The Common Entrance Test (CAT), conducted annually by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta, is an important exam for candidates who want to secure admission to India’s top business schools. The CAT admit card has just been released and with only a few weeks left for this management entrance exam, candidates are racing against time to perfect their preparation. As the exam day approaches, candidates are focusing on revising the essential concepts and refining their skills to face the most competitive management entrance exams in the country. While revising, candidates should adopt a strategic approach and take up topics that are frequently asked in the exam and carry maximum weightage. Here, we share the exam pattern, important topics, and preparation tips that will help the aspirants to strengthen their preparation and crack the upcoming exam.
CAT 2024 Exam Pattern
It is essential for candidates to familiarize themselves with the detailed CAT 2024 exam pattern before starting their preparation. Understanding the section-wise weightage will help in tailoring the preparation strategy effectively.
CAT 2024 Syllabus
Here is a comprehensive breakdown of CAT 2024 subject-wise syllabus. Check the important topics and organize your preparation for the exam accordingly.
CAT VARC Syllabus 2024
The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section is the first part of the CAT exam and consists of 24 questions. This section is divided into two parts: Verbal Ability (VA) and Reading Comprehension (RC). RC dominates the section with 12-14 questions, while VA includes questions on parajumbles, sentence completion, para completion, odd-sentence-out, and similar areas. Here is an overview of the main topics covered in the CAT VARC Syllabus for 2024:
Important Topics for Reading Comprehension:
The topics of the Reading Comprehension Passage may vary, however here are some topics that were asked in the previous year’s VARC section.
- Environmental problems and human impact
- Philosophy and Social Change
- Geography and Regional Literature
- Human Behavior and Psychology
- Fashion industry and environmental concerns
- Media influence and cultural influence
- Political ideology and liberalism
- Historical interpretation and objectivity
- Aesthetics and Romantic Philosophy
- Cultural Heritage Law and Site Protection
- Environmental degradation and agriculture
- Rational and critical thinking
CAT DILR Syllabus
The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) section is the second part of the CAT exam, which consists of 20 questions with a time limit of 40 minutes. It consists of two main subsections: data interpretation and logical reasoning. Here are important topics of CAT DILR Syllabus:
CAT Quantitative Aptitude Course
The Quantitative Aptitude section is the final part of the CAT exam. To excel in this section, candidates must have a strong grasp of basic concepts in arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and mensuration. Below are the main topics of CAT Quantitative Aptitude syllabus with important points to focus on:
- geometry
- Proportion and Proportion
- Inequalities
- Trigonometry
- Inequalities, Quadratic and Linear Equations
- work and time
- Algebra
- Surds and indices
- percent
- Menstruation
- Time-Speed-Distance
- logarithm
- share (account)
- Number system
- Square root and cube root
- Profit and loss
- Geometric progression
- probability
- mean, mode, median
- Binomial Theorem
- Simple interest and compound interest
CAT 2024 Revision Strategy
Revision is the key to success. Like preparation, revision also requires a well-structured strategy. Make sure to revise important concepts frequently asked in the exam, brush up on core concepts, and keep practicing to know your strengths and weaknesses. Here are some more preparation tips that can help you revise the right way to increase your chances of cracking the exam.
- Daily practice set: Solve 2-3 practice sets each day focusing on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), along with exercises for Quantitative Aptitude (QA) and Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC). Consistent practice will improve your speed and accuracy in all sections.
- Give priority to topics of higher weightage: Identify high-weight areas in each section—such as pie charts and blood relations in DILR, algebra and percentages in QA, and reading comprehension and sentence correction in VARC—and focus on them to increase your score.
- Regular Mock Tests: Take regularly timed mock tests to simulate exam conditions, improve both time management and strategy to answer questions efficiently in sections.
- Analyze the mistakes: After each practice session or mock test, review your mistakes carefully. This will help you target your revisions to the areas that need improvement.
- Daily reading and vocabulary enrichment: Make a daily habit of reading from various sources to enhance comprehension skills for VARC. In addition, revise vocabulary, idioms and phrases to perform better in oral reasoning sections.
- Mental math and shortcuts: Practice mental math techniques and shortcut strategies for calculations in QA and DILR. Familiarity with formulas and quick calculation methods will increase your speed and accuracy.
- Formulas and shortcuts: Review the formulas and shortcut methods required for each section. This will allow you to solve questions more quickly and efficiently during the exam.
- Discussion groups: Join study groups with fellow aspirants to share insights and different problem solving approaches. Collaboration with others can deepen your understanding.