CAT 2017: 5 changes in Exam Syllabus; ensure your preparation on right CAT exam pattern & topics

Substantial changes in CAT syllabus have occurred during last 2-3 years of CAT exam and as such the different topics included in all the sections of CAT 2017 exam syllabus may throw different questions which are not traditionally asked in Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by IIMs.

CAT 2017 is the entrance exam for admission to 20 IIMs and other top B-schools like FMS, SPJIMR, MDI, IMI, IMT, JBIMS, TAPMI among others. This year IIM Lucknow is convening CAT 2017. The exam will be held on November 26, 2017 in 2 sessions.

CAT 2017 Important updates:

• CAT 2017: Exam pattern to benefit second timers more; may get edge in IIMs shortlist
• CAT 2017 Registration: 5 Steps guide to fill CAT application form error free; don’t waste Rs.1800/-
• CAT 2017: ‘Exam designed to suit diverse background candidates’; CAT exam convener, Prof Dwivedi    

But before knowing the key changes in CAT exam syllabus, the CAT 2017 aspirants should note that CAT goes on changing its question topics every year and the forgotton topics on which questions are not asked should not be taken as gone out of syllabus. You need to keep an eye on such topics which have not marked their presence during past 2-3 years.

Past and present: All topics important
CAT syllabus for CAT 2017 exam despite being a little different and remaining close to last two CAT exams, may again throw surprises with the change in contents although there may not be any substantial change in CAT 2017 exam structure.

CAT syllabus was revamped in 2015 and during the last 2 years CAT exam has followed the same pattern. It is expected that CAT 2017 exam pattern will not be much different from the last 2 years of CAT exam, although the question content, topics and sectional composition may be different. CAT toppers and CAT preparation experts suggest to prepare for CAT keeping in view the revised CAT syllabus.

CAT 2017 syllabus: No boundries and no repetition
Neither earlier nor now, the CAT Exam Syllabus has never had any boundaries and this fact also applies to define the CAT 2017 exam syllabus. CAT 2017 exam Syllabus is based on past trend of CAT exams and the CAT exam syllabus is the outcome of the topics which have earlier appeared in CAT exam.

The key point in syllabus for CAT exam is that there is no repetition of CAT questions in any CAT exam although difficulty level of the questions in CAT exam would not go out of CAT exam syllabus.

IIM entrance exam syllabus or CAT 2017 exam Syllabus is not pre-defined by CAT 2017 convening IIM Lucknow nor the CAT syllabus was outlined earlier also by the CAT exam convening IIM Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Indore or Kozhikode but the Syllabus of CAT exam 2017 is based on the mentioned guidelines and current structure of CAT exam.

Syllabus follows 2015 pattern: Sectional weights also changed
It all started in 2015 when IIM Ahmedabad convened CAT. The structure and content of CAT exam was totally changed. Prof Tathagata Bandyopadhyay, CAT 2015 Convener and faculty at IIM Ahmedabad favoured these changes stating “Regarding the content part, one of our concerns is, score in Quant dominates the percentile rank in CAT. As a consequence it brings in skewness to the selection process towards a particular set of candidates from a particular background. This year we intend to address it by making some changes in the test content and also by rationalizing weights assigned to different components of the test.

During the last 2 years not a single question has been asked on error correction, vocabulary usage, completion of paragraph, last sentence of paragraph, Facts Inference Judgement among other topics. Instead, share of RC passages, Para summary, jumbled paragraphs has increased to a large extent.

The weightage on different sections in CAT has been changed by limiting the weightage on Quant section which is now independent and is not clubbed to Data Interpretation. It may result in reduction of number of questions in Quant section; more number of questions on Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension and/or introducing new type of questions. It is also expected that questions in sections other than quant will have prominence in CAT 2017.

Level playing field in changed syllabus
The revamped CAT 2017 syllabus aims to create a level playing field for all candidates irrespective of their educational background and may throw surprises deviating from earlier exam pattern to remove the quant dominating skewness due to which academic diversity in IIM class rooms is adversely affected.

Equal weight to all questions  
The time is over when Logical Reasoning or Data Interpretation had less weightage in CAT exam over the years. Now with the formation of 3 sections in CAT since 2015, all the parts and sub sections including DI, LR, VA, RC and different topics and sub parts in Quant also carry equal weightage.

Major topics in CAT 2017 syllabus are available now and according to Prof S K Agarwal, expert and mentor on Verbal Ability for CAT, you should prepare in accordance with the CAT syllabus topics alongwith attempting more sectional tests and CAT Mock tests.

CAT 2017 Syllabus: Key topics

Section-1: CAT Syllabus for VARC

CAT exam Syllabus for VARC section in CAT 2017 is divided in 2 parts. The 1st part of CAT 2017 syllabus covers questions based on Reading Comprehension passages and the 2nd part of CAT 2017 exam syllabus on VARC is based on questions on different topics on Verbal Ability.

Verbal Ability part will have 10 questions while RC part will consist of 24 questions in CAT syllabus, if the exam pattern is not changed this year. Key topics in Verbal Ability are Jumbled paragraphs, out of context sentence, para summary.

Section-2: CAT Syllabus for DILR
Separate DILR section in CAT exam was re-originated after keeping the section in abeyance for 4 years. During this period the DILR questions were clubbed to Quant and Verbal Ability sections respectively. In 2015 IIM Ahmedabad, the then CAT convening IIM decided to re-introduce the DILR as a separate 3rd section. The pattern was followed by IIM Bangalore in 2016 also.

CAT exam Syllabus for DILR section in CAT 2017 is divided in 2 parts – Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. The 1st part of CAT 2017 syllabus covers questions based on Data Interpretation (DI) and the 2nd part of CAT 2017 exam syllabus on DILR is based on questions on different topics on Logical Reasoning.

Section-3: CAT syllabus for Quantitative Ability

Syllabus of CAT exam 2017 for Quant section is very wide. Quantitative Aptitude (Quant) is the 3rd and last section in the revamped CAT exam pattern. Syllabus of CAT 2017 for Quant is vast and covers everything in Mathematics that you may or may not expect.

CAT 2017 exam syllabus on Quant is based on questions on different topics on Arithmetic, Algebra, Modern Math, Geometry, Mensuration, Trignometry among others.

Sectional composition of questions in CAT 2017
CAT 2017 is to have 100 questions divided in 3 sections. Each section will have following number and type of questions:

Planning the preparation
Scoring an overall percentile of 95-97 and sectional percentile of 85-90 each in CAT 2017, may get you an IIM - newer as well as IIM Ahmedabad provided you are not from engineering back ground. However, you need to aim for percentile as high as 99 as only then you can expect to be shortlisted for final admission round by IIM A, B, C, L. Any compromise on preparation strategy and relaxation to aim for less than 99+ percentile with equally high sectional percentile may not get you IIM A,B,C or L, if you really wish to pursue your MBA from a top rated B school, be it an IIM, FMS or others. 

Take more sectional and full length Mocks
The best preparation strategy for CAT 2017 as per the CAT syllabus, is to strengthen your fundamentals, clear the concepts and ensure to take as many sectional quizzes and full length Mock tests, suggest  Prof S K Agarwal, expert and mentor on CAT preparation. This will help you to assess your CAT preparation level with various difficulty level questions of all types.

The road to score a high percentile of 99 is sure not easy or less difficult and would need consistent study, practice, understanding and smart preparation strategy as well.

Common Admission Test (CAT) 2017 is the mandatory exam conducted by IIM Lucknow for admission to management programmes in all the 20 IIMs – old and new. CAT 2017 will also offer the admission opportunity to PGDM/MBA programme in other top management institutes in India like FMS Delhi, IMI Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, JBIMS Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, NITIE Mumbai, Management departments of IITs, SPJIMR Mumbai, TAPMI Manipal and other more than 500 B-schools.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2017

Related Links:

• CAT 2017: Exam schedule, How to prepare to score 99+
• CAT 2017: How to get rid of sticky areas? Join club 99 with Self Preparation, coaching & Mocks
• IIM Ahmedabad Admission 2018: CAT 2017 cut offs announced; needs 70 sectional percentile
• IIM Calcutta Admission: Lowers CAT 2017 cut offs with 56% weight; 40% goes to academics