After every mock, list each question you lost marks on and put it in one of four buckets: concept gap, careless slip, time sink or bad guess. Write the fix next to it. Do this in an error log. After three or four mocks the log tells you what to work on.
Why most mock reviews fail
Students check the score, glance at the solutions they got wrong, and move on. The next mock shows the same mistakes. A review that does not change what you do next is just reading.
The four causes
| Cause | What it looks like | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Concept gap | You did not know how to start | Go back to the topic and learn it. Then redo the question |
| Careless slip | You knew how, then made an error | Slow down on that question type. Write steps in a fixed layout |
| Time sink | You solved it, but took too long | Practise spotting and skipping. Set a time cap per question |
| Bad guess | You guessed and lost marks to negative marking | Practise elimination. Guess only when you can cut options |
The 5-step review
- Within a day of the mock, while it is fresh.
- Go section by section. Start with the section that cost you most.
- For each lost question, write the cause in your error log.
- Re-solve it from scratch without looking at the solution first.
- Write one action for each cause that appears more than twice.
Your error log
Keep it simple. One row per question.
| Mock | Section | Question | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | QA | Percentages | Concept gap | Redo the chapter |
| 3 | DILR | Set 2 | Time sink | Cap at 6 minutes |
After three or four mocks, count the causes. The biggest group is your first target.
Where this doesn’t apply
Do not start with mocks if you have not covered the basics. In the first weeks, concepts and reading matter more. A mock is a measuring tool, and measuring something you have not studied only tells you what you already know. This method is also our recommendation, not a proven formula. We have not measured how much it raises scores.
This is a study method written by us. It is not drawn from a third-party study, and no score improvement figure appears here because we have not measured one. Marking scheme details for CAT are as reported by exam portals.