2022 CMAT Exam Preparation - Guidelines, Preparation Tips, Strategy, Best Books & more

CMAT exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) once a year for admission into 1300 plus top management institutes in India. The next CMAT exam will be conducted in February 2022.

With a good score in the CMAT exam, doors to a top corporate career will open up for you at the best B-schools in India. However, if your CMAT exam preparation is not top quality, you will lose out on this amazing opportunity. 

As a result, you need to start your CMAT exam preparation as soon as possible. We have listed below 5 quick preparation tips to help you kick-start CMAT exam preparation. More details to ace the exam with a good score follows. 

Quick guidelines for CMAT exam preparation

• The first task is to make a study plan
• You need to choose the right books for self-study
• Prioritise time-management
• Take up CMAT coaching at a good centre
• Make a daily routine for self-preparation follow it

 CMAT Exam Pattern

There would be 5 sections in the CMAT syllabus, one of which will be optional.

From each of the five sections, there will be 25 questions, each carrying 4 marks. There is negative marking, so you need to avoid guesswork while answering. 

The sections, along with total marks and the total number of questions in each, have been listed in the table below.

The most important aspect of CMAT preparation is to finish the syllabus well in advance so that you can have enough time for practising questions and taking mock tests.

Six Months CMAT Exam Preparation Strategy

Six months is sufficient time to prepare for the CMAT exam and score well. The CMAT exam syllabus is quite vast and requires attention to detail and practice. 

The students who score well devote a lot of time practising questions and taking mock tests, along with covering the syllabus. 

If you are planning a six-month strategy, then you should never lose sight of two very important details.

• You have 26 weeks to complete your CMAT exam preparation
• Most parts of the syllabus require regular practice

Keeping with the points above, a six-month weekly preparation plan would look something like this:

Three Months CMAT Exam Preparation Strategy

If you are planning to prepare for CMAT in 3 months, then you need to pull off 7-8 hours daily to complete the syllabus. Remember that you also need to keep sufficient time for revision and for solving mock question papers.

So in short, you have to work doubly as hard to cover the syllabus in 3 months. Self-study might not be the ideal route to prepare the entire syllabus in 3 months.

It will be hugely useful for you if you join 3 months long crash courses at a coaching centre for CMAT. You can also buy good courses online and it can be a great option if travelling physically to the coaching centre is difficult for you.

CMAT Exam Preparation at home

You can prepare for the CMAT exam at home through self-study or you can also buy online courses on platforms like Unacademy and Byju’s. If you are planning to complete your preparation at home, then you need to be very strict with yourself about time management.

For the parts that require regular practice, you need to first finish the syllabus as early as possible, and then you have to practise questions thoroughly to ensure that your preparation is top-notch. This applies more particularly to the logical reasoning and quantitative aptitude sections. 

For the general awareness section, you need to follow the topics given in the syllabus and keep track of news and updates related to them on a regular basis. If you can maintain a good pace in your preparation you will be ready to ace the exam.

To get a CMAT Result, it is essential to be thorough with preparation to score well in the exam.

Last-Minute Preparation Tips for CMAT

The final 3 weeks before the exam are most crucial in the entire duration of preparation. You have to revise all the sections and make sure that you are being able to quickly recall topics and apply concepts to solve questions correctly. We have listed some important last-minute tips for you.

• Don’t panic under any circumstance
• Solve mock tests on a regular basis
• Keep revising the concepts in Quant and Reasoning
• Have faith and belief in your abilities
• Cut down distractions and stick to the study plan
• Closely follow the advice of your tutors

CMAT Exam Day tips

Exam day is the most important occasion for all CMAT aspirants. Often, pressure looms large on candidates which leads to vital mistakes on the day of the exams.

The most important thing on this day is to keep yourself relaxed and avoid distractions. We have listed below a set of suggestions that will help you to perfect your execution on the day of the exam. 

1. Try to reach the exam centre well before the reporting time
2. Make sure that you are carrying the admit card and a photo ID
3. The most important thing on the day of the exam is to relax
4. If you have any doubts, clarify it with the invigilator right away
5. Go ahead and solve the questions you can first and then move to the doubtful ones
6. Do not try to interact with others in the exam hall - it will affect your performance by causing distractions and might even lead to disqualification

 Best books for preparation

There are many books in the market for CMAT preparation. Most books come with ample practice exercises for candidates to work with. We have listed below the best books for CMAT exam preparation.

1. Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
2. Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha
3. Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
4. How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Arun Sharma
5. A Communicative Grammar of English by Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik

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