AIMCAT 1220-1216
CAT
No. of
question
s in the
Verbal
section
RC
Grammar
Word based
PJ/PC
2007 (PP)
25
3P * 4Q
3 Error
Identifica
tion
3 (choose the
appropriate
word)/
PJ = 4/PC
=3
2008 (PP)
40
4P * 5Q
4 Error
Identifica
tion
4 (choose the
appropriate
word)/4 DB/4 MU
PC=4
2009
(OL)
20
3P * 3Q
-----
-----
-----
2010
(OL)
20
3P *
4/3/2
-----
-----
-----
T.I.M.E.
Aimcat
RC questions
Grammar
Word based
PJ/PC
1220
3Passages / 3
questions each
passage
2 – EI
3 (choose the
correct word) / 2
DB
PJ = 2/PC=2
1219
3Passages / 3
questions each
passage
----
3 (choose the
correct word)/3
MU/3DB
PC = 2
1218
3Passages / 3
questions each
passage
3 - EI
3 (choose the
correct word)/3
MU
PJ = 2
1217
3Passages / 3
questions each
passage
----
2 (choose the
correct
word/3DB/3M
PC = 3
1216
3Passages / 3
questions each
passage
3 - EI
MU = 3
PJ = 3/PC=2
T.I.M.E.
Assuming a student gives equal time per
section at the outset
 And also that a student tries to maximize
his/her attempts in the verbal section
 The equation would be : 20 Q = 45/40 mins
Time per passage : 10-12 mins

Reading time : 5 mins
Time taken to solve the questions : 7 mins
T.I.M.E.




Subject of the passage (most important)
No. of questions per passage [CAT 2010]
Length
Question type : Direct/Partial
Inferential/Inferential
T.I.M.E.
AIMCAT 1220
Passage I : Translation of books into digital
formats
Passage II : Green initiatives
Passage III : The Criminal mind
AIMCAT 1219
Passage I : a look at genocide with Stalin as an
example (Sub : history)
Passage II : state of affairs in democratic
societies (Sub : politics)
Passage III : history is dependant on geography
and social development
T.I.M.E.
AIMCAT 1218
Passage I : Buddhism : Stephen Batchelor’s
understanding of Buddhism (Sub : Religion)
Passage II : Correlation between poverty and
social problems (Sub : Economics)
Passage III : trace the origin of super-massive
black holes (Sub : Cosmology)
 AIMCAT 1217
Passage I : book review : about climate science
and global warming (Sub : ecology)
Passage II : Application of management
principles (Sub : Management)
Passage III : Shyam Benegal and the New Indian
cinema (Sub : Arts)

T.I.M.E.
AIMCAT 1216
Passage I : genesis of life on the Earth (Sub :
anthropology)
Passage II : the various facets of Africa (the
economic development) (Sub : Geopolitics)
Passage III : Efforts taken to prevent climate
change (Sub : Climate change)

T.I.M.E.
Year
Subject
2002
IPR,abstractionism,technology,music(arts)
2003
Education,history,culture,anthropology,sociology
2004
Social anthropology, fine arts , economics (capitalism),
medicine, ecology
2005
Psychology,economics,language
2006
Politics (communism),sociology , psychology
2007
Science,history,sociology (human interaction)
2008
Language,sociology,fine arts
2010
Abstraction, sociology (changing trends in society, problems
people face),ecology (snow /ice
masses),langage,economics,feudalism,plato,urbanism,nationali
sm,spiritual healing,
T.I.M.E.




http://samsmithessays.blogspot.com/2006/06/practicing-anthropologywithout.html (anthropology)
http://www.economist.com/node/15172496?story_id=15172496&source=h
ptextfeature (anthropology)
http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article432445.ece (Sociology)
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/gobekli-tepe/mann-text/1
(anthropology)
T.I.M.E.







http://www.sydneyline.com/Historical%20Truth%20and%20Postmodernism.ht
m (history)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12522848 (history)
http://www.historynet.com/the-war-over-plunder-who-owns-art-stolenin-war.htm/1 (history)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/opinion/07friedman.html?_r=3&ref=t
homaslfriedman (politics)
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/africa_china/61408 (politics)
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/john-gilmers-laststand/ (politics)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/books/review/adam-kirsch-on-newbooks-about-world-war-ii.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all (world politics)
T.I.M.E.




http://www.theamericanscholar.org/how-longfellow-woke-the-dead/
(literature)
http://www.guernicamag.com/blog/2734/julianne_escobedo_shepherd_8_c/
(literature)
http://www.city-journal.org/2011/eon0517hm.html (education)
http://www.nationalpost.com/todayspaper/most+influential+history/4788014/story.html (literature)
T.I.M.E.









http://hinduism.about.com/od/vivekananda/a/vivekananda_speeches_2.htm
(philosophy)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_Monkey_Theorem (philosophy)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulacra_and_Simulation (philosophy)
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0517/Questionsabout-God-Don-t-assume-all-religions-offer-similar-answers (religion)
http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/articles/dawkins.html (religion)
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/gobekli-tepe/mann-text/1
(religion)
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6711.html (morality)
http://www.douglasadams.com/dna/980707-05-a.html (technology)
http://grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/virhapmill.htm (philosophy)
T.I.M.E.




http://www.thehumanist.org/humanist/articles/dawkins.html (economics)
http://www.guernicamag.com/blog/2734/julianne_escobedo_shepherd_8_c/
(economics)
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/05/22/our_data_
ourselves/?page=full (technology)
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/ian-leslie/are-artistsliars?page=full (psychology)
T.I.M.E.
Style is the way in which an author presents his
ideas on a particular subject.
Different types of Style:
 Factual
 Analytical
 Argumentative
 Narrative
 Descriptive
 Abstract
T.I.M.E.
Tone is the author’s attitude towards the
central idea or the subject being discussed
Types of tones
Positive
Negative
Neutral : unbiased
disinterested
objective
T.I.M.E.
 Optimistic
 Laudatory
 Assertive
 Eulogistic
 Euphemistic
 Critical
 Advisory
Appreciation
 Surprise
 Didactic
 Nostalgic
 Passionate
 Ethical
T.I.M.E.
 Negative
 Indignant
 Condescending
 Cynical
 Pessimism
 Critical
 Acerbic
 Caustic
 Vitriolic
 Ironic
 Paradoxical
 Shock
 Consternation
 Derisive
 Disparaging
 Dogmatic
 Sophistry
 Casuistry
 Incendiary
T.I.M.E.
Positive : when used for entertainment (PG
Wodehouse);light-hearted, tongue in cheek,
witty
Negative : when used to point out the fallacies
in an individual or society
Negative humour tones:
 Sarcasm
 Mockery
 Satire
 Spoof
T.I.M.E.



Direct questions : word based/phrase based /
sentence based/quote based
Partial Inferential : ‘except clause’
Inferential : central idea , style , tone
T.I.M.E.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The 'shift in power' caused by the digitization
of books implies that (1220)
"Only 0.3 percent of Coca-Cola's drinks will
come in Plant Bottles this year. They will,
however, be consumed conspicuously". By
this the author means one of the following.
(1220)
Which of the following is closest to what the
words, 'Perhaps 0.3 percent is some kind of
magic number in green marketing circles'
mean? (1220)
What does 'it' refer to in 'it's an unsettling
thought'? (1220)
T.I.M.E.





The 'primordial soup' and 'warm little pond'
(1216)
The author uses the phrase 'might give one
pause' to ask which of the following
questions? (1218)
The word ‘murky’ in the passage implies
[1217] {passage 2}
What does ‘that’ stand for in ‘That is shame’
[1217] {Passage 1}
The term ‘Russian obliviousness’ in the
passage means [1219] {Passage 1}
T.I.M.E.
Questions based on Central Idea
1.
This passage (1216)
2. In this passage, the author primarily (1218)
3. In the given passage, the main purpose of
the researchers is to (1218)
4. In the final analysis, the reviewer’s take on
the book under review is that : [1217]
{passage 1}
5. In this passage the author primarily : [1219]
{Passage 2}
T.I.M.E.




According to the passage, all of the following
features are true regarding Benegal’s
“previous work” except …. [1217] {passage 3}
According to the passage, all of the following
statements regarding the ‘chaos’ in the
factories are true, except …. [1217] {passage
3}
Which of the following appears to be an
unlikely outcome of the ‘consultant’s
intervention’ [1217] {passage 2}
Tim Flannery,as per the passage , is all the
following except … [1217] {passage 1}
T.I.M.E.


According to the passage , Naimark’s book
title is plural because : [1219] {Passage 1}
The passage mentions some of the
characteristics of the new middle class which
emerged in the liberal states. Pick the
exception. [1219] {Passage 2}
T.I.M.E.
Objective of these kind of questions in any
entrance examinations


The words given in these type of question are
the commonly used words also called the
high frequency words
The objective of this question is to evaluate a
student’s language proficiency unlike
vocabulary based questions
T.I.M.E.
Steps to be followed while solving these questions
 check the usage of the word in terms of the part
of speech [there are eight parts of speech :
noun,pronoun,verb,adverb,adjective,preposition,
conjunction,interjection]
 The word in question could either be used as a
noun or a verb.
E.g. the word nurse can be used in the following
ways :
She works as a nurse in hospital. [noun]
She nursed me throughout my illness. [verb]
Do you nurse political ambitions ? [verb]
T.I.M.E.
if the word in question is used as a noun then
check for the usage of the article [a,an,the] ;
the error could be with the usage of article
E.g. Firm
 Lie on a firm mattress to avoid a backache.
 The new firm had several plans for
expansion.
 This is a residential school and kids here
need a firm hand to make them behave.

T.I.M.E.
The noun used in MU questions is generally a
common noun [so we need not bother about
the usage of the article ‘the’ with any other
type of noun]
Common nouns : types :
countable/uncountable
Countable nouns : can be physically counted
and always take a plural form
Uncountable nouns : cannot be physically
counted and do not take a plural form
They also do not take a article : hence if the
word in question is an uncountable noun it
would not take any article
T.I.M.E.
Template for the usage of the indefinite
articles (a, an)
used with singular countable nouns : a book,
an orange
 always used with a adjective of quality : a
beautiful girl , an intelligent student
 Gives a positive connotation when used with
an adjective of quantity e.g.. A few/a little
[difference between a , an : the choice between
the two is determined by sound : before a
word beginning with a vowel sound an is
used : an enemy, an umbrella : before a word
beginning with a consonant sound a is used :
a boy, a girl ]

T.I.M.E.
If the word is used as a verb then the error
could be with the preposition following it : a
concept called ‘phrasal verbs’
E.g. Deal
1. You begin a game by dealing 7 cards to each
player.
2. Parents find it difficult to deal with their
children’s hostile and stubborn attitude.
3. The nuclear deal between India and the US
has sparked off a controversy.
4. Judges usually deal in harsher sentences to
repeat offenders

T.I.M.E.
Idioms : the error could be idiomatic (the
incorrect idiom in terms of the meaning
conveyed or in terms of the structure)
What are idioms?
They are phrases grammatically with an
implied meaning [a phrase is a group of
words without a finite verb]
T.I.M.E.