With hundreds of students preparing for the annual CAT examination amidst the devastating global health pandemic, it has become evident for students to hunt for tricks and tactics to score exceptional digits.

The internet has been flooded with tips and ideas for the same, however, how can one provide tips for solving a paper composed of distinct sections and require diverse skills and abilities of the students to solve the questions.

Well, here is the catch!! To solve different sectionals of the CAT examination paper, it is essential to acknowledge the different skill set expected out of the students.

Without comprehending the capabilities required in different sections of the paper, one should not blindly rely on tips from multiple sources on the internet for solving the paper.

The CAT paper is designed to test the diverse abilities of the aspirants; therefore, the sectional division in the paper makes it possible for the authorities to select the best mind amongst hundreds of young professionals. The paper is composed of three major sections namely,

• Quantitative Aptitude Section
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section
• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section

This article will throw light on three key ideas to solve the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section with full determination. To nail the VARC section, here are the top three tips which can increase your chances of scoring better.

• Avoid attempting the VARC section in the last ten minutes!

Experts believe that spirants must avoid solving the VARC section at the last moment. RC passage requires uttermost concentration while looking for the hidden details of the context and making a note of them.

Solving these questions in the last 10-12 minutes of the paper can ultimately eliminate the concentration levels required while pushing the aspirants to attempt the question as hurriedly as possible.

If the aspirant is left to attempt any other section as well post the VARC passages, then this move screws the next section as well. Ending the paper in panic can devoid the student of the ‘re-checking’ time also. Therefore it is suggested to attempt the RC passage at a suitable time and in the correct state of mind. 

• There is no time limit for attempting the passage 

Students often question about the limit duration allotted to different sections of the paper. However, it is a misconception that the questions in different sections are restricted by the time duration.

Time limitation on sectional questions have been misleading CAT aspirants, and therefore, they often question about what could be done if they would fail to attempt the RC passages within 10 minutes. However, the aspirants must know how to set their time limits and speed. Practising multiple questions during the preparation hour can help in improving the aspirants speed.

Moreover, taking assistance from high-quality books and articles can add bonus points too. The aspirants must learn to analyse their solutions as well as their speeds before giving the final test.

For aspirants concentrating more on speed, improvement can miss out the essential details in the articles and would thus lose marks. Patience and perseverance could be the key to score good digits.

• Skipping more than a few questions does not put you in trouble!

Experts believe that it is ok to skip more than a few questions. Aspirants need not attempt all the 34 questions successfully to get a score of 70.

The key to solving the section is to attempt as many questions as possible accurately. Students often start attempting questions without analysing the content or whether they would be able to solve the question with hundred per cent accuracy.

• What to avoid while attempting the questions? 

Aspirants often believe in maximising their attempts for achieving maximum score. However, this is a myth and often push people towards failure. The key is to analyse the questions which the aspirant could solve with complete accuracy.

Hundred per cent accuracy in the number of the question attempted is the key to gain maximum marks. While attempting multiple questions without the chance of accuracy can lead to a loss of marks and time as well.

Another key idea to solve well in the VARC section is to skip one odd answer if the aspirant is not sure of it in any of the RC passages. The time saved while avoiding to hung up on the answer which the candidate has zeroed down in the last two options can be of better use altogether.

The tips and ideas could be followed while preparing for the test and practising the mock test series. The tips would altogether assist the aspirant in handling the VARC section in a better manner.

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