In this guide
Every DILR set charges an entry fee. You pay it in the first few minutes, reading the conditions and drawing the structure, and you get nothing back until the structure closes. Once it does, four or five questions often fall in a few minutes together. That single fact shapes the whole clock: the unit of time in DILR is the set, not the question.
It also explains the two ways people lose time. They pay the entry fee for a set they cannot finish, or they pay it twice by leaving a set and coming back cold.
The 40-minute plan
| Phase | Minutes | What you are doing |
|---|---|---|
| Scan | 0–4 | Read every set's opening and first question; rate each one |
| Set 1 | 4–15 | Your best-rated set, solved fully |
| Set 2 | 15–27 | Second-best set |
| Set 3 or harvest | 27–37 | A third set if one looks open; otherwise single questions |
| Close | 37–40 | Enter TITA answers, check marked answers, no new sets |
Two sets fully solved is a solid section for many aspirants. A third set is a bonus, not the plan. If your target needs three sets, the plan still starts the same way; the gain comes from finishing sets 1 and 2 faster, not from starting more of them.
The scan: four minutes, not forty seconds
The scan is where the section is won or lost, so give it real time. For each set, read the first few lines and the first question, then ask:
- How many facts are fixed? "P sits in seat 3" is fixed. "P is not next to Q" is not. More fixed facts means a faster start.
- How many variables? Five people and five seats is small. Eight people, three attributes and a day of the week is large.
- What are the questions asking? Direct questions ("who sits in seat 4?") are cheap. "What is the maximum possible…" or "how many arrangements…" are expensive.
- Is there heavy calculation? A DI set with ten rows of four-digit numbers can be easy logic and slow arithmetic.
Rate each set easy, medium or hard and write the rating on your rough sheet. Do not start solving during the scan, however tempting the first set looks. Our guide to DILR set selection goes deeper into the signals.
Checkpoints, not a per-set stopwatch
Watching a stopwatch for each set is stressful and hard to do. Checkpoints are simpler: three moments at which you glance at the timer and compare.
| At minute | You should have | If not |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | One set fully done, answers marked | Finish the set you are on only if the grid is nearly closed |
| 27 | Two sets done | Do not start a big set; look for single questions |
| 36 | Stopped starting anything new | Move to close-out immediately |
The switching rule
The old advice is "switch after 5 minutes without progress". It is right, but "progress" needs a definition, or you will always feel you are almost there.
Progress means a new fixed entry in your diagram. A fixed seat, a confirmed match result, a cell of the table that cannot change. Writing out cases does not count unless a case gets eliminated.
The rule then becomes: if three minutes pass without a new fixed entry, and you are past minute 5 on the set, switch. Before you leave, write one line on the rough sheet: what you had fixed and which condition you were stuck on. Coming back to that line costs a minute. Coming back to nothing costs five.
Guessing: what the marking scheme allows
CAT MCQs have four options in recent papers, with +3 for a right answer and −1 for a wrong one. The expected value of an answer depends on how many options you have eliminated:
| Options left | Chance of being right | Expected marks |
|---|---|---|
| 4 (blind guess) | 1 in 4 | 3 × ¼ − ¾ = 0 |
| 3 | 1 in 3 | 3 × ⅓ − ⅔ = +⅓ |
| 2 | 1 in 2 | 3 × ½ − ½ = +1 |
A blind MCQ guess is worth nothing on average and adds variance. An MCQ where you have genuinely eliminated two options is worth a mark on average. TITA answers carry no penalty, so a reasoned estimate, for example from a partly solved set, costs nothing to enter.
This is why the last three minutes are for closing out, not for starting a new set. Entering two reasoned TITA answers and one 50-50 MCQ is a better use of that time than reading a fresh set.
A worked section timeline (illustrative, made up)
Here is how the plan might play out for an aspirant in a mock section with five sets, A to E. The data is invented.
| Minute | What happened |
|---|---|
| 0–4 | Scan. Ratings: A easy, C medium, B medium, D hard, E hard |
| 4–14 | Set A (arrangement, 4 questions): structure closes at minute 9; all 4 answered |
| 14–19 | Set B (scheduling): two possible cases, neither eliminated for 3 minutes. Writes "Tue slot open, stuck on condition 5" and switches |
| 19–30 | Set C (table): solved; 4 of 5 answered, one left because of a long calculation |
| 30–35 | Back to set B with fresh eyes: condition 5 kills one case; 3 of 4 answered |
| 35–37 | Set D: the first question needs only two clues, answered as TITA |
| 37–40 | Close-out: enters remaining TITA, rechecks two MCQs |
At minute 15 the aspirant had one set done, which is on plan. At minute 27 they had only one and a bit, and the checkpoint told them not to open D or E. The switch from B cost them nothing, because the note let them restart in seconds.
Count it up: 4 + 4 + 3 + 1 = 12 attempts. Whether that becomes a good score now depends on accuracy, which is the next guide's job: common DILR mistakes.
Practising the clock
Timing is a habit, and habits come from repetition under the same rules.
- In every sectional, write the minute you start and stop each set in the margin of your rough sheet.
- After five sectionals, find your averages by set type. You might find arrangements take you 9 minutes and tournaments 16. That is your personal selection table.
- Run one drill a week of "scan only". Take a fresh sectional, scan for 4 minutes, rate every set, then solve all of them untimed and see whether your ratings held. This trains the scan without the pressure of a score.
- Review the clock, not just the answers. In your mock analysis, note the minute at which you knew each set would or would not crack.
What to do next
- Copy the 40-minute plan and the checkpoint table onto the first page of your DILR notebook.
- In your next two sectionals, apply the switching rule with the "new fixed entry" test and leave a one-line note every time you switch.
- Log time per set type for five sectionals and build your personal selection table.
- Do one "scan only" drill this week.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Indian Institutes of Management website .
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