The most frequent advice given during CAT prep is to take as many mock tests as one can. But only taking mock tests isn’t enough. Analyzing every mock is a crucial step to ensure good performance.
On Day 3 of the CAT Tips series, Pranav Pant who has taken more entrance tests than many others talks about the real challenge in the 'mocks' process.
How to analyze mocks:
A question has three possible outcomes. Your answer might be correct, incorrect or you might have not attempted the question at all. Out of the above three possibilities, only one is in your favour — the correct answer that you manage to get ‘in an appropriate time.’
If you have got the question right but took way more time to get the answer, you should check for an alternative technique to attempt the question faster or just skip it. The third probability of getting the answer correct is guesswork. You might be lucky to get a correct answer through fluke or guesswork but you may not be lucky in the examination. You just have to learn the correct way to get it right.
Now, when you have gotten your answer incorrect, you must have used the wrong method or there might be a calculation mistake or just a silly mistake. Make sure you’re more careful while attempting the examination. Study the pattern of mistakes that you make and improve accordingly.
For the questions that you did not attempt, there is a possibility that the time was insufficient or you lacked knowledge. Here, you have to learn to manage time and learn whatever knowledge you must have missed upon.
Mock tests give you an idea on time management and you also get to know what types of questions you can attempt in how much time. For instance, you took five questions which took a lot of time, and in that time span, you could have covered eight questions. So, you need to learn, what kind of questions take time and which kind can be done in lesser time.
Things to learn from Mock Analysis:
1. Identify your strengths and weaknesses: Once you know your strengths, you know what questions you are going to attempt in the exam and weaknesses are the ones that are advisable to skip or come back to them later in the remaining time.
2. Learn smart approaches to approach problems: Learn the shortcuts to attempt the questions easily. Your coaching teachers might help you with this or you can watch videos online. This will help you solve in the minimum possible time.
3. Based on your strengths and weaknesses, prepare a strategy: Each one of you must have different strengths and weaknesses. Make sure you learn from them and prepare a strategy for it.
4. Don’t get demotivated by low scores: Mock tests are just a sort of dress rehearsals and not the actual exam. It’s okay if you have scored low in mocks, forget that. Focus on the examination, give your best on the paper and you will score well.
5. Don’t get complacent by high scores: Do not get complacent by the higher scores of the mock tests. Keep practicing for the exam, keep identifying your shortcomings.
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