Preparing For The Reading Comprehension Section For CAT

With CAT now becoming a Computer-based Test, how can students prepare for the Reading Comprehension (RC) section of the CAT paper? What questions could they be asked? We shall understand some of these aspects in this article.

Type of Questions

Firstly, let us try and understand the types of questions that appear in the CAT exam and other such MBA entrance tests. Remember that as far as the CAT is concerned, the focus of Reading Comprehension is on relatively shorter passages, but those which require you to ‘infer' the answer: this means that you really need to understand the passage as the answer will not be found directly in the passage.

Some common questions that appear in B-school entrance tests are:

Title of the passage: Passages given in CAT are often extracts from a larger text, and you are asked to choose the ‘most appropriate title'. Keep in mind that the option you choose must not be vague (too broad) or too specific or narrow. It is one that expresses a theme that is consistent throughout the passage.

Central idea or Theme of the Passage: You are asked to choose an option that correctly summarises or re-states the main idea of the passage; the Central Idea may also reflect the main aim or objective of the author in writing the passage.

Who is the author?: This is another type of inferential question-you have to try and estimate who the author of the given passage is likely to be. For example, you are asked whether the author is a professor, a newspaper reporter, a corporate executive etc. You need to remember certain pointers for this: for example, a journalist is supposed to be unbiased and present the facts without necessarily taking sides on the issue under discussion; he will typically quote what others have said etc.

Author's tone/ attitude: This is an important type of question. You are asked to pick the author's ‘tone'. What does this mean? ‘Tone' refers to the sentiment or emotions of the author towards the subject.

For example, the author may have been "analytical"-he has analysed the cause of some occurrence or maybe the future repercussions of some decision. He could have been "sarcastic"-poking fun or mocking something or someone. Or he could be "prescriptive": giving advice.

Questions that ask you to choose a statement that the author is "most likely to agree/ disagree with": Quite often, the candidate is asked to choose a statement from the given options that the author is "most likely to agree with" or "disagree with". In some ways, this question is similar to a combination of choosing the Central Idea and the ‘Tone' of the given passage

Direct questions: These are the easiest type of questions, checking whether you have paid attention while reading. The answer to such questions is generally found within the passage; and all you have to do is read with concentration.

Preparation for Reading Comprehension for the CAT

• It is important that you must become familiar with reading passages on a computer screen. For those who are used to working on a computer this should not be too difficult, but for those students who are not all that familiar with computers, this could perhaps become a problem
• In terms of doing well in RC, there is no substitute for reading! The additional point is that you should be used to reading passages on the computer screen. Also, given that the passages which appear in B-school entrance tests are from a wide variety of topics (such as science and technology, economics and business issues, politics and current affairs, biographical sketches, psychology, art and architecture, social issues etc), make sure that there is a variety in what you read.
• Try and practice the following while you read: train yourself to stop periodically and ask yourself as to what the author wants to indicate by the usage of particular phrases, is there an implicit meaning in his words, what is the impression he is trying to convey, what do you feel the author will say next etc. This will help you get better and better at being in ‘sync' with the author and ‘comprehending' passages to understand exactly what the author wants to convey.
• An important skill to develop is the ability to understand the author's tone or style. This is crucial for comprehending the passage well. There are many questions that can be accurately answered only if you have grasped the author's sentiments/ emotions to the given issue
• For long passages running into several pages (that appear particularly in the FMS exam), practice techniques such as ‘skimming' and ‘scanning'. These techniques may help you to improve your reading speed. But they do require sufficient practice: for it should not be that reading faster decreases your comprehension or understanding of the passage!
• Improving your Vocabulary also helps in getting better at RC. This not only means knowing word-meanings, but also improving your knowledge of common phrases used in the English language, such as ‘a Catch-22 situation', ‘cynosure of all eyes' etc for example. Just as a ‘picture is worth a thousand words', one can say that ‘a phrase is worth a hundred words'. Knowing the meaning of phrases that the author may use will greatly increase your comprehension of the passage.

Summary:

More information on all aspects of Reading Comprehension along with many parctice passages are provided in my book ‘Reading Comprehension for the CAT- A Winning Approach by an IIM Alumnus', published by Pearson, the world's largest education firm (link: http://pearson.vrvbookshop.com/book/reading-comprehension-cat-sidharth-balakrishna/9788131760598)

Remember to read as much as possible, and on a variety of topics on a daily basis. There is no short-cut for RC, and it requires sustained effort.

About the Author

Sidharth Balakrishna is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta and has been employed with the world's top Marketing, Management Consultancy and energy firms. Besides his regular Corporate job, he has written a number of books and articles for various reputed publications and has taken several guest lectures and seminars across the country.

His books include the following, all published by Pearson Education :

• ‘An Introduction to CAT-Tips from an IIM Alumnus'; available from http://pearson.vrvbookshop.com/book/an-introduction-cat-sidharth-balakrishna/9788131733400
• ‘Reading Comprehension for the CAT- A Winning Approach by an IIM Alumnus'; available from http://pearson.vrvbookshop.com/book/reading-comprehension-cat-sidharth-balakrishna/9788131760598
• ‘Marketing Case Studies'-part of the Pearson Case Book series; available from http://pearson.vrvbookshop.com/book/case-studies-marketing-sidharth-balakrishna/9788131757970

Sidharth is a Career Counselling Expert with the Hindustan Times and a member of the Interview Panel to select MBA students at various MBA institutes. Sidharth has also given lectures as a Visiting Faculty in several MBA institutes.

He can be contacted at bsiddharth_2001@yahoo.co.in

 

Source: Sidharth Balakrishna