Some good books to refer while preparing for CAT

Every year, the Common Admission Test or CAT is held country wide for admissions into various MBA programmes offered by the business schools. CAT happens to be one of the toughest exams in India, with a mere 1% of candidates finally making to the reputed b-schools. Hence it is very important to study hard and read the best of CAT books to get good marks in the exam.

As you all know, the CAT exam is divided into three main sections: Quantitative Ability, Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability. Depending on these three sections, I have provided the names of 3 books a CAT aspirant needs to read.

For Quantitative Ability, you need to practice a lot of class 10 and 12 level mathematics. The best books to consult are OP Sinhal's ICSE Maths Text Book and Quantitative aptitude by RS Aggarwal. Aggarwal's book is also available online. CAT aspirants can also purchase the NCERT books of standards 9th to 12th and solve the problems from there. Since most of the students have fear for mathematics, practicing 10 and 12 levels of arithmetic, algebra, will help them to score high marks in the exam. To give up some extra boost to your CAT preparations, you can always consult Magical Book on Quicker Maths by M. Tyra.

For Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation, the best of books include, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for the CAT by Arun Sharma. The book published by Tata McGraw-Hill offers a simple and enjoyable reading to all CAT aspirants. The book very clearly brings out the answer to the key question that many of you guys have in your mind. Many of the logical reasoning books can also be ordered online.

For understanding Verbal Ability, you can buy Wren and Marten. To practice grammar all the more, that is the use of nouns, idioms and phrases, you can purchase Thompson and Martinet's "A Practical English Grammar".

English usage and vocabulary can be further sharpened by reading "Word Power Made Easy" by Norman Lewis. Inside the book you will find about 50 exercises for solving purposes. While reading, if you don't get the meaning of some words, always consult an English dictionary as that of Oxford to understand the word.

The book named "How to Prepare for the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT" by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay will also greatly help the CAT aspirants to take preparations for the coming exam.

According to CAT experts, it is best for the students to read various newspapers and English magazines apart from studying the above must read books, to improve English language skills.

MBA aspirants can also go through some of the following books to get an idea on diverse topics in Management.

• Marketing Management: Knowledge and Skills - Peter and Donnelly
• Financial Management - Khan & Jain
• Mathematics for Business Studies - Dr. J. K. Thukral

The detailed information about books is provided here.