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

The very first and important fact that you need to note s that CAT exam syllabus is never released by any of the IIMs conducting CAT entrance exam.

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

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CAT Exam Highlights 2024

CAT Exam Particulars	CAT Exam 2024 Details
CAT Full Form	Common Admission Test (CAT)
Conducting Institute	IIMs
Exam Level	National
Exam Frequency	Once a year
CAT Exam 2024 Date	Sunday, November 24, 2024 (tentatively)
CAT Exam Timings	To be notified
CAT Exam Fees	SC/ST/PwD - INR-1200 GEN - INR 2400
Eligibility Criteria	Graduation with 50% aggregate (45% for SC/ST students)
Number of Applications	3.28 lakh (in 2023)
Exam Purpose	Study at IIMs, SPJIMR, FMS, MDI, IMT and over 1,200 B-Schools in India
Courses Offered	MBA/ PGDM
CAT 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
No. of test cities	150
CAT exam website	https://iimcat.ac.in/

CAT Exam Syllabus 2024 Highlights

• Before the COVID pandemic, CAT was a three-hour paper, but for the past three years (2021, 2022, 2023), CAT has been a two-hour exam.
• Though the CAT exam pattern has changed over the years, the three subject areas 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 syllabus for CAT 2024 based on the analysis of CAT conducted over the years.

CAT Exam Pattern in 2023

• CAT 2023 consisted of a total of 66 questions divided into three timed sections.
• Around 75% of the questions are MCQs (Multiple-Choice Questions), while the rest are TITA (Type in the Answer). The table here gives a quick overview: 

CAT exam syllabus for MBA - Section	CAT exam syllabus for MBA - Duration	CAT exam syllabus for MBA - Number of MCQs	CAT exam syllabus for MBA - No. of TITA Qs.	CAT exam syllabus for MBA - Total
VARC	40 minutes	21	3	24
DILR	40 minutes	14	6	20
QA	40 minutes	14	8	22
Total	120 minutes	49	17	66

Check the overview for CAT Exam Pattern tabulated below: 

CAT Exam Syllabus 2024 - Key Components	CAT Exam 2024 - Details
Time allotted	2 hours
Total No. of Questions	66
No. of Questions Section-wise	VARC: 24 DILR: 20 QA: 22
Time allotted per section	40 minutes each
Mode of Examination	Computer-based
Medium of Examination	English

CAT Exam Syllabus 2024 [Subject-Wise] - Check Here

The official site does not release any CAT exam syllabus for MBA PDF.

There are 3 sections for the MBA CAT syllabus 2024.  

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

Check: CAT Exam Pattern 2024

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

Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus for CAT Entrance Exam

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

Check: Why CAT Exam is Important?

Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus Weightage:

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. 

Topic	No. of Questions in Slot 1	No. of Questions in Slot 2	No. of Questions in Slot 3
Algebra	6	7	7
Arithmetic	8	7	8
Number System	2	2	3
Geometry	3	4	2
Modern Maths	3	2	2

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

CAT Exam Syllabus Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation 

CAT 2024 DILR Syllabus is provided below:

DI Topics	1. Tables
	2. Data Caselets – Reasoning-Based DI
	3. Column Graphs
	4. Bar Graphs
	5. Venn Diagrams
	6. Line Charts
	7. Pie Charts
	8. Scatter Plot
	9. Radar Chart
	10. Routes and Network
	11. Bubble Chart
LR Topics	1. Binary Logic
	2. Games and Tournaments
	3. Arrangements
	4. Team Formations
	5. Order and Ranking

Check: How to prepare for logical reasoning for CAT

CAT 2024 DILR Syllabus Weightage (in CAT 2023):

DILR Sets	No. of Questions in Slot 1	No. of Questions in Slot 2	No. of Questions in Slot 3
Token	5	5	5
Girls Graph	5	5	5
University team data	5	5	5
Metroline	5	5	5

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

Check: CAT Exam Preparation Books 2024

CAT Entrance Exam Syllabus Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension 

CAT 2024 VARC Syllabus is provided below:

Here are the important topics that you must cover for the CAT Exam syllabus 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

Check: What to do after the CAT exam?

Weightage:

VARC Sets	No. of Questions in Slot 1	No. of Questions in Slot 2	No. of Questions in Slot 3
Reading Comprehension	16	16	16
Odd-sentence out	2	2	2
Para Jumbles	3	3	3
Para Summary	3	3	3

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 2022, 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. 

Number of questions in each section

Here is the number of questions asked in each section:

CAT Exam Syllabus Sections	CAT Exam Syllabus PDF - Questions	CAT Exam Preparation Syllabus - MCQs	Non-MCQs
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)	24	19	5
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	20	15	5
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)	22	14	8
Total	66	48	18

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Best Books for CAT Preparation 2024

You can prepare for the CAT Exam Syllabus 2024 using the CAT books below. 

CAT Books for Quantitative Ability

• Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha
• How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
• Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Verma
• Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha

Check: How to prepare for quantitative aptitude for CAT

CAT Books for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

• Data Interpretation by Nishit Sinha
• Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit Sinha
• How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT book by Arun Sharma
• How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT book by Arun Sharma
• A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning by R.S. Agarwal

CAT Books for Verbal Ability

• High School Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension For The CAT by Nishit Sinha
• How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay
• Read books from different genres

Check: CAT Exam Eligibility 2024

The CAT exam syllabus 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 exam does not have an officially prescribed syllabus. 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. Questions are designed to test practical aptitude.

Check: CAT Exam Questions with Answers