CAT 2022 Preparation Tips for Beginners - Preparation Plan, Exam Pattern, Best Books

CAT is one of the most popular MBA entrance exams conducted every year. Every year more than 1.5 lakh students appear for CAT out of which 70-80% of students are beginners. The entrance exam is conducted for admission to the IIMs, IITs, and many other popular MBA colleges in India. Preparation for CAT is more challenging for fresh graduates since they are not familiar with the exam pattern. They need to go through the syllabus, exam pattern, and marking scheme before starting the preparation. 

According to Lao Tzu, A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Hence, it is necessary to have a preparation plan before starting the preparation. We have provided the CAT preparation tips for Beginners in this article. Candidates are advised to check the CAT preparation tips for beginners.

CAT 2022 Preparation Tips for Beginners

Here are the preparation tips for CAT 2022 for Beginners.

#Check the Exam Pattern and Syllabus

Candidates should check the exam pattern and syllabus before starting the preparation. They should note down all the important topics that they should cover while preparing for the exam. The CAT 2022 exam pattern will allow the candidates to know the marking scheme and the section-wise weightage of the exam.

#Decide your Strategy

Candidates are advised to prepare their own strategy to tackle the problems in the exam. They should solve the CAT previous year's question papers to know what type of questions they can face in the exam. After that, they should prepare strategies to solve similar kinds of problems. 

#Improve your Speed and Accuracy

Candidates should note that the sectional limit for CAT 2022 exam is 40 minutes per section. Since no extra time will be provided to any candidate hence they are advised to work on improving their speed and accuracy. Candidates can start answering the easy questions first and leave the difficult questions for later. Besides this, candidates are also advised to work on improving their calculation speed so that they can solve mathematical problems quickly.

#Choose the Best Books for CAT Preparation

Candidates are advised to choose the preparation books that cover all the important topics provided in the CAT 2022 Syllabus. They can choose separate books for all the sections of CAT 2022. Some of the good books available for CAT preparation are Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha, Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension by Arihant Publication, Word Power Made Easy by NORMAN LEWIS, and Arun Sharma's How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT.

#Solve Mock Test

Candidates are advised to solve the maximum number of mock test papers for CAT preparation. The mock test papers of CAT will allow the candidates to know the exam structure and what type of questions are asked in the exam. The duration of CAT mock test papers will be the same as the actual CAT paper.

# Read Newspapers and Magazines

Candidates are advised to read magazines and newspapers at regular intervals to improve their communication skills. It will also help you to clear the GD/ PI round of MBA admission.

CAT 2022 Preparation Plan for Beginners

Candidates who have just completed their graduation are advised to start preparing for CAT 2022 at least 6 months before the exam. Some experts also recommend following a 1-year plan for CAT 2022 preparation. They should have a preparation plan in place so that enough time is allotted to all the sections of CAT 2022. A detailed CAT 2022 Preparation Plan for Beginners is provided below.

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Section-Wise CAT 2022 Preparation Tips for Beginners

Provided below are some CAT section-wise preparation tips for Beginners

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

• The VARC section covers questions from Para Completion, Reading Comprehension, Para Jumble, and Analogies. Candidates should try to solve at least 3-4 reading comprehension questions in a day.

• Candidates should read different types of articles. This will help them to explore different areas of education.

• Candidates are advised to focus on improving their vocabulary. Around 3-4 questions related to vocabulary are asked in CAT and other MBA entrance exams.

Quantitative Ability 

• This section tests the calculation speed of the candidates hence candidates are advised to improve their calculation skills.

• They should learn shortcuts and formulas to solve mathematical problems quickly

• Candidates are advised to do the calculation part mentally since it will help them to save time.

• Candidates should practise at least 30-40 questions from each type of question of the Quantitative Ability section.

• Candidates can start with the basic difficulty level of questions and then they can proceed to the higher difficulty level questions.

• Candidates are advised to learn some commonly used square roots and trigonometry pairs

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

• The Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section comprises sets of 4-5 questions that need to be answered using the data provided in the question.

• Candidates should try to solve at least 10-20 questions from some important topics of this section such as Blood Relations, Clocks and Calendars, Proposition and Seating Arrangement.

• The LR section is all about understanding the logic and then answering the questions hence candidates are advised to first understand the logic behind the question and then only proceed to answer the question. 

CAT 2022 Exam Pattern

The question paper of CAT will be divided into three sections namely Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension. The total duration of the exam is 120 minutes and candidates will be provided 40 minutes to attempt each section. Around 76 questions will be asked in CAT 2022. The table provided below contains the exam pattern of the CAT 2022 exam.

CAT 2022 Preparation Books for Beginners

Candidates who are starting the CAT preparation are advised to choose the books with easy language. They can check the table provided below to know some of the best books available for CAT preparation.

Candidates who want to know more preparation tips for CAT 2022 may ask their questions on the Collegedekho QnA zone. Besides this, those who want admission-related assistance may fill out our Common Application Form.

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