CAT 2024 Syllabus Chirag
Updated on - Jun 27, 2024
The Common Admission Test or CAT is one of the most competitive exams in India conducted by IIMs for entrance into MBA and other postgraduate programs. The CAT syllabus covers various topics like Mathematics, English Reading & Grammar, and Logical Reasoning. The CAT syllabus is considered to be quite extensive and the exam analyses the candidate based upon various aspects. The CAT exam syllabus is divided into three topics namely Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Aptitude. Verbal ability and Reading comprehension in the CAT syllabus test the candidate based on their understanding of the English language. Sentence completion, para jumbles, and various other types of grammar-based questions are put forward. Data Interpretation includes questions based on pie charts, diagrams, bar graphs et cetera. Quantitative Ability focuses on mathematical topics like algebra, percentages, profit and loss, geometry, etc.
To prepare for the exam, students must give their undivided attention and analyse the CAT exam syllabus. Students can find online PDFs, books, test papers, and previous years question papers covering the CAT syllabus for exam preparation. The CAT syllabus is vast and includes various topics. Thorough understanding and practice of the CAT exam syllabus and topics is a necessity. Apart from the CAT syllabus, one must be aware of the CAT exam pattern and the best ways to solve to get the maximum percentile. The CAT exam syllabus poses a total of 66 questions from the 3 topics which must be solved within 120 minutes. Candidates can easily score 99 percentile by answering 40 to 44 questions correctly and get admission into the top Indian Institute of Management and other B schools.
The CAT exam syllabus is very diverse. The CAT subject list is divided into three categories/topics which include:
For the preparation for CAT syllabus, students can read the following highlights related to the subjects and their constituent topics:
The section includes questions based on verbal reasoning, English grammar, and reading comprehension. The questions include para jumbles, finding out-of-context sentences, error correction, sentence completion, and other questions based on critical reasoning. Knowledge and understanding of the English language, logic, and reasoning are the main areas in which students must become proficient.
Data interpretation and logical reasoning, as a subject, analyses the analytical abilities of the candidates. Questions based on diagrams, pie charts, bar graphs, and tables are put forward. Students need to analyse the given data and answer questions based on their analysis. Data interpretation and logical reasoning are combined to analyse the thinking capabilities as well as the calculation power of the candidates.
Quantitative Aptitude is based on various topics related to mathematics. Questions based upon arithmetic, geometry, number system, algebra, mixtures and allegations, simple interest, profit and loss, and time at work are listed in the CAT exam. Understanding the basics and continuous practice can help students solve the questions based on quantitative aptitude in the CAT exam.
The CAT exam pattern has been specified and laid down by the Indian Institute of Management. The exam consists of 66 objective questions that are both MCQ and Non-MCQ based. Students are provided with a total of 120 minutes to solve the entire exam divided into three sections namely Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, and Quantitative Aptitude. 40 minutes is allocated to each section giving students ample time to solve the problems. Following is the CAT exam pattern for 2024
|
CAT Syllabus |
Total Questions |
Weightage/Marks |
|---|---|---|
|
Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning |
24 |
72 |
|
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
20 |
60 |
|
Quantitative Aptitude |
22 |
66 |
Following are the main CAT syllabus highlights that students must read and understand for full proof preparation:
|
Exam mode |
Computer based |
|---|---|
|
Duration of the exam |
120 minutes with 40 minutes for each section |
|
Total number of questions |
66 |
|
Total marks |
198 |
|
Language |
English |
|
Type of questions |
MCQ and TITA |
The non-MCQ questions are termed as ‘Type in the Answer’ or TITA questions. With a ratio of 3:1, a total of 16 to 17 questions are TITA based. Students have to fill in their answers for such questions making them different from the MCQ-based questions. Moreover, the CAT exam pattern is based on negative marking. All the MC queue questions except TITA carry negative markings. For every wrong answer, 1 mark is deducted from the total marks making it imperative for the students to solve and plan accordingly for the CAT syllabus.
The CAT exam syllabus for MBA is released every year. However, the CAT syllabus 2024 is still unknown and has not been released by the IIM. Candidates can however get their hands on the CAT exam syllabus pdf from various online websites. Providing information about the MBA CAT syllabus, the CAT exam syllabus pdf is based on previous exam papers and questions. Following are the important topics and questions with students can consider in the MBA CAT syllabus:
Reading comprehension, questions based upon vocabulary, grammar, and fill-in-the-blanks. Para jumbles Para completion and various other topics.
Blood relations, seating arrangement, coding and decoding, family tree, and series are some of the important topics for CAT syllabus 2024.
Questions based on data structure, data sufficiency, pie charts, graphs, and various other topics must be practised and considered as the part of MBA CAT syllabus.
Geometry, trigonometry, mensuration, algebra, and questions on time and work, percentage, and various other subtopics are the most important for the CAT exam.
The following table provides information about various topics covered under the CAT exam 2024 syllabus along with their weightage for better understanding:
|
CAT syllabus |
CAT Topics |
Topic Wise Weightage |
|---|---|---|
|
Reading Comprehension |
Order of sentences, questions based on passages, and Para meaning |
24% |
|
Logical Reasoning |
Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Syllogism And Caselets |
16% |
|
Verbal Ability |
Para jumbles, Para summary, Inferences and Sentence Completion |
10% |
|
Data Interpretation |
|
16% |
|
Quantitative Aptitude |
|
34% |
The Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning in CAT syllabus includes various topics based on English proficiency and grammar. Following are the important topics which students must consider and practise for acing this section:
The Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning section in CAT syllabus comprises various questions based on English grammar. However, reading comprehension carries the maximum weightage and should be given preference over the other questions. The below table provides information about the important topics as well as their total weightage in the exam:
|
Topics |
Marks |
|---|---|
|
Reading comprehension |
16 |
|
Para jumbles |
3 |
|
Odd sentence selection |
2 |
|
Verbal ability summary |
3 |
|
Total marks |
24 |
Students must download the CAT exam syllabus pdf for in-depth information about the type of topics in the VARC section. The following table provides information about the reading comprehension passages for the 2023 and 2022 CAT exams that students can analyse:
|
CAT Year |
Slot 1 |
Slot 2 |
Slot 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2023 |
|
|
|
|
2022 |
|
|
|
To ace the CAT VARC section, the candidates are encouraged to improve their understanding of the English language. The following tips can help with VARC preparation:
Considered to be one of the most important CAT subjects, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) include the following topics:
The CAT subject list for the DILR topic is not fixed. However, some important topics have been listed below based on previous exams along with their weightage:
|
Topics |
Total questions |
|---|---|
|
Arrangements like sitting and grid |
14 to 15 |
|
Logical reasoning based upon data |
10 |
|
Order and ranking |
3 |
|
Network and Chart |
3 |
|
Tables and missing data |
6 |
|
Venn diagram |
10 |
The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning-based questions in CAT syllabus require practice by the candidates. Following tips are helpful for the preparation for the DILR section
The CAT exam 2024 syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude (QA) includes questions based on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and mensuration. The following list provides information about the MBA entrance exam syllabus for the quantitative aptitude section:
Being a speed-based exam, students have to solve the given questions correctly and within the least time possible. Students must therefore focus their attention on the important topics and even opt for tips, tricks as well and quick mental maths for solving the questions. The following table provides information about the important topics in quantitative aptitude as well as the weightage in CAT syllabus:
|
Topics |
Total questions |
|---|---|
|
Geometry |
3 |
|
Modern maths |
4 |
|
Algebra |
5 |
|
Arithmetic |
10 |
|
Total |
22 |
The important topics in the CAT exam syllabus for the MBA Quantitative Aptitude section have been tabulated below:
|
Topics |
Sub-Topics |
|---|---|
|
Arithmetic |
|
|
Modern Maths |
|
|
Geometry |
|
|
Number System |
|
|
Algebra |
|
Practice is the key to scoring high percentile in the Quantitative Aptitude section. The following points help candidates boost their overall marks in the CAT QA section:
Candidates must completely avoid the questions that they are unsure of. Negative markings for the wrong answers can bring down the overall percentile.
