AIRCAT2206

AIRCAT-2206 Dissection

The number of questions in each section of AIRCAT-2206 was tweaked from the usual and that would
have brought some surprise to some of you. This test had such a tweak because it was conducted
before the CAT-22 notification came out and clarified that this year too would be a 2-hour test, most
likely with the same number of questions as CAT-2021.

Compared to a 100-question test, which is the norm for a 3-hour duration, the change was
substantial. With a smaller change in VRC (30 questions instead of the expected 34) and a substantial
change in DILR (25 instead of 32) and QA (25 instead of 34), it should have been a far more scoring
AIRCAT due to reduced number of questions-per-minute.

It also means less time wasted in browsing or identifying questions to be attended. However, it also
meant less choice for you and a slower speed intuitively since you felt you had more time per
question. Hence, apart from some exceptions, most students would NOT have found it to be a high
scoring test. Not to mention the fact that none of the 3 sections was easy – the AIRCAT was
extremely balanced, with each of the 3 sections being on the tougher side ☺

Each MCQ carried 3 marks for the right answer, and –1 for each wrong answer. Students often believe
that only 33% negative marking gives them the freedom to mark choices even when they are not sure.
However, you must keep in mind that while the negative marking is only 33%, there is also a 75%
probability of getting an answer wrong and only a 25% chance of getting it right, when you simply
guess it! So, the odds are heavily against this strategy being successful. At the same time, if you have
answered say 50-60% of the questions in a section with relative certainty of their correctness, it may
be worthwhile to make intelligent guesses (if you can narrow down to 2 options) in about 10-15% of
the questions. That is more likely to work as a strategy as opposed to random guesswork. But it is a
strategy best worked out at an individual level.

The no-negative marks scheme for Non-MCQ questions means that you should have still put some
intelligent guesses as the answers to these questions, for those questions that you had not been able
to really solve.

Let us now look at a detailed sectional analysis in terms of (relative) difficulty level:
Cut off Questions
Easy Intermediate Difficult Difficulty Level
(Marks)
Section I (VRC) 4 15 11 Difficult 15 (24)

Section II (DILR) 2 10 13 Difficult 12 (23)

Intermediate to
Section III (QA) 7 11 7 12 (26)
Difficult

Overall 16 39 25 Difficult 40 (77)

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This test was pretty much on the difficult side, despite a fewer number of questions suggesting
otherwise. The first two sections had a fairly similar distribution of questions across easy,
intermediate and difficult levels, with the proportion of difficult questions being substantially higher
than that of easy ones. Such a distribution means a tough to score test because almost 80-90% of the
questions (difficult and intermediate) are either tough or consuming or both. A higher percentage of
easy and intermediate questions is needed for a section to be really scoring – which was not the case
here. Overall, the test was leaning towards difficult – and QA at the end would have been a bit
troublesome – especially as it would have on the back of two tough sections in VRC and DILR.

I. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VRC):

The appearance of this section right at the start, when most aspirants are at their best levels of
concentration is clearly reflected in numbers. This, combined with the ability to avoid the general
tendency to over-attempt in the language section, can get many students to excel in this section. It
is not easy to ensure an accuracy of 75% or more in VRC.

5 passages with 24 questions from RC would have slowed down most students, especially with only
the 2 passage with 3 questions each being on the easier side and most others requiring evolved
comprehension skills. The 6 non-MCQs though were mostly attemptable.

The overall attempts of around 15 questions, with even 4-5 incorrect, would have allowed you to pull
off a score of around 25-29 and a percentile of 93-96. That’s how easy it is nail tough sections ☺

II. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) Section

The first 3 sets – each with 5 questions each and combined making 2/3rds of the section – were
pretty tough and would have ensured a lot of wasted time and back and forth movement among most
test takers. The first relatively easy set was 46-49 (about sales of 4 scooter companies) and 50-53
(players and their advertisement shares) wasn’t half as tough either. The last set of 2 had a couple of
small potholes that were to be avoided to make the set count.

Fewer sets in DILR also meant you had more time to solve, especially once you realized that the
section was pretty tough. You could have cleared the cut-off of around 25 even from about 11-12
questions with not more than 2-3 wrong.

III. Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Section

The QA section was overall ‘difficult’ to score very high in, although the %ge of difficult questions
was not too high. Coming at the end of the test as it was, it would have automatically seemed a tad
more difficult than it actually was. This feeling of QA being tough would have been substantially
enhanced by the relatively tough section preceding it.

A good knowledge of topics as well as the ability to sift through and pick out relatively easy
questions would have enabled you to do well here.

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Spending some time in browsing and identifying (Mark/Review option) easy questions is not only
desirable but also necessary to do well. While the first 7 questions (56-62) of the section did not
offer much scope for quick and accurate scoring, a string of more doable “intermediate” questions
followed in questions 64 to 70 and then there was a sequence of easy questions in 73 to 76. The
tough part is being able to move ahead of the tough “speed-breakers” that not only disrupt
momentum but also leave you less time for tackling more doable questions. It would have required
only about 11 questions in one hour with even 2 wrong to clear the cut-off for the section. Higher
focus on accuracy is usually a better approach to any difficult section or test.

A good score in QA would have been around 40 (achievable with 16 attempts and 2 wrong) and cut-
off score would be around 25.

Overall a score of around 76-80 would mean around 97-98%ile, in AIRCAT-2206. The past
experience has shown that you can usually add between 1-2%ile for high scorers and 4-5 %ile for
others to the AIRCAT %iles to get the approximate %ile in actual CAT. Hence if you clear the
mentioned cut-offs, you would stand a good chance to getting calls from 2-3 Top IIMs, assuming other
factors as standard.

Summary:
All sections were relatively difficult and so at some point you should have realized that you needed
to sacrifice speed for accuracy. On such an AIRCAT, even 50% attempts with 70-75% accuracy would
make for an excellent platform at this stage of your preparation. Your perseverance and focus
become relatively more important in such a situation. Concurrently a strategy of attempting which
type of questions within a section has to be set, with minor iterations based on scores got in the
subsequent tests and strengths in a particular area.

Disclaimer: The above analysis is generic and cannot factor in your individual strengths and
weaknesses beyond a point and hence please interpret it to suit your specific Adaptability!
-AIRCAT Spinner Team (AST)

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