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    CAT English Syllabus 2025 (VARC): Topics, Weightage, Important Questions

    CAT English Syllabus 2025 (VARC): Topics, Weightage, Important Questions

    Team Careers360Updated on 05 Aug 2025, 04:30 PM IST

    The CAT English syllabus for the CAT exam is designed in the form of a Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section. The CAT English syllabus for the VARC section of the CAT exam is spread across the crucial concepts of English grammar along with the ability to read large passages or pieces of information to answer the questions based on them. It tests the candidates on the grounds of their knowledge and command of the English language. VARC of the CAT English syllabus include topics like Idioms and Phrases, Synonyms and Antonyms, Logical Deductions, Paragraph Completion and other topics. The CAT English syllabus mentioned here is prepared based on the pattern of CAT previous year's question papers.

    This Story also Contains

    1. English Weightage in CAT 2025
    2. CAT English Syllabus Important Topics
    3. Weightage of Different Areas of English Syllabus
    CAT English Syllabus 2025 (VARC): Topics, Weightage, Important Questions
    CAT English Syllabus for MBA with Weightage, Important Topics

    English Weightage in CAT 2025

    The VARC section of the CAT exam contains the most questions and therefore holds the largest weightage among the three sections. The VARC sections are also considered to be the highest-scoring ones because of the reading passages. The total number of questions in the VARC section is 24. The detailed weightage and marks for the VARC section in the CAT exam are given below.

    ParticularsDetails

    CAT Exam Section

    Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

    Total VARC Questions

    24

    Total Marks

    72

    Marking Scheme

    • 3 marks for every correct answer.
    • -1 mark for every incorrect answer.

    Time

    40 minutes

    CAT English Syllabus Important Topics

    Completing the English CAT syllabus can often seem like too much to study. Therefore, candidates need to get the important topics to study for the VARC section of the CAT exam. These important topics are the ones from which most of the questions are formulated in the VARC section. The list of the important topics from the CAT English syllabus for the VARC section of the CAT exam is provided in the table below.

    CAT Exam Section

    CAT English Syllabus Important Topics

    Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

    • Reading Comprehension
    • Synonyms and Antonyms
    • Word Usage and Contextual Meaning
    • Analogies
    • Idioms and Phrases
    • Grammar-based Questions (Parts of Speech, Tenses, Subject-Verb Agreement, etc.)
    • Para jumbles
    • Strengthening and Weakening Arguments
    • Assumptions, Inferences, and Conclusions
    • Logical Deductions
    • Cause and Effect Reasoning
    • Paragraph Completion
    • Summary
    • Reading and Comprehending Different Text Forms
    • Contextual Understanding

    Weightage of Different Areas of English Syllabus

    The entire CAT English syllabus can be divided into the following four parts:

    1. Reading Comprehension
    2. VA- Para Jumbles
    3. VA- Odd Sentence
    4. VA- Summary
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    The weightage of each of these areas of the CAT English syllabus in the CAT exam is given in the table below.

    Areas of CAT English Syllabus

    Weightage

    Reading Comprehension

    66.7%

    VA- Para Jumbles

    12.5%

    VA- Odd Sentence

    8.3%

    VA- Summary

    12.5%

    Also See:

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    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: What is the English section of the CAT exam?
    A:

    The English section of the CAT exam is Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC). It consists of 24 questions with a total mark of 72. The VARC section consists of questions across topics like vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, sentence building, and reading ability.

    Q: How many questions are there in the English section of the CAT exam?
    A:

    The total number of questions in the VARC section of the CAT exam is 24. Each question carries 3 marks. The total marks of the VARC section are 72 out of the 198 total marks of the CAT exam.

    Q: Is CAT English difficult?
    A:

    The difficulty level of English in the CAT exam can be considered between moderate to difficult. The difficulty level remains high as it is the topmost management entrance examination in the country. Apart from that it is also a scoring opportunity for the candidates as it contains the most number of questions among all the sections.

    Q: What is the sectional cutoff for English in CAT?
    A:

    The sectional cutoff for English in CAT remains between 70 to 80 for most of the IIMs. It may vary for reserved categories. Clearing the sectional cutoff for English is mandatory for every candidate to be eligible for applying to the IIMs.

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