Hello Everyone
Munira Lokhandwala

Hi Munira, what should be the order of sections to attempt in CAT?
cat1248

Order of sections: I always put English in the middle. Reason: It is a break between the two similar sections
Munira Lokhandwala

Hi Munira… Q: For a very average person getting percentiles around 80 in mocks…what is most advisable to do in these remaining days?
menaina

Remaining days get all your basic concepts clear; for someone with such a background it is very important to not leave a single easy question. Do not leave out topics.
Munira Lokhandwala

how do we tackle RCs of the difficulty level same as that in CAT 2005,,should we skip them or attempt judiously?
im_sid

I would say attempt them. But for every answer option you should be able to say what is wrong with an option for elimination and what is right. You could practice some Reading Comprehension passages from the Official GMAT Guide, they have beautifully explaned answers.
Munira Lokhandwala

My English is not very good so plz recommend some last minutes tips (i know this will not shoot up my English score but still helps me) .
akshitdewan

Hi akshit, go through grammar and focus on RC accuracy.
Munira Lokhandwala

What should be the approach and mindset within the first 10-15 mins of breaking the seal? What do we look for?
menaina

Good question menaina, Look at the number of questions and differential marking, decide on a strategy with respect to timing for sections and then do not go against your timing strategy.
Munira Lokhandwala

my second question, how do you go about.. when you get hold of the paper..i mean you’re aggressive in attempting.and do you scan the whole paper.take risks?.is being agressive advisable for accuracy levels lower than yours?
im_sid

Hi Munira, With just few more days to go, should one concentrate more on solving the problems and brushing the basics or for paper solving and strategy building?
Anurag83

Hi sid, I go for strategy. In 2004, i had decided I will ignore marks of a question. I ignored the marks again in 2005 for the first round. Only when I have time I go back to the higher marked question.
Munira Lokhandwala

As far as aggresiveness goes there should be a sense of urgency when you take the paper.
Munira Lokhandwala

hi munira.. is starting with stronger section best or ending with it ?
ramakrishnas

Munira, in each of the last three cats although uve got stellar percentiles, ive noticed that there is no ONE section which uve cracked. Like one year it’s VA other year its QA etc. Are you equally good in all sections and maximise on the easiest one or do you concentrate on one section to crack every year?
mansoor6

Mansoor, i do not have the luxury to decide on which section to crack. I just try to maximize my score.
Munira Lokhandwala

Hi Munira. Last year my CAT Percentile was 99.45 but since my percentile in EU/RC section was 70. I did not get any call. This year in MockCats My English performance has been quite good. It has been above 95 percentiles most of the time. But in the last two mock CATs I have scored poor marks in EU/RC down to 60 percentile. I am getting confused. Please give some advice.
soumyajyoti

Hi soumya, iIgnore your last two tests and let that not get you down. Look at what went wrong right earlier or what did you significanlty change in the last tests. Perhaps you changed your section order.
Munira Lokhandwala

Hi Munira should we have a set strategy for the D-Day or on the spot would do?
kabir1224

Hi kabir, it is always a good idea to know as many basics as possible and let me emphasize that basic concepts come first and then one should work on applying them on questions.
Munira Lokhandwala

Hi. My mocks began with a bang, scored 90+ in first six mocks, came down to 80 in the next six and now hanging at 70s. But the good part is that I have cleared cutoffs in english and DI in all mocks. What will you suggest for people like me?
Gaurav28

Gaurav, since you have cleared DI and english try to give 50 mins to math, give 40 to DI and english and then the extra 20 mins spend with the easier section to max your score.
Munira Lokhandwala

which subsection should I attend first : 1 markers or 2 markers?
chaitali

Hi chaitali, ignore marks in your first round, if you start with two moarker there is always a tendency to give more time than needed. Please ignore the marks
Munira Lokhandwala

Munira, I have started going through all the mocks that I have taken (16 time mocks in all, averaging to 90, highest being 97) is it ok at this point or should i be doing anything new?
ramakrishnas

Munira, My performance in DI/LR section has been pretty inconsistent. I either do very well(97+) or screw it up badly. What do you suggest my strategy should be in DILR?
Plumber

Hi plumber, the DI-LR sections are very quant-heavy so if you have done well in quant and not in DI, you need to practice with DI sets because obviously the content is not an issue.
Munira Lokhandwala

what to do if you get bogged down at ny point of time?
khushi05

Hi khushi, with that kind of chat ID why you are talking about being bogged? I feel that you should not feel anything during the paper, I never have the time to even feel the persistent back ache till the paper is over
Munira Lokhandwala

Munira, I have started going through all the mocks that I have taken (16 time mocks in all, averaging to 90, highest being 97) is it ok at this point or should i be doing anything new?
ramakrishnas

Hi rama and opti, during the paper the only you can and should manage is the time, do not try to manage the number of questions as it may slow you down.
Munira Lokhandwala

Hi Munira, can something be done about grammar in these last days?
warrior

hi warrior something can definitely be done on grammar. Make a list of five/six rules that are usually tested, algorithmize your searching for errors and you can manage it in two days.
Munira Lokhandwala

What should be my strategy in selecting questions?
mr.s.k.abhi

hi mr. sk abhi. concentrate and do the questions that you know first. remember that this is all tenth standard math.
Munira Lokhandwala

Hello Munira … not sure whether u hv answrd ths qs ….. but wen u get the initial 10 – 15 minutes fr the strategy … say u decide the sequence of ur attempts ….. then as soon as the test strts … do u straight away strt with tht sequence … or u skim thru the paper once ???????
chango

hi ma’am. my query is regarding RC. should i glance thru the questions first or should i start with the passage directly?
rohanxavier

hi rohan i am very clearly against reading questions first i think it slows down your speed. i always look at the questions to select which passage to do but not right before reading it .
Munira Lokhandwala

thanx Munira!
rohanxavier

Munira, please tell me, what to do when one has already read a passage and got it but unable to decide between two options in two questions. Should one go by instincts or leave the question?
maheshtk_

Hi mahesh if you are confused between two options work out what is wrong in each. There are always some confusing questions but those are very few .
Munira Lokhandwala

What all of us have to remember is that it is a very easy paper .
Munira Lokhandwala

Hello Munira, not sure whether you have answerd this question. Wen you get the initial 10 – 15 minutes for the strategy, say you decide the sequence of your attempts. Then as soon as the test starts, do you straight away start with that sequence or do you skim through the paper once?
chango

Hi chango I do not skim through the paper I do it a section at a time. Of course I never get all fifty in first round, so after two hours I still have time to go back to the easier questions.
Munira Lokhandwala

Munira, what is your reading speed?
mansoor6

Hi mansoor, I never counted my reading speed because the watch broke.
Munira Lokhandwala

Munira, how to get maximum benefit from the increased time duration of CAT?
rohanxavier

I look for questions that do not trouble and that are easy to solve, this may sound obvious but a lot of us do questions which are full of magajmari in Mumbaiya language. I never do those because it slows me down. An example is symbol based questions. I usually do not attempt them becasue they slow me down .
Munira Lokhandwala

Hi, what do you suggest I should do in these last few days to maximze my score?
abhishek.sharma

Hi abhishek, look at the overall strategy like not reading a set or question, not managing time well. These are crucial. Knowing or not knowing a particular question is not as important.
Munira Lokhandwala

Please mam answer, what should be the ideal atempts in DI?
khushi05

khushi no ideal attempts. What if the paper becomes very easy or very difficult? I will repeat, manage time not attempts.
Munira Lokhandwala

Munira according to you an average RC passage should take how many minutes?
maverickisneo

Hi maverick, an average RC passage should take 6 mins.
Munira Lokhandwala

Munira I normally take 7-8 minutes. Is it too much?
maverickisneo

Munira, how should we strategise ourselves if the number of questions increases drastically? Say, if around 100 questions appear in each section, do we have to cut down on accuracy? How to go about the paper then?
vineet.nitd

100 questions in each section would be my dream come true. Obviously if number of questions increase they become easier so you should leave questions within 15 to 20 seconds.
Munira Lokhandwala

Munira this is my case. 92 percentile last year, good DI and verbal but horrible quant this year. No consistency in scores range is 40 percentile to 90 percentile. How do I go ahead and what shud be the approach?
sujayp100

sujay look at your paper carefully, there must be huge amts of time spent on bad questions when people get poor percentiles.
Munira Lokhandwala

Just out of curiosity, last time what were your number of attempts?
mr.s.k.abhi

mr sk abhi my attempts were around 105.
Munira Lokhandwala

mam, what shud we do when we get the paper. I mean how can we formulate a strategy based on the information given on the cover page?
khushi05

hi khushi you can decide how much time per section you want to give initially and how much time in the end to max the score.
Munira Lokhandwala

Muniraji, what’s your take: Speed or Accuracy?
mr.s.k.abhi

My take would be between speed and accuracy. If no of questions are less then accuracy and if they are more then speed.
Munira Lokhandwala

Munira what do you say, should one start with the LR block or not?
kabir14

hi kabir you can start with LR but if it is tough move on and then come back to it in the end. That’s what I did in 2004. Never feel sad for not getting a question and always manage time. I like buffer time. You have to max your score by attempting as much as you can from the easier sections and my scores reflect that.
Munira Lokhandwala

Thanks Munira
kabir14

Another question would be, what to do in the last half an hour? As in, try to maximise score or make sure you clear all the cut-offs?
anarchy

anarchy, cut-offs are given way too much importance. Remember that selection is first on your score then on your cut-off. With an average score you will not even make the first round.
Munira Lokhandwala

Enjoyed talking to ye all. Bye everybody and best of luck.
Munira Lokhandwala