The CAT Syllabus in Brief

With modifications in the CAT question pattern, time duration, exam structure, scoring scheme, and other major components over the previous ten years, CAT has undergone noticeable alterations. The syllabus is now based on the most recent CAT exam pattern, which IIM Ahmedabad introduced last year for the CAT 2021 exam. The CAT syllabus is divided into three categories, each of which has a different weight in the CAT question paper. The syllabus is organized into three sections, although there are actually five sections because the VARC and DILR sections are further broken into two sub-sections. Students can understand the syllabus for CAT by looking at previous years' CAT question papers. Candidates must understand the CAT test syllabus and paper structure before commencing their CAT exam preparation. This article discusses the CAT  syllabus section-by-section.

Overview of the CAT Syllabus

The CAT (Common Admission Test) is a computer-based admissions test (CBT). We may get a fair notion of how to prepare for the CAT entrance test by looking at the CAT curriculum. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation, and Quantitative Aptitude are the three key areas covered in the CAT Syllabus.

Vocabulary, grammar, para jumbles, RC passages, para summary, and other topics are covered in the CAT Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Syllabus. Last year, four RC readings with four questions each were given.

Word puzzles, seating arrangements, blood relations, and DI sets with graphical and tabular representation are among the topics covered in the CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Syllabus.

The CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus is divided into five sections: arithmetic, algebra, current maths, geometry and measurement, and numbers.

According to the updated CAT Exam Pattern, the exam will consist of 66 questions that must be completed in two hours. Exam Pattern for CAT 

Candidates could download CAT Question Papers to acquire a better grasp of the new pattern and curriculum before starting their preparation for CAT.

The CAT paper's questions were largely based on advanced middle school arithmetic (classes 9 and 10) and English topics, with the difficulty level fluctuating (higher). 

Quantitative Aptitude 

The majority of QA questions are based on themes from the class 10 mathematics syllabus.

The QA segment of the CAT exam is scheduled to feature 14 MCQs and 8 non-MCQs out of 22 questions.

The CAT Syllabus for Quality Assurance focuses on numerical questions and assesses a candidate's mathematical abilities.

It's a speed, accuracy, and precision test.

Quants are a substantial component, accounting for more than 40% of the questions asked.

Important topics of CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus 

The quantitative aptitude part has a total of 22 questions.

Out of all the topics in the CAT Syllabus for QA, arithmetic has the most weight. In reality, in terms of weightage in the CAT exam, maths comes in second after reading comprehension.

The majority of questions in the quant area come from general themes such as profit and loss, number systems, geometry, and so on.

Topics in modern math include logarithms, progressions, set theory, permutation and combination, functions, and so on.

In 2021, all CAT slots had a total of 8 TITA (Type in the Answer) questions.

Our advice is to concentrate on geometry, algebra, current mathematics, and, most significantly, arithmetic.

Preparing for the Quantitative Aptitude Exam

According to test-takers experiences, CAT DILR preparation takes time because the topics require thinking, whereas CAT VARC preparation does not require much time because computations are not required in this subject.

CAT Quant Preparation requires greater effort because you must master multiple formulae and have an excellent understanding of how to solve mathematical questions in less time.

Candidates should stick to a 6-month schedule that includes all three subjects, significant subtopics, and CAT previous year's question papers.

VARC's Reading Comprehension and Para-jumbles, DILR's Graphs and Charts, and Quant's Number System and Geometry all have the most weight. As a result, CAT applicants must familiarise themselves with the CAT Exam Pattern.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 

The DILR CAT Syllabus emphasizes two aspects: data interpretation and logical reasoning.

DI includes both multiple-choice and non-multiple-choice questions.

Questions about data interpretation test a candidate's ability to make inferences from a set of numbers.

The CAT Logical Reasoning Syllabus assesses a candidate's ability to reason logically and apply it to real-life situations.

LR questions can be asked individually or in groups of four or more.

Only 15 MCQs and 5 non-MCQs are expected in the CAT  DILR segment.

Important topics of  CAT DILR Syllabus 

In general, there are four data sets in the DILR portion from Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation.

DI, LR, or a combination of DI and LR sets can be used. For the past three years, this segment has been the deciding factor, and the level of difficulty is also increasing.

The DI part, which contains 2-3 sets, is separated into 'Reasoning Based Questions' and 'Calculation Based Questions.'

Even though there is no dedicated weighting or topic preferences, questions from arrangement sets have become more important in recent years. As a result, it is recommended that you practice as much as possible, particularly with previous years' CAT question papers.

Weightage Analysis in the CAT DILR Syllabus

• The relative importance of LR and DI has shifted over time.
• DI and LR each had 16 questions until 2017.
• DI had 12 questions in 2018 and 2019, whereas LR had 20.
• Surprisingly, DI had 16 questions in 2020, whereas LR only had 8.
• CAT DILR had only 24 questions in 2021. (19 MCQs and 5 TITA).

CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Preparation

CAT DILR section preparation should begin 5-6 months before the exam date, covering all relevant topics such as bar graphs, seating arrangements, and so on. The focus of CAT DILR preparation should be on improving computation speed, as the CAT DILR Question Paper will feature questions in the form of Sets, and correctly solving one set will get you roughly 12-15 marks. You'll need 45-50 raw marks to score in the 95th percentile. You can get that score by answering 20-22 questions correctly 90 percent of the time. Exam Pattern for CAT

The CAT DILR component is one of the longer sections of the exam and is judged moderately tough by previous year's test-takers.

CAT Logical Reasoning Preparation focuses on improving your reasoning speed and accuracy, as well as filtering out irrelevant information.

CAT DILR asked 18 multiple-choice questions and 6 non-multiple-choice questions last year.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

The VARC CAT Syllabus assesses a candidate's language and comprehension abilities.

The candidate's ability to understand the meaning of a passage will be tested through comprehension questions.

Questions from the Reading Comprehension passage include true/false claims based on the reading, the Author's point of view on the topics raised in the text, inference from the passage, the passage's principal theme, and its goal.

The MCQs in the RC section are multiple-choice questions.

The majority of the Verbal Ability questions will be non-MCQ questions.

In the previous year's paper, 19 MCQs and 5 non-MCQs were asked.

Reading Comprehension accounts for roughly 70% of VARC questions.

Important Topics of CAT VARC 

In the CAT, questions from sentence correction, grammar, vocabulary, or fill in the gaps have not appeared in the last three years under the verbal ability CAT curriculum.

As a result, devoting a lot of time to these topics is pointless. Questions from the para jumble theme, on the other hand, have become an important part of the verbal ability portion.

In recent years, the difficulty of para jumbles has also been moderate.

Preparation Tips for the CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 

Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability on the CAT Preparation takes time, but it does not require any calculations, thus it is regarded as a scoring portion by test takers. In VARC, questions are asked in groups of three to four, and the types of questions include RC, Sentence Correction, Fill in the Blanks, and so on. RC, or Reading Comprehension questions, carry a considerable weightage in the CAT VARC exam. In the CAT, reading comprehension is worth 3/4 of the sectional weightage, which means that 24 of the 34 questions are about reading comprehension.

 Examine the CAT VARC Syllabus.

This component of the CAT VARC is primarily concerned with assessing candidates' aptitude in the English language, vocabulary, and grammar.

Aspirants who want to do well in this subject should adopt reading habits that will aid them in the exam.

You can get a 95+ percentile in the CAT VARC Section with a lot of practice and devotion.

Due to the fact that CAT does occasionally surprise candidates, there is no CAT Syllabus that is expressly posted on the CAT Official Website. The CAT Exam, on the other hand, is solvable because it measures the candidates' mastery of the fundamentals. As a result, every candidate should ensure that they have thoroughly prepared for the fundamentals. If an aspirant follows the CAT curriculum, the chances of unpleasant shocks are considerably minimized.