How to crack GK in CMAT

CMAT is a national-level test that AICTE conducts for admission into various B-schools in India. It is positively the last exam of the admission cycle. It holds immense importance for MBA aspirants for their last chance to apply to all AICTE-approved MBA institutes at all India levels. CMAT is one of the exams with a GK section, and cracking the GK section can make or break your score. So, let's look into more details on the CMAT GK section strategy.

What is CMAT all about?

The Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) is a computer-based online entrance test used for admission to management programs in India. It's crucial to stay informed about the revised CMAT 2024 exam pattern, given the consistent alterations made by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to the CMAT pattern in recent years.

The CMAT 2024 assessment will consist of five sections, each containing 20 questions, with all questions carrying equal weight in terms of scoring. This makes for a total of 100 questions across all sections, and the cumulative maximum score for all five sections amounts to 400 marks. Due to this evolving exam pattern, effective CMAT preparation necessitates a meticulously crafted study plan tailored to the specific details of the exam.

A breakup of the sections is given below:

Section Name	Number of questions	Level of difficulty
Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation	20	Moderate (3-4 questions are difficult)
Logical Reasoning	20	DI more difficult; Quant –moderate
Language Comprehension	20	Moderate to difficult
General Awareness	20	Easy to moderate
Innovation & Entrepreneurship	20	Moderate

Strategy for GK in CMAT:

As you can see from the format mentioned above, GK has an equal weightage with the other sections. This means that you have to give a good focus on the GK section as well. If we look at the difficulty level, the GK section has an easy to moderate level of difficulty and is easier than the rest of the sections. This is a great advantage and hence, if you prepare for the GK section well you may be able to score well.

Out of the 25 questions, usually, the trend was that around majority of questions came from Static Gk, while the rest used to come from Current affairs. However, in CMAT the paper has 24 questions from Static Gk and only 1 question from Current Affairs. These static questions were also found to be difficult, from topics that are less known and confusing. This means you have to focus a lot on Static GK in CMAT. You will find the bifurcation of Static and current Gk in the table below for the last few years:

Some of the Important topics covered in the Gk section are:

Books and Authors and Related Prizes / Awards
Polity
Indian History & Geography
About different Countries, their Currency, Capital, and Heads of States
About Brands, their Taglines, CEOs, Head Offices, etc.
Business News relevant to major companies
International Organizations with a special focus on UNO
International Policies / Agreements / Pacts
Sports
Science
Important Days and Dates
Economy / Budget

Out of all these topics, CMAT saw 11 questions from Indian events, around 9 questions from International events, and 15 were a mix of all the above-stated topics.

Also read: List of all International organizations with their details

How to prepare for it:

1) Reading news:

The most effective way to stay in getting general awareness is through reading the news. Reading the news has benefits for both static and current GK. While they do cover current affairs news, a lot of times newspapers also go deep into the past and nitty-gritty details of what led to the event. A lot of times such questions are asked as static gk, so take note of this sort of information. Try to read the daily news from national papers like The Hindu, Times of India, etc. Try to use sticky notes for questions that you feel are very important. Static GK can also be covered by going through Manorama Year Books.

The GK asked is usually from the last 90 days of the date of the exam. Hence, candidates must be at least aware of the last 90 days of current affairs, which can only happen if they read daily. So make a full attempt to dedicate at least 1 hour daily to preparing for GK.

2) Take Notes:

To memorize and revise better, it is recommended that you maintain notes of all major GK topics and events. Writing down the facts helps memorize faster and for a longer time. Since you have so much Static Gk to learn, the most efficient way will be to maintain a small book and revise it every day. This will ensure that you do not forget the previous topics as you learn the new ones.

3) Previous paper analysis:

This might be useful for papers like CMAT, where you can gauge the type of questions that are usually asked in exams. For example, from the paper, you now know that international news is also important. Similarly, such patterns can be identified and you can work on these areas diligently.

4) Take care of accuracy:

As mentioned above, a negative mark applies to the GK section too. This means that you cannot go about marking the answers for questions that you are not sure of. Each mark will count and to get into the 99 percentile range you can't take that risk. So, try to be as accurate as possible. An accuracy rate of 70-80% should be targeted in this section.

5) Don't spend too much time on the exam day:

Ensure that you don't spend more than 15 minutes on the GK section. Identify the ones you know quickly and solve them. It's either you know the answer or you don't, so without wasting time get on with the other sections once you are done with GK.

6) Solve mocks:

Solving sample questions can help a lot. So try to solve a few mocks that include the GK section before the exam. You can also try to solve just model questions on GK, they will also give you better confidence on the exam day.

Conclusion:

Overall, focus more on Static GK and keep making a continuous effort towards learning GK. Try to be aware of things happening around the world. Remember that this is not a one-day activity, if you want to score well and get into the 99 percent range, you need to focus on Gk and start your preparations now.

I hope you liked this article on CMAT GK strategy. Do check out the static GK on our page also which would be useful for your CMAT GK preparations.

Also read: List of Brand Taglines

Author

Anisha Mukhija

Anisha has done MBA in Marketing from NMIMS And Executive Management(PMNO) from Harvard Business School. She has been instrumental in growing CATKing Digital with her experience with Marico and Henkel in the past.