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Reading Comprehension (RC) questions in CAT 2025 form a major part of the Verbal Ability section. These questions test your ability to read, understand, and interpret different types of texts. To do well, you must get comfortable with different RC styles, tones, and question formats. Solving CAT RC practice questions regularly helps improve accuracy and speed. You can begin with CAT 2025 RC practice questions and work your way through past papers and CAT RC passages with solutions. Solving the CAT mock set 2025 also helps to understand weaknesses and strengths and ace the exam with high marks.
Understanding the types of RC passages in the CAT exam helps in solving questions more accurately. These passages vary in topic, tone, and complexity. Regular practice with CAT RC practice questions improves speed and accuracy in reading comprehension for CAT 2025.
1. Philosophical Passages
These passages discuss abstract ideas and concepts like truth, justice, or existence. They often involve complex reasoning and demand full attention. Regular practice through CAT 2025 RC practice questions will help you break down such ideas and understand the author’s line of thought. These are the trickiest and appear often in cat rc passages with solutions.
2. Scientific and Technical Passages
Such RC passages are based on science, technology, or research. They include facts, experiments, and conclusions. Solving CAT RC practice questions on science-related content will train you to read technical terms without getting stuck. These are common in reading comprehension for CAT 2025, especially in the VARC section.
3. Historical Passages
These give details about historical events, movements, or figures. They may compare different time periods or highlight key developments. Practising CAT 2025 RC practice questions based on history will improve your ability to follow timelines and evaluate the author’s point of view.
4. Literary and Art-Based Passages
These passages deal with literature, art, and culture. They usually include critiques, opinions, or analyses of styles and themes. Understanding tone, mood, and vocabulary is essential. Use cat rc passages with solutions that focus on arts and literature to develop these skills.
5. Abstract or Opinion-Based Passages
These passages express personal opinions or commentary on social, moral, or ethical issues. They require careful reading to catch the author’s intent. Solving related CAT RC practice questions helps you get used to understanding subtle meanings and arguments, which are vital in reading comprehension for CAT 2025.
6. Economic and Business Passages
These include topics like markets, finance, business policies, or global trade. The language can be formal and packed with jargon. Solving CAT 2025 RC practice questions in this area improves familiarity with economic terms and helps you answer fact-based and inference questions confidently.
Improving your reading speed is important for solving CAT RC practice questions on time. It helps you read faster, understand better, and attempt more questions with confidence. Whether you're working on CAT 2025 RC practice questions or regular reading comprehension for CAT 2025, faster reading improves your focus and accuracy. These tips will also help you while solving CAT RC passages with solutions:
Use newspapers like The Hindu and magazines such as The Economist to expose yourself to different topics and writing styles. This helps in building speed and comfort with reading comprehension for CAT 2025.
Many students read slowly because they "speak" the words in their minds. Practice reading silently with your eyes. This habit can boost your speed during CAT 2025 RC practice questions.
This keeps your focus steady and prevents distractions. It also helps reduce line skipping and improves flow while solving CAT RC passages with solutions.
Give yourself a time limit for each passage and question set. Practising timed reading will prepare you for the actual exam conditions and improve your performance in CAT RC practice questions.
Begin your preparation with short and easier RC passages. This builds confidence and makes it easier to handle tougher reading comprehension for CAT 2025 later on.
A strong vocabulary helps you solve reading comprehension for CAT 2025 with more confidence and accuracy. Many CAT RC practice questions include words that are tricky or rarely used in daily life. To solve these quickly, you need to understand the meaning without wasting time. Whether you're working on CAT 2025 RC practice questions or reviewing CAT RC passages with solutions, having a good word bank makes a big difference.
Keep a small diary or digital note to write new words. Include their meaning, example sentence, and a synonym. This helps you remember them better for CAT 2025 RC practice questions.
Apps like Anki or physical flashcards are great for revision. Review them daily to keep words fresh in your memory, especially for reading comprehension for CAT 2025.
Instead of just memorising meanings, learn how a word is used in a sentence. This method is useful for understanding word usage in CAT RC practice questions.
Some CAT RC passages with solutions focus more on vocabulary and tone. Try solving those regularly. It helps you apply what you’ve learnt in real exam settings.
Games like Wordle, crossword puzzles, or online vocabulary tests are fun and effective ways to expand your word knowledge.
In the CAT Reading Comprehension (RC) section, questions are primarily classified into two categories. The first category focuses on factual questions, which test your understanding of the text's explicit details. The second category includes inferential questions, where you need to analyse and interpret the underlying meaning or tone of the passage. Both types require careful reading and attention to detail. A balanced approach of understanding both facts and inferences is key to performing well in this section. By practising these question types, you can improve your accuracy and speed during the exam.
The first type of questions you encounter in CAT is the BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS. As the name suggests, these questions are based on the overall content and ideas of the passage. Rather than referring to any specific detail, they refer to the main ideas, tone, and purpose of the author of the passage. For this question category, you need to focus on the overall understanding of the passage and ensure that you identify the critical aspects of the passage. The various question types that fall under this category are:
Main Idea Questions
Primary Purpose Questions
Tone Questions
Structure and Organisation Questions
Author Profession Questions
Title Questions
We will examine each question type and understand the approach for it.
The second question you encounter in CAT is the SPECIFIC DETAIL QUESTIONS. As the name suggests, these questions are based on specific ideas and parts of the passage. These question types revolve around specific contexts and portions of the passage. The key to answering such questions is retaining information and breaking down the passage into as many simple ideas as possible. The various question types that fall under this category are:
Inference-based questions
Author agreement/disagreement questions
Paraphrase and meaning identification questions
'Must be true' questions
Fact-based questions
Vocabulary-based questions
The above represents the broad classification of the different question types probed in CAT reading comprehension. Let's now pick up these question types one by one and highlight the appropriate approach for each.
This question type revolves around the one thing it explicitly mentions: the passage's main idea. It can be framed in a variety of ways, such as:
What is the main idea of the passage?
What is the main point of the passage?
What is the central idea of the passage?
What is the central point of the passage?
Summarise the passage in one line.
Identify the gist of the passage.
In some cases, this question type employs a simple trick of vaguely preserving the passage's main point but changing the subject. The answer options might be too general or too specific regarding their approach and choice of topics. This common trick is known as the SCOPE TRAP, and you should be careful when solving RC main idea questions. It's essential to be careful not to stray from the scope of the given passage. Remember: always stay within the confines of what was written and focus on retaining the main point of that text.
As the name suggests, this question type asks you to identify the purpose of the author of the passage. Suppose the RC main idea question is about the WHAT OF THE PASSAGE, then the RC primary purpose question is about the WHY OF THE AUTHOR/PASSAGE. This question type essentially asks you to identify the purpose behind writing the particular passage. Let's look at some of the different purposes that authors can adopt in this question type:
The author might try to convince the reader about something
The author might try to defy or deny something
The author might try to explain something
The author might try to educate the reader about something
The author might try to debate an issue
The author might try to support or object to a point of view or position
The author might simply be trying to share his or her own experiences
As you can see, all of the above represent some or another purpose for writing the passage. There are infinite such reasons that can exist while writing a passage. As a good preparation tool, you should always ask yourself why the author has written this and what he is trying to achieve while reading articles. Also, try to list as many reasons as possible to write articles and use your observation skills to the fullest. Gradually, over time, you will begin to understand the different reasons for writing articles and be able to identify relevant patterns for this question type.
Questions about tone and attitude depend on the author's approach and style. These questions primarily focus on identifying the type and nature of the passage and then correlating that with the sentiment expressed by the author.
Each passage has three possible natures:
Positive: something or someone is described in a positive manner.
Neutral: Something or someone is described neutrally.
Negative: something or someone is described negatively.
Once you've identified the type of passage, you can link it to the answer options, which will help you find the answer. As a good practice exercise and method to prepare for this question, list down the words that are commonly used as answer choices for this question type. This list will help you understand the meanings of words and easily identify the correct answer.
The phrasing of this question type is straightforward. The examiner asks you to identify the correct organisation/structure of the passage. You need to figure out how the passage's content has been structured for this particular question type. Here, the examiner aims to evaluate your skills in identifying the organisational/structural elements used by the author of the passage. To help you understand what we are talking about, some examples of the kind of answer options you see in this question type are listed below:
A concept is highlighted, its key variables explained, and its outcomes highlighted.
An experience is shared, the underlying idea is exposed, and the scope of the idea is explained.
An experiment is explained and detailed; its current outcomes are also explained.
An experience is shared, the underlying activity is exposed, and the scope of the activity is explained.
A distinction/divergence in approach for a certain topic is explained, and the method to resolve this divergence is explained.
A possible approach to a topic is questioned, and possible schools of thought are explained, with further clarification provided.
A debate is highlighted, and then its resolutions are provided.
A topic is highlighted, possible positions on the same are brought forward, and then a limitation of our approach to the topic is explained.
As you can see from the above, this question type is not about the information itself, but rather the structural elements used to present that information. The best way to perfect this question type is to be aware of the different structural elements used by the author and continuously try to categorise them, such as facts, opinions, conclusions, examples, analogies, concepts, theories, experiences, topics, and debates. Once you start doing this, you begin to develop a grasp of this question type.
This is a peculiar question where you are asked to identify the suitable/probable profession of the author. The first thing to keep in mind for this question type is that the question asks you to identify the probable or suitable profession of the author. As a caveat, remember that anyone can write on any subject. But the most probable logical relation we can make is between the subject/area of the passage and the author's profession. The author's profession is likely related to the topics discussed in the passage. For example:
A neuroscientist is likely to write about subjects related to our nervous system, functions, and disorders.
A political journalist is likely to talk about political events.
A United Nations diplomat is likely to talk about global events.
A central bank governor is likely to talk about economics.
This is how the profession of the author is mapped with the content of the passage. As a starting point for this question type, make sure you read the author's description/bio every time you read an article. This will help you intrinsically understand the different authors' professions and how they relate to written text.
The RC title question revolves around the passage's main idea, and you are supposed to identify the most likely title for it. Here, the best answer is the title that best represents the passage's main idea and is closest to expressing the maximum number of dimensions of the passage. Let us look at some of the recent titles that have been featured in newspapers and publications:
The great jobs hunt: Too few Indians are seeking work, and mostly among those working, the quality of employment isn't great
Big Bangalore theory: Why keep banging on about its mess?
The importance of work-life balance and how to cultivate it effectively
Nothing is more difficult than being successful
What explains India's slipping in the Global Hunger Index rankings?
How the world's harshest lockdown hit India's millions of migrant workers
Thriving on Mars
Geopolitics is for losers
Why did consciousness evolve?
Why making if-then connections might be the key to consciousness
Moral mathematics
We can see from the titles above that some are directly based on the content, and some are indirect. By observing these titles and correlating them with the articles, you can improve your grasp of this question type.
These are the complicated ones and pose the greatest challenge to students. Also, the last few years have seen this question type being probed in multiple ways in the exam. The various ways in which this question type has been phrased in the exam are as follows:
Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
Which one of the following cannot be inferred from the passage?
All of the following can be inferred from the passage except:
All of the following cannot be inferred from the passage except:
As you can see from the above, the multiple ways of phrasing this question type have added to the complexity levels and made it difficult for students in the exam.
There are two types of inference questions in the CAT:
Actual inference questions: These are questions in which inference is something that is not specified and is derived from the context provided.
Reframing the facts: Several questions in this area are based simply on repeating the facts of the passage. All that is done is to reaffirm the facts mentioned in the passage in alternative words.
You should keep an eye on these questions and determine what type of questions they are. Also, try to identify the source of the inference in the passage and focus on the relative context (two lines above and below the specified context). They usually contain an indication of the answer given. The critical ability to reach the right conclusion also involves understanding the passage's context and key ideas. Once you've done that, you'll be able to identify the correct answer.
This is another type of difficult question that frequently appears on the CAT exam. This question is generally phrased as:
According to the information given in the passage/according to the author of the passage, which one of the following would the author agree with?
According to the information given in the passage/according to the author of the passage, which one of the following would the author disagree with?
What do you consider in this question? To identify the agreement or disagreement of the author of the passage, you must identify the key ideas of the passage, and you need to focus on the different points discussed in the passage. By reading the passage carefully, note any key points that emerge. These will help guide your analysis as you answer questions about the author's opinions.
Remember that choices in this question type might contain:
Distortions of content that are very similar to the information given within the passage. These can be difficult to identify and pose a challenge in the exam.
Overgeneralize the given context or situation, and thus, in the process, become irrelevant within the given context.
This is a question type where you are asked to identify the correct meaning of a specific passage extract. Generally, you are provided one to two lines in this question type and then are supposed to find the option that explains the meaning of these lines. The fundamental trick for this question type is that, along with the specific lines probed, the context of these lines (a few lines above and a few lines below the specific content) is essential in identifying the correct answer. The correct answer is generally connected to this context.
This question type is generally phrased in the following ways:
According to the information given in the passage/according to the author of the passage, which one of them must be true?
According to the information given in the passage/according to the author of the passage, which one of them must be false?
In this question type, you are essentially checking the factual relevance of content and whether the particular sentiment/fact/piece of information mentioned in the question has been mentioned in the same way in the passage or not. This question type primarily demands content retention, and as an approach, you will do well to list important points from each paragraph while reading the passage. This will help you locate and connect the information with the answer choices.
This is the easiest question type that features in the CAT exam. Here, you are simply asked to identify the correct statement or fact from the given options. Once again, this question type is essentially about retaining information and quickly verifying it in the answer choices against the information in the question statement.
The last RC question type is based on vocabulary. Here, you can be asked to identify the correct meanings of words or phrases. This question type is essentially driven by your knowledge of vocabulary and your ability to identify the meaning of words contextually. A good reading habit goes a long way in improving the skills required for this type of question.
With this, we complete our exhaustive guide covering various RC question types. With the help of this guide, you should be able to solve CAT reading comprehension a lot better and also refine your preparation approach for CAT reading comprehension
For effective preparation for the Reading Comprehension (RC) section of the CAT exam, it's essential to use a variety of study materials. Focus on high-quality RC practice books that offer a range of passages and questions similar to those on the exam.
Additionally, reading diverse materials, such as newspapers, magazines, and academic journals, can help improve your comprehension skills and speed. Incorporate online resources and CAT prep apps that provide practice tests and detailed explanations to enhance your understanding and strategy.
Regular practice with these materials will help you become more efficient at analysing passages and answering questions accurately. You can download and study the following CAT study materials designed exclusively for the CAT Reading Comprehension section.
TITLE | DOWNLOAD LINK |
CAT 2025 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Study Material | |
CAT VARC Sample Questions 2025 | |
CAT Previous Year Question Papers |
Reading Comprehension is often the trickiest part of the CAT 2025. With unpredictable topics and close answer choices, a smart preparation strategy can greatly improve your performance in RC-based questions.
Achieving excellence in the CAT RC 2025 section requires students to adopt a comprehensive approach that combines consistent practice with strategic thinking. Here we are sharing some most useful tips that can directly benefit CAT 2025 Aspirants.
Build Strong Reading Habits: When you read extensively from quality sources like newspapers, magazines, and academic journals, you naturally develop analytical skills.
Master Question Categories: Mastering the various question categories becomes essential for strategic preparation.
Choose Quality Resources: Selecting appropriate study materials for CAT 2025 and practice resources has a significant impact on the quality of your preparation.
Enhance Vocabulary Contextually: Expanding your word knowledge forms another crucial pillar of successful CAT 2025 RC preparation.
Use Elimination Strategy: Finally, learning to eliminate incorrect options systematically proves more effective than searching for perfect answers.
Aim to spend around 5-7 minutes per passage. Read the passage quickly but carefully, then answer the questions within 2-3 minutes. Practicing this time management will help you stay on track during the exam.
For factual questions, go through the passage and seek for particular lines or paragraphs that specifically mention the answer. These are simple and do not need much evaluation.
For inference-based questions, consider the actual depth of meaning of the words. Pay attention to the author's tone, meanings, and what he or she does not openly convey. Practice helps with these kinds of questions, otherwise it can be difficult for candidates.
To determine the primary idea behind the lines given, read the passage's introduction and conclusion. Ignore minor issues and consider the broader picture—ask yourself, "What is the passage really trying to say?"
Focus on practicing RC passages every day. Read different topics to improve your comprehension and speed. Work on understanding the main idea and tone quickly, and take mock tests to simulate the actual exam environment.
Use high-quality RC practice books, newspapers, magazines, academic journals, online resources, and CAT prep apps with practice tests.
Based on the document, there are 12 main types including Main Idea Questions, Primary Purpose Questions, Tone Questions, Inference-based Questions, and Fact-based Questions.
CAT 2025 RC questions include inference-based, main idea, tone, title, fact-based, and vocabulary-based questions. These tests both your understanding and interpretation skills.
Typically, CAT includes 4–5 RC passages with around 3–5 questions each. The exact number may vary slightly depending on the slot.
They include both. Most CAT RC questions are inference-based, requiring you to read between the lines rather than recall direct facts.
You can find CAT RC passages with solutions in mock tests, official CAT sample questions, and platforms offering CAT 2025 RC practice questions.
Regularly solve reading comprehension practice questions for CAT 2025, work on reading speed, and analyse your mistakes using RC mock sets.
KL-MAT exam syllabus usually covers Quantitative Ability, Logical Reasoning, English or Verbal Ability, and General Knowledge or Current Affairs. It is designed similar to other MBA entrance exams but at a moderate level. Yes, KL University accepts CAT scores for admission into MBA along with MAT, XAT, CMAT and its own KL MAT. If you already have a valid CAT score, you don’t need to appear for KL MAT separately. The difference between CAT and other management entrance exams is mainly in difficulty level and competition. CAT is the toughest and is accepted by IIMs and top B schools across India.
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!!!
Hello Divya,
Yes, candidates with an online BBA can sit for both CAT and GMAT provided that the degree is from a recognized (UGC approved in India or accredited abroad) institution. The leading B-schools in both India and abroad do not look down upon online degrees as long as the degree is from a recognized body, they will mostly be looking at your test scores, academic performance, work experience, and profile holistically. What matters is the legitimacy of the institution and how you showcase your abilities, not whether your degree was obtained online or in-person.
Yes, someone with an online BBA can sit for both CAT and GMAT, provided the degree is from a UGC recognized university. Top B-schools in India (like IIMs) and abroad generally accept online degrees if they are valid, and you won’t be marked down just because it’s online. What matters more is your entrance exam score, academic record, work experience, and overall profile.
A career as Marketing Director is also known as a marketing expert who is responsible for the overall marketing aspect of the company. He or she oversees plans and develops the company's budget. The marketing Director collaborates with the business team to plan and develop the marketing and branding strategies for the company's products or services.
A Business Development Executive identifies and pursues new business opportunities to drive company growth. They generate leads, build client relationships, develop sales strategies, and analyse market trends. Collaborating with internal teams, they aim to meet sales targets. With experience, they can advance to managerial roles, playing a key role in expanding the company’s market presence and revenue.
Content Marketing Specialists are also known as Content Specialists. They are responsible for crafting content, editing and developing it to meet the requirements of digital marketing campaigns. To ensure that the material created is consistent with the overall aims of a digital marketing campaign, content marketing specialists work closely with SEO and digital marketing professionals.
A Sales Manager leads a sales team to meet targets, formulates strategies, analyses performance, and monitors market trends. They typically hold a degree in management or related fields, with an MBA offering added value. The role often demands over 40 hours a week. Strong leadership, planning, and analytical skills are essential for success in this career.
A marketing manager is a person who oversees a company or product marketing. He or she can be in charge of multiple programmes or goods or can be in charge of one product. He or she is enthusiastic, organised, and very diligent in meeting financial constraints. He or she works with other team members to produce advertising campaigns and decides if a new product or service is marketable.
A Marketing manager plans and executes marketing initiatives to create demand for goods and services and increase consumer awareness of them. A marketing manager prevents unauthorised statements and informs the public that the business is doing everything to investigate and fix the line of products. Students can pursue an MBA in Marketing Management courses to become marketing managers.
An SEO Analyst is a web professional who is proficient in the implementation of SEO strategies to target more keywords to improve the reach of the content on search engines. He or she provides support to acquire the goals and success of the client’s campaigns.
Digital marketing is growing, diverse, and is covering a wide variety of career paths. Each job function aids in the development of effective digital marketing strategies and techniques. The aims and objectives of the individuals who opt for a career as a digital marketing executive are similar to those of a marketing professional: to build brand awareness, promote company services or products, and increase conversions. Individuals who opt for a career as Digital Marketing Executives, unlike traditional marketing companies, communicate effectively through suitable technology platforms.
Individuals who opt for a career as a business analyst look at how a company operates. He or she conducts research and analyses data to improve his or her knowledge about the company. This is required so that an individual can suggest the company strategies for improving their operations and processes.
In a business analyst job role a lot of analysis is done, things are learned from past mistakes and the successful strategies are enhanced further. A business analyst goes through real-world data in order to provide the most feasible solutions to an organisation. Students can pursue Business Analytics to become Business Analysts.
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