CAT Syllabus 2021: Countdown to CAT – Check, Read & Download Latest CAT Exam Syllabus 

CAT syllabus 2021 is broadly 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 2021 for each section can be divided into subsections. CAT 2021 exam date is November 28, 2021. The exam will be conducted in three slots of 2 hours each. This year CAT Exam syllabus is changed as per the changes in CAT exam pattern which will have fewer questions this year as compared to last year.

This article prepared by MBAUniverse.com CAT experts will share complete overview and key changes in CAT syllabus 2021, sectional details, weightages of topics in CAT syllabus and pattern.

CAT Exam Syllabus: Table of Contents

1. Overview of CAT Syllabus with Weightage to Each Section
2. CAT 2021 Syllabus: Key Highlights Overall & Section wise
3. Key Pointers of CAT Exam Syllabus
4. Revision & Changes in CAT Syllabus
5. CAT sectional syllabus
6. CAT syllabus for Quantitative Ability (QA)
7. CAT Syllabus for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
8. CAT Syllabus for Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
9. How to Cover CAT Syllabus? Toppers’ Tips
10. How to Download CAT Syllabus Pdf?
11. Latest Updates

So, Let’s start with a broad understanding of CAT Syllabus.

1. CAT 2021 Syllabus: An Overview
There are total three sections in CAT syllabus which carry different weightage in the exam. Although the CAT syllabus 2021 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.  

2. CAT 2021 syllabus: Key Highlights
During last 10 years, CAT syllabus has gone for perceptible changes with the changes in CAT question pattern, time duration, test structure, scoring scheme and other key components. Presently the CAT syllabus is based on following pattern

3. CAT Syllabus 2021: Key Pointers

• CAT Syllabus is not officially defined by IIMs. It is based on latest CAT pattern
• CAT 2021 Syllabus is vast and generalised. 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
• Cover the CAT syllabus topics, practice and choose the easier and no-penalty questions first to maximise your

4. Revision and Changes in CAT Syllabus 2021
CAT 2021 Exam Syllabus is revised with the changes in CAT pattern and structure. Given the reputation of IIM Ahmedabad for bringing changes in CAT exam, a few changes are brought again in the CAT syllabus 2021 as the exam pattern for CAT is also changed this year with reduced number of questions in the exam. 

CAT 2021 exam convener Prof M P Ram Mohan, faculty at IIM Ahmedabad has confirmed “For CAT 2021 the CAT Committee is making an attempt in reducing the number of questions across all the three sections - QA, DILR and VARC.”  

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4.1 CAT Syllabus 2021: Important Changes
CAT 2021 syllabus is changed and has different pattern and structure. Important changes in CAT syllabus are

i) CAT will have 3 sections as were last year, but with reduced number of 64-68 questions which are fewer than last year.

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

• Section-1: VARC - 34% weightage
• Section-2: DILR – 32% wightage
• 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 since 2015

iv) Number of sections are increased to three from two and DILR is now a single section. It carries high weightage in IIMs shortlisting 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. CAT syllabus topics for Non-MCQ type of questions are same as for negative marking questions.

5. Sectional CAT Syllabus
Below is shared quick glimpses of CAT 2021 syllabus followed by detailed section wise CAT syllabus

5.1 CAT 2021 Sectional Syllabus at a Glance
The broad break-up of topics as given above for CAT syllabus is as under. You may find most of the questions in CAT exam based on following CAT syllabus topics

5.2 Detailed CAT Syllabus Section Wise
The CAT exam syllabus section wise is not limited to these three sections only, as they are further sub-divided. This sub-division makes MBA CAT syllabus 2021 divided into 5 effective sections.

Source: MBAUniverse.com analysis

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

6. CAT Syllabus for Quantitative Ability (QA): Weightage 
Quantitative Ability (QA) is the Mathematics section in CAT exam. Although, the CAT syllabus for Quant is very wide, the questions and topics in it are of class 10 & 12 standard. Out of 64-68 questions in CAT exam, Quant Section in CAT exam consists of 22-24 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 with their weightage 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

6.1 CAT Syllabus for QA: Topics & Number of Questions

6.2 CAT Quant Syllabus: Important Points

• The Quantitative Ability (QA) questions in CAT are divided into 75% MCQs with negative marking and 25% 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 separated the Data Interpretation sub-section from Quantitative Ability Section. So, Quant 2021 will be a separate section now 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 Read more about the Best CAT Preparation Books 

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.

7. CAT Syllabus for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR): Weightage
CAT 2021 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 32% as the total expected questions are 20 in CAT 2021. While Data Interpretation (DI) part is likely to have 10 questions, the Logical Reasoning part also has 10 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 questions in this section.  Below is shared the topic wise CAT entrance exam syllabus on which problems are based in this section  

7.1 CAT DILR Syllabus Topics

7.2 CAT DILR Syllabus: Important Points

7.2.1 Key Points on DI Syllabus
Data Interpretation for CAT 2021 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. With the restructuring of CAT exam pattern in 2015 by IIM Ahmedabad, Data Interpretation Questions now form a separate section with Logical Reasoning. Earlier, Data Interpretation was part of Quantitative Ability section in CAT.

• DI 2021 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^nd section 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

With the fewer number of questions expected in CAT 2021, the problem sets and question sets may also be reduced

7.2.3 Best Books to Cover DI Syllabus in CAT
Experts and Toppers recommend following Data Interpretation Books which cover the complete CAT syllabus:

• How to prepare for Data Interpretation 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

Read more about the Best CAT Books on Data Interpretation 

7.3 Key Points on LR Syllabus

• LR is a Score Booster Part in CAT. It can boost your score upto 40+ core marks leading to an improvement of overall percentile by 20-25 in CAT 2021
• 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 2021 can be achieved with small but consistent efforts and time devoted to the DILR section.
• Logical Reasoning Questions in CAT syllabus 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 2021 questions in the changed CAT exam syllabus are

7.3.2 Best Books for CAT Logicial Reasoning Syllabus
Experts suggest following Logical Reasoning Books that cover CAT 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 Read more about the Best CAT Preparation Books

8. CAT Syllabus for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC): Weightage

Common Admission Test (CAT) syllabus for VARC section is divided into 2 parts. The 1^st part of CAT syllabus covers topics on Reading Comprehension passages and the 2^nd part of CAT MBA syllabus 2021 on VARC covers topics on Verbal Ability. Total expected questions in this section are 22 to 24, out of which 8 questions are expected of Non-MCQ type which do not carry negative marking. The 34% weightage of VARC syllabus is divided into 24% to RC syllabus and 10% to VA syllabus.

There are long and short English Comprehension passages in VARC section followed by 4-6 questions. Sometimes uniform number of 5 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

9. How to Cover CAT Syllabus? Toppers’ Tips
CAT toppers with 100 percentile, 99 percentile and others studying at IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Udaipur, MDI Gurgaon devised the strategy to cover the CAT syllabus which helped them crack CAT exam with high percentile overall and sectionwise. Read below the toppers’ plan to cover the syllabus:

Rahul Gupta, CAT topper with 100 percentile: IIM Ahmedabad student
To complete the CAT exam syllabus, Rahul Gupta took following steps:

• Initially focused on getting the basics correct and solving some easy questions to get comfortable with the subject then move on to try higher level problems
• Started giving the mocks as soon as they started instead of waiting till end.
• Used to analyze the solutions extensively to check what mistakes I made or the questions I missed during the test. It helped me to decide the topics I needed to put more efforts in.

Shantanu Singh Yadav, CAT topper with 99.73 percentile: IIM Ahmedabad Student
Shantanu judiciously divided his time to cover the complete MBA CAT syllabus and adopted following strategy

• I devoted equal time to all the three sections with some extra effort towards DI and LR which is I believe is the most unpredictable section in the exam. You could practice a hell lot of LR sets prior to the exam but might still hassle on the D-Day.
• LR sets are not straightforward like Quants or DI sets. Timing my complete mocks and sectional tests along with thoroughly analysing my wrong as well as right attempts turned out to be fruitful.
• Since the CAT entrance exam syllabus is so wide and even has no boundaries defined for VARC and DILR, last minute hustle mostly turns fruitless and overloads you with added stress

TanujRuia, CAT topper with 99.69 percentile: IIM Bangalore student
Tanuj Ruia took a faster mode to cover the CAT exam syllabus with a mix of CAT preparation and shares “After clearing my fundamentals and the basics, I enrolled for the mock series. It helped me in analysing my current level of preparation, my weaknesses and my rank amongst a pool of serious aspirants”

Anushree Naik, CAT topper with 98.20 percentile: IIM Ahmedabad student
Anushree was very particular to complete her CAT entrance exam syllabus in time and utilized her travel time also in preparation. She has shared her strategy, “I studied for about 3 hours on week days by solving QA sectional tests, practicing a lot of data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR) sets and utilised my travel time to work in reading books, building a vocabulary and solving math quizzes on my phone. My weekends were dedicated to attending classes, covering major chunk of the portion, solving mock tests and analysing my strengths and weaknesses through them.”

Nikita Agarwal, CAT topper with 99.22 percentile: MDI Gurgaon Student
Consistent practice helped Nikita to cover complete CAT syllabus. Sharing her strategy, she says, “I used to give practice all the three sections consistently. I never skipped a particular section, say VARC, because I had to focus on Quants. Learning to strike a balance between three sections is really necessary.”

10. How to Download Latest CAT Syllabus Pdf 2021
The updated CAT syllabus PDF 2021 can help you boost your CAT preparation as per the current CAT pattern. The CAT syllabus 2021 Pdf download is available free with existing and expected topics covered in the CAT syllabus pdf download document alongwith the type of questions expected in the CAT exam. Click Here for CAT Syllabus 2021 Pdf Download Free

11. Latest Update: Read More on CAT 2021 Articles

Also Read: 

• CAT Exam Pattern 2021: Overall & Sectional Composition, Scoring pattern, Weightage, CAT Vs other exams
• CAT 2021 Exam Analysis: Check Number of Questions, Paper Pattern, Difficulty Level, cut offs
• CAT Exam 2021: Don’t Miss These Last Minute Tips by CAT Toppers Studying at IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Udaipur, SPJIMR, MDI
• CAT Exam Day Do’s & Don’ts: Check Official IIM Ahmedabad CAT Centre Step by Step Flow Chart
• CAT 2021 Exam Day Tips: Test Taking Strategy from CAT toppers with Last Minute Tips

Read More: CAT 2021- Exam Date, Registration, Syllabus, Preparation, Books