It is rightly said, “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” It is important to train your mind to think smartly instead of learning things. If you want to think smart and prepare a plan to help you crack the CAT exam, the first step is knowing about the CAT Exam Syllabus.
Knowing the exam’s important details helps you plan an effective strategy. If you want to score well in CAT, this article will provide all the relevant details to help you ace the exam.
CAT Exam Syllabus: Highlights
| Particulars | Details |
| Duration of the CAT Exam | 2 Hours (120 Minutes) |
| Duration(Section-wise) | 40 Minutes for Each Section.
53 Minutes 20 Seconds for PwD candidates for each section. |
| Session(Slot-wise) |
|
| No. of Questions | 66 Questions |
| Total marks | 198 marks |
| Mode of the exam | Computer-Based Mode (CBT) |
| Marking Scheme |
|
CAT Exam Pattern
CAT examination pattern keeps changing; therefore, students must stay updated with the latest pattern. Candidates must score high in each section to clear the sectional score cut-offs.
It is important to remember that candidates will not give the exam on an internet website but on a computer terminal where the questions will be displayed. The answers are chosen by clicking on the right one.
The new exam pattern will display a timer on the computer screen reminding the remaining time to complete different sections.
Below are the sectional details of the CAT exam pattern:
| Sections | No. of Questions | Duration | Marks |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 22 | 40 minutes | 66 |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
(VARC) |
24 | 40 minutes | 72 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 | 40 minutes | 60 |
| Total | 66 | 120 minutes | 198 |
CAT Exam Syllabus: VARC Section
CAT Exam Syllabus consists of three sections. These sections are
- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
- Quantitative Ability
Detailed information about these sections is given below. Candidates must go through this information to prepare an effective preparation plan.
VARC is the first section to be solved in the exam. It has two subparts: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. Take a look at some key points of this section:
| VARC Syllabus | ||
| Fill in the blanks | Para Completion and inference | Verbal Logic |
| Verbal Reasoning | Subject-verb agreement | Para jumbles |
| Sentence completion | Foreign language words used in English | Different usage of the same word |
| Grammar | Reading Comprehension | Idioms |
| Syllogisms | Analogies | Antonyms |
| Jumbled paragraphs | Sentence correction | One word substitution |
| Parts of speech | Preposition | Types of Clauses |
| Phrases Modifiers | Errors in tenses | Articles usage |
CAT Syllabus: DILR Section
DILR is the second section of the CAT exam and is to be attempted after the VARC section. It is further subdivided into two sections: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.
Below are some of the important topics of DILR:
| DILR Syllabus | ||
| Blood Relations | Clocks and Calendars | Syllogism |
| Series | Statements | Venn Diagram |
| Proposition | Data Arrangement | Data Structures |
| Direction Sense | Family Tree | Tables |
| Coding-Decoding | Binary Logic | Pie Charts |
| Assumptions | Seating Arrangement | Data Sufficiency |
| Puzzles | Sets & Caselets | Bars & Line Graphs |
CAT Syllabus: QA Section
Quantitative Aptitude is the last section to be attempted in the CAT exam. The aptitude syllabus is the largest among the three sections. Therefore, most of the time is invested in preparing the QA section.
Check out these important topics of QA:
| QA Syllabus | ||
| Geometry | Ratios and Proportion | Inequalities |
| Trigonometry | In-equations Quadratic and linear equations | Work and Time |
| Algebra | Surds and Indices | Percentages |
| Mensuration | Time-Speed-Distance | Logarithms |
| Partnership (Accounts) | Number System | Square Root and Cube Root |
| Profit & Loss | Geometric Progression | Probability |
| Mean, mode, median | Binomial theorem | Simple interest and compound interest |
Study Material / Books For CAT Exam Syllabus
Candidates can refer to the study material of the CAT Exam Syllabus given below. These books are advised by experts and can play a significant role in your preparation.
VARC Section
| BOOKS | AUTHOR |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay/Arihant |
| 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary Mass Market Paperback | Wilfred Funk & Norman Lewis/ Simon & Schuster |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT | Sharma and Upadhyay |
| PSC for VA for CAT | Nishit Sinha |
DILR Section
| BOOKS | AUTHOR |
| CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | Gautam Puri |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT | Nishit K. Sinha |
| Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency | Ananta Ashisha |
| How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT | Arun Sharma |
QA Section
| BOOKS | AUTHOR |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay/Arihant |
| 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary Mass Market Paperback | Wilfred Funk & Norman Lewis/ Simon & Schuster |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT | Sharma and Upadhyay |
| PSC for VA for CAT | Nishit Sinha |
Conclusion
CAT is one of the most prestigious competitive exams with very high competition. To score well in the exam, one must be updated with all the important information. It is important to know the CAT Exam Syllabus before making a preparation plan. Knowing the exams’ important details helps the candidates prepare an effective strategy, increasing the chances of scoring a good percentile.
Hard work and consistency will eventually lead to success. Therefore candidates must not give up in between and be persistent with the practice.
