CAT 2011 Tip of the Day: Ways to tackle your weak areas

Each day is approaching with a new set of queries and anxiety. MBAUniverse.com is here to get you free of all the troubles and queries. In the special series of MBAUniverse.com Tip of the Day for CAT 2011, today we tell you how you can tackle your weaknesses.

Everyone has some or the other weakness when it comes to the sections of the CAT exam. Among the areas of Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, you are bound to not feel comfortable in any of the areas.

At this stage, when you have almost reached the finishing line for the race to CAT 2011, how should you tackle the weak areas? This article of MBAUniverse.com provides you the answers.

You generally decide on your weakness on the basis of your performance in the mock tests. You term those areas in which you cannot score much or which takes a lot of time to solve. But ponder again to judge whether you are not missing out some other areas too.

While taking mock tests, you may get a high score in a particular area a couple of times due to coincidence. In such cases, you should mark those areas as weak areas too.

To handle your weaknesses, you first need to find out what are the reasons which lead to weaknesses. Once you understand the reasons, you will find it much easier to solve the problems. As stated by Tony Xavier, Head, Academics, IMS Learning, following can be the possible reasons for weaknesses and ways to tackle them.

Inherent dislike for these areas, due to which you start ignoring them. For example, most of you have a natural antipathy towards Permutations & Combinations and you start shying away from questions on this topic.

Consequently, even the easier questions on this topic get overlooked on that day and this adds to the opportunity cost. You need to prepare all topics and areas of the testwhich ones do you finally respond to or attempt would be a function of multiple variables.

Not being able to spend adequate time on these areas, due to which your performance gets marred. The sequence of attempting questions from different areas would vary from one test taker to another and equilibrium would evolve only over a period of time.

Incorrect prioritization and selection of questions due to which you end up picking wrong questions on that day. You need to be more vigilant and understand that wrong picks can ruffle up even the best of students!

Conceptual flaws and loopholes in these areas, whereby you assume the proportions of weaknesses. This requires an immediate attention to fundamentals and revisiting concepts. Unless the requisite conceptual clarity is there, application of these concepts would be a farfetched expression!

Most importantly, you should have the faith in yourself that you will get over the weakness that is hovering in your mind. More than the actual weakness, it is your thought process that comes between your performance in the test. As said by Arun Sharma, CAT guru, author of bestselling books on CAT preparation and IIM Bangalore alumnus, CAT preparation is about getting to know things and getting to know that you know things. So the key is to develop the beliefs. In the final days your focus should be on improving your belief system on whatever areas of the portion you have a grip on. Remember it is only your belief that will be with you on the D Day.

The keyword for the coming days to CAT 2011 till the D Day is to maintain your confidence and motivation level. Always remember that there have been others in your position a year back. They have made it to the top with sheer focus and pragmatic time management.

To read the Tip 1 for the last lap of preparation for CAT 2011, click on the following link: CAT 2011 Tip of the Day: Mock tests - How many & When to take