Maharashtra MBA/MMS CET 2020 – Paper Pattern and Analysis

Analysis of Maharashtra MBA CET 2020 Slot 4

Maharashtra MBA CET 2020 Details

• Date : 15^th March 2020 (Sunday)
• Slot : 14:00 pm to 16:30 pm
• Total Number of Questions : 200
• Total Time allotted : 150 minutes
• No. of Choices per question : 5 choices
• No. of Sections : 4
• Negative Marks : No negative marking

CET 2020 Paper Pattern

	Area	No. of Questions
1	Logical Reasoning	75
2	Abstract Reasoning	25
3	Quantitative Aptitude	50
4	Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension	50
	Total	200

Section wise Analysis

Section 1: Logical and Critical Reasoning:

From students’ feedback this section went on the same lines as that of the earlier three solts. Based on the student’ feedback the overall difficulty level of this section could be described as moderate with some easy questions. According to them, a good number of attempts would be around 55 questions in 60 mins.

There were 34 questions of Analytical Puzzles across 6 different sets. These sets as expected were time consuming. Apart from these, there was one set on Blood relation, Input Output and Coding-decoding each. All of these were on doable lines and should have been attempted. Along with these the 4 questions on Deductions and Symbols and Notations each were easy and should have been done. According to the students, the distribution of questions was as follows:

Logical Reasoning
Topic	No. of questions	Easy	Moderate	Difficult
Analytical Puzzles
Linear Arrangement	17	5	12
Vertical arrangement	5			5
Distribution	12		6	6
Sub-Total	34	5	18	11
Analytical Reasoning
Blood Relations	3	3
Deductions	4	4
Input/ Output	6		6
Logical Inequalities	4	4
Coding & Decoding	6	6
Miscellaneous	5	5
Sub-Total	28	22	6
Data Sufficiency	3		3
Critical / Verbal Reasoning	10	6	4
TOTAL	75	33	31	11

Analytical Puzzles:

The puzzles are based on Linear Arrangement, Distributions and Vertical Arrangement. Circular Arrangement was conspicuous by its absence. There were total 6 Sets. One linear arrangement was easy but lengthy. The remaining 5 sets were of moderate to high difficulty level. In each set two cases arise and at the end one case would get eliminated based on given conditions. All conditions given were in the proper order connecting each other. Out of these, a candidate could have attempted 3 to 4 sets. It is suggested that 22 out of the 34 questions were to be attempted. However, attempting all 34 could have consumed a lot of time. Puzzles should have been attempted ideally after doing Analytical Reasoning and Critical Reasoning. Certain types of sets were predicted by T.I.M.E. and were included in our end course workshops and AMMCETs. This would have made life easier for our students.

Analytical Reasoning:

Blood Relations: This was a small set of three questions, with relationships among 8 family members given as clues. Easy to do set and must attempt.

Deductions: Three or four statements were given, followed by 3 conclusions and 5 options. All four Deduction questions were of an easy nature. Every question had possibility checking. None of the questions were based on either/or. Any student who was well-versed with the basic concepts would have been able to answer all the questions accurately.

Input Output: Input output set was of moderate difficulty and it was based on a number and word based machine. The steps had alternating logic. Since the questions were all on the same input it should have been attempted.

Logical Inequalities: There were 4 questions. In each question, the data was given in inequality format. There were two to three statements of three to four variables each followed by two conclusions to check. These were must-attempt questions.

Coding – Decoding: Five questions were based on this, where four statements were give with their codes and by checking common word and common code, one could have answered them. There was also one single question on coding. These were the easiest questions in this section and should definitely have been attempted.

Miscellaneous: There were five individual questions based on alphabets and digits. These were all again very easy and must attempt.

Overall the Analytical Reasoning section of the paper was easier than the Analytical Puzzles section and should have been focused on. A student is well advised to 25 out of 28 questions in this section.

Data Sufficiency:

All 3 data sufficiency questions were Analytical Puzzle based. Though they were manageable, they were time consuming. One could have skipped them and would have attempted Analytical Reasoning questions.

Critical/Verbal Reasoning:

This sub section had a total of 10 Q. There were questions on

• Conclusions, Assumptions and Inferences
• Strengthening and Weakening
• Contradictions

The questions on Strengthening and Weakening and Inferences were moderately difficult. The others were easy. The Questions on conclusions were phrased as Definitely True. The question on Contradiction was phrased as Definitely False. A well prepared student could have got around 6-7 correct out of 10 Q in around 10-15 minutes.

Section 2: Abstract Reasoning

Students found this section easy to moderate as compared to other sections. There were no surprises in this section. Questions were based on five figure series, Analogies and Similar pair. The difficulty level of this section was easy to moderate. One could have easily attempted around 17-19 questions in 20 minutes. Preferred order of attempting questions will be Series, Analogy and Similar Pair. The students have recollected that the combination of questions in this section was as follows.

Abstract Reasoning (Non-verbal Reasoning)
Topic	No. of questions	Easy	Moderate	Difficult
5 Fig Series - Find Next Fig.	11	6	5	0
Analogy	7	3	3	1
Similar Pair	7	2	3	2
TOTAL	25	11	11	3

Section 3: Quantitative Aptitude:

Students felt that the difficulty level of this section ranged from easy to moderate. They felt that the difficulty of DI sets was moderate. Few of the quant questions were slightly lengthy and should have been skipped. A good student would be able to solve around 35+ questions in 35-40 minutes. According to the students, the distribution of questions in this section were as follows.

Quantitative Ability
Topic	No. of questions	Easy	Moderate	Difficult
Quantitative Ability
Percentages	1	1
Time, speed and distance	2	1	1
Compound Interest	1		1
Mixtures	1			1
Partnership	1		1
Simple Equations: Two Digit Number	1	1
Approximations	5	5
Quantitative comparison	5	4	1
Sub-total	17	12	4	1
Data Interpretation
Caselet	6	3	3	0
Bar Graph	6	4	2	0
Table	6	2	4	0
Sub-total	18	9	9	0
Quant Comparison (Eq.)	5	4	1	0
Number Series	5	3	1	1
Approximations based on BODMAS	5	5	0	0
TOTAL	50	33	15	2

Based on the distribution of questions, we can broadly categorize them under the following 4 heads:

• Quant
• BODMAS
• Quantitative Comparison
• Data Interpretation

Quantitative Ability

Students reported that most of the questions in Quantitative Ability were from the Arithmetic section and the data was straight forward. Majority of the questions including DI were asked from percentages and ratios. Sound concept clarity would have helped the students to attempt most of the questions with ease. Also, enough practice would have enabled a student answer the questions faster and with higher accuracy. Students who hadn’t practiced enough would have found this section difficult. Also, the overall time taken per question in this section would be slightly more as compared to Abstract and Verbal section. Students who are not good with this section should have targeted easier DI sets, approximation based BODMAS and Quantitative comparison (based on quadratic equations) questions as their first preference.

Quantitative Comparison:

There were 10 questions on Quantitative comparison (Arithmetic - 5 questions, Quadratic equations - 5 questions). According to the students data comparison questions were lengthy based on arithmetic topics. Quadratic Equations could have been factorized easily and these should have been a sure shot attempt by everyone.

Number Series:

There were 5 questions, out of which 4 questions were doable. In each question, a series was given from where the missing number was to be found. All questions had only two- or three-digit numbers.

Data Interpretation:

There were three sets as in all the first three slots. i.e. one set less than 2019. All the sets were of similar concepts but with different representations. Most of the questions were straight forward and involved basic concepts of percentages and ratios. Considering the difficulty level and amount of time required, one should have attempted DI questions before Quantitative Ability questions. Instead of attempting all questions in each set, it would be advisable to attempt selected questions. Therefore, about 12 questions with 100 percent accuracy would have been a good attempt.

Section 4: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

As compared to the previous slots, the VA RC section was not very time consuming, but the questions were moderately difficult. There were 2 RC Passages, totaling to 16 Questions (1P*9 Q, 1P*7Q). Under grammar, there were questions on Sentence Connectors, Identify the correct/incorrect sentence, Error spotting, Correct/incorrect phrase usage, etc. There were some new question types too. A word was given in bold and there were 2 sentences with a blank each. Candidate has to choose an option that was synonymous to the head word and could come in both sentences. Para Formation questions had seven sentences with one sentence fixed. There were a few out of context questions too.

As mentioned earlier, these questions ranged from Easy to Moderately difficult. A well-prepared student should have attempted 35-40 questions in 35-40 minutes.

The breakup was reported as follows:

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
Topic	No. of questions	Easy	Moderate	Difficult
Grammar Based
Identify the correct/incorrect sentences	7	7
Sentence Connectors	3		3
Error Spotting	5		5
Correct usage of Phrase	3	3
Incorrect usage of Phrase	5	5
Sub-Total	23	15	8
Vocab Based
Choose the word that describes the situation	3		3
Sub-Total	3		3
Para Based
Para Jumbles with 1 line fixed	5		5
Out of Context	3		3
Sub-Total	8		8
Reading Comprehension
Passages	16		16
Sub-Total	16		16
TOTAL	50	15	35

Based on the studens’ feedback on the overall exam, the paper can be classified as easy to moderate but lengthy. From what the students have reported, the correct selection of questions is the key to a good score. Since, there wasn’t any element of surprise in the type of questions, a judicious distribution of time and choice would have ensured a comfortable number of attempts with a good accuracy. A good student should have attempted 125-130 questions. However, students aiming for the top colleges should have attempted 135-140 questions with good accuracy.

NOTE-. It has been mentioned in the hall ticket that the scores will be adjusted to get a normalized score.