CAT DILR Preparation: How To Score In DILR?

CAT DILR Preparation 2022: The Common Admission Test (CAT) will be conducted by IIM Bangalore on November 27, 2022. The Date Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section has proved to be challenging for candidates because of its syllabus. This article has provided all preparation tips and strategies which will help candidates to ace the examination and get admission in the college that they want.

Applicants who are willing to get admission to IIM must qualify for CAT with a minimum 99 percentile along with an excellent DILR score. Before moving to the right strategy for improving DILR, the candidate must be well-versed with the type of questions and the syllabus. Most CAT 99 percentiles do not get admission into IIM due to low scores in the main section i.e. DILR score. Read on to know more about CAT DILR preparation 2022.

How To Begin Preparation For CAT DI & LR Section?

In order to begin the preparation of Data Interpretation & logical reasoning, the candidate must start practicing CAT Study material and books or modules. The candidate must start with solving basic concepts like ranking, seating arrangement, quantitative reasoning, Venn diagram etc. All these topics help in building the concepts strong and make one to achieve maximum marks.

What Is The Right Strategy To Prepare For CAT?

CAT is a national-level entrance examination that is mainly conducted every year jointly by one of top IIMs. If a candidate is beginning the CAT preparation, then they must dedicate close to 8-10 hours per week depending on the level of preparation. Here, candidate must focus on building the basics and ensuring to complete the syllabus to the maximum extent possible. Candidates must ensure that they distribute these 8-10 hours in a week depending on how much time one dedicates for the study and the section. Candidates must divide each section 2-3 hours i.e. for VARC, DILR & Quant with remaining time dedicated to either attempting the mock tests.

CAT DILR Preparation 2022: How To Score In DILR?

The sectional composition of Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) is provided below:  

1. Total Number of Questions: The question paper of CAT 2022, will include a total of 32 questions from DILR. 
2. Total Duration: The sectional time limit allotted for the data interpretation section will be 16 minutes. 
3. Types of questions: The question paper will be bifurcated with a total of 12 multiple-choice questions and 4 non-MCQs (from each of DI and LR). 
4. Marking Scheme: As per the CAT official marking scheme, the applicants will be awarded three marks for every correct attempted answer and minus one mark for each wrong answer. 
5. Difficulty Level of Questions: The questions difficulty level for the data interpretation section will be moderate to high. 
6. Maximum Marks: For the DILR section, the maximum marks are ninety-six as per the exam pattern issued by the exam conducting body of CAT 2022. 

Preparation Strategy for CAT 2022 At Different Level

Candidates are in different frames of preparation, whereas some are beginners, intermediate, and experts. Candidates who are in different levels will have to prepare accordingly. Check the below strategy for CAT 2022.

• Beginners: Students who have never solved puzzles, logical reasoning questions must begin by solving these as this is a basic set of questions from study material or a online website.
• Intermediate: These candidates are generally interested in solving questions and can skip solving basic set and raise their difficulty level of sets by solving questions from ranking, arrangements and even matrices.
• Expert: These candidates have earlier attempted CAT and are confident enough with basic concepts. They can begin their preparation by solving previous year questions of SIMCAT, AIMCATs and CAT Mock test.

Test-Taking Strategy

Candidates who are done with solving basic sets of questions must now develop a strategy that how they will go-ahead with the exam. These include:

Scan the test: While candidates solve the practice papers or mock tests, do not start over with first set provided. Spend 4-5 minutes in reading all the questions of DILR and pick a few sets which can be solved quickly. Choose 1-2 sets which are easy to solve first and then move to difficult sets.

Set Selection: Often, it is observed that it is easy to difficult sets of LR DI. Identify the easier sets and attempt them first. Candidates must make sure that they do not leave the easy sets and get stuck to difficult sets. Regular practice from different types of sets will help in identifying the difficulty level. Example: Candidates must pick the sets which have a few people or less number of variables in questions and leave questions with heavy information for the future.

Move Ahead: While solving the questions of CAT, it is very important to leave the questions from which they are unable to derive the answer. Some questions are not meant to be solved as some are tricky so candidate must not spend time solving that.

How To Prepare For DILR Section For CAT Exam? Important Topics

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning sections require problem-solving, logical and analytical skills. Though Data Interpretation and logical reasoning section does not have a fixed syllabus, it is definitely worth spending some time in getting used to different question templates that CAT generally sticks with. The major topics covered in the DILR section for CAT exam are provided as below: 

CAT 2022 Preparation: Changes In DILR Section 

CAT question paper saw changes in the past few years. Earlier before 2015, the DILR section was a part of the quantitative ability section of the CAT question paper.

After a change in the syllabus of the CAT paper, the data interpretation and logical reasoning part is considered as a separate section now. This section includes a total of 32 questions out of which 16 questions belong to the data interpretation category. As per the latest update in the CAT exam pattern, the DILR section will include 16 questions out of which 12 questions will belong to the MCQ category, and the rest four questions will be the non-MCQ in nature.

How To Prepare For DILR Section For CAT Exam?

Time Management

Time management is the key to success in a highly competitive exam like CAT wherein even a single mark here and there can heavily impact the candidate’s percentile score. The below-given tips will help the aspirants to solve the maximum questions in the DILR section within the sectional time limit of 60 minutes.

1. At the start of the DILR section in the CAT question paper, click on the option “View Question Paper”. Make sure not to invest more than 1-2 minutes in scanning all the questions.
2. Scanning the questions will help a candidate to determine the sets that should be attempted first and the sets that the candidate can line-up to solve later.
3. If a set is going to take too long to be solved, avoid doing it in the beginning. It is always a wise move to solve the less time-taking sets when a candidate can start the DILR section.
4. Don’t avoid solving the non MCQ type questions.    

How to Excel for CAT DILR Section?

Percentile Analysis

Scoring 97-98 percentile score is considered an adequate performance in CAT. Aspirants must know how many questions they should attempt to get a decent percentile score in DILR with the help of previous years’ analysis:

How To Solve CAT DI and LR Questions

Before solving CAT DILR, be familiar with a time limit for each section in CAT 2022. To solve DILR questions of CAT, candidates should not just focus on practicing more and more number of questions. Some of the important steps to solve DILR questions include:

• Analyze the questions: Before beginning the CAT 2022 preparation, candidate should know about the important topics of DILR Sections. By knowing about the CAT syllabus, candidates should solve CAT questions within the time limit. With a sectional time limit, it becomes imperative to select the type of sets that can be solved with high frequency.
• Know the tricks to solve: Different sections have different tricks to solve. Different tricks in the study material of various publishers or coaching institutes will help in solving questions well. With a well-planned strategy, candidate must solve the questions to save time and effort. With effective application of trick, they become automatic responses to maintain the pace.
• Build Mental Legend: DILR section will include questions that include arrangement, puzzles, Venn diagrams etc. These topics are difficult to retain while solving the complete question. Candidates must learn all the abbreviations and must be aware of symbols before getting confused. The main purpose is to avoid confusion and making mistakes.
• Decode constraints: DILR questions for CAT have more than what appears on the surface, and this can trick the candidates. While solving CAT DILR section, it is highly beneficial to find the hidden meaning.
• Improve the performance: After analysing the performance, candidate must work on improving the speed and focus on mental calculations to consume time for DI questions.

How to Score in CAT DILR?

Number of Attempts Suggested by Coaching Institutes 

There are renowned MBA coaching institutes that impart training for CAT. According to these coaching institutes, the number of attempts in the DILR section is as following:

How To Prepare Smartly For DILR CAT 2022?

The data interpretation and logical reasoning section of CAT 2022 will include formula-based questions. The experts recommend the following tips to score up to the expectations in the CAT DILR section:

1. Regular practice through the online mock test papers on data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) is a conventional yet effectual practice. The mock test papers will bring clarity about the question paper pattern of DILR. 
2. Only refer to the latest books recommended by the experts for data interpretation. The applicants are advised not to waste their time reading the irrelevant and introductory books for this section. 
3. Check out the latest syllabus updated by the exam conducting body before starting the exam preparation. The syllabus of the CAT paper has been changed by the exam conducting body over the last few years. To score good marks in the data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) section, the applicants must refer to the latest syllabus from the official website of CAT. 
4. Follow the exam preparation strategy followed by the previous year toppers. This practice will enable applicants to comprehend the difficulty level of the data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) section of CAT 2022. 
5. Practice different types of questions based on the data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) section to speed up calculations.
6. Refer to the best study material recommended by the experts for this section. The study material for the CAT 2022 data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) section will include the DILR books, DILR quick notes, DILR mock test series, and coaching class notes for DILR.
7. Note down all the important formulas for this section and practice regularly to solve questions with them. The formulas will help to solve the questions quickly and easily. 
8. The applicants must focus on time management while preparing for the DILR section, as this section requires more time to solve the questions. For time management, applicants must solve the questions within the given time frame as per the exam pattern issued by the CAT 2022 exam conducting body. 
9. There are some short tricks to solve the questions of logical reasoning, which can be learned with the help of online classes arranged by experts. The applicants can learn the trick from online classes or physical classes. 

CAT 2022 DILR Preparation Books

Before starting CAT preparation for the DILR section, applicants must check out the books recommended by the experts for the exam preparation. The list of books recommended for the CAT DILR section is given below:

1. How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma
2. A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning by R S Agarwal
3. How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma 
4. Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation by Nishit Sinha 

CAT 2022 Tricks For DI & LR By 99 Percentilers 

The past year’s toppers have their success stories of how they cracked the DILR section. Applicants preparing for CAT 2022 can also refer to the exam strategy followed by the toppers to solve DILR section. To score good marks in the data interpretation and logical reasoning section of CAT 2022, follow the tips recommended by previous year toppers below:

1. Applicants must prepare a timetable as per the syllabus of the DILR section of CAT 2022. 
2. The toppers recommend solving the previous year question papers to understand the difficulty level of data interpretation and logical reasoning section of CAT 2022. 
3. Applicants must check regular updates related to the syllabus of the DILR section of CAT 2022. 
4. CAT aspirants must refer to the latest study material for the preparation of the DILR section. The study material of DILR is also available online on different websites for CAT 2022 preparation. 
5. Regular mock test series are recommended by almost all the toppers to clear the section of DILR as per the CAT 2022 paper. The mock test paper is designed exactly as per the exam pattern of CAT. So, the applicants get an idea about how to solve the exam question paper of CAT 2022. 
6. If the applicants find the data interpretation and logical reasoning section difficult, then they can also get the specific online coaching classes for this section. The experts at the coaching institutes will guide the applicants to prepare as per the exam paper strategy. 

Tips To Answer Logical Reasoning Questions in CAT 2022

Candidates who wish to appear for CAT must follow the below tips for scoring good marks in logical reasoning questions. This includes:

• Candidates must give equal importance to information provided in question and factual data.
• Candidates must choose the correct option carefully.
• Before marking any correct answer, candidate should understand the information carefully.
• Candidates must read the table, graph and chart carefully to organize the information.
• While preparing for DILR, candidate must go through various videos that shows the strategies to prepare.
• On the examination day, if a candidate faces any problems of logical reasoning, then the candidate must skip that.
• Candidates must choose to appear for mock tests and also solve the previous year CAT question paper to understand the exam pattern.

FAQs On CAT DILR Preparation 2022

For the remaining queries, some frequently asked questions related to CAT 2022 preparation on how to score in DILR are given below:

Q.1: How can CAT preparation be made enjoyable?
Ans: CAT exam test mainly contains the intelligence of classes 8, 9, and 10th in a standardized format. The candidate must learn maths with a sense of joy and must learn from the basics and retain a sense of wonder about math. Mathematics is considered to be the queen of sciences since it is a fabulous brain exercise tool kit.

Q.2: What study material I can refer to for self-study for the preparation of the DILR section of the CAT 2022 paper?
Ans: For the preparation of the DILR section of the CAT 2022 paper, the applicants can refer to the DILR books, DILR quick notes, DILR mock test series, and coaching class notes for DILR. 

Q.3: How do candidates prepare for CAT for free?
Ans: There are plenty of books that are available for CAT preparation. The best basic books for Quant are NCERT books. For solving more tougher, more relevant questions to practice must visit the best CAT question bank.

Q.4: How should the candidate prepare for DILR in CAT?
Ans: Candidate must dedicate 2 hours per week to VARC, DILR & Quant concepts, and test them every week by taking a mock test and understand its analysis (5 hours), candidate will be able to score more than 99 percentile in CAT.

Q.5: When should the candidate start preparing for CAT 2022?
Ans: Most candidates should start quite early. CAT 2022 exam is expected to be held in November, and so candidates must begin to appear for CAT 201 exam then starting CAT preparation in March-April is a perfect idea.

CAT preparation is something that needs to be given utmost importance by serious candidates. In order to properly decide on how to prepare for the same, candidate must prepare accordingly.

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