CAT Exam Syllabus 2024: Latest Section-wise Syllabus | Download PDF PDF Download

The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2024 is expected to take place in November 2024, divided into three slots. The Official Notification for the exam, which will include information on the exam date and registration dates, is anticipated to be issued in July 2024. Additionally, the CAT application form for 2024 is also expected to be made available soon after the release of the official notification.

However, candidates must already begin their CAT Preparation to clear the cut-offs with the highest percentile.

• The CAT Syllabus covers all of the fundamental concepts in Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension & Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation.
• According to the basics of these three components, questions are designed in a complicated manner to assess applicants' decision-making ability, time management skills, and analytical abilities. 
• The initial step in preparing for the CAT 2024 is to have comprehensive information and an understanding of the CAT 2024 Syllabus and the relevant topics.

Also Read: 11 steps to clear CAT 2023

CAT Exam Syllabus 2024: An Overview

The CAT Syllabus is very generalized and vast. The IIMs do not have a fixed syllabus for CAT, but the questions are mostly based on middle school math and english topics.

Here is an overview of the CAT 2024 Syllabus for your understanding:

• The detailed syllabus topics from each chapter are given in the article below and a comprehensive analysis of the weightage of each chapter is also given for better understanding. 
• It should be noted that CAT is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management as a prerequisite for admission to various management programs of IIMs, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and other institutions.

Before delving into the important topics of CAT Exam 2024, you must be aware of its Exam Pattern:

CAT Exam Pattern 2024

Candidates planning to appear for CAT 2024, must familiarize themselves with the latest CAT Exam Pattern. It will help them understand the structure of the CAT Exam Question Paper and marking scheme to prepare well. Go through the main features of CAT Exam Pattern

• Section 1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC).  
  It entails 24 questions and a weightage of 72 Marks.
• Section 2: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR).
  It consists of 20 questions and a weightage of 60 Marks.
• Section 3: Quantitative Aptitude (QA).
  It comprises 22 questions and a weightage of 66 Marks.

Below mentioned are the key highlights of the CAT Exam Pattern:

The Common Admission Test (CAT) exam pattern has undergone several changes over the years. The most recent change was made in the year 2021. Read more about the Evolution of the CAT Exam Pattern.

Now that you are aware of the CAT Exam Pattern, let us look in depth at the syllabus of the CAT Entrance Exam.

If you’re a B-school/IIM aspirant planning to get admission in top IIMs, you can prepare with EduRev Infinity for CAT to boost your preparation.

CAT Syllabus 2024: Quantitative Ability (QA)

Quantitative Ability is a wide-ranging and the trickiest section in the CAT Entrance Exam. 

• There are 22 questions in the Quantitative Aptitude section, with 6-8 of them being TITA-based.
• There are a few topics in the quantitative aptitude section that are extremely important and are repeated every year in the CAT Exam.
• This section is focused on mathematics as the syllabus for QA is entirely based on school maths. Topics included are LCM & HCF, Trigonometry, Mensuration, Probability etc.

IIM prescribes no fixed syllabus for the CAT Exam. Experts at EduRev have compiled a thorough list of topics that have been observed in the past years.

The following is a general overview of the topics that you have to cover for the CAT 2024 Quantitative Ability section.

1. Number System.
2. Arithmetic
3. Algebra
4. Geometry and Mensuration
5. Modern Maths
6. Data Sufficiency

1. Number System:

• Number systems
• Factors
• Properties of Numbers
• Type and Classification of Numbers
• Divisibility Rules
• HCF and LCM
• Cyclicity and Base Theorem
• Remainders and Remainder Theorems 
• Binomial theorem
• The highest power of a number in a factorial.
• Series and Progressions
• Types of series - AP, GP AND HP

2. Arithmetic:

• Ratio and Proportion
• Averages
• Allegations
• Percentages
• Profit-Loss
• Simple Interest, Compound Interest
• Time and Work
• Time Speed Distance
• Relative Speed
• Races and Headstarts
• Circular Tracks
• Pipes and Cisterns
• Clocks and Calendars

3. Algebra:

• Linear Equations
• Quadratic Equations
• Roots of an Equation
• Functions and Graphs
• Maxima and Minima
• Coordinate Geometry
• Inequalities
• Sets
• Inclusion-Exclusion Principles
• Venn Diagrams

Also Read: Must know formulae for CAT

4. Geometry and Mensuration:

• Triangles
• Similarity, congruence
• Quadrilaterals and other polygons
• Concave and convex polygons
• Circles
• Properties of circles
• 3D geometry
• Volumes and surface areas of 3D shapes
• Development of 3D shapes
• Cutting and colouring problems on 3D shapes.

5. Modern math:

• Permutation (arrangement)
• Combinations (selection)
• Arranging similar and distinct objects in similar and distinct groups
• Circular permutation and necklace problems
• Logarithms
• Probability and Combinatorics etc.,

Let us look in depth at the topic-wise distribution of the Quantitative Aptitude syllabus.

Topic-wise Distribution of Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

Given table shows the significance of different topics from varied areas of Quant:

CAT Quant Topic Wise Distribution

From the above representation of the topic-wise distribution of Quantitative Aptitude, it can be concluded that Geometry, Number Systems, and Algebra questions dominate the QA section of the CAT Exam.

In the last few years, there has been an increased focus on Arithmetic-based questions in QA.  CAT 2022 featured the majority of questions from arithmetic. 

Another topic of high importance is algebra. There were a few questions from geometry as well.

You cannot score well in this section if you are not thorough with the fundamentals of these subsections.

Also Read: How to Prepare Quantitative Aptitude for CAT?

CAT Syllabus 2024: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

VARC is the first section to be solved in the exam. 

• There are 24 questions in the verbal ability and reading comprehension segment, with 5 of them being TITA-based. 
• Out of the 24 questions, 16 questions are from RCs coupled with 8 verbal ability questions.

Some of the key syllabus topics for the CAT VARC part are listed below.

• Reading Comprehension Passage-Based Questions
• Para Jumbles
• Para Summary
• Sentence Completion & Correction
• Odd Sentences

The detailed syllabus of the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Section is mentioned in the table below:

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Topic-wise Distribution of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

The VARC section is divided into two main parts; 

• Reading Comprehension and
• Verbal Ability. 

The topic with the most weightage in the VARC section is Reading Comprehension which includes paragraphs of varying lengths with MCQ and TITA questions. The Verbal Ability section comprises para jumbles, odd sentences etc.

As per the analysis of the VARC section of previous year's CAT papers, we have indicated the weightage of different topics:
CAT VARC Topic Wise Distribution

As previously stated, Reading Comprehension has the highest weightage in the VARC section and thus requires a lot of practice to score well in this section. 

EduRev offers you a 100+ RC course to help you prepare and master RCs, which will give you an edge in the CAT Exam and move you a step closer to your IIM dream. 

CAT Syllabus 2024: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

In the DILR section, there are nearly an equal number of questions on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, with some of these based on a combination of both. 

• This section is usually the most time-consuming one. 
• The CAT logical thinking and data interpretation portion contain 20 questions, with 6 TITA-based questions.
• There are a total of 4 sets which are comprised of 2 sets of 6 questions each and 2 sets of 4 questions each.

CAT Logical Reasoning Syllabus

1. Syllogisms, 
2. Puzzles, 
3. Critical Reasoning, 
4. Blood Relations, 
5. Coding-Decoding, 
6. Statement & Assumption, 
7. Inference,
8. Ranking, 
9. Direction sense test
10. Seating Arrangement (facing inwards/outwards).
11. Coins
12. Scheduling
13. Enumeration-based Sets
14. Games and tournaments for CAT.
15. Truth-Liar concept
16. Team Selection (with conditions)
17. 2D & 3D Space LRs
18. Games & Tournaments

CAT Data Interpretation Syllabus

1. Line chart, 
2. Bar chart
3. Pie chart
4. Unconventional charts - radar chart, bubble chart, area chart
5. Tables, tables with missing values, incorrect values, connected data sets
6. Venn diagrams  
7. Maxima & Minima
8. Caselets
9. Assumption and Binary Logic

Topic-wise Distribution of Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

 As per CAT Exam Pattern 2022, a total of 20 questions worth 60 marks were asked from the DILR section

• Last year, there were 4 DILR sets- 2 with 6 questions each, and 2 with 4 questions each.
• Questions from CAT Logical Reasoning Syllabus are asked from topics like blood relations, seating arrangements, puzzles, etc., and in CAT DI, questions are based on data represented in tables, charts, etc
  

CAT DILR Topic Wise Distribution

• The best way to prepare for DILR is to practice as many questions as possible. 
• It is difficult to predict the type of questions that will be asked and it is not effective to rely on shortcuts.

Also Read: How to Prepare DILR for CAT?

Latest Changes in CAT Exam Syllabus

Since IIMs don't provide a specified syllabus for CAT Exam, it is difficult to point out whether there have been any drastic changes in the syllabus.
However, it has been noticed that the questions have been coming from similar topics only over the past years.

The only change that one can consider in the CAT Syllabus for IIM is the change in the number of questions, which has been reduced from 100 to 66 in the year 2021.

Check the table below for details.

Changes in CAT Exam Syllabus

Best Books for CAT Preparation

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Aptitude are the three areas that make up the CAT Test Syllabus. Candidates should prepare independently for each of the syllabus's several components.

In the table below, we've listed recommended reading lists for the CAT Exam 2024 , organized by section:

Also check out the CAT Preparation Books: Best Books, Section-Wise CAT Books

How to Prepare for CAT Exam with EduRev?

EduRev is the best way to take your CAT Preparation to the next level! We are an online learning platform designed to provide comprehensive and interactive study material to help you ace the competitive exam. 

Our platform is designed to provide you with the right amount of guidance, support, and motivation so that you can succeed in the exam.
With our comprehensive study material, you can get the latest updates on CAT syllabus, strategy, and tips. 

We also provide comprehensive Practice Questions and Mock Tests to help you understand the paper pattern, sections, and question types. With our intuitive dashboard, you can track your progress and compare your performance with other students as well.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on CAT Exam Syllabus

When should I start preparing for CAT 2024?

As CAT 2024 is expected to be held in the last week of November, the best time to start preparing for the exam is in March. Starting early provides students with ample time to cover all the necessary topics and practice important concepts. Additionally, starting early also gives students enough time to identify and address any areas of weakness, which can be crucial for success on the CAT.

EduRev's CAT Exam Preparation Course is tailored to meet the needs of students at all levels. Whether you're just starting your CAT preparation or looking to fine-tune your skills, EduRev has the resources you need to succeed. The program includes expert video lectures, practice questions, and mock tests, all of which are designed to help students achieve their best possible scores on the CAT.

Does the syllabus for CAT change every year?

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is an entrance examination used by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other management schools in India to evaluate candidates for admissions. While there is no official syllabus prescribed for the CAT, the examination typically covers topics such as Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, and Verbal Ability.

However, the weightage of different areas in the CAT Exam may be modified after every few years. This means that the relative importance of the different topics in the 3 sections of the exam may change from year to year. 

It is suggested that candidates preparing for CAT to check the official CAT website for the most up-to-date information on the structure and weightage of the exam as well as CAT Past Year Papers and analysis to get an idea of the changes in exam pattern over the years.

Who can give CAT 2024?

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is an entrance examination used by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other management schools in India to evaluate candidates for admissions. One of the eligibility criteria for the CAT Exam is that the candidate must hold a bachelor's degree in any discipline with a minimum score of 50% for the General and NC-OBC (Non-Creamy Other Backward Classes) categories.

Which book is best for CAT Exam 2024?

Best books for CAT preparation are available online and offline but choosing the right ones can be a challenge. To help candidates choose the best CAT books for exam preparation, we have prepared section-wise lists.

 

Also check out the CAT Preparation Books: Best Books, Section-Wise CAT Books

Is CAT Syllabus same every year?

Since IIMs don't provide a specified syllabus for CAT Exam, it is difficult to point out whether there have been any drastic changes in the syllabus.

However, the weightage of different areas has seen modifications every few years.

Which section of CAT is the toughest?

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is widely considered to be a difficult exam, and for good reason. The exam is designed to test a wide range of skills and knowledge, including quantitative ability, data interpretation, logical reasoning, and verbal ability. Each section of the CAT Exam is challenging in its own right, but the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section is often considered to be the most time-consuming and difficult of the three sections.