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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.
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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.
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
CAT Exam Section | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension |
Total VARC Questions | 24 |
Total Marks | 72 |
Marking Scheme |
|
Time | 40 minutes |
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 |
|
The entire CAT English syllabus can be divided into the following four parts:
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% |
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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.
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.
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.
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.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
Here are some top colleges accepting XAT and CAT exams :
Top colleges accepting CAT:
IIMs (All Indian Institutes of Management)
FMS Delhi
SPJIMR Mumbai
MDI Gurgaon
IIT Bombay (SJMSOM)
IIT Delhi (DMS)
IIFT
IMT Ghaziabad
JBIMS Mumbai
Top colleges accepting XAT:
XLRI Jamshedpur
XIMB Bhubaneswar
IMT Ghaziabad
Great
Hi there,
A female candidate with a CAT percentile of 67.97 and low sectional scores should target private and tier-2/3 B-schools that accept overall CAT scores in the 60–70 percentile range and have flexible sectional criteria.
Some suitable options include AIMS Institute Bangalore, Doon Business School Dehradun, Christ Institute of
Hi there,
Yes, you are eligible for XISS Ranchi with a CAT percentile of 67.60.
According to recent admission trends, the CAT cutoff for the PGDM in Human Resource Management for the general category has been around 60 percentile. For other programs such as Marketing, Finance, and Rural Management, the
Hi there,
Careers360 offers a wide range of eBooks and study materials to assist with CAT preparation. You can access past CAT question papers with solutions to understand the exam pattern and difficulty level. Additionally, there are quantitative aptitude handbooks, cheat sheets, and section-specific practice sets for arithmetic, algebra, and
Hi there,
The minimum eligibility criteria for a general candidate to receive a call from IIM Sambalpur are as follows:
VARC: 65%ile
QUANTS: 65%ile
LRDI: 65%ile
Overall: 90%tile
Keep practising and aim to improve your score. You can also focus on other management exams where you may secure a strong
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