The CET 2012 paper which was held on 11^th March, 2012 bore more than a fleeting resemblance to the CET 2010 paper. Our students who went to write the test expecting a repeat of last year’s horror show were pleasantly surprised to find that CET did not have any such pitfalls this year. This can be attributed to the type of questions which were asked regularly in the AIMCETs conducted by T.I.M.E. and also in the preparatory material and handouts. Any candidate who had prepared diligently in addition to attending our workshops would have found the going very easy. It’s almost as if CET knew that it was breathing its last, and so decided to resist the students’ attempts in a peaceful manner instead of behaving aggressively.

CET 2012 Paper Pattern

Total Number of Questions: 200

Total Time allotted: 150 minutes

No. of Choices per question: 5 choices

Negative Marks: No negative marking

Number of Sections: No sections – jumbled paper

Q Nos	Area	Type of Question	Level of Difficulty
1 to 5	Verbal Ability	Reading Comprehension	Moderate
6 to 11	Analytical Reasoning	Deductions	Easy
12 to 16	Analytical Reasoning	Number Series	Moderate
17 to 21	Verbal Ability	Phrase Replacement	Moderate
22 to 26	Data Sufficiency	Logic based DS with two statements	Moderate
27 to 33	Analytical Reasoning	Mathematical Statements and Conclusions	Moderate
34 to 38	Data Interpretation	Line graph : % of profit for A and B from 2005 to 2011	Moderate
39 to 40	Verbal Reasoning	Inference and Parallel Example	Moderate
41 to 45	Non Verbal Reasoning	Series : Five Figure series - Find the missing figure	Moderate
46 to 50	Verbal Ability	Error Spotting : Inappropriate usage or incorrect spelling	Easy
51 to 55	Verbal Ability	Para jumble	Moderate
56 to 62	Analytical Puzzles	Eight people sitting around a square table	Moderate
63 to 68	Quantitative Ability	Quantitative Comparison	Easy
69	Quantitative Ability	Geometry	Easy
70	Quantitative Ability	Permutation and Combination	Easy
71 to 73	Verbal Reasoning	Strengthen the argument + Reason for a statement + Conclusion	Moderate
74	Verbal Reasoning	Logical Interpretation	Moderate
75	Verbal Reasoning	Inference	Moderate
76 to 80	Verbal Ability	Cloze passage	Easy
81 to 82	Data Sufficiency	Quant based DS with two statements	Moderate
83	Quantitative Ability	Time and Distance	Easy
84 to 86	Non Verbal Reasoning	Series : Five Figure series - Find the missing figure	Moderate
87 to 89	Non Verbal Reasoning	Series : Five Figure series - Find the next figure	Moderate
90 to 95	Quantitative Ability	Probability, Equation, SI/CI, Equation, LCM concept	Moderate
96 to 100	Verbal Ability	Cloze passage	Easy
101 to 102	Analytical Reasoning	Direction Sense	Easy
103 to 109	Non Verbal Reasoning	Analogy : 4 Figures	Moderate
110 to 111	Non Verbal Reasoning	Series : Five Figure series - find the next figure	Difficult
112 to 114	Quantitative ability	Time and work, Equations, Time and Distance	Easy
115 to 119	Data Interpretation	Pie Chart : % of employees across various departments Table : % of men in each department	Moderate
120 to 124	Verbal Ability	Combine 2 sentences to form a coherent starting point	Moderate
125 to 129	Verbal Ability	Synonyms & Antonyms	Easy
130 to 136	Analytical Puzzles	Circular Arrangement : not everyone facing the center	Difficult
137 to 141	Data Interpretation	Table : No of Outlets, Average Sales per outlet, Total Profit	Moderate
142 to 146	Analytical Reasoning	Venn Diagram : No. of projects handled - Sanjana, Rahul,Trupti	Easy
147 to 151	Verbal Ability	Reading Comprehension	Moderate
152 to 158	Analytical Puzzles	Six events scheduled from Mon to Sun, one day off	Easy
159 to 160	Non Verbal Reasoning	Series : Five Figure series - Find the missing figure	Moderate
161 to 164	Non Verbal Reasoning	Analogy : 4 Figures	Moderate
165 to 169	Quantitative Ability	Probability	Moderate
170 to 174	Verbal Ability	Para completion by inserting sentences	Moderate
175 to 182	Analytical Puzzles	Eight people : Four Facing north and Four facing South	Difficult
183	Non Verbal Reasoning	Analogy : Four Figures	Easy
184 to 186	Non Verbal Reasoning	Series : Five Figure series - find the next figure	Difficult
187 to 193	Analytical Reasoning	Input Output	Easy
194 to 196	Analytical Puzzles	Seven people living on seven floors	Easy
197 to 198	Verbal Ability	Odd Man out	Easy
199 to 200	Analytical Puzzles	Formation of words from the given letters	Easy

 

Area-wise Analysis :

AREA	No. Of Questions
Analytical Puzzles	34
Analytical Reasoning	32
Data Interpretation	15
Data Sufficiency	7
Non Verbal Reasoning	30
Quantitative Ability : Pure Math	17
Quantitative Comparison	6
Reading Comprehension	10
Verbal Ability	42
Verbal Reasoning	7
TOTAL	200

 

Analytical Puzzles :

This area had significant weightage in the paper. The students were familiar with these types of sets, sincethese types were already covered in T.I.M.E. material, mock papers and handouts. The question on circular arrangement in which people were facing inside or outside was best left alone. A good score in this area would be 27.

Analytical Reasoning :

The questions based on direction sense, deductions, input output and venn diagram were easy to attempt. In deductions, the new type of question introduced was a testing one and it was about checking the possibility of a certain statement in addition to the usual checking of the conclusion. The number series questions were relatively difficult. A good score in this area would be 28.

Data Interpretation :

This section held absolutely no surprises or fear for the students because all the sets were easy to attempt. There were a few traps which were set so as to misguide the student, but not anything that was difficult. A good score in this section would be 13.

Data Sufficiency :

The data sufficiency questions were of moderate difficulty level. The logic based questions were a wee bit taxing. A good score in this area would be 6 marks.

Non verbal Reasoning :

The one constant factor in CET was true to its past avatars. There were 30 questions in this area with 9 questions on analogies which were all very doable and 21 questions on series, out of which 10 questions should have been attempted. A good score in this section would be 17.

Quantitative Ability:

It would have taken considerable brilliance on the part of any student to answer a question incorrectly. The 17 questions which were in this section should not have posed any threat to even the most underprepared student. A good score in this section is 17.

Quantitative Comparison :

There were 6 questions in this area, all of which were quite easy. A good score in this area would be 5.

 

Reading Comprehension :

When we analyze reading comprehension, it’s almost as if the prayers of most students were answered ! The number of questions went down from 32 last year to 10 this year. That’s a drop of nearly 70 %. There were 2 passages with 5 questions each. The questions were direct, indirect and inference based. The first passage was based on the foreword written for the book ‘The Beautiful Tree’. It was easy to read and more importantly, easy to attempt answering as well. The second passage, based on the crisis faced by Europe because of low labour productivity, was on the same lines when it came to the difficulty level. All in all, R.C. should have been a breeze for anyone who prepared for it in earnest !

Verbal Ability :

This section had 42 questions. There were 2 Cloze passages, of 5 questions each, which were very easy to answer. The vocabulary of most candidates would have been barely tested by the 5 synonym / antonym questions and the 2 odd man out questions. The jumbled paragraph, on the other hand, was a tricky creature. If one understood the flow of ideas, getting 5 on 5 would be a piece of cake. But, and that’s a very valid but, if one did not get the flow correct, it would have surely spelt doom in this question type. An everything or nothing situation ! The 5 paragraph completion questions should have been tackled according to one’s level of proficiency. There were 15 grammar based questions. And it was no surprise that all were usage based. This was a section one could actually bank on to score good marks.

Verbal Reasoning :

The bad news is that there were verbal reasoning based questions. The good news, nay – make that great news, is that there were only 7 questions. That should have come as a huge relief to the students who were on tenterhooks anticipating a dismal showing in this area. But, having said that, the 7 questions were not impossible to attempt; especially for someone who was well grounded in the basics of reasoning.

Overall, the paper can be classified as a moderately easy one, albeit a bit lengthy. After today’s CET 2012 paper, the one question on everybody’s mind is  “What will the cut-offs be ?” The average number of attempts has gone up as compared to last year and this will be reflected in the cut-offs for sure. Also, the students need to keep in mind that, because of the no negative marking factor, almost all the aspirants have attempted 200 questions.

Expected Cut offs for Top 10 colleges (Out of 240: Written Exam + GDPI score)

College Name	Open	OBC	SC	All India
Jamnalal Bajaj	175	155	144	173
Sydenham (MMS)	168	150	140	166
Sydenham (PGDM)	164	148	137	162
K. J. Somaiya	162	NA	NA	161
Welingkar	160	145	132	159
S.I.E.S.	150	NA	NA	147
N. L. Dalmia	145	NA	NA	142
PUMBA	144	141	131	141
MET	141	132	126	139

 

All the best of luck to each and every one of you !!!