Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Preparation

Preparation Tips for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Section of CAT

How to prepare for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section of the CAT exam tests your decision-making ability and speed using limited input. The most important part of preparation for CAT is practice; you should give every practice test as seriously as if it is the real CAT. There is absolutely no sense in giving untimed tests. In fact, giving tests without looking at the watch will only restrain your preparation.
At the initial stage of Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning preparation, start off with topical tests. When you gain confidence in all areas of DI/LR, it is time to start giving more number of full-length DI/LR tests. After this, merge individual sectional tests and start giving CAT-like full length test papers containing all three sections. After every test analyse your performance and try to improve it with next exams. If you find yourself to rework on back topics then take 1-2 more area-specific tests in that topic. An important thing you need to work on is the judicious selection of questions. Utilize practice tests for this purpose.

The CAT Data Interpretation/Logical Reasoning section can be divided into three key areas:
1. Data Interpretation:

Data Interpretation section of CAT is the extraction of maximum information from a given set of data or information. The data can be presented either in the form of a table or a bar chart or a pie chart or a line graph or as a combination of one of these formats.
Before starting DI section one should be very comfortable with numbers, calculations, fractions and percentages. It helps in reducing the time required for solving the questions. It is not unknown for question-setters of the CAT to try and bewilder students with a large amount of data, most of it unnecessary. As a rule, the more the data presented, the easier the questions that follow, so don’t lose heart if you see a table with 10 columns occupying one whole page. On the other hand, several seemingly innocuous questions may trip you up. Therefore, I would advise you to look at the questions first to get an idea of what data you need to be searching for in the graphs/charts/tables in the main question asked.

In the beginning one should try to get familiarize with all data formats and solve easy questions based on single data/graph. But In real CAT Data Interpretation questions are usually asked on combinational graph.
Before starting DI section one should be very comfortable with numbers, calculations, fractions and percentages. It helps in reducing the time required for solving the questions. Another interesting feature of DI that student can add to their advantage is that, usually, not all questions in a set are of equal difficulty. Specifically, most sets have a ‘counting’ type of question (How many companies have profits more than x%, how many people have incomes less than Rs. XYZ etc.). Most of these questions can be solved without calculation but by close inspection of the data presented. These type of simple but tricky questions can be called as ‘gift questions' designed to test a student’s presence of mind, and should never be missed out.
There are other similarly easy questions in most sets, and you should practice identifying the level of difficulty of questions so you know immediately which ones to attempt and which to avoid. There is no rule that states that you need to attempt all questions in a set, so it is a perfectly valid strategy to attempt selected questions across your DI section, without perhaps completely attempting even a single set.
You can practice for DI with GRE preparation textbook or software. These contain several graph and chart type questions, most of them are similar to CAT level. You can practice these questions at the initial stage of preparation and then gradually move on to tougher questions from CAT preparation material. GRE software comes with the inbuilt timer, so it will keep you on your toes.

2. Logical Reasoning:

Logical Reasoning is always the toughest part of CAT. In CAT Logical Reasoning section questions usually comes with 2/3 bits. A paragraph is given with full of information followed by 2/3 questions. You have to read it and use your logic to answer the questions. In 3 sections of CAT paper there is no special section on LR but one can expect LR questions to be present in any section. The most important and first step to solving an LR problem is to write down all of the information given in a box, table or diagram e.g. if the problem involves seating arrangements at a round table, always draw the table first and then try various permutations and combinations of people seated around it. Once you have drawn the figure for the problem, you are free to think with a clear mind. LR problems usually contain several statements which serve as clues to solving the problem. Thus, the problem should always be attempted in a methodical manner, and solved step-by-step, because trying to look at all the information at once will confuse even the best of us.

CAT Logical Reasoning problems are usually ‘all-or-nothing’ type, in the sense that if you crack the problem you will have answers to all the questions that follow, and if you don’t you will not be able to answer even a single question. This is because if the logic to the problem is known to you, the questions that follow can get solved. Hence, proper selection of problems to solve first is even more crucial here than in DI. Often, students fail to solve a problem after investing 10-15 minutes on it. Since the information they have at the end of that time is not much more than that at the beginning, they cannot answer even a single question in the set and have nothing to show for their effort. Problem-selection is tricky, so if you find that you are unable to solve it after the first 5 minutes, do the smart thing and switch to another set or section. You can always come back later if you have the time.
LR needs maximum practice with increasing logical abilities. Along with your CAT preparation material, try looking for puzzle books or newspaper leisure sections that contain logic puzzles. Puzzle-solving is a knack, and the more you start enjoying logic puzzles, the better you will get at them.

3. Data Sufficiency:

This is the third portion of the section, and quite a few DS questions were asked in the last CAT paper. Data Sufficiency problems usually take the form of a logical puzzle, and are in the form of a question followed by two statements. You need to answer whether you can solve the problem using the statements individually, or using both, or whether you cannot solve the problem using the information provided. The key to answering such problems is to pretend like one statement does not exist, try solving the problem, and then pretend like the other statement does not exist and try solving the problem again.

Practice, practice, practice. The more time you spend practicing data sufficiency questions, the better able you will be to internalize the tips and strategies given above. You will also become very comfortable with the type of questions from this portion of the test, and will quickly realize if there are any math areas, such as geometry or algebra where you need to brush up your skills. When it comes time to sit for the CAT, you will want to know key math formulas and data relationships off the top of your head.
The DI/LR section is one of the higher scoring sections on the CAT, so you can look to it for help in improving your overall score as well, as long as you devote a good proportion of your time to it. Although recent CATs have had 4-5 question sets, be prepared for 1-2 question sets as well. DS questions have never appeared in sets. Important things to remember while attempting this section are that you need be quick in switching sets if you find a particular set tough, and you need to have presence of mind while solving DI/LR questions. Both of these things can be achieved with the help of practice.

"BEST OF LUCK"