There are total three sections in the CAT syllabus which carry different weight in the CAT question paper. Although the syllabus is divided in 3 sections, the effective number of sections are five as VARC and DILR sections are further sub-divided into 2 sub sections. Read details below.

• The Syllabus is not officially defined by IIMs. It is based on latest CAT pattern
• CAT 2022 Syllabus is vast and generalized. It covers any topic related to the relevant section
• As per the CAT exam trends and in view of experts, the topics covered in the syllabus require your knowledge and question solving skills of class XII
• You need to attempt the questions with good speed and accuracy to score high percentile
• Cover the important topics, practice and choose the easier and no-penalty questions first to maximize your attempts

CAT 2022 Exam Syllabus is revised with the changes in CAT pattern and structure. Given the reputation of IIMs for bringing changes in CAT exam every year, a few changes are brought again in the CAT syllabus 2022 as the exam pattern for CAT is also changed this year with reduced number of questions in the exam.

4.1 CAT Syllabus 2022: Important Changes

CAT 2022 syllabus is changed again and has different pattern and structure. Important changes in CAT syllabus are

i)CAT will have 3 sections with reduced number of questions

ii)The sectional weightage in CAT syllabus is as under:

• Section-1: VARC – 34% weightage
• Section-2: DILR – 32% weightage
• Section-3: Quant – 34% weightage

iii) Questions on topics like Error correction in sentences, Fill in the Blanks, Sentence completion are no longer placed in CAT exam

iv)Number of sections are increased to three from two and DILR is now a single section. It carries high weightage in IIMs’ shortlisting process and you need to clear the cut offs in this section along with other two sections

v)CAT has introduced 25% to 28% questions without Negative Marking in the CAT exam. The topics for Non-MCQ type of questions are same as for MCQ type questions which carry negative marking. So find the best way to CAT Exam Preparation 2022.

Below is shared quick glimpses of CAT 2022 syllabus followed by detailed section wise syllabus

5.1 CAT 2022 Sectional Syllabus at a Glance

The broad break-up of topics as given above for the syllabus is as under. You may find most of the questions in CAT exam based on following topics

We are providing you the CAT exam syllabus in best way.

CAT Syllabus for the key sections, their sub-divisions, number of questions on important topics is shared below

Quantitative Ability (QA) is the Mathematics section in CAT exam. Although, the syllabus for Quant is very wide, the questions and topics in it are of class 10 & 12 standard. Out of 66 questions in CAT exam, Quant Section in CAT exam consists of 22 questions and 8 questions in the section will be of Non-MCQ type without carrying penalty of negative marking.

IIMs have started giving more emphasis on Arithmetic questions in CAT entrance exam syllabus to promote diversity. While maximum questions are from Arithmetic, the questions on other topics like Algebra, Geometry and others are in the range of 3-5. Below is shared the expected topic wise syllabus and number of questions in the exam. This is only expected number and it is possible that many of the topics may have more, fewer or no questions this year

• The Quantitative Ability (QA) questions in CAT are divided into 70-75% MCQs with negative marking and 25-30% Non-MCQs without negative marking.
• A three dimensional approach is recommended on CAT Preparation for Quant section.
• To cover CAT Quant syllabus you need to strengthen your basics and formulae in Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Modern Math and allied topics
• Practise on variety of questions of different difficulty level as per CAT QA Syllabus topics
• Solve previous CAT papers and Mocks for each topic. The more you do it, the more expertise in Quant section for CAT, you will get.
• Quantitative Aptitude questions for CAT 2021 have more questions based on Arithmetic topics as compared to other topics.
• In 2015, IIM Ahmedabad revamped CAT exam pattern and increased the number of questions in CAT exam to 100. Besides, Data Interpretation sub-section was separated from Quantitative Ability Section. In 2020, due to Covid pandemic IIM Indore reduced the exam time to 2 hours and reduced total questions to 76. Again in 2021, IIM Ahmedabad changed the CAT exam structure and reduced the number of questions from 76 to 66 while keeping the CAT time duration of 2 hours.
• Now, Quant is a separate section with only Quant questions in it and without any DI question clubbed to it
• The CAT exam now has also changed the order of sections. The CAT Quantitative Aptitude is now the last section instead of first section and is placed after DILR

6.3 Best Books to Cover Quant Syllabus in CAT

Following are the best books which cover the complete QA syllabus in CAT

• How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Arun Sharma
• Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by  Sarvesh K Verma
• Quantitative Aptitude by R.S. Aggarwal

Please note that QA syllabus for CAT goes on changing year after year. Accordingly, you need the best books with latest edition to cover CAT Quant Section syllabus. It should have the latest features as per the current CAT exam pattern with Quantitative Aptitude Questions and Answers.

Syllabus for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) is divided in 2 parts –  Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning with equal number of questions and carries a weightage of 30-32% as the total expected questions are 20-22 in CAT 2022. While Data Interpretation (DI) part is likely to have 10-11 questions, the Logical Reasoning part also has 10-11 questions. Around 6 questions are of Non-MCQ type which do not have negative marking for wrong answer.

Almost all the questions are in sets of 3-4 questions based on each problem. Equal number of DI and LR problems can be followed by 20-22 questions in this section.  Below is shared the topic wise CAT entrance exam syllabus on which problems are based in this section

7.2.1 Key Points on DI Syllabus

Data Interpretation for CAT 2022 is an important part of overall CAT exam. It commands 16% weightage in overall CAT exam and 50% weightage in DILR section. Scoring high in Data Interpretation can take you through the IIMs admission process.

• DI 2022 in CAT is as important as the other 2 sections as sectional cut offs announced by IIMs for DILR section are the same as applicable for Quant and VARC sections.
• Total weightage in CAT exam is 16%
• Now forms a separate section in CAT
• Has 50% share in DILR Section (2^ndsection in CAT exam)
• Consists of MCQs with negative Marking and Non-MCQs without Negative Marking
• No answer option may be found for NON MCQ type of DI questions. You need to type in the answers on computer screen in the given space
• DI questions have become more time consuming

7.2.2 Type of DI Questions in CAT

• LR is a Score Booster Part in CAT. It can boost your score upto 30+ core marks leading to an improvement of overall percentile by 20-25 in CAT 2022
• Logical Reasoning for CAT constitutes 50% share in the newly created Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation Comprehension (DILR) Section in CAT
• The goal of scoring high in CAT 2022 can be achieved with small but consistent efforts and time devoted to the DILR section.
• Logical Reasoning Questions in CAT are in sets of 3-4 questions for one LR problem
• Logical Reasoning questions for CAT test your Logical and Analytical skills to arrive at the conclusion
• You need to first get as many as Logical Reasoning practice questions for CAT

7.3.1 Type of Questions in LR Syllabus
Type of expected LR 2022 questions in the changed CAT exam are

7.3.2 Best Books for CAT Logicial Reasoning Syllabus
Experts suggest following Logical Reasoning Books that cover the LR syllabus

• How to prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT by Arun Sharma
• Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha
• CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri

So choose the best way to CAT Exam preparation in 2022.

Common Admission Test (CAT) Exam syllabus for VARC section is divided into 2 parts. The 1^st part of syllabus covers topics on Reading Comprehension passages and the 2^nd part of CAT MBA syllabus 2022 on VARC covers topics on Verbal Ability. Total expected questions in this section are 24 out of total 66 questions. There are 5-6 questions of Non-MCQ type which do not carry negative marking. The VARC section syllabus is divided into 70% questions on RC syllabus and 30% to VA syllabus.

There are long and short English Comprehension passages in VARC section followed by 4-5 questions. Sometimes uniform number of 4 questions follow 3-4 RC passages. All the questions based on Reading Comprehension usually are of MCQ type with negative marking.

Verbal Ability part has individual questions that covers different areas of English language grammar and usage. The questions are of Non-MCQ type without the penalty of negative marking. Below is shared the topic wise VARC CAT syllabus and number of questions in the exam.

8.1 CAT VARC Syllabus Topics

8.2 Key areas in RC Syllabus

The English Reading comprehension passages in CAT entrance exam syllabus are taken from a wide area which includes, current affairs, Literature, Business Economy among others as detailed under. Diverse reading of topics in following areas will help you cover the CAT exam syllabus in VARC

• Current affairs making impact on Social Life, International Affairs, Govt policies and Schemes for example New Education Policy, Triple Talaq, CAA, Covid 19 Pandemic, Clean India Mission, Migration of people from one country to other, Growing intolerance across the Globe,
• Business & Economic RC Passages for example Global economic changes, economic development at the cost of environment, Impact of Demonetization in India, Wasteful expenditure by Governments
• RC passages from various English Literature books, from articles authored by great philosophers, thinkers, from various speeches of great personalities like passages from Charles Dickens, Aristotle, Martin Luther King, Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, Churchill among others
• Passages on Science & Culture including the journey to Modern world; Fading culture with the advancement of technology
• Abstract topics and fiction are also included in the Reading Comprehension Syllabus for CAT. These Passages make the candidates think well before leading to put themselves in the author’s shoes before answering the questions following these passages since they are opinion based.
• RC Passages on Historical events leading to social changes for example French Revolution, War of Roses, Social changes in Indian History and thoughts shared by  various activists which are very much relevant even today
• RC Passages from Mythology. These passages try to correlate the Mythological events with the current social structure and answers to the questions on them have to be inferred

8.3 Format of Questions in Reading Comprehension (RC)

While the Verbal Ability questions are of Non-MCQ type, all the RC Passage based questions are of MCQ type with penalty of 1/3^rd negative marking. The questions are based on information in RC passage; explanation of the words & phrases as used in the passage; In context of the passage –True/false statements; Author’s view on various issues raised in the RC passage; Inference from the passage; main idea of RC passage; Purpose of the RC passage

8.4 Length of RC passages in CAT

Longer RC passages are of around 800 words; shorter passages are of around 500 words in CAT exam as reflected in last 5 years.

8.5 Best Books for VARC Syllabus in CAT

Following are the recommended books by CAT toppers and experts for VARC

• How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT’- by Arun Sharma & Meenakshi Upadhyay
• ‘Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT’ – by Nishit K Sinha
• Arihant Book on Verbal Ability: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension by Ajay Singh