n i: sir, i do good in quant and di section...but keep flunking in verbal section always...my score is almost always 50% of what i attend.. like in one aimcat i got 5 right 5 wrong, next time i wrote 16- 8 right 8 wrong, next time 18, 9 right,9 wrong...can u suggest me where and how i should improve?
ankur: where ever you get right analyse WHY you got that question right. where ever you go wrong, analyse WHY you went wrong. compare and apply the learnings to the wrong questions. accuracy will increase slowly but surely!

sandeep: if im not geeting IIMS whtr the good private college ...???
ankur: check website - it has the list of top 130 colleges.

bharath: pls reply.. do i have t clear sectional cutoff for BIM
ankur: check "mandatory disclosure" document at BIM website.

indneed308: Hi there. Plz tell me first reading the RC then going through the ques is good or scaning the ques through the RC is a gud one
pcr: have a look at a recent post on the same matter

iimahm: Sir I have scored 19 marks in Verbal(with accuracy 84.33) in last Aimcat12(This is my highest score in VA till now in compared to any Aimcat).This accuracy and marks only obtained only because i give maximum time to each question......(i not attempted single question of Reading Comprehension) Can u tell me what approach should i followed to improve attempts with same or more accuracy that i obtained in Verbal in Aimcat 12
ankur: reading more will improve reading speed and comprehension/accuracy.

s: sir, as per my aimcats i have seen that i am having arnd 70% accuracy in RC's ,do how can i increase my score and how to prepare for other verbal questions such as homonyms,grammer questions???
ankur: work harder along existing lines. work on basics to improve other areas.

chaitu: sir can u suggest few things to look out for while identifying the sentences which r incorrect in terms of usage
ankur: common errors are missing article, wrong article, use of article when none required, missing preposition, wrong preposition, use of preposition when not required, phrasal verbs. doing these portions of grammar will cover 80% of all questions.

vanshabhatia: is there different cut offs required in verbal section ? for example do we need to attempt 2-3 RC passages and Verbal ability both. or if we attempt only verbal ability questions and reach the cut off marks ...is it okay if we don't attempt RC passages ? or is it required that we have to attempt atleast 2-3 passages ? please advise.
ankur: as of now there are no sub-sectional cutoffs. but pls attempt whatever u can. the toughest VA is generally more tough than the easiest RC so you will make a mistake if you do not attempt any one section at all!

hemanth: Hi Iam getting around 15-25 marks even if i spend 1:30 mins for english paper even if iam concentrating in the exam iam unable to get the answers write could you please tell me how to prepare ?
ankur: 1. read regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

sandeep: what is the proper way to start prepare for on line CAT?
pcr: hopefully you've been preparing for the cat anyway. please continue with what you've been doing. for the online bit put in some practice with online reading, and try all our online tests.

abhushan: This answer to this question varies from person to person.. but what could be the proper time allocation for the RC's, because RC's eat up a lot of my time?
ankur: time has to be proportionate to marks - that is the only thing that is constant!

sur: sir what should be the target time in which one rc should be completed whatever may be the difficulty level
pcr: sur, have a look at a prevous post on this matter

sandeep: for on line cat is it necessary to have pratice on pc.. or net... reading RC... GIVE SOME TIPS FOR RC SECTION?
pcr: sandeep, it will help to do some online reading regularly. Look at the RC links on the CAT students' home page. You could also visit aldaily.com

hemanth: Sir My name in school leaving certificate is P Hemanth Kumar Reddy and in the application form i filled it like Hemanth Kumar Reddy P will it make any difference
ankur: u can edit the form from 18th sept-8th oct. try then. if not able to edit name then contact prometric.

nag: In General What would be the Cutoff in Verbal for an Easy, Moderate and Difficult and a Very Difficult Paper in terms of Percentage of Total Marks....
ankur: not possible to answer your question.

rohan: Sir, I not so good at Strategizing.....first problem is not able to manage time and some times end up at lot many wrong answers....
ankur: distribute time in proportion to the marks of questions. that is strategy!

jv: is it necessary to go thr barrons word list and others sir?
pcr: jv, have a look at the previous posts

deeps: is there anything like freshers have less chances of clearing CAT in one go?
ankur: don't believe everything u hear! :)

aviste: SIR I AM ABLE TO SOLVE ALL KIND OF VERBAL QUESTIONS BUT FAILING IN RC SECTION PLS GIVE ME SOME ADVICE
ankur: 1. continue reading regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

m a n i: is there any specific part of our verbal material i need to practice well sir? to maximise our score... i am really not trying memorising words... i prefer grammar and rc instead
ankur: prepare everything. you never know what comes in the paper. so u cannot focus on one thing only!

mayu: I solved exercise 40 and 42 from SM101004 related to sentence correction. And I come to know that I am getting confused in it. And couldn't solve more than 1 question also. Can I leave it? But now questions are less in online cat. So I can not take such dangerous risk. So please help me, how can I improve it.
pcr: mayu, please look at a couple of previous posts on grammar

sunny: how could we avoid so much fluctuations in marks in verbal section
ankur: no one can avoid :)

rishabh: sir while attempting the questions I am often confused between 2 close options. So should Itake a chance or leave that question?
pcr: rishabh, if it's rc you're referring to, it probably because you're zeroing in on one sentence or idea for the answer and not looking at it in the context of foregoing and succeeding sentences. Please be critical in your reading

indneed308: Hi there. Plz tell me considering aimcat 1011 which has 3 RC's , the expected time to solve each RC respectively acc to u??????? I m usually taking 10 to 15 min for a RC n also my accuracy is around 50% in RC. What are the steps to improve my accuracy in this
ankur: 1. continue reading regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

leonidas: I am reading barron's for my vocab...wll that suffice?
ankur: not too much time for barron's now for CAT09. focus on reading more.

pri: sir,how many rc's have to be attempted to clear the cut off?
ankur: not possible to predict since total no of RCs is not known and what is difficulty level of paper and contribution of RCs to verbal section is also not clear. not possible to answer your question!

robin: There r good chances that many students may purchase many vouchers n give CAT more than once??? No body gonna find them....Your take on this????
ankur: low chance. bio-metric scanning etc will catch them.

haritha: SIR..CAN U SUGGEST ME SOME ARTICLES WHERE I CAN GET TIPS TO IMPROVE IN RC AND PARAJUMBLES
ankur: read answers here on the same topic.

indneed308: Plz suggest me a book to improve my grammer part
pcr: any good high school grammar text will do. In fact we've given you one in the VO books. However, please apply you grammar preparation, once in a while, to the reading that you do.

pri: sir how much time should one spend on each rc's in order to clear the cutoff with 100% accuracy.
ankur: normally 10 mins is fine. dont target 100% accuracy. it is more imp to get highest possible score, even if that means sacrificing accuracy.

cattie: sir which should be preferred--accuracy or higher attempts?my accuracy is 66%only but i get 55+ scores in va in all aimcats.
ankur: highest possible score is the only priority. whether u get that from low attempt+high accuracy or low accuracy+high attempt is up to you. do 3-4 paper with each style to check what gives u highest scores. that is ur preferred style.

cats: sir i can's t select the easy ques on verbal !!!! what's the approach to this ???
ankur: easy = that takes less time. allocate time in proportion to the marks. whatever you can solve in the given time was easy and what ever you can't was difficult and therefore should have been left, which is what you have done!

mahesh: sir , i am not able to solve the verbal section mainly i do mistakes in sentence correction and other parts og the grammer . how can i improve this one
ankur: focus on basics. read answers to make sure u understand the solution approach.

adi: Sir, is there any need to read novels n other litratures to improve vacab?
ankur: yes - this helps improve comprehension.

c2: what was the sectional cut off for verbal last year for iims?
ankur: all iims had different cutoffs - check their websites.

jyo: helo sir, i have started study just a weak ago, n working also, cal you please tel me,how to prepare for verbal, i mean how to study? and wat to study?
pcr: jyo, please check a previous post where a similar question was answered.

deepak: sir, how gud is to make a guess when u know two of the options out of four are incorrect?
ankur: yes!

cats: sir my accuracy in RC is like nill ??? and i get frustrated with this !! Although i read many passages online !!!!! please sugest me what to do ???
ankur: 1. continue reading regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

mayu: I solved exercise 40 and 42 from SM101004 related to sentence correction. And I come to know that I am getting confused in it. And couldn't solve more than 1 question also. Can I leave it? But now questions are less in online cat. So I can not take such dangerous risk. So please help me, how can I improve it.
ankur: approach a faculty member for the same...

kk: pls refer some resources to improve rc on diverse topics other than magportal n time
ankur: there are various kinds of websites that i can recommend to u. u are free to choose based on what u like (do read) and what u don't like (read ever more so that u are comfortable with new areas) 1. nytimes.com - new york times 2. guardian.co.uk - guardian of UK 3. newscientist.com - the world's best science mag 4. hinduonnet.com - hindu 5. blonnet.com - hindu business line 6. atimes.com - asia times - fantastic articles on geo-politics 7. rediff.com - interesting and easy to read business section, which is borrowed from www.business-standard.com 8. www.delanceyplace.com - great daily article 9. en.wikipedia.org - great to build background understanding of topics. 10. www.aldaily.com - good articles! u can choose to read ebooks also...... type "project gutenberg" in google and u will have more things to choose from than u can ever imagine

nag: What if some of the words in RC are not familiar and struckup in the middle due to lack of Understanding of Unfamiliar words!! what could be the best Strategy here to adopt because generally these are the type of words which gives the tone and essence of the passage.Plz suggest me a Best Strategy to Handle it!!!
pcr: nag, that's one of the things they're testing!! Please pay attention to the vocab development thru reading, and read a variety of stuff

abhushan: My attempt in VA section is around 50-70% depending on the difficulty level, but many a times i end up losing more mrks on RC when i try to read between the lines for the RC, we dont get direct questions more often so its quite diheartening to get the mental map of the RC but end up on the wrong side of the line!! Could you please advise on this?
ankur: i suggest u analyse passages after the test to get a hang of how good writing is done. that is the only piece of advice i can give!

rishabh: plz suggest how to improve my reading speed on computer
pcr: answered you already ! lots of practice, and quick note-making

kk: suggest some best sites to have vocab with usage
ankur: www.m-w.com

saransh: sir,in rc i have a very good accuracy and in grammar and vocab part it depends whether i have seen the usage or not.so what should be my strategy to maximize verbal score?
ankur: becoming more and more familiar with written word - read extensively...

rohan: My accuracy in RC is fine....can you suggest any thing which will improve my accuracy in other sections.
ankur: reading more will help even in VA.

catcracker: Sir pls suggest good sites for variety reading.
ankur: read prev answer on the same topic.

indneed308: Hello sir , my vocab is not so good so i hav started continually reading TOI's editorial page and also some novels like Pride and Prejudice n also Shiv Khera's You Can Win. I m proving myself in this way. Is this procedure is Ok with the CAT'09 , considerng me as a below average in vocab. What are more steps to be taken according to u
pcr: you're doing what's appropriate for the little time left. Keep at it, and stop worrying !

cats: right sir. but at the time of exam mainly talking about RC's my accuracy is just around 20-30% . Sir what to do ??? I read passages on comp. but i have the prob of comprehending the matter also. So acc to u should i practice online or offline ???/
ankur: practice both offline and online - CAT is online but others are not!

shail: sir,when solving selective rc passages which are relatively easier is it good option to try to answer all questions in it or attempt max no of passage and anser selective questions in them?
ankur: second one makes more sense...

sg: I read online articles and editorials on a regular basis. Would you suggest reading novels at this stage or any particular genre of articles.
pcr: sg, see a previous post on this matter

sowmya: Sir! in my school leaving certificate my name is mentioned as G.SOWMYA and in my slot booking i have entered it as SOWMYA G because surname was asked in fullname surname sequence.Is it ok or Should i take another voucher or can i edit it in the same thing?Pls guide me sir
ankur: check with prometric!

abhushan: Is reading magazines lik Reader's digest and Frontline helpful in practicing for the RC's?
ankur: yes!

aj: "read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers" U mentioned this in the replies.. can you please detail it better, coz am not able to understand exactly what we r supposed to do ? pls answr sir coz am very weak in R.C ?
ankur: 1. read regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article

abhishek saxena: sir i take a lot of time in reading passages how should i improve, i'm regularly reading newspaper books etc but just can't speed up?
ankur: 1. read regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

sandeep: which dictionary will be good one? how mny words per day is required to learn for CAT?
ankur: any will do. oxford is good. dont focus now on words for CAT09. focus on reading. for CAT10, try around 10 words a day!

g_joshi22: Hello sir! The major problem that I am facing regarding verbal section is the vocabulary. Sir, I am not able to make out the meaning of the given word and it is cumbersome to mug each and every word. What should I do also regarding abstract topics in RC's like psychology etc how should i approach plz advice
ankur: a. don't try to mug up words!!! b. For tough RC - 1. continue reading regularly. read widely and read new topics on a regular basis 2. underline difficult words, check their meaning from a dictionary at the end of reading the article/passage 3. Re-read the passage/article when solving passages - please solve first and then analyse using the same technique. read, underline, check, re-read and then re-check answers to get confidence that your answers match the given answers.

kk: pls suggest some memory enhancing teliques for vocab
pcr: KK, check a few previous posts on this mater

cats: right sir. but at the time of exam mainly talking about RC's my accuracy is just around 20-30% . Sir what to do ??? I read passages on comp. but i have the prob of comprehending the matter also. So acc to u should i practice online or offline ???/
ankur: online offline does not matter. u need to pratice in general. please check previous posts on how to improve RC.