CAT Exam Syllabus PDF

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IIM Lucknow will conduct CAT exam 2023. Accordingly CAT syllabus 2023 will have more changes than anticipated given the reputation of IIM Lucknow. CAT 2023 Syllabus.Pdf can be divided into three sections: Quantitative Ability (QA); Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR); and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC). For better understanding and preparation, the CAT MBA Syllabus 2023.pdf for each section can be further divided into subsections.


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What does MBAUniverse.com offer in CAT Syllabus Pdf?
The CAT 2023 syllabus.pdf prepared by MBAUniverse.com CAT experts will share –

  1. Complete CAT Syllabus Overview
  2. Key changes in CAT Pattern & Syllabus 2023
  3. Sectional details of CAT Syllabus
  4. Weightages of topics in CAT syllabus and test pattern.

1. CAT Syllabus Overview
IIMs do not release CAT Syllabus before the CAT exam. Only a CAT mock test is released which shares the sectional composition of CAT exam and expected type of CAT exam questions that candidates may have to attempt. However, this official mock test gives an overview of CAT syllabus with sectional division, topics and difficulty level of CAT questions.

 

The CAT syllabus Pdf as given below shares the following

  • Sections and Topics you need to study
  • Number of questions expected and previous year patter
  • Important topics and how to prepare the CAT syllabus   

CAT complete Syllabus PDF covers all the key topics in 3 sections of CAT exam - Quantitative Ability (Mathematics); Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC); Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR). Not only the CAT syllabus pdf is very wide with many topics getting added or deleted every year, if you look into the complete CAT syllabus Pdf, it also goes on changing with each CAT exam. Accordingly, the updated CAT complete syllabus PDF 2022 can help you boost your CAT preparation as per the current CAT pattern.

 

2. Key Changes in CAT Pattern & Syllabus 2023
CAT 2023 syllabus may have a different pattern and structure. CAT will be conducted with reduced number of 66 questions. The weightage in CAT exam for sectional CAT syllabus remains 36% to VARC; 30% to DILR and 34% to Quant. Key highlights of CAT 2023 syllabus are:

Key Components of CAT Exam Pattern & Syllabus
CAT 2023 syllabus
Test duration
2 hrs
Test sessions
Three
Total questions
66
Total score
198
Total questions in VARC Section
  24
Total Questions in DILR section
  20
Total Questions in QA section
  22
Type of Questions
MCQs & Non-MCQs
Difference between MCQs and Non-MCQs
MCQ: Multiple Choice Question
Non-MCQ: Type your Answer on Computer Screen
Negative Marking Questions
All MCQs: 70 to 75% questions are of MCQ type
No Penalty Questions (Qs without Negative Marking)
All Non-MCQs: 25-30% are Non-MCQs
Scoring Pattern
+3 Marks for each correct answer; -1 mark for each wrong answer (Applicable for MCQs only)

Before we go deep into CAT exam syllabus, it is important to understand the revised CAT exam pattern. It may be noted that in CAT 2021 IIM Ahmedabad had changed the CAT exam structure and the same CAT pattern continued in CAT 2022 which is likely to continue for CAT 2023 exam also

 

2.1 CAT 2023 Exam Pattern
CAT 2023 will have the pattern as shown below in the table which shares the CAT exam sectional order from Section-1 to Section-3, number and type of questions in each section, questions with and without negative marking and total maximum marks available for each section

CAT 2023 exam components
Total questions
Total MCQs (With negative marking)
Total Non-MCQs (Without negative marking)
Highlights
Section-1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
24
19
5
4 RC Passages with MCQs; VA Non MCQs divided into Para jumbles, Para Summary, and Out of Context Sentences
Section-2: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
20
16
4
LR – 10 Ques
DI – 10 Ques
All in Sets of 3 & 4 Qs
Section-3: Quantitative Ability (QA)
22
16
6
High on Arithmetic. Other on Log, Geometry, Roots, Algebra
Total
66
 51
15
 --

Source: MBAUniverse.com analysis

 

3. Sectional Details of CAT Syllabus
Sectional details in the CAT syllabus PDF will help you to know & go through the complete CAT syllabus as one document without running here and there to get section-wise CAT 2023 exam syllabus.

4 steps to read complete cat syllabus 2023


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3.1 CAT Syllabus PDF 2023: Free Download
The CAT 2023 complete Syllabus PDF free download is available online. It contains the existing and expected topics alongwith the type of questions expected in CAT exam 2023 to be held on November 26, 2023.

 

3.2 Key Features of CAT Syllabus PDF Section wise

  • CAT Syllabus 2023 PDF consists of section wise CAT topics for VARC; DILR & Quant
  • CAT exam complete syllabus PDF is based on expected type of question topics in CAT exam
  • CAT syllabus 2023 complete PDF contains weightage & types of questions from different topics
  • The CAT Syllabus PDF 2023 is much closer to exact CAT exam structure
  • You can download the complete CAT exam syllabus PDF free 

cat syllabus pdf

Check Key Topics For
Quantitative Aptitude (QA), 
Verbal Ability & Reading (VARC), 
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

3.3 CAT 2023 Syllabus PDF: What it contains?
The section wise CAT Syllabus 2023 PDF is shared below to give you clarity on the important topics which you must study for CAT preparation, their sectional weightage in CAT syllabus. The sectional importance of CAT topics in CAT Syllabus PDF should be understood before you go for CAT exam syllabus PDF free download:

CAT Syllabus PDF 2023 Sections
Important Topics
Weightage in CAT Syllabus
VARC – Part 1: Verbal Ability
Jumbled Paragraphs, Essence of Short Para, Picking out the out of context sentence. 6-7 Questions
Sectional: 25-30%
Overall: 10%
VARC – Part 2: Reading Comprehension
4-5 RC Passages: Total-18-19 Questions
Sectional-70-75%
Overall-26%
DILR- Part 1: Data Interpretation
Charts, Tables, Graphs. Total: 10 Questions
Sectional-50%
Overall-15%
DILR-Part 2: Logical Reasoning
Seating Arrangements, Family Tree, Direction sense. Total: 10-12 Questions
Sectional-50%
Overall-15%
QA - Quantitative Ability
Arithmetic, Geometry, Mensuration, Algebra, Trigonometry
Sectional-100%
Overall-34%

4. CAT Syllabus 2023 PDF: Important Topics Shared by IIMs
The sectional CAT syllabus 2023 is sub-divided into 5 parts. This sectional sub-division in CAT syllabus makes CAT 2023 as an exam with 5 effective sections:

  • Section-1: VARC syllabus for CAT is divided  into two parts - Verbal Ability syllabus and Reading Comprehension syllabus
  • Section-2: DILR syllabus is divided into two parts – Syllabus for Data Interpretation and syllabus for Logical Reasoning
  • Section-3: CAT exam syllabus for Quantitative Ability section is very wide and covers each and every topic in Mathematics with greater emphasis on Arithmetic.

4.1 Section-1: CAT Syllabus for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) 
Part-1: CAT Syllabus for Reading Comprehension (RC)

  • Current affairs making impact on Social Life, International Affairs, Govt policies and Schemes for example Triple Talaq, 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 much 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 

Part-2: CAT Syllabus for Verbal Ability

  • Essence of short paragraph/Para summary - (2-3 questions);
  • Jumbled Paragraphs (2-3 questions)
  • Out of Context Sentence in Jumbled paragraphs (2-3 questions)
  • Error Correction of Verb, Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Adverb and other parts of speech in the Sentences.
  • Correcting the sequence of sentences in the paragraph for example correct use of conditional sentence, time clauses, reported speech, passive writing
  • Vocabulary usage – picking the correct pair of words
  • Vocabulary usage in RC passages – finding out the correct synonyms and antonyms
  • Fill in the blanks with correct vocabulary words
  • Completion of last sentence of Paragraphs
  • Analogies
  • Critical Reasoning
  • Sentence Completion
  • Facts, Inference and Judgement
  • Irrelevant Statements
  • Phrasal Verbs Usage

4.2 Section-2: CAT Syllabus for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Part-1: CAT Syllabus for Data Interpretation (DI)

  • Data Tables
  • Data charts
  • Bar diagrams & Charts including Simple, Stacked, Composite Bar charts
  • Pie charts
  • Graphs – Line X-Y Graphs
  • Data analysis and Data comparison among others
  • Caselet based Data

Part-2: CAT exam Syllabus for Logical Reasoning (LR)

  • Clocks
  • Calendars
  • Binary logic
  • Seating Arrangement
  • Blood Relations (Family Tree)
  • Logical Sequence
  • Assumption
  • Premise
  • Conclusion
  • Linear and matrix arrangement
  • Team Formation
  • Direction sense and Decision Making
  • Input-Output
  • Series
  • Syllogism
  • Cubes
  • Rows
  • Set Theory, Venn Diagrams, Network Diagrams
  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • Puzzles
  • Logical Reasoning based on Rankings
  • Critical Reasoning

4.3 Section-3: CAT Syllabus for Quantitative Ability (QA) 

  • LCM and HCF
  • Percentages
  • Profit and Loss
  • Interest (Simple and Compound)
  • Speed, Time and Distance; Time and Work; Averages; Ratio and Proportion and others
  • Number System (3-4) questions
  • Algebra (5-7 questions)
  • Geometry/Mensuration (6-8 questions)
  • Pure Math (1-2 questions)
  • Venn diagrams and other topic based questions are 2-3
  • Linear Equations; Quadratic Equations
  • Complex Numbers
  • Logarithm; Progressions
  • Binomial Theorem
  • Surds and Indices
  • Inequalities
  • Permutation and Combination
  • Probability Functions
  • Set Theory
  • Mixtures and Alligations
  • Co-ordinate Geometry
  • Trigonometry

You can download CAT Syllabus 2023 PDF, go through it and devise your preparation plan as per the CAT Syllabus PDF. The CAT syllabus 2023 portable download format (PDF) in fact is most authentic source to keep pace with your CAT exam preparation.

 

5. Scan the CAT 2023 Syllabus PDF
You should go through the details in CAT Syllabus PDF 2023 after downloading it and plan your CAT preparation as per CAT syllabus. It gives you complete analysis and weightage on topics that you need to prepare well.

 

After completing the CAT syllabus 2023 PDF free download, Scanning of CAT Syllabus pdf document is the first step to continue with your CAT preparation journey. The CAT syllabus PDF shared below is based on revamped and updated CAT exam structure as released by IIMs. Once you know about the CAT Pattern 2023, your next step for CAT preparation is to scan the CAT Syllabus 2023 Pdf.

 

Please note that IIM entrance exam syllabus or CAT 2023 exam Syllabus is not pre-defined by CAT 2023 convening IIM nor the CAT syllabus was outlined earlier also by the CAT exam convening IIM Bangalore, Indore, Kozhikode, Calcutta or Lucknow and now Ahmedabad.

 

6. Important Points about CAT Exam Syllabus Pdf

  • CAT 2023 exam syllabus is based on the mentioned guidelines and current structure of CAT exam.
  • CAT Exam Syllabus has never had any boundaries and this fact also applies to define the CAT 2023 exam syllabus. 
  • CAT 2023 exam syllabus is based on recent trends in CAT exams and putting it the right way, the CAT syllabus is the outcome of the topics which have earlier appeared in CAT exam although the type of questions, their composition, format and number may change in each subsequent CAT exam.
  • Past tendencies reflect that CAT exam syllabus and pattern overall tests the candidate on Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension; Quantitative Aptitude; Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning.
  • CAT exam Syllabus covers all the major topics on these three test sections which are further divided into sub-sections.
  • The key point in CAT exam syllabus 2023 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. 

7. How to Prepare as per CAT Syllabus Pdf?
The fact is that you will find it difficult to proceed with CAT preparation even if you have all the CAT preparation material, unless you know the CAT exam syllabus. CAT MBA exam syllabus is much wider than one can anticipate. IIMs CAT syllabus does not leave any study topic untouched. The glimpses of CAT syllabus 2023 for MBA admission 2024 in IIMs and other top B-schools is a testimony to this fact.

 

If you go through the CAT exam syllabus, it will help you to decide when to begin CAT preparation? How to prepare for CAT 2023? What important topics covered in CAT syllabus need your focused attention in CAT preparation and so on so forth. Going by the past trends and past CAT exam pattern, CAT complete syllabus for each section of Common Admission Test (CAT) has been shared above to help the CAT 2023 aspirants in CAT 2023 preparation in accordance with the CAT 2023 exam syllabus.  

 

8. CAT Syllabus 2023 PDF & CAT Pattern
You should be aware about the CAT exam pattern & Structure before moving to prepare for CAT as per CAT Syllabus 2023 PDF. Common Admission Test (CAT) 2023 has three sections with a reduced number of questions as compared to previous years and is divided into MCQs and Non-MCQs in each section.

 

Out of the total questions in CAT exam, Section-1 on Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) has 34% share of questions; Section-2 on Data Interpretation & Logical reasoning (DILR) has 32% share of questions and Section-3 on Quantitative Ability (QA) has 34% share of questions. All these sections are individually timed for 40 minutes each.

 

CAT 2023 syllabus PDF is a good source of CAT preparation material which is based on the revised CAT exam pattern. Although, IIMs do not release the CAT Syllabus PDF form, but the CAT syllabus 2023 is prepared by CAT experts, CAT toppers and top CAT coaching institutes in India. Now the CAT exam syllabus PDF free download is available online and a thorough understanding of it will boost your CAT preparation further.

 

9. Choose the Best Preparation Books
The CAT exam syllabus with conceptual clarity and practice exercises to help you prepare for CAT exam is also available in the CAT preparation books. You should choose the CAT preparation books which are the best. Read More on Books for CAT Preparation  

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