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CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Syllabus 2025 - The CAT 2025 exam consists of three subjects, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation (LRDI) and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). Candidates who are planning to appear in the CAT 2025 exam must be familiar with the fact that CAT conducting body will not provide any official CAT syllabus. So candidates must know the complete CAT 2025 VARC syllabus, preparation tips and best books to prepare for the CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section.
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Careers360 brings to you details of CAT, exam dates, features of the VARC section, major topics along with an expected number of questions in this article of the CAT 2025 VARC Syllabus. Along with that, the major preparation tips to be followed to ace the VARC section, and the best books are also provided in this article.
Particulars | Details |
Sectional Time Duration for VARC |
|
Type of Questions | MCQs and TITA Questions (Both) |
Marking Scheme for MCQs |
|
Marking Scheme for TITA Questions | No negative marking |
Difficulty Level | Moderately to High |
The very first section that candidates see in the CAT 2025 exam is the VARC section out of the three. For the VARC section, candidates are expected to select passages carefully and answer accurately. The questions in the VARC section are divided into both MCQs and TITA Questions. As of now, every year 10 questions from Verbal Ability are asked and the remaining are from the reading comprehension part.
CAT Verbal Ability syllabus 2025 aims to test candidates on grammar and Verbal Reasoning, Error Correction, Facts, inference or judgment, comprehension, vocabulary, para summary and related topics.
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Particulars | Details |
Type of questions in Verbal Ability | Both MCQs and TITA (Non-MCQs) |
Type of questions in Reading comprehension | MCQs only |
Total MCQs in verbal ability | 10 |
Total questions in Reading comprehension | 24 |
Related CAT 2025 VARC Syllabus: Important Topics
As mentioned earlier, the official CAT 2025 VARC syllabus has not been released officially. On the basis of the previous year's question papers of CAT, sample papers and expert advice candidates can get to know what topics are to be asked from the CAT verbal ability and reading comprehension syllabus of CAT 2025. Every registered candidate wants to make it to IIMs but the question is How To Crack CAT? If we look closely, a few topics in the VARC section are very important and repeated every year in the question paper differently.
As per the exam pattern of CAT 2025, out of all questions in this section, some questions will be in a non-MCQ format which means candidates will have to answer the questions without any choices. Here are some major tips for CAT toppers that will help the candidates to score well in the CAT 2025 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section:
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Book Title | Author/Publisher |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Nishit Sinha |
High School Grammar and Composition | Wren and Martin |
How to Prepare for Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability for the CAT | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay |
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In order to be familiar with when and how to start preparation for CAT, it is important for candidates to be aware of the exam dates of CAT. Details of notification, start and end of registration and other events regarding CAT 2025 are mentioned in this section. CAT 2025 entrance exam will be held on November 30, 2025.
To form a preparation plan for the CAT 2025 exam, candidates must be aware of the type of questions asked, total time duration, marking scheme and related information. Such details are provided under the exam pattern of CAT. Given below is the CAT 2025 exam pattern for the VARC section.
The complete VARC section was moderately difficult in CAT 2023. VARC section of CAT slot 1 exam consisted of questions from para jumbles with 2 questions, sentence filling, 2 odd one out and 2 summary questions. There were 4 reading comprehension with 16 questions and 8 questions from verbal ability section.
According to the CAT slot 1 analysis the distribution of the questions in the Verbal Ability area is as below –
Question Type | Number of Questions | Difficulty Level |
---|---|---|
Para Formation Questions (PFQs) | 2 | Moderate-Difficult |
Sentence Placement | 2 | Moderate |
Sentence Placement | 2 | Moderate |
Para Summary | 2 | Moderate |
Para Odd Man Out | 2 | Moderate |
CAT 2023 slot 2 analysis (VARC section)- The difficulty level of VARC section of CAT slot 2 exam was easy to moderate. As per the CAT 2023 slot 2 analysis, the VARC section had doable questions. There were 4 RC passages, 2 questions from para completion and 4 questions from para jumbles.
Passage Number | Passage – Topic/ Area | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level | Description/ Doable |
1 | Garments/ fashion Industry & Pollution | 4 | Easy to Moderate | 400-450 wordsS |
2 | Netflix Dubbing of titles for Europe- Good or Bad for Europe? | 4 | Easy to | 400-450 words |
3 | Liberalism is Dying | 4 | Moderate to Difficult | 400-450 words |
4 | Facts & Interpretation in History | 4 | Easy | 400-450 words |
Total | 16 | Moderate | Easier than CAT 2022 |
Question Type | Easy | Moderate | Difficult | Total |
Para Summary | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Odd Sentence | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Para Completion | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Para Jumbles | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Total | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
CAT slot 3 analysis VARC section- The VARC section of CAT 2023 slot 3 was moderate to difficult. There were 4 RC and 4 questions. Questions came from para jumbles, summary and para completion.
Passage Number | Passage – Topic/ Area | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level | Description/ Doable |
1 | Romantic Aesthetics/ Philosophy | 4 | Difficult to comprehend/read | 400-450 words |
2 | Cultural Property Law → Exploration of Sites | 4 | Easy to Moderate | 400-450 words |
3 | Nutmeg Curse→ Environment Degradation | 4 | Moderate | 400-450 words |
4 | Rational Thinking | 4 | Moderate | 400-450 words |
Total | 16 | Moderate | Easier than CAT 2022 |
Question Type | Easy | Moderate | Difficult | Total |
Para Summary | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Odd Sentence | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Para Completion | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Para Jumbles | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Total | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
As per CAT Exam Analysis 2022 slot 1, the overall difficulty level of the VARC section is moderate. No questions are asked on Odd one out. The paper consists of 3 questions from Para Summary and Para Jumbles and 2 from Fill in the Blanks.
As per CAT Analysis 2022, the RC section had 4 difficult passages, especially one on Institutions. The verbal Ability section was based on Para Summary, Para Completion, and Para Jumbles.
As per CAT 2022 Analysis, the VARC is moderate. The RC passages are easy to read as the options are a little tricky. RC passages VARC topics for CAT are asked from the below topics:
Based on the initial reaction of test-takers, the CAT 2021 Slot 1 Exam Analysis of VARC is provided below.
Based on the initial reaction of test-takers, the CAT 2021 Slot 2 Exam Analysis of VARC is provided below.
Based on the initial reaction of test-takers, the CAT 2021 Slot 3 Exam Analysis of VARC is provided below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The syllabus of CAT includes verbal ability & reading comprehension (VARC), data interpretation & logical reasoning (DILR), and quantitative aptitude (QA).
As per CAT 2025 VARC Syllabus, this section will have 24 questions.
The CAT 2025 VARC syllabus have both MCQs and TITA (Non-MCQs) where every year 10 questions are from Verbal Ability and the remaining are from the reading comprehension part. The topics have been discussed in the article.
The topics include:
The topics in Verbal Ability for CAT exam are:
The ways to prepare for Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability:
On Question asked by student community
Yes, you can fill the CAT form even if you currently have a backlog. CAT eligibility requires you to be in your final year of graduation or already graduated backlogs don’t stop you from applying.
While filling the form:
Enter the aggregate percentage/CGPA of marks you have obtained up to the latest semester for which results are declared (in your case till 4th semester).
There will be an option to mention that you have a backlog.
If you clear the backlog later, you’ll just need to show the updated marks during admission.
Hello Aspirant,
Yes, you can apply for the CAT exam as a final-year student. You must declare your backlog on the online application form. You do not write about it on the final-year student certificate; that document is to certify your enrollment status. You must clear all backlogs before the final admission process to any MBA college.
Hello,
Thank you for your question!
KL- MAT syllabus: Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, English/Verbal Ability, and General Awareness (similar to MAT/CMAT pattern).
CAT scores are valid in many private universities including KL University, but always check the year’s admission notification.
CAT vs other exams: CAT is toughest (IIMs + top B-schools), while MAT/CMAT/ATMA are relatively easier and accepted by many mid-level private universities.
Hello it will clear your doubt!
Hello Aspirant,
I saw a cat. The cat found an old map inside a drawer of the king's palace.
Here's why:
"a cat": It's the first time we mention the cat, so it's indefinite.
"The cat": Now we're talking about that specific cat we just mentioned, so it's definite.
"an old map": It's the first time we mention a map, and "old" starts with a vowel sound, so "an."
"a drawer": It's one of possibly many drawers, not a specific one known to us yet.
"the king's palace": This is a specific, unique place, so "the."
Hello Kapish
You can find the last 5 year questions of DILR for CAT at Careers360 website. Moreover, you can find the previous year papers of all the subjects i.e. DILR, Quants and VARC. I am attaching the link through which you would be able to access the same.
Here's the link:
CAT Previous Year Papers by CAREERS360
Sample paper of DILR:
CAT Sample Paper (DILR) by CAREERS360
Thank You!!!
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