I am back!

Now that my endterms are over, hopefully I will get my dream B. Tech. Degree in computer science and engineering from IIT Kanpur. Its definitely a time to look back and realize that indeed something has been achieved! My best days of life has been the IIT JEE preparation days when I used to dream of a single digit JEE rank...I worked hard, missed the target by a whisker but I was a contented man. I got the most coveted department in arguably the best IIT :) Four years into my B. Tech. I am not a satisfied person. The sense of achievement and satisfaction that I used to derive out of my work has gone away. Today, I feel I could have used IIT a lot better to shape my career. Am I getting uselessly worried? Perhaps not! When a person enters IIT with the desire to be among the best and now if he is satisfied with a pass grade, something must have gone terribly wrong. The reasons can be many...Perhaps, his aptitude lies somewhere else. Perhaps, it was a case of burnout....Perhaps, .....
I always thought that these are lame excuses for failures. Now, I use them! The time has come to open a new chapter in my life i.e. IIMA. IITK has taught me some lessons the hard way. My father always used to say that if you fail, you learn more. Today, I know that one can never bask in past glory. Every milestone achieved is temporary. 99% of successful people reach their goal because of their hard labour and not because of being an oversmart chap.
I know I am not going to have my stay at IIMA a bad spot in my academic career. I am definitely going to rock this place, come what may!

Rules of a good presentation!

Today, I met Dr. S. K. Mehta, a very cool professor of our department. I am doing a project course(CS 497) under him and I am supposed to give a presentation tomorrow. He looked at my ppt slides and then we had a real good conversation about what makes a good presentation. The advice seems trite but they really sound reasonable.

• Never promise more than what you can deliver. Always be on the safer side while promising anything to the audience :)
• A picture is worth a thousand words. Use them as much as possible.
• Maintain the flow of ideas in the presentation. Never keep the audience in lurch about any definition or complicated ideas. Explain them in the next slide only.
• Always give a definite statement about what you claim. Be ready with examples for every statement written in the slides. No Globes :))
• Finally, time your presentation. Know how much time you are giving to each slide.

My endsem exams are from Monday. So, I wont be very regular with my blogs. Finally, some respite for people who inadvertently read my blogs.

Vikas

Unity in diversity :P

When we started learning to write essays in our school, the first topic invariably was "India's unity in diversity". The class will be taught how this diversity has propelled india into the path to prosperity. Today, according to me, nothing can be more contradictory and inane than this comment. What would have happened to us had there been no diversity in terms of race, culture or religion? Looking at conflicts across the world, I find people fighting over their identity. Either these identities have been thrusted on them or they strived to create one. Talk of the basque conflict, Israel-Palestine conflict, sudan civil war or the People's war group in Andhra pradesh and the adjoining states. Don't we find the inequities existing in the society the overriding reasons for what has happened to the society at large? These social and economic inequities further get exacerbated and coloured by the imaginery identities that we imagine for ourselves. Can't we have a nation in which the born child learns more about the humanity and not the religious hatred that our so called religious leaders propogate? I think everyone has a big stake in making the society more homogeneous and equitable. Though we listen of gates foundation in every newspaper, but isn't that a zilch contribution to curing a malady that can cripple the nation totally. We talk of India as a superpower in making based on the fact that our median age is only 24 years while even for china which is a relatively young nation the median age is 35+. But, the youth can be an asset as well as burden to the nation. Unfortunately, we seems to be approaching the latter case. People blame politicians for the lack of development and prosperity in the nation. But, is this not true that people make a revolution and not politicians. Is the case not so grim that we introspect what and where the system has gone wrong? Let's ponder over the problem and come with a solution :))

Vikas...
Quote of the day: Set your goals high, then EXCEED them.

A mixed day :)

Yesterday, I met ankur khandelwal. He has done his MBA from IIMA and has been recruited by Morgan-Stanley for its singapore office. He was a very nice person and gave lots of gyaan about IIMA and career options. We also got a good sumptuous treat :P I hope I can survive the rigour of A and come out stronger. I can sense the pride I will feel when I will read this blog after my first year at A because of the sense of achievement after having gone through the most rigorous academic curriculum of India. Today, I got my much awaited IIMA call letter too. Luckily or unluckily I have been invited :D for the communication prep course starting from 30th May. Now, it seems either I will have to leave the DataStructure class or this prep class. My convocation is also on 31st which I dont want to miss at any cost. After all, getting a B. Tech. degree from IIT Kanpur is not that easy. Slowly, the news of having got a final convert from all the IIMs has started to sink in. The final end semester exams are starting from 25th April. Though, there is some fight in one or two courses, I hope the professors will be kind enough not put the dreaded alphabet in my grade sheet :( .

Vikas

IIM Calcutta Interview

This is really interesting. That is the sole reason this experience is at the top of other GD/PI write ups.

Vikas Kumar
99.99%
All Calls
CPI 8.4
IIT Kanpur
Status: Finally converted
GD Topic: The development of a country depends on politics and not technology.
The GD went fine and the quality of points were good. I made 4-5 entries.. Will rate my performance as OK.

PI: HORRIBLE and a complete DISASTER
There were two panel members.. The first one was a bearded guy(BG) with an evil look and the other was a bengali proff(BP). Every candidate had stress interview but I topped all of them When I entered the bengali proff went out and I was left all alone to be slaughtered by BG.
BG(looking at me rather harshly): You were very aggressive in GD
ME: I was just stunned. I made 4-5 entries did not try to take much airtime..but
ME: I said sir, I dont think that was the case and I felt I had some good points which should have been discussed and some more gas!
BG: Two people did not speak in GD and one was sitting besides you. Do you believe in elbowing out others while competing with them?(Maintaining a very serious and evil look)ME: Sir, I think I am a competitive person and that has helped me reach where I am despite being from a rather small place and not so good schooling. I think that it is an isolated event where you have got this impression that I am aggressive..I have worked in many group projects and activities and I have never got this feedback...(was getting drained out and frustrated)
BG: Some more crap and said that though the discussion was quite good but there should have been some more participation from the 2 guys..
ME: (arre yaar ab maaf karo) Ok sir, probably I should have tried to bring them into discussion but I think everyone should realize that one has to perform at this stage...5-6 minutes actually passed at this stage!!
BG: You had a pretty bad 3rd year (cpi 3rd year 7.8 and 1st-2nd year 9.0) why?
ME: Sir, I am really concerned about my academics but from my 2nd - 3rd year I have been concentrating more on my projects apart from the compulsory courses and I think I missed out while priortizing things.BGangrily) That means you are not good at maintaining focus...
ME: Sir, though I have done bad in my 3rd year but I am expecting a good spi this semesterBG: What is your spi for the 7th semester?
ME: sir 7.2 BG: That means you have been performing poorly for the last 3 semesters!
ME: blabbered something and lost my composure ...haalat kharab ho gayi and I just gassed some moreMeanwhile the other bengali prof(BP) comes
BP: looks at my form and said that why low spi in 3rd year?
BG: You know he has perfomed poorly for 3 semesters...
ME: Again the same weird justification about projects...
BP: But the projects are compulsory...
ME: No sir, I have taken many projects which were over and above the requirements of the course
BP: Ok give us some lead
ME: Talked about processor simulation of MIPS for pipelined, non pipelined and multiprocessors..(Both of them had no clue what I was talking about)Some more gas on why low cpi? At this stage mere dimag ka fuse jal chuka tha and I desperately wanted to come out!11-12 minutes over!
BG: Ok you good at maths?
ME: Yes Sir
BG: I will ask you a probability question!
ME: nods(relieved)
BG: I say that the probability of the roof falling on your head is 0.5? What is the basis of the statement..
ME: Did not know what to say? Talked of experimental observations to take out the probability
BG: Do you want me to take so many experimental observations
ME: Sir, in case of random events it is 1/2 like coin flipping.
BG: (shouting) I asked you for the basis of the statement
ME: I dont know:(( BP was nodding but BG was not satisfied at all and was growling
BG: A person goes to a shop to purchase a shoe but it costs 495 while he has 500 bucksThe shopkeeper gets the change from another shopkeeper and returns the appropriate amount to customer. After some time he comes to know that 500 note was fake. What is the gain and profit to each individual in the transaction?
ME: Bungled it big time since I was drained out and my mind was not working at all..Did some useless calculation and fumbled a lot ..Came out with the correct answer after 1-2 minutes
BP: You took so much time for such a simple question?
BP: What is your percentile? and calls?
ME: 99.99 and six calls
BP: (Sarcastically) You want to get into IIMs, ok thank you
ME: Did not even thank them came out pretty disappointed...I could not sleep for 3-4 days over this interview!
The interview experience was totally fu**** up. But, even then I converted IIMC. It shows of the importance of CAT score and one's profile.
Vikas

IIM Lucknow Interview

GD/PI on 30th March, 2 PM at IIM Lucknow.
Vikas Kumar
IIT Kanpur
99.99 percentile
CPI 8.4
Status: Finally converted
GD Topic: Only the powerful can speak of peace and harmony.
The discussion was a bit chaotic but I entered 5-6 times and came with some good points. Infact this is what my group members said to me. I hope the panel members feel the same. Overall my performance in gd was quite good.

PI: Was a bit tense since I had lost my admit card. I was again second last after C and B.There were two profs one a young chap(YP) and the other an older prof(OP).After entering the room:
ME: Sir, I have lost my admit card
OP: How can you do this?
ME: Sir, I am sorry.
OP: I dont know what can I do.
ME: Sir, look at the xerox of the admit card and my driving license.Thankfully the matter settled there and then.
OP: Tell me about yourself
ME: The usual crap I had prepared.
OP: Looking at my cat scorecard. You scored 100 percentile in quant and 99.99 percentile overall. That's excellent Then said that 100 percentile is technically not feasible.
ME: Added to his point.
OP: Ok gud, so you are good at maths. But in your acads you started with a spi of 9 and then ended with 7.2 Why such a consistent fall
ME: The prepared answer..
OP: After getting such a gud rank in JEE you should not talk of competition.
ME: Talked of the projects that I had worked on apart from my course projects.
YP: So, what are your interests?
ME: Politics.
YP: which newspaper?
ME: Hindu.
YP: why hindu?
ME: Justified and said that earlier I liked toi. Tried comparing both.
YP: You cant compare TOI with Hindu
YP: Which news has drawn your interest recently?
ME: Sale of F16 to PakistanA long discussion for 10 minutes on US, india's foreign policy , pakistan and Israel ..I was able to raise some good points .
YP: Some more question on my family background and my schooling.
ME: handled really well and tried higlighting my strengths.
OP: Ok last question from acads What is NP complete problem.
ME: Defined P, NP and NP complete problems.
OP: give an example.
ME: TSP explained in detail about the same.
OP: gud you are correct.
YP and OP: Best of luck!
Overall a very good PI

Vikas

IIM Bangalore interview

MY IIMB GD/PI IHC, Delhi 9AM 28th March,2005
Vikas Kumar
IIT Kanpur
99.99 percentile
CPI 8.4
Status: Finally converted
GD: The case study was regarding the development of a software. It was to be delivered in just a few days and the overseas project manager suggested some changes keeping in mind the US customer needs. The Indian project manager feels that this may lead to bugs and possibly jeopardising the whole development process. But the indian project manager is hesitant to say so because he fears that the professional relations may worsen. BTW the company is a big MNC. There were some other small details thrown in.. The group contained 7 people. Most of them were from IIIT allahabad/hyderabad and one two people from IT BHU etc. The group was kind of curious to start and in the first 30 seconds almost everyone spoke except me After much cross talk for 2-3 minutes, they slowly came back to their senses . But for me, I felt good at the end. Spoke 7-8 times with good composure and many of my points were accepted in the consensus. In the end none had any point. In the last 2-3 minutes, I analysed the problem technically and tried to locate the possible problems in the software development process of the company and the possible changes that can be made to the current software. Overall after two avg GD at A and C, I would like to upgrade my performance review to good. But, in my interview, the lady prof said that while you were analysing the problem technically, others thought it was a managerial issue..She added that she may be wrong but what are my opinions? I said that ma'am I think both issues are important and in this case it's important to realise the technical feasibility of the project and the changes that can be made to the software. Also tried mentioning points which I had raised regarding the managerial issues ... But her question disappointed me and may be I will get some negative points for that. But, overall I think this was the first gd in which I was very articulate and people listened to me even after the chaos in the gd. God knows how they will grade it!

Interview:I was the last one in the panel so the process started at 1:20 PM and finished by 1:40 PM.There were two panel members: One male prof(MP) and the other lady prof(LP).
MP: Vikas, you are the last guy. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of being last in the interview?
ME: Sir, being last adds to your nervousness while on the +ve side you get to hear questions from other candidates.
MP: So, what did they say?
ME: That you were asking mainly about our projects and the interview was very cool.
MP: Ok so what do you want to be quizzed on?
ME: Projects , Current affairs(Politics) and maths
MP: Ok tell me about your projects.
ME: Told about my btp and my summer internship in NUS, singapore. Spoke for about 5-6 minutes.
MP: advantage/use of the project..
ME: answered..
MP: See, I am not a very technical guy so spare me the technical details
MP: Some basic quizzing on intermediate representations in compilers and the need for a universal IR.
ME: Talked in detail about UNICOL and how the researchers have made an effort in this direction.
MP: I have heard some thing called error correcting codes. What do you know about it?
ME: I am not sure but then started talking crap about error correction in compilers..and asked is that what he is expecting?
MP: I dont know, I attended a talk sometime ago and I dont remember much.
ME: Again talked some crap..(latter came to know that I should have discussed Reed Solomon codes and others ) I hope he does not remember anything from that bloody talk.
MP: What are the time complexities of these error correcting codes?
ME: I have not worked in this area but gave some globe on P and NP problems.
MP asks LP to ask some questions...She asked the same question about gd that I have written over earlier. I hope that does not become an issue.
LP: Some thing that struck me in singapore.
ME: crap crap
LP: What technical learning?
ME: SOME More crap
LP: You must have many other career options..What are they?
ME: talked in detail about three career options and how the other two does not suit me.
LP: You are arriving at your goals after elimination. Dont you think you should leverage your strengths?
ME: talked about my maths and analytical skills and how I am so much interested in eco and some other fundas.
LP: Ok what courses have you done?
ME: Could recall only two of the three and said that the third was an advanced course of the first course.
LP: What kind of reading?
ME: not much into novel reading but like reading current affairs (Politics, economy etc).
LP: Correlate one international business news with your economics course.
ME: silence for 5-10 seconds then came with suits filed against Microsoft in USA and europe.
LP: what are those suits called?
ME: blank Could not recall.
LP: Ok, explain the concept..
ME: Talked about the need of multiple players in the market and how microsoft was using its monopoly to drive competitors out of the market.
LP and MP look at each other and say thanks.

Vikas

IIM Ahmedabad Interview

Vikas Kumar
IIT Kanpur
CPI 8.4
99.99 percentile
Six Calls
Status: Finally Converted(Infact going to IIMA :) )

Case study: Topic was related to some decision by the higher mgmt to revoke a deal with a supplier.. Since we were only six people(2 people did not come ) and one did not speak we had ample time..I made few good entries and would rate the performance as OK

Interview: Three panel members....P1, P2, P3P1 used to smile a lot..P2 was looking at my certificates and P3 did not seem to be interested!
P1: So Vikas many IITK students have come today? Have you studied together?
ME: Yes sir, every one has been called today only .. No, I have done self study for CAT(lied big time )
P1: Ok let say I have to find out the number of individuals getting calls from atleast one IIMs...How will you estimate the number?
ME: Sir, I will take the datas of coaching institutes ... explained a bit .... but I had a flaw in my logic which was pointed out by him...
ME: took some 15 some seconds and said that I will do some sampling..I will make segments of different percentiles and different profiles..Based on the sample I can extrapolate the value..
P1: Smiling, ok so what will be the sample size?
ME: Sir, since I presume that the estimation need not be very accurate, a sample size of 5% of the population seems good to me
P1: seemed satisfied..ok what is the time complexity of quick sort?
ME: talked of worst case and average case..
P1: 3-4 counter questions on algorithm time complexity...
ME: answered well and confidently(I guess!)
P2: Vikas, we have heard so much of developed economy..what defines an economy as developed one?
ME: Talked of Human Development Index
P2: What is percapita income?
ME: GDP/Population later said its NNP/Population
P2: What is the difference between GDP and NNP?
ME: Answered correctly
P2: Name the top 3 country with the highest percapita income?
ME: Sir, I do not know but atleast one scandinavian country is there
P2: What are scandinavian countries
ME: Norway, Finland and sweden
P2: Are you sure?ME: Yes sir (later came to know that Denmark is also there)
P2: Name the state with the lowest literacy rate?
ME: Bihar
P2: What is the literacy rate of bihar?
ME: 47 %
P2: Female and Male literacy rate of Bihar?
ME: around 35-40 % for females and 55% for males
P2: Name another basis to distinguish between literacy rates?
ME: Since bihar is quite caste and class conscious, this can be a good basis(wanted further discussion but they had other ideas)
P2: Highest literacy rate?
ME: Kerala
P2: Second Highest Literacy rate?
ME: Mizoram
P2: what is the literacy rate?
ME: Around 90 %(88% is the correct answer)
P2: He did not seem to be satisfied
P3: (wakes up from his sleep) name two active areas of research in computer science?
ME: Talked of grid computing and next generation of computers based on AI.
P3 and P1: What is intelligence or AI?
ME: Sir, since I have not done any course on AI. So, I may not be accurate but according any thing that mimicks human intelligence should be intelligent system(what a stupid answer!)... and then talked of neural networks which I had heard from my friend at IITK.
P3: Suppose you are sent to a village what will be the power source for your computer?
ME: Sir, solar power though I am not very sure?
P3: Why you are not sure?
ME: May not be economically feasible
P3: ok go on!
ME: sir ups
P3: How will that be recharged
ME: Sir, solar power
P3: any other power source
ME:I cant think of any other source
P3: Should there be promotion of IT in villages?
ME: yes sir
P3: Why?
ME: Weather reports and cropping patterns..
P3: one can get the same information from newspapers?
ME: Sir but it will not be real time weather report?
P3: (amused) do you mean to say that if there is going to rain in the next hour, you will change the cropping pattern..
ME: Realized my mistake... and tried to cover it up by talking of getting good market information about the inputs for farming and the final produce..
P3: but if the people are not literate how will they use them?
ME: Sir, we can have a system installed for a group of villages and an operator for each system. A villager can approach the operator to get any information.
P3: Ok, give me the speed of the fastest memory?
ME: Did not get what he was saying took some time and assuming something I came out with some answer after some analysis.. Was expecting them to pound me after this but it seemed either they did not know or they were not interested in the answer.
P3: asked to integrate (e)^(e)^x?
ME: Was not expecting and did some stupid rough work..
P3 quickly taking the sheet back said do you like maths?
ME: Yes sirP2: why is your cpi decreasing in 3rd year?
ME: talked of my projects
P2: can you justify such a steep fall(7.8 in 3rd year and 9.0 in 1st and 2nd year) based on your projects.
ME: talked some more crap.
P1: Vikas You got 38 rank in IIT and 0.1 % merit certificate in english? Which do you think is a greater achievement?
ME: IIT has opened lots of opportunities for me and some more crap!
P1: talk about your personal satisfactions...
ME: gassed some more
P1: Smiling thank you!
P2: ok one last question name the states through which river kaveri passes
ME: TN and Karnataka?
P2: AP?ME: Not sure, but probably a narrow stretch
P1smiling) what about kerala an maharashtra
ME: No sir
P1: ok thnx
Seeing that they have not offered me chocolates, I started taking one P2 said I am sorry please take two...
ME: Thanks sir
That was IT... I committed far too many blunders and was expecting some questions on current affairs, my projects and BTP.

Vikas

IIM GD

In any of the IIMs, GD dont count much if you have very good percentile and profile. Except for IIMA, one can get a final call even if he does not open his mouth provided he has an excellent percentile and profile. Now, people generally feel that since they dont have very good communication skills so they are at a disadvantage. Well, take my word this is not the case. The general do's and dont's for GD:

DO's
1. Open your mouth atleast 2-3 times.
2. Try bringing new points which can give direction to the discussion.
3. Since IIM GDs are really very peaceful, dont be aggresive and dont cut others.
4. Try being among the first 3-4 speakers, but again dont try to cut others to grab the opportunity.
5. Read newspapers and magazines atleast for 2-3 months. It helps!

Dont's
1. Dont open the gd if you are not sure of your points and the case/topic at hand.
2. Dont open your mouth every now and then!
3. Dont interrupt a person who is speaking for the first time and that too a very valid point :D

GD can only make your case stronger. It is not a critical factor in final selection. Dont commit any blunders. You may have a tough time with IIMA atleast if you have done some glaring mistakes.

Best of luck.
You can comment on the blog if you are looking for some specific fundae.
Vikas

Funda on CAT mocks

Now, lets talk of mock cats which is the most crucial part of your preparation. There are three main options that I looked for while preparing for cat. They were cl/ims/time mocks. None of the institutes has given me any moolah for writing this. Please use your discretion while deciding on any of the coaching institutes.
CL : I took all the CL mocks+FLT. I found the maths section to be quite good and quite close to CAT. English RC's were in general quite easy. The english usage section was easy to ok. CL people tried giving new charts/graphs but no coaching institute gave us the feel of DI in CAT 2004, which was quite tough.

TIME: I found maths easy in most of the mocks. The passages toughness level varied from very tough to very easy. The quality of english usage questions was not of cat standard though at times they tried to make it tough. The logic section of DI was really good in TIME and it came closest to DI problems in CAT 2004.

IMS: I took only two tests so my opinion should not count much. But, in general people find it very tough. If the topper scores 55 marks in any mock, you are really wasting your time in writing these mocks :))

Now, some general fundae on mocks.
When should you start writing mocks?
Start early if you are clear you want to go for cat. You can join TIME which starts the test series in june or so. Till mid-october dont be too much concerned with your rank and try out every possible strategy. Once you have decided on a particular strategy, stick to it. Even if you are performing bad in 2-3 mocks before cat, dont change your strategy in the last minute. You know never know what will be the pattern of CAT. But, it pays to have a rough idea of which section to start with and which will be your last section. Keep 15 minutes time as your spare time which you will allocate according to the toughness level of individual sections. Its extremely important to get atleast 90-95 percentile in each section. So, divide your time judiciously according to your strengths and the toughness of the paper. In cat, dont panic. If the paper is tough, everyone will find it tough. You have got these two hours, just go with an open mind. Dont put too much pressure on your self. Luck plays a big role. So, dont have too much expectations. You will really enjoy the result more if you dont have very high expectations :)) Dont make last minute strategy change in cat. Do, all kind of differential time allotment with the help of those 15 spare minutes. Give atleast 30 minutes to each section. If you get questions of varied weightage like CAT 2004, try solving the higher weightage questions atleast from your stronger section. They are not very tough compared to the lower weightage questions. You have to ace one section and this is the real chance for you. I solved all the 2 marks questions in maths except one :D So, dont go with the perception that 2 marks questions are twice as tough as 1 marks question. I will advise you guys/gals to be regular with your mocks. Taking a total of 20-30 mocks/Full length test should be good enough. But, after test atleast devote 3-4 hours for realizing your mistakes and making suitable strategies. During your mocks, at times you will find that your ranks have declined drastically. Please dont panick! It happens with everyone. Just believe in yourself. CAT is just a 2 hour game. If you have done it before, you can do it in CAT as well. It's easier said than done but having confidence in yourself pays :)
If you want any more fundaes, just put a comment and I will try to answer it. Sorry for typos and grammatical errors. I am writing all this pretty fast :))
Vikas

General funda on cat

Hi everyone,
I am Vikas Kumar, a final year undergraduate in computer science and engineering at IIT Kanpur. Well, this time I will write something useful. The journey from IITK to IIMA has been quite eventful. At times I felt everything was going down the drain and then suddenly I got all calls and eventually converted all my gd/pi calls.
Let's look at CAT. There are three sections. Now, I was good at Maths. So, I really did not prepare for it. I believe every IITian or a person with a good engg background should find this section quite easy. But, the trick is to make this section your strength. People go with the perception that one should be content with a score of 12-16 which will clear your cutoffs. But, at times it backfires. In cat2004, I believe maths was more scoring than english. I scored 36.66 which will give you a rough idea of how scoring this section can be. A good maths score will be 22+ while one will be reasonably safe if one scores 14+ in cat2004. I believe in CAT 2004, 20-22 would have fetched 99 percentile in maths. Coming to DI, CAT2004 was a real surprise. The pattern in DI is gradually tilting towards logic from problems involving data crunching. But, in no way does this mean that you should not concentrate on usual table/graph problems. CAT 2004 was an exception. Otherwise, I think DI can be the make or break section for people who believe they cant score very well in the other two sections. The key to success in DI is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE...... Now, the most critical section I believe is english. For IITians and engineer, this is a real problem. But, believe me you can improve tremendously in this section. The key to scoring well in this section is the realization that you don't need to speak or write very good english. Half of the paper is RC. For people who are underconfident, this is the best bet for increasing their score in english. Read atleast 2 novels a week 3-4 months before CAT. Read editorials of HINDU very regularly. Apart from your RC needs, it will come very handy in GD/PI stage later. Do the above exercise for 2-3 months. Mug up word power by norman lewis. It definitely helps if you dont have good vocab. If you can score something close to 15+ marks out of 25 in RC, you are well on your way to an IIM call. Now, the english usage section consist of 25 marks. It consist of around 6-8 marks of parajumbles. I believe parajumbles can be solved with a very high level of accuracy if you realize the funda of solving it. Start looking for connects, contrast and flow of the statements. Even names of persons and places can be a vital clue to the solution. This again requires common sense and the ability to analyse and interpret the sentences. For parajumbles, again I will advise all of you to practice regularly. Even if you get the answers correct look at the solution and realize what made you choose this option. This is really an important exercise. Ideally, analysis of the solution should take as much time as you take to solve the exercise on your own. Then comes fill in the blanks which again I believe can be quite scoring. If you know the meaning of the options, you are done. But, even if you dont know the meaning of the options, try to understand the meaning of the sentence and its flow. Is it looking for some contrasting words or is it looking for some similar words? In most of the cases, you will easily eliminate atleast 2 options. If you are not very much sure between the two, you can always take an educated guess !!! Now, we come to grammar questions. Grammar problems are not easy for people with ok english. If you have been a voracious reader, can understand the nuances of english grammar etc. then this may well be quite scoring and can be solved quite quickly. But, for me it always proved to be a stumbling block. The problem is that in CAT the grammar problems that usually come are not standard errors that you get to spot in CL/TIME/IMS mocks. I will recommend not to put too much emphasis on these sections if you are fairly ok with the other types of questions.
Let me know if you want some more fundas on any type of questions in these sections in particular. Just put in your comments and I will edit the post. Since, I have written this blog quite fast, please ignore my usage/spelling mistakes. I have never been good in english.
Vikas