CAT syllabus for LRDI PDF Download

CAT Syllabus 2021

As a CAT 2021 aspirant, the first thing you need to do to prepare is to understand the CAT syllabus. Knowing the CAT syllabus is one thing, and understanding the contents of that syllabus is quite another. By the contents of the syllabus, we mean the individual topics and subtopics that fall in that syllabus.

We recommend you to understand the syllabus so that by getting into the details of the different topics and subtopics, by understanding the different types of questions that have come from those topics and subtopics, and by understanding their relevance in the context of the latest CAT exam pattern you’ll be able to prepare well.

Before we go any further, we would like to let you know that there is no official syllabus of CAT. The syllabus that you see here and that you come across through other sources is just an accumulation of topics in the recent CAT papers.

To create a list of subjects, our experts at EduRev reviewed last year's papers and listed the topics that are important from the CAT exam’s perspective. For many years, the subjects and sub-topics have been quite consistent.

The CAT exam tests the aspirants’ aptitude in three areas

• Quantitative Aptitude 
• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

The syllabus for CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning is discussed below

CAT Syllabus: Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation [LRDI]

The Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation (LRDI) section of the CAT has undergone a significant change over the last few years. In the past CAT papers, the LRDI section had an equal number of question sets (4 sets each) from LR and DI. But in the past few years, logical based DI sets have replaced the calculation intensive DI sets. The calculation intensive DI set was a scoring area for many students, but now this area too has become LR centric.

There is a slight confusion about the CAT syllabus of LRDI. The LRDI section does not have well-defined problems. This section has a passage with a set of numerical or logical conditions, followed by four to five questions. We can rate the questions from easy to very difficult, depending on the ease with which one can arrive at the answers to those questions.

The primary topics to know are for solving LRDI questions are

• Number Series
• Blood Relations
• Data Sufficiency
• Graphs Related (Pie chart, Line chart, column/bar graph)
• Seating Arrangement
• Tables and Caselets
• Calendars
• Syllogisms and Venn Diagrams
• Logical Sequence
• Logical Connectives
• Logical Matching
• Analogy
• Arithmetic Reasoning
• Cube and Cuboid
• Miscellaneous

We can categorise the problems as:

CAT LRDI Syllabus: Fixing the missing numbers

CAT has replaced the traditional calculation intensive DI sets with sets that have the numbers missing in them. We advise you to study the logical conditions in the question carefully. Once the numbers have been fixed, the calculation is just a final step towards finding the correct answer. These types of questions have featured in recent year papers.

CAT LRDI Syllabus: Breaking of numbers

You might wonder what the difference between ‘fixing the number’ and ‘breaking the numbers is’. The difference is that in fixing the numbers, you have to arrive at the figure by logically breaking down the conditions and by smartly using the already given data. But in the breaking of numbers, you might have to use the mathematical concepts of number systems to arrive at the correct answer. In these cases, you will have to distribute the numbers among different entities based on the conditions given to you.

CAT LRDI Syllabus: Games and Tournaments

The Games and Tournaments kind of LRDI sets were quite common in the pen-pencil era of CAT, but have not come in the last few years. Familiarising yourself with this category will help a lot as the techniques learnt here can be put to effective use in other variety of sets as well.

CAT LRDI Syllabus: Maxima Minima set theory / Venn diagram

The maxima-minima set theory has been one of the favourite areas of CAT LRDI. The level of difficulty of these tests is by far the highest. You have to be very careful in your approach because the chances of going wrong in these kinds of sets are very high. But these sets are less time-consuming than the others.

CAT LRDI Syllabus: Data arrangements/matrix-based (tabular form)

These are the conventional LR sets, with which we are pretty familiar. The matrix-based sets are very tempting and should be the first preference while solving mocks. Every year we have at least one or two sets of this kind, and more often, the students get these questions correct. Practising a good number of these kinds of sets will help you get them right on exam day.

CAT LRDI Syllabus: Linear Arrangement sets

Like the conventional matrix-based sets, the linear arrangement types of LRDI sets are usually not very difficult. But in the past many years in CAT exams, such questions have not appeared. These kinds of sets are easy pickings. 

CAT LRDI Syllabus: Circular Arrangement sets

The circular arrangement LRDI sets are slightly tricky and may not be as straightforward as the linear type. Though this variety has not been much seen in the recent CAT papers, the concepts learnt from this kind can be effectively used in other lesser-known varieties.

CAT LRDI Syllabus: Sequencing and arrangement

Sequencing and arrangement kind of LR sets are not tricky but need caution and care while you attempt them. The slightest negligence may result in the wrong choice. Such types of sets were seen in good numbers in previous CAT exams and, therefore, should be expected in the LRDI section of CAT 2021