The CAT exam has been one of the toughest competitive exams for the MBA aspirants. CAT 2025 Syllabus is not based on a particular curriculum. The CAT syllabus has been the same for a long time and the same pattern is being followed for CAT 2025.
The CAT syllabus is not mentioned clearly in the CAT official website and that is why aspirants get sudden surprises during the exams. Though the paper seems tough but every question is solvable. As they test the aspirant based on their knowledge of the basics.
This article deals with the syllabus that is being followed in the CAT exams. If aspirants continue to follow the syllabus and practice on their basics, they can reduce the unpleasant surprises during the exams.
Key Summary
- The CAT Syllabus PDF includes 3 sections: VARC, DILR, and QA.
- VARC includes topics like Grammar, vocabulary, sentence correction, para jumbles, passages, word usage, and fill-in-the-blanks.
- DILR includes important topics like Caselets, Puzzles, Arrangements, Binary Logic, Blood Relation, and Sets.
- Important topics for the CAT QA syllabus PDF include Arithmetic, Algebra, and Modern Mathematics.
- A total of 68 questions will be asked from the CAT syllabus PDF, with 24 from VARC, 22 each from DILR and QA.
- Last year, VARC was moderately difficult but high-scoring (~85% accuracy), DILR was the most difficult, and QA was the highest-scoring section, with ~90% accuracy.
CAT 2025 Preparation Strategies by Sudhanshu Sir
Overview of the CAT Exam Pattern
- It is a computer-based test of 3 hours.
- The question paper consists of 100 questions
- These 100 questions are divided into 3 sections:
- Every section is allocated with a time of 1 hour each.
- The switching of sections is not allowed. But switching of questions within a section is allowed.
- Each section consists of TITA (Type in the answer) questions and MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions).
- No negative marking for TITA questions but -1 negative marking for each wrong answer in MCQs.
The 3 sections in CAT Syllabus 2025 are:
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
- Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
CAT Syllabus 2025 Important Topics
The CAT syllabus is very vast. There can be questions on new topics or topics on which no questions have been asked for years. The syllabus has included every topic and so the MBA aspirants should be prepared with all of them.
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | Quantitative Aptitude |
|---|---|---|
| Fill in the blanks | Blood Relations | Geometry |
| Grammar | Direction Sense | Trigonometry |
| Para Completion and interference | Puzzles | Mensuration |
| Reading comprehension | Data Arrangement | Ratios and Proportion |
| Verbal Logic | Seating Arrangement | Number System |
| Para Jumbles | Data Structures | Work & Time |
| Verbal Reasoning | Tables | HCF & LCM |
| Syllogism | Bars | Algebra |
| Contextual Usage | Series | Profit & Loss |
| Analogies | Coding-Decoding | In-equations Quadratic and Linear equations |
| Different usage of the same words | Clocks and Calendars | Geometry Progression |
| Antonyms | Family Tree | Percentage |
| Sentence completion | Venn Diagram | Averages |
| Jumbled Paragraphs | Syllogism | Partnership (Accounts) |
| Foreign language words used in English | Pie Charts | Time, Speed and Distance |
| Sentence Correction | Line Graph | Surds and Indices |
| Idioms | Proposition | Inequalities |
| One word substitution | Assumptions | Logarithms |
| Statements | ||
| Binary Logic | ||
| Sets | ||
| Caselets | ||
| Data Sufficiency |
CAT VARC Important Topics
- A total of 34 questions are asked in this section. Among them, 24 questions are from Reading comprehension and 10 questions from Verbal Ability.
- This section has a majority of TITA questions from verbal ability sub-section.
- According to the exam paper of CAT 2025, there were 7 TITA questions in the verbal ability sub-section and 3 TITA questions in the reading comprehension sub-section
- In verbal ability, the type of questions found is pare-jumbles, out of context sentence in a para, error correction in a para, vocabulary usage and sentence completion to analogies and critical reasoning.
- The reading comprehension has questions based on passages. There are 3-4 long passages of around 900 words and 2-3 short passages of 600 words.
- The passage questions are generally of 3 types: Fact-based questions, Inference-based questions, and Vocabulary-based questions.
Topics to prepare for CAT reading comprehension:
| Current affairs | This could include the current topics that create an impact on social life, International Affairs, Government policies, and Schemes |
|---|---|
| Business & Economic passages | This can include topics like Global economic changes, economic development at the cost of environment, Impact of Demonetization in India, Wasteful expenditure by Governments |
| Passages from English Literature books | This could include books from great philosophers, thinkers like Charles Dickens, Aristotle, Martin Luther King, Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, etc. |
| Passages on Science and Culture | This could include the journey to the modern world, fading cultures with the advancement of technology, etc. |
| Abstract topics and fiction books | These are the topics where the candidate is asked to put themselves in the author’s shoes before answering. |
| Passages on Historical Events leading to social changes | These could include events like the French Revolution, War of the Roses, Social changes in Indian History and thoughts shared by various activists which are very much relevant even today |
| Passages from Mythology | These passages usually try to relate the Mythological events with the current social structure. |
CAT Books to refer for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
| Books | Author |
|---|---|
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay (Arihant) |
| 30 days to a More Powerful Vocabulary Mass Market Paperback | Wilfred Funk & Norman Lewis/ Simon & Schuster |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT | Sharma and Upadhyay |
| PSC for VA for CAT | Nishit Sharma |
| High School English Grammar& Composition | Wren & Martin |
| Word Power Made Easy | Normal Lewis |
CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Important Topics
- This section consists of a total of 32 questions with 16 questions in each sub-section.
- According to the exam paper 2025, there were a total of 8 TITA questions in this section.
- The data-interpretation sub-section consists of cases and tables. The data is given in the form of bar, graphs, column graphs, Venn diagrams, lines, and pie charts.
- Logical Reasoning consists of topics like numbers & sequences, arrangements, syllogisms, logical sequences, blood relations, calenders, cubes, and clocks. And the questions are usually a combination of the other topics.
Books to refer for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
| Books | Author |
|---|---|
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for CAT | Nishit K. Sinha |
| CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | Gautam Puri |
| A Modern Approach To Logical Reasoning | R. S. Agarwal |
| How to prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT | Arun Sharma |
| Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency | Ananta Ashisha |
CAT Quantitative Aptitude Important Topics
- There are a total of 34 questions in this section.
- According to the exam paper 2025, there were a total of 7 TITA questions in this section.
- This section usually consists of topics of class Xth level.
- This section deal with formulas and calculation.
Books to refer for Quantitative Aptitude
| Books | Author |
|---|---|
| NCERT Mathematics Books (Class 6 to 10) | NCERT |
| How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT | Arun Sharma |
| Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT | Sarvesh Sharma |
| Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations | Abhijit Guhu |
| Quantitative Aptitude for CAt | Nishit Sharma |
Apart from following the syllabus, it is very necessary to go through the pattern of previous question papers. As the CAT 2015 was similar to CAT 2024 and CAT 2023.
CAT Previous Year Exam Analysis
CAT QA section analysis
Arithmetic & modern maths dominates Quantitative Aptitude in CAT
There are a total of 34 questions from the aptitude section. Arithmetic holds the most weightage out of all of the topics. In fact, arithmetic ranks second after reading comprehension in terms of weightage in the CAT exam. Most of the questions in a quant section are from general topics like profit & loss, number system, geometry, etc.
| - | - | Arithmetic | Algebra | Geometry | Number System | Modern Maths | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAT 2024 | Slot 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
| Slot 2 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 22 | |
| Slot 3 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 22 | |
| CAT 2023 | Slot 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 22 |
| Slot 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 22 | |
| Slot 3 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 22 | |
| CAT 2022 | Slot 1 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| Slot 2 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 22 | |
| Slot 3 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 22 |
CAT 2018 was slightly difficult & more calculation based than in previous years. Topics covered in arithmetics are:
| Profit & Loss | Mixture & Alligations | Average | Pipes & Cistern | Mean, Median & Mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratios & Percentage | Work & Time | Compound Interest | Calendar | Time, Speed & Distance |
There were a total of 12 TITA (Type in the answer) questions in both the CAT 2018 slots. Our recommendation would be to focus on geometry, algebra, modern math and most importantly arithmetic. These topics carry maximum weightage in the quantitative section.
There is no as such distinction between slot I and slot II in terms of questions asked. As per the graphs, it is evident that ‘arithmetic’ holds the most weightage, followed by ‘modern math’. Modern math consists of topics like
- Logarithm
- Progression
- Set theory
- Permutation and combination
- Functions, etc.
CAT VARC section analysis: Para jumbles and Reading Comprehension
As per the last exam update, the reasoning section is clubbed with the DI section, whereas the verbal section was combined with reading comprehension to form a section now known as ‘VARC’.
| Year and Slot | RC | Para Jumbles | Para Completion | Summary | Odd Sentence | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Slot 1 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 24 |
| 2024 Slot 2 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 24 |
| 2024 Slot 3 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 24 |
| 2023 Slot 2 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
| 2023 Slot 2 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
| 2023 Slot 3 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
| 2022 Slot 1 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 24 |
| 2022 Slot 2 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 24 |
| 2022 Slot 3 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 24 |
Under the verbal ability sub-topic, questions from sentence correction, grammar, vocabulary, or fill in the blanks have not appeared in the last three years. So it’s not worthwhile to dedicate extensive time to these topics. Instead, questions from the para jumble topic have become an integral part of the VARC section. The difficulty of para jumbles has also been moderate in the past few years.
On the other hand, Reading Comprehension dominates the VARC section with a consistent 24 questions allocated to the topic. 5-6 passages are expected in CAT 2019 with a word count of 400-800 words. Candidates have to answer the questions based on the passage.
It is advisable to read as much as you can so that you are in a regular practice of reading. Reading around 3000 words and then answering questions on their basis demands some strict time management. Students who don’t have a daily reading habit often lag behind in this section.
CAT DILR section analysis
This particular section is also important in terms of scoring. The DILR section is expected to be tough, just like the previous year. So it is important for candidates to score big in this section.
The arrangement, Puzzles, and Reasoning based questions dominate DILR (h3)
Generally, the DILR section has 4 sets, each of Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation. But last year, there were 3 sets from DI and 4 from LR, while one set was a combination of both DI and LR. So from this particular section, expect surprises this year as well. This particular section has been the decider for the last three years and the level of difficulty is also on the rise.
| - | - | Calculation Based | Reasoning Based | Puzzle Based | Arrangement Based | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAT 2024 | Slot 1 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 24 |
| Slot 2 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 24 | |
| Slot 3 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 24 | |
| CAT 2023 | Slot 1 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 |
| Slot 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 | |
| Slot 3 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 22 | |
| CAT 2022 | Slot 1 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| Slot 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 | |
| Slot 3 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
Download CAT Syllabus 2025 pdf
The DILR section is a combination of the sub-topics ‘Data Interpretation’ and ‘Logical Reasoning’. While the questions from the DI section are basically in the form of charts or other forms of representational data, the LR section on the hand caters to the practical life reasoning questions like puzzles, arrangement, distribution, Venn diagram, matrices, etc.
The DI section which has 3-4 sets can be further divided into ‘Reasoning Based Questions or ‘Calculation Based Questions’, which hold equal weightage. Questions from arrangement sets have been more prominent over recent years even though there is no dedicated weightage or topic preferences. So it is advisable to practice as much as you can, especially previous years’ CAT question paper.
Neither the CAT authorities nor the IIMs releases a definitive syllabus for the entrance exam. Anyhow, it is important to remain updated with the latest exam trends and high weightage topics.
- VARC: Read as much as you can. Practice previous years’ set of jumbled sentences.
- DILR: Practice for faster calculations. Expect at least one set from a combination of multiple disciplines.
- QA: Arithmetic and Modern maths should be the primary focus. Short-cut tricks will definitely be an added plus.
CAT Syllabus FAQs
Ques. Is CAT exam Syllabus Difficult?
Ans. The CAT exam syllabus is not difficult in terms of topics, as it primarily covers school-level concepts in Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, and English. However, the difficulty lies in the unpredictable exam pattern, time pressure, and high competition. Sections like DILR are often considered the toughest due to complex logical sets. With smart preparation and a clear understanding of the CAT syllabus, even average students can crack the exam with 95+ percentile scores.
Ques. Where can I download the latest CAT syllabus PDF and subject-wise weightage?
You can download the latest CAT exam syllabus PDF with topic-wise weightage from trusted exam websites like Collegedunia, MBAUniverse, Testbook and Careers360. These websites provide detailed breakdowns of the CAT exam syllabus including VARC, DILR, and Quant sections. They also provide details like the expected number of questions, topic-wise weightage, and exam pattern. Most PDFs are free to download and are based on the latest CAT 2025 paper pattern, which includes 66 questions to be solved in 120 minutes.
Ques. Is CAT exam tough than IIT?
Ans. The CAT is a postgraduate aptitude test that focuses the speed, decision-making, logical reasoning, data interpretation, and English comprehension at the expense of basic academic concepts.
While IIT‑JEE (Main + Advanced) examines in-depth subject knowledge in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, which requires lengthy preparation periods of more than 2–3 years. It's well-known for high conceptual complexity and technical depth.
- So, if you are excellent at quick thinking, numbers crunching, reading comprehension, and time management, CAT can be as challenging, especially because of its unpredictable and high-pressure format.
- The candidates with more focus on academic concepts, especially in physics, chemistry, and mathematics, can find IIT -JEE exam challenging.
Ques. Can a PCB student prepare for CAT?
Ans. Yes, PCB students can prepare and take the CAT exam, as long as their graduation is complete with more or equal to 50%. Then, the students from a PCB background are fully eligible to register for the CAT exam. The CAT exam requires strategy, structured learning, and resolving weaknesses.
PCB students like Arpit Dua scored 99.9+ percentiles with structured routines of starting early, like 6-12 months ahead, with consistent preparation to boost confidence and skills, and proper coaching.
Ques. Is the CAT exam tougher?
Ans. Yes, the CAT exam is tougher than other exams, especially in the sections like DILR and QA during certain years.
Between 2024 and 2020, CAT's difficulty level varied from moderate in the years 2020, 2022, and 2024, but it was tougher in 2021 and 2023.
- The VARC and QA sections were consistently the most moderate to difficult.
- While DILR was the hardest section throughout the past years, especially in tougher years due to complex puzzles and high time pressure.
Ques. Is CAT harder than NEET?
Ans. Deciding whether CAT is harder than NEET totally depends on the candidate’s strengths and the nature of the exams, as both exams serve different purposes.
- The CAT evaluates analytical reasoning, verbal ability, and quantitative skills for postgraduate management programs in colleges like IIMs.
- The NEET checks the knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology for undergraduate medical admissions.
CAT can be more difficult for those who are weak in logic and strategy, whereas NEET can be more challenging for those struggling with memorization or science.
Each exam is tougher in its domain, to ace each exam requires a proper preparation strategy aligned with the exam’s demands.
Ques. How many marks for 99 percentile in CAT?
Ans. The 99 percentile in CAT can be achieved by scoring 95–105 raw marks, targeting approximately 34–38 marks in VARC, ≈ 30–34 marks IN DILR, and ≈ 31–35 marks in QA.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.
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