{"id":12867,"date":"2021-06-19T15:34:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-19T10:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.2iim.com\/cat-exam\/blogs\/?p=12867"},"modified":"2021-06-19T15:56:22","modified_gmt":"2021-06-19T10:26:22","slug":"how-to-prepare-for-varc-lessons-you-can-learn-from-tennis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.2iim.com\/cat-exam\/blogs\/cat-preparation-strategy\/how-to-prepare-for-varc-lessons-you-can-learn-from-tennis\/","title":{"rendered":"How to prepare for VARC – Lessons you can learn from Tennis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"CAT<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to prepare for VARC – Lessons you can learn from Tennis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Imagine that you are a  club-level tennis player. You have been playing tennis regularly for a long time. As a result, you have acquired some skills. You have a good first serve that can reach about 100 mph. You can generate a nice topspin on your forehand, and your backhand is good enough to keep the ball in play till you can pull the trigger. Your volleys \u2013 the shots hit before the bouncing of the ball in your side of the court \u2013 are also better than most of your club partners, and you can hit overhead smashes as easily as if you were zapping mosquitoes with an electric swatter. All these strengths of yours (with a bit of luck) should be enough to take you to the quarterfinals of most average club-level tournaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is one problem with your game. You do not have the stamina to last 3 grueling sets of a club-level match that will require you to run from point to point through the entire length of your court for possibly 3 hours. You may hit the ball like a king as long as you can do it from your spot, but you cannot chase the ball. But, You cannot reach<\/em> the ball. Your shot-making skills are hence useless. And that is the problem of most club-level players \u2013 they are defeated primarily by the physical requirements of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Wait, but what has my VARC preparation for CAT got to do with this ?”<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

You get tired from reading (ouch!)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is one of the most common (and most serious) problems faced by most CAT aspirants. If all we had to do was to answer a couple of short questions of each type, we would score pretty well. If a good amateur player has to play only a couple of service games against a pro, he may even defeat the pro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CAT<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The problem is achieving consistency over long periods of time \u2013 3 hours of a tennis match, or 3 hours of the CAT. Just as a budding tennis pro needs to develop fitness by running for miles every day, a CAT aspirant needs to develop fitness by devoting at least an hour every day to reading something substantial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two parts of the everyday preparation for the VARC section<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

1) General reading, along with other benefits, primarily prepares us for handling RC passages, along with everything else in the verbal section \u2013 without getting tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Question-related preparation, an equivalent of learning how to hit perfect forehands and backhands, the aim of which is to learn the right technique of answering a particular kind of question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most CAT aspirants focus on 2 and completely ignore 1<\/strong>, which usually turns out to be counterproductive, as we get a false sense of preparedness \u2013 like an amateur who imagines that he will defeat the pro in a match because he broke the pro\u2019s serve in one game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secret of winning lies in winning consistently \u2013 ball after ball, question after question. You should read Every day. Day after day. Without fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Okay, I understand the importance of reading, but where should I read? Please help!”<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Enter Bharath’s curated reading list<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have a thing called Bharath’s curated reading list<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, where 800+ high-quality, hand-picked curated articles are present. You can go there and read article after article. These curated articles are sorted across multiple genres. Let’s say if you like crime then start with that. Go berserk and read a lot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CAT<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Also keep in mind that when you no longer find the reading material difficult, it\u2019s time to crank up the pressure. You need to run an extra mile. You must read something that challenges you. Then switch from crime to psychology. Look at it this way: if you are finding the reading material difficult to comprehend, you are on the right track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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