Good at arithmetic, weak at algebra — how to fix it

Well, good to hear this beta ji.. If your Arithmetic is sorted, it means your job is 60% done and it means you will certainly cross 90 percentile in CAT's QA for sure. Congrats on beginning your 90 to 98 journey now. Coming to the Algebra problem - students find algebra difficult primarily for two reasons: 1. They are bad at calculations: Trust me, 50% of all CAT Algebra questions can be solved by simple hit and trial without using a single Algebric property at all. 2. They are bad with graphs: Another 20% questions of Algebra can be solved by visualizations and by creating rough graphs, but in my experience, almost every student tries his level best to avoid graphs at all costs. The student who tries to solve all 100% questions via Algebric expressions, transformations and properties, and tries to remember 100s of formulae and tries to actually expand expressions using binomial theorem, struggles at Algebra the most because X, Y, Z, alpha, beta and their squares and cubes can actually be confusing. In school, you had to go through all that because you had to prove RHS = LHS, but in CAT, you will have options to work with and thus, more than half the time an Algebric Property is not even needed. So, if you are weak at Algebra, my first suggestion will be - try to begin your theory with a rough graph in your notebook and try to solve every question using options first (hit & trial, and number replacements). My second suggestion will be - don't try to memorize a hundred expression and formulae. Actual Algebra is very small and you can solve all the CAT level questions using just a handful of techniques. Stick to Ashu Jain for theory (it covers very little but only the relevant stuff) and focus solving a lot of questions instead.