MAT 2025: Effective Strategies for Language Comprehension and Verbal Ability
Are you stressed about your MAT preparation and are looking for a structured approach to accelerate your preparation? MAT (Management Aptitude Test), is no doubt, one of the competitive management entrance exams, being the tool to your desired management program, as it is accepted by almost every prestigious management institution in India. Hence, it becomes really important to make yourself familiar with the syllabus of the exam for effective preparation. It is conducted annually and consists of 150 questions from five sections, which include Language comprehension, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, Mathematical Skills, Data Analysis & Sufficiency, and Economic & Business Environment. The exam typically lasts for 120 minutes.
The exam tests your problem-solving skills, time management and decision making skills, in order to make decisions of prioritizing the questions based on your strengths and weaknesses. To ease your preparation, here’s a comprehensive overview explaining to you the important strategies for Language Comprehension, exam patterns, study plans, mock tests, time management, and tips to overcome all the challenges during the preparation.
The MAT Language Comprehension section can be divided into 2 sub-sections, namely, Reading Comprehension (RC) and Verbal Ability (VA).
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC): The section assesses your proficiency in the English language, which majorly focuses on reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, and verbal reasoning. Typically, it includes Reading comprehension and verbal ability.
Highlights:
Here is the description about the Language comprehension section of the MAT exam:
MAT 2024 Language Comprehension
| Particulars |
Details |
| Marks Allotted |
40 |
| Number of Questions |
40 |
| Type of Questions |
MCQs |
| Number of Answer Choices per Question |
4 |
| Marks Awarded |
+1 for every correct answer |
| Negative Marking |
-0.25 for every incorrect answer |
| Time Suggested |
30 minutes |
| MAT 2024 Exam Duration |
150 minutes |
| Considered for Percentile Calculation |
Yes |
| Weightage in Percentile Calculation |
25% |
Syllabus of Language Comprehension Section:
Wondering about what to study for scoring high in the section? Here is the syllabus for the LC section of MAT 2024. MAT Language Comprehension section can be divided into 2 sub-sections, namely, Reading Comprehension (RC) and Verbal Ability (VA).
| Reading Comprehension (RC) |
Verbal Ability (VA) |
| Economy |
Para Jumbles |
| Environment and Ecology |
Fill in the Blanks |
| Science & Technology |
Error Correction |
| Culture |
Tenses and Reported Speech |
| Society |
Vocabulary – Antonyms & Synonyms |
| Business & Management |
Idioms and Phrases |
| Current Affairs |
Parts of Speech |
| History |
Commonly Mistaken Words |
| Mythology |
Usage of words |
| English Literature |
Paraphrasing |
| Resource Management |
Subject-Verb Agreement |
| Governance |
Critical Reasoning |
| Abstract Passages |
Active and Passive Voice |
MAT Language Comprehension Effective Strategies
Study Plan
The initial step in your preparation is making a perfect study plan, that is possible once you go through the syllabus, identifying the strengths and weaker topics. Allot time to the section and topics mentioned in the syllabus, without ignoring any topic. You can adjust more time for the topics you believe in practicing more to become more confident in. Always make a schedule, which will be practically possible to stick to. If the challenge faced in this section is low reading speed and comprehension, then regularly practicing reading in diverse materials and summarizing them is the key. You should practice reading the below-mentioned newspapers and magazines for developing your language and comprehension skills:
- The Hindu
- The Times Of India
- Economic Times
- The Guardian
- New York Times
- Outlook
- India Today
- Yojana
- Business Today
Set a Timeline
The earlier you start your preparations, the more organized your preparations would turn out. You would be able to provide an equal time for all the three sections, and can practice more number of mock tests. Here’s the basic study plan:
- In the initial months(1-3), try focusing on building your fundamentals.
- (4-6): Once you complete doing this, you can then regularly practice the concepts and reinforce them.
- (7-9): When you finish completing all your concepts, start giving mock tests.
- (10-12): Do not forget the extremely important point, that is the Revision. Revisit all the studied concepts and gain speed and accuracy in questions.
Mock Tests and Performance Analysis
As it is said “Practice makes a man perfect”, goes perfect with the MAT preparation. Try practicing one mock test every week. The more mock tests you practice, the more you feel confident about your preparation. Not limited to this, doing so offers great benefits. These include:
- Helps in reviewing your mistakes and topics of difficulty.
- Can make you familiar with the exam environment before the actual one. You can gain perfection in time management with the number of mock tests practiced.
- Helps you in boosting your confidence.
- Provides you with an analysis of your preparation. You can shift your study focus to the weaker topics accordingly.
Additional Tips
- Staying consistent throughout your preparation is extremely crucial. You should stick to the schedule you formed at the start.
- Try managing a perfect balance between each topic. Don’t neglect one topic to gain strength in the other. Try staying in touch with each topic by practicing each day.
- Gaining speed and accuracy is important for time management in the exam hall. Hence practice solving more questions under time pressure.
- Do not forget to take short breaks in between your busy studying schedule, eat healthy, and stay physically active to boost your exam preparation.
Conclusion
You would have understood the importance of each section, the need of familiarizing yourself with the exam pattern, following a structured study plan, practicing an infinite number of mock tests, and managing time effectively. All these factors together enhance your chances of success in the exam. Always focus on continuous improvement and staying consistent, being honest to the exam preparations would help you land your dream management Institution.
FAQs
1. What are the benefits of attempting mock tests for MAT preparation?
The more mock tests you practice, the more you feel confident about your preparation. It helps in reviewing your mistakes and topics of difficulty. It can make you familiar with the exam environment before the actual one. You can gain perfection in time management with the number of mock tests practiced.
2. What is the time duration for each section in the MAT exam?
The time duration for each section individually is 40 minutes. The total exam duration is 120 minutes.
3. What is the negative marking in the MAT exam?
The MAT exam has a negative marking scheme. For every incorrect answer, one-fourth of the marks assigned to that question are deducted.
4. Are there descriptive answer questions asked in the exam?
No, descriptive answer writing questions aren’t asked in the exam. The MAT exam includes multiple-choice questions (MCQs) as well as non-MCQ or type-in-the-answer questions.
5. What are the number of questions asked from the LC section?
The number of questions asked from this section is 30.
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