Questions for the CAT Exam to Attempt and Ignore

Should I try to answer this or not? You ask yourself that while taking the CAT Exam. In this essay, I'll explain which CAT Exam questions you should attempt and which ones you shouldn't.

Let's examine the optimum procedures for answering a query.

1. View a question

2. Read the question

3. Choose whether to answer the problem, mark it for further review, or just skip it

Any of the following three behaviors could be interpreted as not trying a question.

1. Failing to read the question

2. Reading without solving  

3. Reading, figuring out, but not trying

+3 for a correct answer, -1 for an incorrect answer. So, for multiple choice questions answer only if you are certain.

Yet, if you like to decide a ‘when-to-guess’ strategy for yourself, you can analyze your mock tests and know about your guesswork, and decide based on the data what works and what doesn’t.

For direct answer type questions, guessing wouldn’t really get you anywhere. But since there is no negative marking, you can guess on such questions instead of leaving them blank.

1. Do not go in with preconceived notions. Do not leave a question just because it was from a module you find difficult. Decide based on merit. A question from your favorite module could be very difficult, and a difficult module could have an easy question. It is important that you catch all the low-lying fruits on the test. Maximize your overall score, not get your favorite topic question right.

2. Don’t make answering a question into an ego issue. If you are getting stuck, let go. “I love this section, I have to get this question right” Do you find that logical? Decide based on merit, always.

3. Understand the concept of sunk cost: “I have already spent 2 minutes on this question. If I don’t do it now, those 2 minutes would be wasted.” Those 2 minutes are gone anyway. So, should not figure into your decision.

4. Have hard deadlines: A 60 minutes section with 32-34 questions, translates to roughly 2 minutes per question. Of course, as you skip questions, you can devote more time to the remaining questions. Yet, it is a good idea to have hard deadlines. These deadlines would be different for individual questions, and first questions of grouped questions (e.g. DI and RC).E.g. For an independent quant question, you could keep a 3:00 minutes hard deadline. If you haven’t been able to answer such a question in 3 minutes, let it be. Move on. Don’t lose sight of the big picture. It is not about any individual question, it is about your overall score. The worst blunder you can do is not read all the questions in a section and give each a fair shot.

Whether to attempt a question or not is a very serious decision. Attempt only if you are 100% sure. Yet, if you wish, you can still figure out what works best for you using analysis of the mock tests you should’ve had. That should give you an idea of whether or not to give a try when you are uncertain about the answer.

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