Overview: The 2024 Common Admission Test (CAT) is set for November 24, under IIM Calcutta's likely oversight. The first step to begin your preparation is by familiarizing yourself with the CAT syllabus 2024 for you to be fully prepared for the exam in the coming few months left.

The very first and important fact that you need to note is that CAT syllabus is never released by any of the IIMs conducting CAT entrance exam. However, in this blog we will covering the entire CAT exam syllabus for MBA based on previous year's CAT exam trend.

The questions are based on the previous year's standards of CAT exam questions containing concepts of elementary level and high school Maths, reading and English comprehension and logical reasoning.

Download Detailed CAT Syllabus 2024 PDF 

CAT Exam Highlights 2024

Particulars	Details
CAT Full Form	Common Admission Test (CAT)
Conducting Institute	IIMs
CAT Exam 2024 Date	Sunday, November 24, 2024 (tentatively)
Duration	2 Hours
Total Sections	5
Total Questions	66
CAT exam syllabus	Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), Quantitative Ability (QA)
CAT pattern	Computer Based Test (CBT) with MCQs and non-MCQs

CAT Syllabus 2024 Overview

• Earlier, CAT exam was a three-hour paper, but for the past four years (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), CAT has been a two-hour exam.
• Though the CAT exam pattern has changed over the years, the three sections  viz.,Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), Quantitative Ability (QA) have remained the same.
• So, even though there is no officially prescribed CAT exam syllabus, based on the CAT exams conducted over the past many years, we can logically infer a few things. 
• Having said this, solving previous years' CAT questions papers can increase the probability of scoring well in CAT Exam 2024, even if the authorities decide to throw a little surprise at you.
• In this article, we discuss the CAT syllabus 2024 based on the analysis of CAT conducted over the years.

CAT Exam Pattern in 2023

• The CAT previous year question paper from last 3 years has remained unchanged.
• There are 66 questions in total. 46 are Multiple-Choice questions (MCQs), with four answer choices, one of which is correct. Twenty are non-MCQ questions of the Type-In-The-Answer (TITA) kind.
• For MCQs, a correct answer earns three marks, while a wrong answer results in a deduction of one mark. However, TITA questions do not have negative markings.
• The table here gives a quick overview of CAT exam pattern to understand the CAT syllabus.

Section	Duration	Number of MCQs	No. of TITA Qs.	Total
VARC	40 minutes	20	4	24
DILR	40 minutes	12	8	20
QA	40 minutes	14	8	22
Total	120 minutes	46	20	66

Download FREE Study Material for CAT Exam 2024 by SuperGrads

CAT 2024 Syllabus PDF- Section-Wise

This is to inform you that the IIMs do not officially release the CAT exam syllabus PDF 2024. Moreover, we are dependent on the previous year's pattern and questions asked from the topics from all three sections.

There are three sections asked in the CAT syllabus for MBA, also called CAT exam subjects, viz.,

1. Quantitative Aptitude
2. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
3. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Our team has meticulously analyzed the trends of the past few years of the CAT exam to research and compile the entire CAT syllabus 2024  into PDF.

The CAT exam syllabus for MBA, essential topics and respective weightage are listed below:

CAT Syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude 

Topics	Sub-Topics
Number System	Prime Factorization
	Divisibility Rules
	Finding Units place and tens place of a number
	LCM and HCF
	Indices and Surds
	Cyclicity
	Remainders
	Base Change
	Factorial
Arithmetic	Simple Interest and Compound Interest
	Time, Distance and Speed
	Mixtures and Allegations
	Ratios, Proportions and Variations
	Time and Work
	Pipes and Cisterns
	Percentages
	Averages
	Profit and Loss
Geometry	Circles
	Polygons
	Triangles
	Trigonometry
	Lines and Angles
	Coordinate Geometry
Algebra	Functions and Groups
	Inequalities and Modulus
	Logarithms
	Maxima and Minima
	Polynomials
	Linear and Quadratic Equations
	Algebraic Identities
Modern Mathematics	Probability
	Permutations and Combinations
	Set Theory
	Venn Diagram
	AP, GP, HP
	Binomial theorem

Below is the detailed CAT exam syllabus PDF 2024 for Quantitative Ability:

Download Detailed CAT Syllabus PDF for QA

Check | Why CAT Exam is Important

General Trend of Past 4 Years in QA CAT Syllabus - Topic Wise

It becomes important for you to lean about the topic wise break-up with weightage of each topic in the CAT syllabus. This can be done once you have gone through the CAT eligibility criteria thoroughly.

In CAT 2023, out of the 22 questions, 8 were TITA questions, and the remaining were MCQs. Over the years, the maximum number of questions in the QA section of CAT have been from Arithmetic. 

Topics	Sub-Topics	2023				2022				2021				2020
		Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Total	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Total	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Total	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Total
Arithmetic	Ratios, Mixtures, Averages	3	3	3	9	6	4	5	15	5	3	4	12	3	2	4	9
	Percents, Profits, SICI	2	3	3	8	2	2	1	5	3	3	4	10	3	3	3	9
	Speed, Time, Distance, Races	3	1	1	5	1	1	3	5	1	1	1	3	4	4	3	11
	Pipes, Cisterns, Work, Time	1	1	2	4	0	1	2	3	2	2	2	6	0	1	1	2
Algebra	Linear and Quadratic	3	2	2	7	1	2	3	6	0	1	1	2	2	4	2	8
	Progressions	2	1	2	5	1	2	0	3	1	2	1	4	1	1	0	2
	Polynomials	2	2	1	5	2	0	0	2	1	2	1	4	0	1	0	1
	Inequalities	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	3	0	1	0	1
	Functions	0	0	1	1	3	2	2	7	1	1	1	3	1	1	1	3
	Logarithms and Exponents	1	2	3	6	0	1	1	2	1	1	1	3	4	1	4	9
Geometry	Geometry	2	2	2	6	0	3	3	6	3	2	1	6	1	3	1	5
	Co-Geo	1	1	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	3
	Mensuration	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	2	0	1	3	4	2	1	0	3
	Trigonometry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
NT and Modern Maths	Combinatorics	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	3	1	1	0	2	0	0	1	1
	Digits	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	2	1	1	4	4	2	2	8
	Factorials	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Factors	1	2	1	4	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
	Remainders	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Set Theory	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1

Here is an overview of the four broad areas (in %) covered over the years in the QA section. 

CAT Syllabus Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation 

DI Topics	Tables
	Data Caselets – Reasoning-Based DI
	Column Graphs
	Bar Graphs
	Venn Diagrams
	Line Charts
	Pie Charts
	Scatter Plot
	Radar Chart
	Routes and Network
	Bubble Chart
LR Topics	Binary Logic
	Games and Tournaments
	Arrangements
	Team Formations
	Order and Ranking

Below is the detailed CAT exam syllabus PDF 2024 for Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation:

Download Detailed CAT Syllabus PDF for DILR

Check | How to prepare for logical reasoning for CAT

General Trend of Past 4 Years in DILR CAT syllabus- Topic Wise

Topics	CAT 2020			CAT 2021			CAT 2022			CAT 2023
	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
Routes and Networks	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	-	-	-	5
Tables	-	10	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	5	5	5
Scheduling, Optimization and Allocation	6	6	6	4	-	-	5	-	5	10	-	-
Bar Graphs	-	-		4	4	-	-	-	5	-	-	-
Grids	10	8	6	6		-	-	-	5	5	5	5
Arrangements	-		6	6	6	5	-	-	-		-
Word Puzzle	-	-	4	-	4	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Games and Tournaments	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Math Puzzles	-	-	4	-	-	4		5	5	-	5	5
Venn Diagrams	8	-	4	-	-	-	5	5	-	-	-	-
Pie Charts/Doughnut Charts	-		-	-		-		-	-	-	-	-
Scatter Plot	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-
Coding/Decoding	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Radar Chart	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gnatt Chart	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-		5	-

Read more | Strategy to ace your CAT Exam Preparation

Here is an overview of the topics (in %) covered over the years in the DILR section. 

Check | CAT Exam Preparation Books 2024

CAT Syllabus for Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension 

CAT exam syllabus PDF 2024 for VARC is provided below:

Here are the important topics that you must cover for the CAT syllabus and pattern specifically for the VARC section.

S.No.	Important Topics
1	English Usage or Grammar
2	Vocabulary-Based (Synonyms/ Antonyms)
3	Fill in the blanks
4	Sentence Correction
5	Cloze Passage
6	Jumbled Paragraph
7	Meaning-Usage Match
8	Analogies or Reverse Analogies
9	Summary Questions
10	Verbal Reasoning
11	Facts-Inferences-Judgments
12	Reading Comprehension

Below is the detailed CAT exam syllabus PDF 2024 for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension:

Download Detailed CAT Syllabus PDF for VARC

Check | What to do after the CAT exam?

General Trend of Past 4 Years in VARC CAT syllabus- Topic Wise

Topics	2023	2022	2021	2020
Reading Comprehension	16	16	16	18
Para Summary	2	3	3	3
Para Jumble	2	3	3	3
Odd One Out	2	0	2	2
Sentence Placement	2	2	0	0
Total	24	24	24	26

Among the three sections, describing the syllabus for VARC is the simplest. Reading Comprehension dominates the section with a little more than 65% of the question weightage.

The remaining questions are from Para Summary, Para Jumble, Odd One Out, and Missing Sentence (introduced in CAT 2022). So, building a reading habit is the key to covering the VARC syllabus.

In CAT 2023, 4 passages with a total of 16 questions were asked. 3 Para Summary Questions, 3 Para Jumble Questions and 2 Missing Sentence Questions completed the section. From a total of 24 questions, 3 were TITA questions. 

Here is an overview of the RC genres (in %) covered over the years in the VARC section. 

Check | CAT Exam Maths Syllabus

CAT Score vs Percentile 2023

CAT Score vs Percentile 2023 Slot 1

CAT Percentile	CAT VARC Score	CAT DILR Score	CAT QA Score	Overall CAT Score
100	42-44	29-30	30-32	100-102
99+	40	25-27	25-28	80
95+	28-30	18-20	20-22	55
90+	22-24	15-17	15-17	45-48
85+	20-22	13-14	45640	39-41
80+	18-20	45608	45577	35-37

CAT Score vs Percentile 2023 Slot 2

CAT Percentile	CAT VARC Score	CAT DILR Score	CAT QA Score	Overall CAT Score
100	43-44	25-27	29-30	98-100
99+	40-42	22-23	27-28	82-83
95+	30-33	18-20	20-22	57-58
90+	24-26	14-15	15-17	46-48
85+	20-22	45639	45640	40-43
80+	18-20	45576	45577	36-39

CAT Score vs Percentile 2023 Slot 3

CAT Percentile	CAT VARC Score	CAT DILR Score	CAT QA Score	Overall CAT Score
100	42-23	27-28	32-34	98-100
99+	38-40	23-24	27-28	78-80
95+	28-30	18-20	18-20	57-58
90+	24-25	15-17	15-17	46-48
85+	20-22	45640	45640	40-41
80+	18-20	45576	45576	36-37

Conclusion

You can prepare for the CAT Exam Syllabus for MBA 2024 using the best-chosen CAT preparation books for all the three sections.

The CAT exam syllabus for MBA 2024 is comprehensive and covers many topics. It is important to be thorough in your preparation and to cover all the topics mentioned in the syllabus. With the right amount of dedication and hard work, you can definitely crack the CAT exam and pursue your career goals.

• The CAT exam consists of three sections: Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation, and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension.
• The CAT syllabus is never official released. Instead, candidates are expected to deduce important subjects and topics from the previous year's papers.
• CAT primarily assesses candidates' problem-solving speed and application skills rather than rote memorization. CAT exam questions are designed to test practical aptitude.