CAT Review Tracker Analysis

[AnkitP560]

Hi Experts,
I have recently taken Manhattan CAT 1 and scored 640 (Q44 and V34).
Then I started to do post cat analysis as mentioned in Atlas in google drive file given. But now, I am having a hard time reviewing my data. It's overwhelming. Can you please help me on this. I am especially stuck on the step 4 and 5 in both quant and verbal. This review has taken me more than 8 hours already. And if possible please provide me with a sample of the same type of review done by someone.

Thank You!

Best
Ankit Pandey
Nepal

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes, the analysis takes a long time—typically several hours for each section (for Quant and Verbal).

You mention being stuck on steps 4 and 5, which are the steps where you really have to put together all of the individual data points into a bigger picture prioritization / plan. Can you give me more detail about what you are finding difficult or where you are feeling stuck?

In step 4A, you're looking generally at the easier half of the questions you were able to earn in that section. This could be problems that are rated at a lower level of difficulty or, if most of your problems were at the same level, the ones that you felt were easier (and so you would probably have labeled them legitimately correct or careless mistakes—things you knew how to do, even if you made a mistake and got them wrong).

The idea here is to see whether there are any holes in foundation or timing issues that are hurting you on these lower-level problems. Chances are that you will find it easier to address these issues because the problems are easier (compared to the others), so this begins to help you see what to prioritize for these question types / areas.

In step 4B, you're specifically looking at an overall analysis of your time management and timing decisions throughout the section. Were you generally on time throughout? Did you find yourself significantly ahead or behind at various points? If so, why—where did you choose to spend extra time or to rush? This allows you to uncover the timing decisions that you're making as you move through the test—and that allows you to realize where you made decisions that you're happy with and, conversely, where you made decisions that don't look like great decisions now. Once you know that, you can start to figure out how to make better decisions next time.

For example, if you realize that, by Question 9, you were 4 minutes behind, you might look and see that you spent 3.5m on Question 5. If you got it wrong, the remedy would be to bail fast on something like that in future, so then the question becomes, "How will I know next time that I should guess quickly and move on? What are the specific characteristics that signal that this question is terrible for me?"

Alternatively, if you got it right, first check that you legitimately got it right and didn't just get lucky (since it is a multiple choice test). If you did legitimately get it right, the next question is whether you can find a way to streamline the process so that, next time, you can get a similar problem right in, say, 2.5 minutes rather than 3.5 minutes. That sort of thing. The analysis tells you what you need to try to learn from that problem.

The Question-by-Question pacing sub-segment in step 4B might be too detailed for your needs; it really depends on what your data is like. But if you are finding this sub-segment not to be useful, feel free to skip it.

Finally, in step 5, you're summarizing everything you've just figured out about in all of the previous steps and you're boiling things down to one of three buckets:
(1) I'm generally good at this.
(2) I want to prioritize this stuff between now and my next practice test (because these are my best opportunities to improve).
(3) I'm weak at these things and the opportunities to improve aren't that great, at least right now.

List things at the content-area level for quant (linear equations vs. inequalities vs. fractions vs. etc) and SC (modifiers, parallelism, etc). For CR and RC, use question type (inference, strengthen, weaken, main idea, etc.).

Also include major strategies (eg, estimation, working backwards, testing cases).

Generally speaking, people put too much in bucket 2 and not enough in bucket 3. You want bucket 2 and bucket 3 to have roughly the same number of items. (When you put something in bucket 3, you're not saying that you'll *never* study it. You're only saying that you're deprioritizing it between now and your next practice test, that's all.)

Then, when you have your buckets, you set up your study plan from now until your next practice test, prioritizing the items that you've listed in bucket 2. Hopefully, when you take that next test, a number of bucket-2 items will move up to bucket 1, and then you can take some things that are currently in bucket 3 and move them up to bucket 2.

[AnkitP560]

Hi @StaceyKoprince
Thank you so much for the response. I am literally greatful to you.

I have solved that issue. Now, as I am using GMAT Interact Atlas, should I follow the sessions on sequence or shall I watch the Interact lessions for the topics in bucket 2 and practice the OG questions mentioned?

And how should I alternate between verbal and quant lessons in the the Interact?
Or should I finish all the quant and then verbal or otherwise?
And how much questions should I practice after a concept lesson?
I am a bit confused. Seeking help. I hope you will.

Thank you.

[StaceyKoprince]

If you haven't yet been through all of the lessons, then still do them in order, but use your buckets to help you prioritize as you go. You'll spend a bit more time / effort / energy on the things that you put in bucket 2 and you'll downgrade the things that you put into bucket 3.

You may later loop back around to some of those bucket 3 things—you just won't focus heavily on them right now. (Also: Foundations-level work—anything out of the Foundations of Math book—is something worth doing now. You don't want to miss an easier question because you just didn't know some basic formula or rule. But for bucket 3 topics in the main guide, don't bang your head against the wall right now trying to learn everything really well. Learn some basics, move on, loop back around later if that topic eventually makes its way into bucket 2.)

Don't do all Q and then all V for days at a time—mix things up. Your brain learns better when it goes back and forth between topics and question types. (It won't feel as easy as it will just doing the same thing for a week at a time...but learning well isn't easy! Use an exercise program as an analogy: It should feel at least a little hard or you're not really pushing yourself to make progress.)

There isn't one numerical answer to how many problems to do after each lesson. The answer is basically to do enough that you feel comfortable for now** doing what you just learned in that topic area OR to decide that you want to downgrade this topic area now and come back later. **"For now" means for what you're capable of learning well right now. You may loop back around even to bucket 2 topics later and add on harder / higher-level material and skills.

Really think of all of this as a big loop or cycle. You don't learn one thing and then move on and never come back to it. You'll be building by layers and coming back to things repeatedly.