How to Prepare for MAT 2023 Exam in One Month

Your sure-shot guide to help you understand how to prepare for MAT 2023 exam in one month. If we look at the spectrum of MBA entrance exams in India, Management Aptitude Test (MAT) is one of the easier tests from the complete set of examinations. But this does not mean that this exam does not require input or hard work. Far from it, one of the biggest challenges for this exam is to get acquainted with the exam's pattern and understand its speed-based nature.

What do we mean by the 'speed-based nature of the exam'?

You need to understand that, fundamentally, there are two types of MBA entrance examinations:

Type-1: Accuracy-Based Exams

The two exams which fall under thing category are CAT and XAT. In these two exams, you are not supposed to solve every question in the examination. Instead, you are supposed to identify the ones you can solve within the given time limit. This is primarily because of the advanced difficulty level of the questions in these exams. Performance in these exams is driven by maintaining a good level of accuracy and selecting the right set of questions.

Type-2: Speed-Based Exams

Exams such as MAT, MHCET, and SNAP (in their current avatar), fall under this category. Here, the level of questions is considerably easy compared to CAT and XAT, but then this presents the challenge of solving a far greater number of questions within the time limit for the exam. Hence, these exams, by their nature, become speed-based tests.

At the end of the day, whether you appear for an accuracy-based test or speed-based test, it is imperative that you understand the nature of the test, and what kind of preparation it requires and base your exam strategy around these demands. The difference between a successful and unsuccessful candidate is often the ability to carry out the above analysis and tailor one's exam needs accordingly.

How to start your preparation with one month to go for MAT 2023?

Considering that you have decided to take the test and there is just a month to go, it is essential to make a quick and comprehensive plan that ensures all the vital needs of the exam are met. Let's examine the key things you need to do for the examination.

1. Understand the pattern of the exam

The first step to success in any exam is understanding its pattern; the same goes for MAT 2023. MAT is a two-hour and thirty-minute test with 200 multiple-choice questions divided into five sections. The breakup of these sections is as follows:

The suggested time for solving the five sections in the exam is as follows:

Remember, the above is a suggested guideline to maximise performance in all sections. You can suitably modify the amount of time you spend on a particular section based on your strengths and weaknesses.

2. Ensure sufficient practice for most of the topics that appear in the exam.

First, identify the key topics in the exam that you are likely to encounter. You should be ready for the following topics:

• Language and Comprehension: Reading Comprehensions, Vocabulary Topics (Synonyms and antonyms, Proverbs, Sentence Completion, Analogies, etc.), Grammar, Sentence Correction, Punctuations etc.
• Mathematical Skills: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Modern Math
• Data Analysis and Sufficiency: Pie Charts, Line and Bar Diagrams, Tables, Graphs, Data Analysis, Data Comparison, Caselet-based data, Venn diagrams, and Data Sufficiency.
• Intelligence and Critical Reasoning: Critical Reasoning, Cause and Effect Reasoning, Strong and Weak Arguments, Fact Interference Judgement, Clocks, Calendars, Arrangements, Family Tree, Network Diagrams, Puzzles, Logical Reasoning.
• Indian and Global Environment: Business and Economics, Current GK, Static GK (including topics such as History, Geography, Companies and Brands, Indian Political System & Constitution, and Organisations)

The key for the above topics here is that you should try to cover as many questions as possible. Since the difficulty level for most topics is easy to moderate, it is essential to cover more topics than focus on advanced-level problems for a particular topic.

3. Take sufficient MAT Mock Tests and Practice Tests

The next part of your preparation should include taking a sufficient number of mock and practice tests. The key things that you need to keep in mind while taking tests is:

• Take as many timed practice tests as possible. Taking tests with a timer helps improve your speed and ensures you do not develop bad problem-solving habits.
• Ensure you take at least 2 Full-Length MAT Mock Tests every week during this one month of preparation. This will ensure you are fully ready for the test and reasonably adjusted to the time pressure you will face in the exam.
• Make sure you carry out a thorough analysis of the tests you take. Mock test analysis ensures you understand your strengths and weaknesses and common mistakes you commit and helps you develop an efficient strategy for the exam.

4. Books you can use for the Last One Month MAT-2023 Preparation

The following are the books you can use for preparation in the last month.

• Vocabulary: Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• General English and Grammar: Objective General English by SP Bakshi
• Static GK: Lucent's General Knowledge
• Current GK: The Mega Yearbook by Disha
• Mathematics: Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exams by RS Aggarwal
• Mathematics: Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exams by Abhijit Guha
• Mathematics: Maths in Moments Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exams by Satish Kumar
• Reasoning: A New Approach to REASONING Verbal, Non-Verbal & Analytical Paperback by BS Sijwalii & Indu Sijwali
• Bonus Resource: The previous year's MAT question papers book is another handy resource for MAT preparation. There is a book by Arihant Publications (Face To Face MAT With 25 Years Solved Papers 2022) that is particularly useful for the exam.

You can refer to one book from the above set of books for one area. You can make the selection based on your needs.

One-Month Study Plan for MAT-2023

In order to help you plan your preparation, we have drafted a study plan you can use for MAT 2023 preparation. The following table highlights what you need to do over the 4-week duration to perfect your preparation.

Quick summary of MAT 2023 Preparation Tips

To wrap up this article, here is a quick set of pointers for you that will help you perform better in the exam:

• Make a careful selection of MAT books and other materials required for preparation.

• Prepare a schedule that focuses on the demands of the exam (extensive problem practice and building speed)

• Ensure you take a sufficient number of mock MATs and practice tests.

• Try to solve previous year's questions as these give you a great understanding of the type of questions asked in the exam.

• Ensure you cover Current GK and remain up to date with the world's latest events.

• Ensure you read regularly and work on improving your comprehension skills.