How to improve your CAT Verbal Percentile?

Aspirants are in high preparation mode from June itself, this is the best time to talk about how to improve your verbal ability mock scores.

Various factors contribute to the vast differences in performance, including test resources, test-taking strategies, mentorship and more. 

Aspirants have an idea about CAT and other exam patterns. Aspirants find the VARC section to be one of the most challenging sections of the CAT. A person who fumbles in VARC loses their overall percentile, resulting in few calls from top-tier institutes.

The verbal section comprised 24 questions in CAT and most of the questions are from reading comprehension. As a result, doing RC can seal a hefty score if one knows how to do it well.

“READING” is one of the most vital elements that will act as a rejuvenator for you. CAT requires the ability to read diverse content and comprehend it within a certain time period.

It is possible for some people to have questions regarding, ‘where should I get diverse content from?’ What is the best way to find the sources of the same? And many more such questions. This is the area which can set your preparation on a higher slope.

Reading will also test your vocabulary skills, since CAT strives to filter out the best from the rest. There are some books like Norman Lewis’s, Wilfred Funk’s, etc. In addition to the sources mentioned above, I recommend that fellow aspirants read newspapers regularly. Editorials from ‘The Hindu’ are a must and keep a practice of writing summary to every editorial which will ensure your growth.

In terms of test pattern and practice tests, try to solve 5-6 RC’s on different subjects daily so that reading and comprehension are synced up.

When solving RCs, please use the timer because you cannot spend more time on one RC. Develop the stamina to solve 4-5 RCs at once within a time limit of 45-50 minutes. You can prepare for verbal ability by solving parajumbles, critical reasoning questions, and summary questions. Regular practice is the key to developing verbal ability.

Now comes the most crucial part of taking mocks. Participate in any national level mock series. Analyze the mock after you’ve taken it and see what mistakes you’ve made. Make a note of all the mistakes in a single book and refer to them before the next mock.

Make sure you come up with strategies for different levels of difficulty.  If any paper has difficult RC and moderate VA, then you should try to maximize scores based on your strengths.

In case your concentration wanes while solving continuous RCs, solve two RCs, then jump to VA, and then come back to RC. So such strategies should be tested in the period of July to September.

You might want to keep track of the number of attempts, accuracy, time spent on a particular question, as well as the logic behind the questions. Focus well and the world is yours!!!

All the Best!