Answers To All Your Queries On Taking And Analysing CAT Mocks!

For any examination, one of the most powerful parts of the preparation strategy is practice. Without practicing, one would not be able to perform well even if they have memorized the entire book thoroughly. Hence, here is where mock tests become extremely important. MOCKs are the secret to performing well in any exam. But did you just frown upon reading this word? Well, you must not, because mock tests are your key to success in CAT. This article will help you in understanding the importance of mock tests and analyzing them in the right manner. 

Role of mock tests in CAT preparation

Do you think that CAT is the toughest exam? We are not saying that your facts and knowledge pertaining to the difficulty level of the exam is fallacious. But have you ever wondered what makes people call it the toughest exam? As a matter of fact, as per the CAT exam pattern, the questions targeted are a combination of topics from your 8th and 10th standards. Also, most of the questions asked in the MBA entrance exams have simple to moderate difficulty level. So, why is the exam considered so tough? The obvious answer to the conspicuous difficulty is the ‘strategy’. Elaborating it in simpler terms, everything depends on how you carve out a well-thought-out strategy that suits you the best.

Having said this, when it comes to devising a foolproof strategy or a detailed timetable for CAT preparation, mock tests become the centerpiece. Here is how mock tests are beneficial for you:

1. Giving you the feel of the actual exam: When you solve mock tests, you get exposed to the same stress level that you would be enduring during the actual CAT exam. Performing under this actual CAT exam environment will help you prepare yourself better for the final day. 

2. Help you Adhere to the time limits: It is always recommended to solve a mock test within the time duration allowed for the exam. This will help you polish your time management skills. After all, to score well in any exam, you need to maintain the accuracy level and speed, all at the same time. 

3. Keeping your negative marks in check: CAT exam consists of negative marking. Hence, you need to solve the questions intelligently and not lose out on the marks earned. Mock tests help you practice this skill and be better prepared on the day of the examination. 

4. Help to apply your knowledge: You must have learned a list of formulae and shortcuts during your CAT preparation, but it is all futile till you actually use these practically while solving the questions. Mocks expose you to situations that will make you use the formulae and solving techniques you have learned, giving you a good understanding of their applications. 

5. Exposing you to the right type of questions: They help you understand the type of questions asked in the examination and analyze your mistakes in order to get a high percentile score.

When should you start taking mock tests?

There can never be a better time to start taking a CAT mock than today itself. Practicing through mock test series must be incorporated into the study plan right from the very start. Do not procrastinate and keep pushing yourself to the point where you have covered the entire CAT syllabus. Instead, you can start with sectional mocks initially and then gradually progress towards full-length tests as you cover the entire exam syllabus.

In fact, if you haven’t started your preparations yet or are in the middle of it, stop everything right there. Take a mock. Yes, every aspirant should give one mock unprepared to understand what CAT is all about and the kinds of questions you must be focussing on. Prepare a chart to note down your performance in every section individually. You may find this chucklesome and waste at this point in time, but if definitely be fruitful as you go forward. Taking mock tests on a daily basis will definitely strengthen your preparation level and make you more confident to face the real examination. 

How often should you take mocks?

It would be great if you could take a mock on a daily basis. However, since, this approach may not suit everybody, you may take up the step by step process. For example: For the month of June and July, you can attempt one every week, followed by two to three mocks every week in August-September and then as per your progress, you can level it up to three to four mocks every week in October-November. While taking these tests, you must remember the following: 

• It is important to go through the detailed solutions after you attempt the mock to analyze your mistakes. You must not only go through the questions wherein you went wrong but also the ones where you gave the correct answer to see if you can learn some new question-solving approach. 
• For any CAT aspirant, it is important to time oneself while giving the mock tests so that one is able to complete all the questions within the given span of time. Since CAT has various sections such as quantitative ability, verbal ability, reading comprehension, English language vocabulary, etc. the time management by the candidate needs to be meticulous. 
• Try to minimize your negative marks. Understand the marking scheme of the exam and attempt the questions accordingly. 

How to analyze mocks?

Solely taking the CAT exam mock test, is not the solution to getting a decent percentile and can result in dead loss. So, after taking a mock, it is important to keep some separate time for analyzing the question paper thoroughly. This cannot be emphasized enough. Learn, take points, and observe where your strategy went wrong, or how it can be made better in the next mock. Practice these tips for meticulously analyzing CAT mocks:

• Check the solution to the questions you have skipped or given a wrong answer to.
• Put a prime focus on evaluating your pattern of selecting questions. You may give this an analyzable form by creating a written record in a tabular form. This will help you tweak your approach to maximize your score on exam day. 
• It is not ONLY about which questions you should have attempted but it is more about which ones you should have SKIPPED instead of attempting.
• In every mock test practice, figure out at least 3-5 types of questions that you should NOT attempt in the next mock.
• Pick up 2-3 providers for taking mocks to explore the level of difficulty and get used to different interfaces.
• Note down the areas you need to work on before giving your next mock.

How to improve performance in mock tests?

Often aspirants get carried away with the booming enthusiasm and excitement to test their CAT exam preparation. And ironically, end up feeling dejected and downcast when those 3 hours come to an end. Reason? Time and again, we unconsciously set huge unrealistic expectations from ourselves. So here is what you should do:

• Do not calculate mocks in terms of percentile instead take it as a measure to check your strategy each time.
• Make it a habit of tweaking your strategy for your next mock, if you think the current one did not work well.
• Adapt the ideology of leaving questions. Not ALL questions are meant to be attempted. 
• Start working on this mindset as early as possible because no one can afford to lose ticking seconds in figuring and solving a tricky question.
• Learn to analyze the level of difficulty of the questions rather than blindly diving into solving them.
• There cannot be a better way to save time than by solving questions with an approach of elimination. Apply it wherever possible.

Are there free mock tests available?

If you are already enrolled in a coaching institute, you must have access to a wide range of books for CAT preparation, CAT mock test papers, and regular guidance to prepare you for the real CAT exam. But if you are preparing on your own, the internet can be your best companion.

There is still no dearth of free resources on the internet. You have sites offering free practice tests for CAT exam, information about the exam trends, CAT test series with overall ranking amongst thousands of students, previous year's papers with solutions, free lectures covering the entire syllabus, etc. All you have to do is dive deep and select the resources that you want. 

Do NOT be bound to just a specific site, explore multiple sites to prepare yourself for different levels of difficulty and patterns of questions. You can choose 3-4 dependable sites and utilize them on a rotational basis to meet your requirement. Apart from the internet, some CAT entrance exams books also offer free mock tests for practice. Don't miss out on those practice papers too!

Now that you know everything about CAT mock tests, don't shy away from them because consistent practice and revision can take you way ahead in the final rank list. 

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