Structure of the Paper

The structure of the paper was similar to last year’s. Considering that the CAT committee has decided, once again, to limit the number of questions, students had less choice in the selection of questions. There is no way a blind scurry would have helped you in a paper which had only 75 questions.

1. Time: 150 minutes
2. Total: 75 questions. 25 questions per section, Sections: Quantitative Ability (QA), Logic and Data Interpretation (DI) and Verbal Ability (VA).
3. Marks per question: 4, Negative Marks: 1 mark deducted for every wrong answer.
4. 5 answer options for each question.

The marking scheme implies that scores will have integral values & not decimals.

Highlights

1. Very few sitters in QA. Overall, a tougher section than the CAT 2006.
2. The DI section was solvable and in comparison to the earlier two years, had lesser emphasis on reasoning. It contained more classic Data Interpretation.
3. The VA section was easy on the eye. This was a welcome change after the grueling VA sections in CAT 2005 and CAT 2006.
4. Data Sufficiency (DS) questions re-appeared in CAT 2007, and that too in abundance in both QA and DI sections, after a break of two years. They were last seen in CAT 2004.

Time Allocation Strategy

Considering the fact that one has to balance scores of all sections, the wisest strategy would have been allocation of 50 minutes for each section.

Quantitative Ability Section

The QA section saw an increased focus on Arithmetic and Algebra, with a sprinkling of Geometry Questions. Number Theory took a back seat. Data Sufficiency questions, too, covered all areas of Mathematics except number theory. Considering approximately 3-4 minutes per question, if solved completely, this section would have taken 85-90 minutes, which is impractical.

Right Approach

A smart student could have attempted 13-14 questions. This accounts for an attempt of 52-56 marks in the total time of 50 mins to be spent on the section.

With a reasonable accuracy of 70%, it is possible to clear the cut-off for the IIMs, which, we estimate would be around 31 marks.

Logic and Data Interpretation Sectio

There were 5 classic Data Interpretation caselets, accounting for 21 questions, which were of average difficulty level. These could have been solved in approximately 15 minutes each.

The four data sufficiency questions were solvable at the rate of 3 mins each.If solved completely, the Logic & DI section would take 85-90 min to solve, which is impractical.

Right Approach

A smart student would have selected any three caselets worth 12 questions and 3 questions of Data Sufficiency. This accounts for an attempt of 60 marks in the total time of 50 mins to be spent on the section. With a reasonable accuracy of approximately 65%, it is possible to clear the cut-off for an IIM call, which, we estimate would be around 35 marks.

Verbal Ability Section

The VA section seemed to beckon students to go back to basics. Grammar returned and so did vocabulary based Usage. Paragraph building, both jumbled sentences snd paragraph completion were seen. Reading Comprehension passages were shorter with classic question types. No critical reasoning this year!

10 minutes per set of Reading Comprehension and Para building account for 60-65 minutes, if solved completely. Add to this 10-12 minutes to solve the two Usage based sets, so, the VA section, if solved completely, would take 70-75 min to solve, which is impractical.

Right Approach

A smart student would have selected any two Reading Comprehension passages worth 6 questions, the two sets of paragraph building worth 6-7 questions and the two sets of Usage worth 5-6 questions.

This accounts for an attempt of approximately 18 questions worth 72 marks in the total time of 50 mins to be spent on the section.

With a reasonable accuracy of 70%, it is possible to clear the cut-off for the IIMs which we estimate would be around 42 marks.

The author Sujata Khanna is Chairperson, Career Forum. Career Forum (http://www.careerforum.in ), the acknowledged leader in entrance examination classroom coaching since 18 years, is a ISO 9001:2000 certified company.