Challenges in Cracking the DI Section of the CAT
Managers have to deal with large amount of data in order to make informed decisions. As a marketing manager, you may have to make critical decisions on the launch of your new product based on the data provided by your market research department. As a finance manager, you need to analyze the financial data of your company and make critical decisions pertaining to some important factors. As an HR manager, you need to go through records of your employees in order to take decisions regarding appraisals and evaluation. Hence managers need the aptitude to process large amount of data and draw quick conclusions out of it. Perhaps this is the reason why CAT has always given importance to Data Interpretation.
How has the DI section of the CAT changed over time?
Over the years, the data interpretation section of the CAT required you to interpret different types of data interpretations like tables, line graph, bar graph, pie-chart and caselets. You need to be good at calculations to solve these questions quickly. However, in the past few years this section of the CAT (like other sections) has become reasoning oriented. The graphs gave way to tables and caselets. The sets were difficult to interpret and consumed a lot of time. The emphasis was no longer on calculations, but on cracking the underlying logic behind the set. However, with the CAT 2009, things changed again. The sets were again calculation oriented.
It can also be said that the DI section of the CAT has moved from “Data Representation” to “Data Interpretation”. Confused? What we mean to say is that in the past, your decision of whether to attempt or not attempt a particular set depended on what kind of Data Representation it was. Thus a student comfortable in graphs would search for sets containing in the paper and solve them. Or for that matter, a student who was not so comfortable in caselets would end up skipping all the sets on in a paper. However this strategy would no longer be valid. The CAT has moved beyond a caselet or a graph or a table or so as to say, it is no longer important to establish how the data is represented.
What is more relevant today is, how can the data be interpreted.
The Online Angle
After The CAT went online the following changes happened in the DI section:
- Reasoning based sets gave way to calculation based sets. The graphs were back in the CAT and the caselets and big tables, heavy on data went missing.
- Interpreting data became tougher online especially since one did not have the luxury to use pencil or any other guidelines to help one figure out the exact values.
- The DI section which in the earlier years was heavily skewed towards Data Interpretation, saw a healthy blend of DI sets, Data Sufficiency and Logic. In the CAT 2009, almost all the slots had 4 individual questions on Logic (Family Tree, Arrangement, Allotments etc), 4 individual questions on Data Sufficiency and about 12 questions on Data Interpretation spread across 4 sets.
Typical DI sets that are asked in the CAT
If you were to analyze, there is a clear trend emerging in DI section in terms of the kind of interpretation you need to do to solve a DI set. We have classified them under the following 8 groups:
- Averages and Percentage Based
These sets would require you apply concepts of Percentage change, Weighted Average and Ratios to concepts. Most of the line graphs and pie charts are based on percentages. - Calculation Based
These sets are heavy on data and require you to perform a lot of calculations to get the answers. The good thing about these sets is that in most of the cases the answer options are wide apart. Hence there is a possibility to approximate the values and calculate. However, these sets are generally avoidable as they are time consuming and also prone to errors. - Counting Based
These sets are extremely easy and take less time to solve as most of the questions only require you to count certain values to get the answers. In case you find such a set in your paper, it should be the first one that you should attack. - Creating Multiple Scenarios
These are the sets in which one single scenario may not help you to get all answers. You need to create a new scenario for every question. Hence these questions take a lot of time to solve and must be avoided wherever possible. - Plugging Missing Data
In these sets some of the values are deliberately not revealed by the examiner. You need to find these missing data first and then answer the questions. These sets are extremely risky to attempt as you are never sure whether you will be able to extract all the missing data from the given information. - Venn Diagram Based
These sets pertain to two or more different types of sets and the relationship between the values of these sets. You need to draw Venn diagrams to represent these sets and establish relationship between different data values. - Networks and Paths
These sets require you to establish relationship between different paths in a network and get the answers. These sets are usually easy and must be solved as a part of one of the first few sets. - Reasoning Based
These sets are based on some underlying logic that binds different data values, and are beyond simple mathematical relationships. Your ability to crack these sets depends on whether you have been able to crack this logic between the data values. Again very risky sets to attempt as you may never know the amount of time it may take to crack these sets. For all you know, you may end up leaving these sets after having spent considerable amount of time.
Strategies for cracking the DI of the CAT
- Get your priorities right: In the DI section, the Data Interpretation questions are perhaps the most time consuming ones. Hence rather than starting with these, it is best to quickly solve the Logic and Data Sufficiency questions. With 7-8 questions in your kitty in almost no time, you can now confidently move on to the calculation oriented DI sets. Ideally the 8 questions on Logic and DS must be solved in 10 minutes, and then 3 DI sets must be attempted by giving on an average 10 minutes per set. This strategy may have to be tweaked a bit if you were to take the DI section as the last section of the CAT papers. This is so because, with a few minutes remaining at the end it is not advisable to start a new DI set as one may not be able to complete it. In that case you may have to keep a few individual questions for the end as well.
- Don’t get stuck in a jam: At the end of the day all of us are fighting against time. This is true for DI as you may end miscalculating your time distribution across sets if you are not sensitive to the time that you are spending on every question. At times it may be advisable to solve some questions from all the sets rather than getting stuck over a one odd question of a set in an attempt to solve all questions from some sets.
How do I prepare for DI in the last few weeks?
- Work on Speed Calculations:
- Knowing your reciprocals, squares, square roots, cubes, cube roots etc. can still do wonders. Work the calculations out mentally. Initially it may take more than you might want it to be taking, but this habit once formed will go a long way in helping you for DI.
- Solve section tests rather than individual sets:
- What is important is to simulate the CAT. Hence rather than focusing of solving individual questions, you need to solve as many section tests as possible. Take these tests under timed settings, with emphasis on selecting and prioritizing the sets.
- Solve the DI sets online rather than on paper-pencil:
- The idea is gain as much comfort in interpreting the data online and solving the question. This will go a long way in you cracking the DI section of the CAT.
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