The best way to improve your scores in CLAT is to avoid silly mistakes. While every section has its own list of errors commonly committed by students, this time we will focus on the most common errors in English. When you are solving a question in the verbal section, if at the end of reading the question, you do not have an answer to it, there could be two principal reasons for it:
1. The question is not within of your ability — in which case you should skip the question 2. However, if you do not get an immediate answer to the question asked, a closer analysis of the question/options might help you get to the answer
It is the second category that you should focus on in order to help you develop your score in the verbal section of the CAT. Look out for the following categories of errors: 1. Misreading the question: Often, test takers have a tendency to misread the question and solve the question that they ‘think’ has been asked.
For instance, the question, “Based on the information contained in the passage, all of the following is true, except” is misinterpreted as trying to find the true option rather than what is actually asked — the false option. Similarly, questions like “Which of the following is not not true?” is a double negative, and is asking what is true, rather than what is false.
2. Misreading the options: The other most common error in English is misreading the options provided.
Consider the following questions and their options, which have appeared in some of the toughest CAT papers.
Example 1: According to the author, ‘inverted representations as balm for the forsaken’:
1. is good for the forsaken and often deployed in human histories
2. is good for the forsaken, but not often deployed historically for the oppressed
3. occurs often as a means of keeping people oppressed 4. occurs often to invert the status quo
Example 2: The author cites examples of atrocities perpetrated by European colonial regimes in order to
1. compare the atrocities committed by colonial regimes with those of communist regimes
2. prove that the atrocities committed by colonial regimes were more than those of communist regimes
3. prove that, ideologically, communism was much better than colonialism and Nazism
4. neutralise the arguments of Mr Lindblad and to point out that the atrocities committed by colonial regimes were more than those of communist regimes
5. neutralise the arguments of Mr Lindblad and to argue that one needs to go beyond and look at the motives of these regimes
Notice how various options use similar words to confuse the reader about their true meaning. Unfortunately, most test takers focus on going directly to the options in an attempt to choose between them. This leads to secondary errors like settling on one of the wrong options, and then attempting to justify it in your head.
Analyse all the questions you have solved in your verbal and reading comprehension preparation. Conduct an option comparison to be better aware of the different types of errors you are likely to commit while solving questions from this section. Then, you will be less likely to commit those same errors.
Sources:TimesofIndia
