Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension is an important section of the CAT Exam. CAT VARC syllabus includes questions on jumbled sentences, para-completion, odd sentences, and reading comprehension. The CAT VARC section can be quite challenging as the Reading Comprehension passages can be complex at times. 

• Based on past year's CAT Paper Analysis, the Reading Comprehension section can be moderate to extremely challenging. Check CAT VARC Paper Analysis
• The Verbal Ability section covers topics like vocabulary, grammar, verbal reasoning, paraphrase completion, and Para jumbles.
• A total of 24 questions for 72 marks will be asked in the CAT 2025 VARC Question Paper.
• Candidates must prepare for this exam by solving CAT previous year paper and sample papers. It is important to prepare with the right study material.
• The Verbal Ability Section accounts for 10% of the overall question paper, whereas the Reading Comprehension Section accounts for 24%. 
• From the academic year 2021–22 the number of questions has been decreased to 24 for the VARC section. The stipulated time for this section is 40 minutes.

Also Check:

• CAT 2025 Question Paper
• CAT 2025 Cutoff

CAT 2025 VARC Syllabus

CAT VARC section has two parts i.e. Reading Comprehension & Verbal Ability. Detailed syllabus for both parts is given below.

CAT Verbal Ability Syllabus 2025

CAT Reading Comprehension Syllabus

CAT Syllabus Weightage for VARC

Also Check:

• CAT DILR Syllabus
• CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus

CAT VARC Important Topic 2025

The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section comprises of 24 questions, out of which, five are not multiple-choice questions and have no negative marking. However, rest of the questions carry a negative marking.

There are 14-16 reading comprehension passage questions in the VARC section, with 1-2 questions about inferences, statements, and arguments. One or two synonyms and antonyms and three to four questions from the Para Summary topic are expected this year.

Type of Topics in Reading Comprehension

CAT Syllabus: Previous Year RC Passages 

CAT VARC Previous Year Paper Analysis

As per the Last year CAT VARC Paper Analysis, the exam was of moderate difficulty with a few tricky questions. The question paper in each of the 3 slots had 19 MCQs and 5 TITA-type questions. RC had the highest weightage with 16 questions in each slot. 

CAT VARC Slot 1 Analysis

CAT VARC Slot 2 Analysis

CAT VARC Slot 3 Analysis

CAT 2025 Verbal Ability Preparation Tips

• Read multiple books, newspapers, journals, and magazines.
• Increasing the number of words available
• Study outside of your comfort zone
• Taking Mock Exams
• Understanding one's ability
• Select the right study material.
• Every day, practice question papers
• Follow-up questions from ten years ago
• Identify the important questions.
• Take advantage of your study time.
• Grammatical games to solve
• Remember the newly learned words by using them in your day-to-day conversation.
• Learn new words from TV, radio, and other people's
• Find difficult words from the dictionary and recall them whenever you are free.
• Playing memory games on your own.

CAT 2025 Reading Comprehension Preparation Tips

• Reading different types of paragraphs
• Follow different writing styles.
• Understand Comprehension
• Develop vocabulary
• Understand proper sentence contractions.
• Boost your reading skills and knowledge
• Practice different types of writing.
• Keep the important points in mind.
• Summarize the reading material
• Clear writing
• Interpret the paragraphs and try to figure out what it is saying.
• Magnifying every part of the given text and covering the full body. In a text, every word has its value, so understand its importance.
• Participate in debuts.
• Consult your reading interpretation with other people.
• Compare others' POVs on the same topic.

CAT VARC Preparation Books

Newspapers and Magazines for CAT VARC Preparation

CAT 2025 Study Material

Mistakes to Avoid While Preparing for CAT 2025

• Investing more time in MCQs: Candidates frequently make the mistake of devoting more time to multiple-choice questions. The VA segment is the simplest section, as we all know. Therefore, if a candidate spends a lot of time, they will likely neglect to manage their time for the other portions.
• Ignore details: The majority of candidates tend to overlook any question's details. This is the trick to identifying students who are senior students. An attentive student carefully read all of the question papers and provided accurate answers. During exam time, candidates occasionally become disoriented. They were perplexed by several questions and forgot that there were other parts from which they may receive their grades.
• Ignore important keywords: The RC section passages used to be rushed by the students. They believed that because they did not read the entire exam paper, they had missed some important keywords. The major error here is this.

CAT VARC Syllabus FAQs