CAT Exam : Syllabus

CAT Syllabus

Syllabus of CAT exam can be divided into three sections. Section-wise planning and preparation would definitely recommended for better outcome. CAT 2021 syllabus is systematically given in this blog.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

 Out of the three sections, candidates have to face VARC section first. This section is comparatively difficult in CAT exam. In the VARC section candidates are expected to carefully select a paragraph and answer the questions perfectly. There are both MCQ and TITA types of questions in VARC section and as of now, candidates can expect 10 questions from verbal ability every year and the rest from reading comprehension part. This section is designed to check candidate’s knowledge and understanding of Verbal Reasoning, English grammar, error correction, facts, inference, comprehensions, vocabulary and related topics. Detailed structure of Verbal ability section is given below.

For last 4-5 years Verbal ability section was mainly centered on 3 types of questions.

• Summary questions
• Mixed up questions
• Odd sentences in paragraph

Summary questions:

•  Small paragraph (~100 words) with four options
• The goal is to figure out the best possible summary
• In order to answer these types of questions, it is advisable to eliminate the odd options and right answer will automatically emerge.

Mixed paragraph type of questions are basically TITA which indicates that there is no margin of error:

• Here candidates have to find the right order of 4-5 mixed sentences.
• To solve these questions, candidates need to first identify the starting and ending line of the sequence. Following the first line the candidate should find the second line and should repeat the process until the entire sequence is formed. 

TITA types of questions for finding odd sentences:

• The goal of these types of questions is to find out unmatched sentence in the paragraph.
• The difficulty level of these questions depends on the way they are presented.  

The topics are given below in detail.

1. English usage and grammar
2. Vocabulary based (Synonyms/Antonyms)
3. Fill in the blanks
4. Sentence correction
5. Cloze passage    
6. Jumbled paragraph
7. Meaning-Usage Match
8. Analogies and Reverse Analogies
9. Summary Questions
10. Verbal Reasoning
11. Facts-Interference-Judgments
12. Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension:

Reading comprehension type of questions generally contains three types of questions, Interference-based, Vocabulary-based and Fact-based. Interference-based questions are the trickiest among the three. So the aspirant has to understand the tone of the question in order to get the right answer.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

The second section of CAT exam consists of two subdivisions, data interpretation and logical reasoning. The difficulty level of this section has been reduced in CAT 2018 and CAT 2019 because of its immense unpredictability.

Important aspects of Data Interpretation for CAT 2021

• In this section candidates should expect both multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and non-multiple-choice questions (Non-MCQs).
• For each incorrect MCQ answer, there is a negative marking.
• In case of incorrect non-MCQ answer, no mark will be deducted.

The topics are given below in detail.

1. Tables
2. Column Graphs
3. Bar Graphs
4. Line Charts
5. Pie Chart
6. Venn Diagrams
7. Caselets

Important aspects of Logical Reasoning for CAT 2021

Syllabus of logical reasoning in CAT exam includes topics like logical sequences, arrangements, numbers and sequences etc. Usually questions are formed in combination with other concepts. As we observe the spectrum of the concepts of Logical reasoning is quite vast and the possibility of numerous combinations makes this segment extremely challenging to answer. From DLR perspective CAT 2015 and CAT 2016 were considered the most difficult to answer.

The topics are given below in detail.

1. Number and Letter Series
2. Calendars
3. Clocks
4. Cubes
5. Venn Diagrams
6. Binary Logic
7. Seating Arrangement
8. Logical Sequence
9. Logical Matching
10. Logical Connectives
11. Syllogism
12. Blood Relations

Quantitative aptitude CAT 2021

In CAT exam, this section comprises of questions from arithmetic, mathematics, trigonometry, and algebra.  Since most of the topics of this section are of class 10 level, it is comparatively easier for the candidates to prepare for this segment in CAT 2021.

The topics are given below in detail.

1. Number Systems
2. LCM and HCF
3. Percentages
4. Profit, Loss and Discount
5. Simple Interest
6. Compound Interest
7. Speed, Time and Distance
8. Time and Work
9. Averages
10. Ratio and Proportion
11. Linear Equations
12. Quadratic Equations
13. Complex Numbers
14. Logarithm
15. Progressions (Sequences and Series)
16. Binomial Theorem
17. Surds and Indices
18. Inequalities
19. Permutation and Combination
20. Probability
21. Functions and Graphs
22. Set Theory
23. Mixtures and Alligations
24. Geometry
25. Co-ordinate Geometry
26. Trigonometry
27. Mensuration