Improve DI-LR Percentile

28/01/2023, 10:16 How to improve your DI-LR Percentile – I | The CAT Writer
The CAT Writer 
D I - L R S T R AT
Published on September 4, 2019 — Comments 7
How to improve your DI-LR Percentile – I

written by Tony Xavier
Just like I keep getting queries on how to increase RC accuracy, despite the
Masterclasses and the Last Mile To CAT sessions, I keep getting queries around
the DI-LR section as well.
https://thecatwriter.com/2019/09/04/how-to-crack-the-di-lr-section-of-the-cat-i/ 1/32
In this series of series of posts I’ll dive really deep down into actual CAT DI-
LR sets and see if I can come up with some kernel of truth beyond just the
solving of the set that can help aspirants approach the solving of the sets
better.
I am not going to take up the selection of the sets in these set of posts — I have
already done that in these previous posts, here and here. So if you do not know
the process to select you should first look at these posts.
I am going to solely focus on
solving these sets cleanly

bringing out the reason why these sets seem tougher than usual
highlighting the skills or the logical reasoning chops you need to

strengthen and the ways to do the same
The Pizza Set

Funky Pizzeria was required to supply pizzas to three different parties. The total
number of pizzas it had to deliver was 800, 70% of which were to be delivered to Party
3 and the rest equally divided between Party 1 and Party 2.
Pizzas could be of Thin Crust (T) or Deep Dish (D) variety and come in either Normal
Cheese (NC) or Extra Cheese (EC) versions. Hence, there are four types of pizzas: T-NC,
T-EC, D-NC, and D-EC. Partial information about proportions of T and NC pizzas
ordered by the three parties is given below:
Thin Crust (T) Normal Cheese (NC)
Party 1 .6
Party 2 .55 .3
Party 3 .65
Total .375 .52
1. How many Thin Crust pizzas were to be delivered to Party 3?
1. 398
2. 162
3. 196
4. 364
2. How many Normal Cheese pizzas were required to be delivered to Party 1?
1. 104
2. 84
3. 16
4. 196
3. For Party 2 if 50% of the Normal Cheese pizzas were of Thin Crust variety, what was
the difference between the numbers of T-EC and D-EC pizzas to be delivered to Party
2?
1. 18
2. 12
3. 30
4. 24
4. Suppose that a T-NC pizza cost as much as a D-NC pizza, but 3/5th of the price of a
D-EC pizza. A D-EC pizza costs Rs. 50 more than a T-EC pizza and the latter costs Rs.
500. If 25% of the Normal Cheese pizzas delivered to Party 1 were of Deep Dish variety,
what was the total bill for Party 1?
1. Rs. 59480
2. Rs. 59840
3. Rs. 42520
4. Rs. 45240
How to process the information

As I read the set I can see that they have given how many pizzas were delivered
to each of the three parties — so I know the totals of the rows.
I can also calculate the totals of the columns — the number of TC and
number of NC.
Only two cells are missing and at this point and they can be calculated in a
trice. It is important to look at the questions at this point — once the
understanding of the set is done.
The first two questions are asking for the two missing values.
Also, the moment I look at the values — .375 and 800 — I know that the
calculation is easy. If you do not see this then before you ask anyone else
how to improve your DI-LR scores, you need to fix this — your number
crunching skills.
So you know that you can pocket 6 marks in about 6 minutes easily. So I would
rate this set an 8 out of 10.
To take you through the process of solving this set, I decided to record a video
of the solving so that you can see how to use the paper effectively to solve
cleanly and also get a fair idea of how the numbers should be broken down
during calculation.
The Pizza Set
The Electives Confusion
There were seven elective courses – El to E7 – running in a specific term in a college.

Each of the 300 students enrolled had chosen just one elective from among these seven.
However, before the start of the term, E7 was withdrawn as the instructor concerned
had left the college. The students who had opted for E7 were allowed to join any of the
remaining electives. Also, the students who had chosen other electives were given one
chance to change their choice. The table below captures the movement of the students
from one elective to another during this process. Movement from one elective to the same
elective simply means no movement. Some numbers in the table got accidentally erased;
however, it is known that these were either 0 or 1.
Further, the following are known:
1. Before the change process there were 6 more students in E1 than in E4, but after
the reshuffle, the number of students in E4 was 3 more than that in E1.
2. The number of students in E2 increased by 30 after the change process.
3. Before the change process, E4 had 2 more students than E6, while E2 had 10
more students than E3.
5. How many elective courses among E1 to E6 had a decrease in their enrollments after
the change process?
1. 4
2. 1
3. 2
4. 3
6. After the change process, which of the following is the correct sequence of the number
of students in the six electives E1 to E6?
1. 19, 76, 79, 21, 45, 60
2. 19, 76, 78, 22, 45, 60
3. 18, 76, 79, 23, 43, 61

4. 18, 76, 79, 21, 45, 61
7. After the change process, which course among E1 to E6 had the largest change in its
enrollment as a percentage of its original enrollment?
1. E1
2. E2
3. E3
4. E6
8. Later, the college imposed a condition that if after the change of electives, the
enrollment in any elective (other than E7) dropped to less than 20 students, all the
students who had left that course will be required to re-enroll for that elective. Which of
the following is a correct sequence of electives in decreasing order of their final
enrollments?
1. E2, E3, E6, E5, E1, E4
2. E3, E2, E6, E5, E4, E1
3. E2, E5, E3, E1, E4, E6
4. E2, E3, E5, E6, E1, E3
Definitely a heavier set

This set is definitely tougher to understand than the previous one. As far as the
table goes
there are a lot of missing values and
the values have to be reasoned out and not calculated like the previous
set
If you look at the questions as well, you can see that there is a scope of making
silly mistakes and if one has to tread carefully, one will end up taking a lot of
time.
I will rate this a 6 out of 10.
It will be a set I will come back to only if I have no other sets rated above 7.
The Old Woman and her Wealth

An old woman had the following assets:
(a) Rs. 70 lakh in bank deposits
(b) 1 house worth Rs. 50 lakh
(c) 3 flats, each worth Rs. 30 lakh
(d) Certain number of gold coins, each worth Rs. 1 lakh
She wanted to distribute her assets among her three children; Neeta, Seeta, and Geeta.
The house, any of the flats or any of the coins were not to be split. That is, the house
went entirely to one child; a flat went to one child and similarly, a gold coin went to one
child.
9. Among the three, Neeta received the least amount in bank deposits, while Geeta
received the highest. The value of the assets was distributed equally among the children,
as were the gold coins. How much did Seeta receive in bank deposits (in lakhs of rupees)?
1. 30
2. 40
3. 20
4. 10
10. Among the three, Neeta received the least amount in bank deposits, while Geeta
received the highest. The value of the assets was distributed equally among the children,
as were the gold coins. How many flats did Neeta receive?
Enter your response (as an integer) using the virtual keyboard.
11. The value of the assets distributed among Neeta, Seeta and Geeta was in the ratio of
1:2:3, while the gold coins were distributed among them in the ratio of 2:3:4. One child
got all three flats and she did not get the house. One child, other than Geeta, got Rs. 30
lakh in bank deposits. How many gold coins did the old woman have?
1. 72
2. 90
3. 180
4. 216
12. The value of the assets distributed among Neeta, Seeta and Geeta was in the ratio of
1:2:3, while the gold coins were distributed among them in the ratio of 2:3:4. One child
got all three flats and she did not get the house. One child, other than Geeta, got Rs. 30
lakh in bank deposits. How much did Geeta get in bank deposits (in lakhs of rupees)?
Seems easy but unfamiliar

This set seems easy at first glance since the data is fairly straightforward. This
is for those who have read the previous posts on DI-LR a classic example of
Non-Standard-Plugin-Open Set.
If you take a look at the questions you will find that 1 & 2 have the same data
and ask for different information. This means that if you solve 1, you get the
answer to 2 as well and the same applies to 3 & 4.
The information for 1 and 2 is simple, all wealth and all coins are divided
equally, so the situation is simple enough to execute. But the information for 3
and 4 is complex and you wouldn’t want to get into it.
So I would rate this 7 out of 10, do only the first two questions to get 6 marks in
about 4 minutes and exit the set. This is how I would go about doing it.
The Old Woman and her Wealth
The Dormitory Set

At a management school, the oldest 10 dorms, numbered 1 to 10, need to be repaired
urgently, The following diagram represents the estimated repair costs (in Rs. Crores) for
the 10 dorms. For any dorm, the estimated repair cost (in Rs. Crores) is an integer.
Repairs with estimated cost Rs. 1 or 2 Crores are considered light repairs, repairs with
an estimated cost Rs. 3 or 4 are considered moderate repairs and repairs with an
estimated cost Rs. 5 or 6 Crores are considered extensive repairs.
Further, the following are known:
1. 1. Odd-numbered dorms do not need light repair; even-numbered dorms do not

need moderate repair and dorms, whose numbers are divisible by 3, do not need
extensive repair.
2. 2. Dorms 4 to 9 all need different repair costs, with Dorm 7 needing the
maximum and Dorm 8 needing the minimum
13. Which of the following is NOT necessarily true?
1. Dorm 1 needs a moderate repair

2. Dorm 5 repair will cost no more than Rs. 4 Crores
3. Dorm 7 needs an extensive repair
4. Dorm 10 repair will cost no more than Rs. 4 Crores
14. What is the total cost of repairing the odd-numbered dorms (in Rs. Crores)?
Further information for questions 15 and 16:
1. 4 of the 10 dorms needing repair are women’s dorms and need a total of Rs. 20
Crores for repair.
2. Only one of Dorms 1 to 5 is a women’s dorm.
15. What is the cost for repairing Dorm 9 (in Rs. Crores)?
16. Which of the following is a women’s dorm?
1. Dorm
2. Dorm
3. Dorm
4. Dorm 10
In terms of information, this set does not have too many complications. The
tricky part is that unlike the first set where the representation was a simple
table. This set cannot be represented as simplistically. You need to find out the
best way to represent the data.
From the wording of the first question — which of the following is not
necessarily true — you will realize that you will not be able to fix all the rooms
and all the costs. Some rooms will remain unallocated since the phrase is not
necessarily and hence may be true.
I will rate this set 7 out of 10.
The first trick is to represent this properly. I don’t think what I have come up
with is the best method but this worked for me.
The Dormitory Set
A Cup of Tea
A tea taster was assigned to rate teas from six different locations – Munnar, Wayanad,
Ooty, Darjeeling, Assam, and Himachal. These teas were placed in six cups, numbered 1
to 6, not necessarily in the same order. The tea taster was asked to rate these teas on the
strength of their flavor on a scale of 1 to 10. He gave a unique integer rating to each tea.
Some other information is given below:
1. Cup 6 contained tea from Himachal.
2. Tea from Ooty got the highest rating, but it was not in Cup 3.
3. The rating of tea in Cup 3 was double the rating of the tea in Cup 5.
4. Only two cups got ratings in even numbers.

5. Cup 2 got the minimum rating and this rating was an even number.
6. Tea in Cup 3 got a higher rating than that in Cup 1.
7. The rating of tea from Wayanad was more than the rating of tea from Munnar
but less than that from Assam.
17. What was the second highest rating given?
18. What was the number of the cup that contained tea from Ooty?
19. If the tea from Munnar did not get the minimum rating, what was the rating of the
tea from Wayanad?
1. 3
2. 5
3. 1
4. 6
20. If cups containing teas from Wayanad and Ooty had consecutive numbers, which of
the following statements may be true?
1. Cup 5 contains tea from Assam
2. Cup 1 contains tea from Darjeeling
3. Tea from Wayanad got a rating of 6
4. Darjeeling Tea got the minimum rating
This is the first set that seems to follow the typical format of a Logical
Reasoning Set. Three variables and not a lot of conditions. But is it that simple?
There is more to this set than meets the eye if you read the conditions
properly.
While the set is straightforward, 6 out of 7 conditions are deductive and only
one is a plugin condition (please read the previous two posts on DI-LR to know
what I mean by a plugin and a deductive condition)
So, you should be a bit wary about this set and not jump into it before the
Pizza Set.
I would rate it a 7.5 out of 10.
Let us look at how you should have gone about solving this set in the least
possible amount of time.
A Cup Of Tea
The Queen Of Chess

In an 8 × 8 chessboard a queen placed anywhere can attack another piece if the piece is
present in the same row, or in the same column or in any diagonal position in any
possible 4 directions, provided there is no other piece in between in the path from the
queen to that piece.
The columns are labeled a to h (left to right) and the rows are numbered 1 to 8 (bottom
to top). The position of a piece is given by the combination of column and row labels. For
example, position c5 means that the piece is in the cth column and 5th row.
21. If the queen is at c5, and the other pieces at positions c2, g1, g3, g5 and a3, how
many are under attack by the queen? There are no other pieces on the board.
1. 2
2. 3
3. 4
4. 5
22. If the other pieces are only at positions a1, a3, b4, d7, h7, and h8, then which of the
following positions of the queen results in the maximum number of pieces being under
attack?
1. f8
2. a7
3. c1
4. d3
23. If the other pieces are only at positions a1, a3, b4, d7, h7, and h8, then from how
many positions the queen cannot attack any of the pieces?
1. 0
2. 3
3. 4
4. 6
24. Suppose the queen is the only piece on the board and it is at position d5. In how
many positions can another piece be placed on the board such that it is safe from attack
from the queen?
1. 32
2. 35
3. 36
4. 37
This is the easiest set of the lot. Those who know chess will not even have to
read the description you will go straightaway to the set.
I would rate this an 8 out of 10since there is no ambiguity whatsoever and all
one needs to do is put one’s head down and draw properly to collect 12 marks
in 12 minutes.
Choosing the right set is key

From this and from my previous posts you would have seen that choosing the
right set is key.
An unwisely chosen set can mean getting stuck for 20 minutes and wasting
another 18 months of your life at another CAT attempt.
So while you might think you are following the steps outlined in the previous
posts, you might still be doing it superficially since you want to save time and
get to the solving.
But the key is to look deeper when you look. It boils down to operating at
higher levels of concentration. It is the difference between spending 30
seconds and viewing the surface of the question and spending 45 seconds and
seeing through to the bottom of it.
A simple example would be how one evaluates the A Cup of Tea set.
In the next post, I will solve the two sets that are left and answer the big
questions —
What is making these CAT DI-LR sets unique or different from

traditional sets
What is the unique skill that these DI-LR sets are testing?
Do they test a specific kind of reasoning that makes most students

uncomfortable?
How do you develop this kind of reasoning?
Keep prepping.
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T H I S E N T R Y WA S P O S T E D I N : DI-LR Strat
TA G G E D W I T H : CAT DI-LR, CAT Strategy, CAT Test-Taking Strategy, DI-LR Strategy
7 Comments
Rishabh Jain
September 9, 2019
Hello Tony Sir,

Thanks a lot for coming down to Delhi for the LMTC session which was wonderful.You
helped me a lot resolving my queries/doubts in person. Really appreciate your dedication
and energy throughout.
I would like to request you to post few more masterclasses for RCs so that we could
enhance our strategy and skills in the section specifically..
Thanks Again!
 Like
Reply
Tony Xavier
September 9, 2019
Hi Rishabh,
Glad you found the event useful. I try to give as much as I can every time I am in front of
students, for me it is like a stepping on to a field to play a sport and doing the best I can,
and hopefully push students to do the same with their prep.
I will be doing an RC Masterclass on 18-September, focusing solely on reading technique

and solving questions.
All the best!
 Liked by 1 person
Reply
Gaurav
September 10, 2019
Sir you mentioned above – ” I am not going to take up the selection of the sets in these set
of posts — I have already done that in these previous posts, here and here ” but the link is
dead or probably removed .
 Like
Reply
POOJA GUPTA
October 9, 2019
Hi Sir, thanks for the detailed analysis.
For the elective Confusion set link seems to be missing. Could you please share the link to
the Electives Confusion Set?
 Like
Reply
Tony Xavier
October 9, 2019
Hi Pooja,
I only solved the sets that needed to be solved as per the rating, I did not solve the electives
set.
Regards,
Tony
 Like
Reply
Mohit Sinha
April 21, 2020
Hi Tony Sir,
I prepared for cat last yr but could manage only 94 % ile , mainly due to the LRDI section
(70%ile). Can you suggest me some of the resources from where i can start the preparation
from scratch and get lots of sets for practise . I have been thinking of taking some online
classes, but that might leave me with a lesser time for self study. Please guide.
 Like
Reply
Tony Xavier
April 22, 2020
Hi Mohit,
For DI-LR there is very little that can be done in terms of classes since there is very little to
teach apart from calculation techniques and Venn Diagrams.
For practice use the following resources:
1. LEARN and PRACTICE Module of myIMS

2. ETS GRE Big Book — Analytical Reasoning Section (54 sections with 4 sets per section,
primarily arrangement types, mix of all levels)
3. If you can afford to spend try out this app called Elevate, it is good to develop quick
reflexes, you can try the free version and see.
4. A MEDIUM Sudoku set every day (average time should be between 5 to 6 minutes.
A big focus should be the pace, organization, and cleanliness of solving the easy and
medium sets. Do not get obsessed with the overtly tough sets.
Hope this clarifies,
All the best!
 Like
Reply
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28/01/2023, 10:16 How to improve your DI-LR Percentile – I | The CAT Writer

The CAT Writer 

Published on September 4, 2019 — Comments 7

How to improve your DI-LR Percentile – I

I am going to solely focus on

solving these sets cleanly

highlighting the skills or the logical reasoning chops you need to

The Pizza Set

Thin Crust (T) Normal Cheese (NC)

Total .375 .52

1. How many Thin Crust pizzas were to be delivered to Party 3?

2. How many Normal Cheese pizzas were required to be delivered to Party 1?

How to process the information

The Pizza Set

The Electives Confusion

There were seven elective courses – El to E7 – running in a specific term in a college.

Further, the following are known:

2. The number of students in E2 increased by 30 after the change process.

1. 19, 76, 79, 21, 45, 60

2. 19, 76, 78, 22, 45, 60

3. 18, 76, 79, 23, 43, 61

1. E2, E3, E6, E5, E1, E4

2. E3, E2, E6, E5, E4, E1

3. E2, E5, E3, E1, E4, E6

4. E2, E3, E5, E6, E1, E3

Definitely a heavier set

there are a lot of missing values and

I will rate this a 6 out of 10.

The Old Woman and her Wealth

(a) Rs. 70 lakh in bank deposits

(b) 1 house worth Rs. 50 lakh

(c) 3 flats, each worth Rs. 30 lakh

(d) Certain number of gold coins, each worth Rs. 1 lakh

Enter your response (as an integer) using the virtual keyboard.

Enter your response (as an integer) using the virtual keyboard.

Seems easy but unfamiliar

The Old Woman and her Wealth

The Dormitory Set

Further, the following are known:

1. 1. Odd-numbered dorms do not need light repair; even-numbered dorms do not

13. Which of the following is NOT necessarily true?

1. Dorm 1 needs a moderate repair

3. Dorm 7 needs an extensive repair

4. Dorm 10 repair will cost no more than Rs. 4 Crores

Enter your response (as an integer) using the virtual keyboard.

Further information for questions 15 and 16:

2. Only one of Dorms 1 to 5 is a women’s dorm.

15. What is the cost for repairing Dorm 9 (in Rs. Crores)?

Enter your response (as an integer) using the virtual keyboard.

16. Which of the following is a women’s dorm?

I will rate this set 7 out of 10.

The Dormitory Set

1. Cup 6 contained tea from Himachal.

4. Only two cups got ratings in even numbers.

6. Tea in Cup 3 got a higher rating than that in Cup 1.

17. What was the second highest rating given?

Enter your response (as an integer) using the virtual keyboard.

Enter your response (as an integer) using the virtual keyboard.

1. Cup 5 contains tea from Assam

2. Cup 1 contains tea from Darjeeling

3. Tea from Wayanad got a rating of 6

4. Darjeeling Tea got the minimum rating

I would rate it a 7.5 out of 10.