DILR Prep for CAT 2026 to Score 99%ile: Last 3-Week Revision Guide

Overview: Boost your DILR prep for CAT 2026 with this last 3-week revision guide! Discover expert strategies, must-practice sets, and smart time management tips!

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a crucial exam for MBA aspirants. As CAT 2026 draws near, focusing your DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) revision on the most impactful topics can make a big difference. 

With only about three weeks left, it is essential to know where to put your energy. This guide uses a detailed five-year analysis of past CAT exams to show you the DILR topics that matter most.

It helps you build a smart revision plan to maximise your score and use your time wisely.

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This DILR Prep for CAT strategy is especially helpful for those aiming for a 95 percentile or higher in CAT 2026. We will list out the topics you must cover, a smart three-week revision plan, and the best way to choose questions.

This final DILR checklist clarifies and streamlines your last-phase preparation.

DILR Prep for CAT 2026: Understanding Topic Weightage

To prepare effectively, you must understand which DILR topics appear most often in the CAT exam. We analysed CAT papers from 2017 to the present day to create this list.

This data shows the number of questions asked from each topic. It helps you see which areas have higher weightage and need more attention.

By focusing on these high-DILR CAT frequency topics, you can ensure your revision is productive. This approach helps you gain confidence and improve your problem-solving speed for the actual exam.

Selection and Distribution of DILR Topics

Selection and Distribution is the most important DILR topic. Past CAT exams featured 95 questions from this area. This means you will almost certainly see a question set on Selection and Distribution in every CAT slot.

These questions often involve choosing or distributing items according to specific rules. When asked individually, these sets are usually easy to handle. However, when Selection and Distribution concepts combine, they can form very challenging sets.

DILR Prep for CAT 2026: 3-Week Revision Plan 

You have already practised many DILR topics. You likely feel comfortable with Selection and Distribution, Tables and Graphs, and Puzzles and Arrangements.

These are areas students often enjoy and prioritise. Now, for the last three weeks, let's focus on the topics that can give you an extra edge, especially those with fewer but consistently appearing questions.

Here is a recommended priority order for your final DILR Prep for CAT 2026 revision, focusing on specific practice:

Priority Order	Topic	Number of Questions	Focus Area Description
1	Roots and Networks	22	Start here. Solving these 22 questions will give you a sense of completing a specific topic. It builds confidence and ensures you understand a variety that comes up often.
2	Venn Diagrams	34	Next, tackle all 34 Venn Diagram questions. This will make you skilled in handling overlapping logic and max/min problems.
3	Mathematical Reasoning	36	Move on to the 36 questions from Mathematical Reasoning. This will strengthen your number-based puzzle-solving abilities.
4	Games and Tournaments	38	Finally, complete the 38 questions on Games and Tournaments. This will solidify your understanding of structured logic in competitive scenarios.

In total, these four topics have 130 questions from past CAT exams (22 + 34 + 36 + 38). These are not 130 sets, but 130 questions within sets.

If you set a target to solve about 15 questions each day, you can complete all these questions in roughly 9 to 10 days.

This targeted approach ensures you cover a variety of topics that students sometimes overlook. After completing these, you can use the remaining time to practice more miscellaneous sets from the higher-volume topics.

You are likely already good at those. This plan helps you use your last three weeks efficiently and strategically.

DILR Prep for CAT 2026: Tables and Graphs

Tables and Graphs cover the traditional Data Interpretation (DI) questions. These sets often present data in various visual forms. This DILR Prep for CAT 2026 includes radar charts, bar graphs, and simple tables, which are very common.

Less common types are line graphs and pie charts. Over the past few years, CAT has included 80 questions from Tables and Graphs.

When solving these sets, the exam checks several skills:

Skill Area	Description
Speed in Calculation	How quickly and accurately you can perform arithmetic tasks.
Observation Skills	Your ability to spot patterns and derive information without heavy calculations. Some sets might look overwhelming with lots of data, but they are often solvable just by careful observation.
Data Interpretation	Your skill in understanding what the data means and using it to answer questions.

Before starting a set, decide if it is doable. Consider whether it involves too many calculations or is too time-consuming. You have 80 sets from previous years to practice.

Even if you revise 40 of these sets thoroughly in the last three weeks, you will build a strong foundation. This practice will sharpen your ability to identify and solve these crucial DI sets.

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DILR Prep for CAT 2026: Puzzles and Arrangements

Puzzles and Arrangements combine various logical reasoning challenges. This category has seen 69 questions in recent CAT exams. It covers many different types of arrangements, such as:

• Data Arrangement: Ordering data based on given conditions.
• Table Arrangement: Filling a table with information according to rules.
• Linear Arrangement: Placing people or items in a line.
• Circular Arrangement: Arranging people or items in a circle.

This topic also includes "word puzzles," which are older types of riddles, such as horse puzzles or cap riddles, in which people stand in a row. These sets often check your ability to create a proper table structure.

When you solve a puzzle, the first step is to decide what type of table or structure you need. These puzzles test both your logical reasoning and your ability to use every piece of data.

You must understand each sentence, note every instruction, and use them to fill your entire table. This section measures your ability to decode complex instructions and build a coherent solution.

DILR Prep for CAT 2026: Prioritising Lower Frequency, High-Value Topics

While Selection and Distribution, Tables and Graphs, and Puzzles and Arrangements are high-volume topics, other areas are also critical.

These often involve specific logic or concepts that can secure quick marks if you are well-prepared. Even though they appear less frequently, mastering them gives you a competitive edge.

DILR Prep for CAT 2026; Games and Tournaments

Games and Tournaments is a distinct topic with 38 direct questions in past CAT exams. Having a good understanding of this area is very important.

To prepare for Games and Tournaments, you should solve all 38 previous years' questions. This will significantly strengthen your understanding of game concepts.

This topic checks your ability to:

• Decode Game Logic: Understand the rules and flow of a game.
• Structured Logic: Apply systematic thinking to game scenarios.
• Specific Concepts: Grasp ideas like seeding, coin toss outcomes, or round-robin formats.
• Mixed Scenarios: Solve problems that combine different aspects, such as goals scored, runs made, or wickets taken in a tournament.

Practising these previous year questions helps you recognise common game structures and logical traps. This makes you ready to solve similar puzzles in the exam.

DILR Prep for CAT 2026: Venn Diagrams

Venn Diagrams are often used within Tables and Graphs, especially for problems involving maxima and minima. However, CAT also includes direct Venn Diagram questions that require you to draw the diagrams yourself.

There have been 34 such questions in previous years. Venn Diagram problems often test your understanding of:

• Overlapped Logic: How different groups or sets interact.
• Surplus Concepts: Dealing with extra elements beyond the direct overlaps.
• Maxima and Minima: Finding the highest or lowest possible values under certain conditions.

With only 34 previous year questions, you can go through all of them. Solving these questions will make you very good at Venn Diagrams.

You will then be prepared to handle any Venn Diagram question that appears in CAT 2026. This thorough practice helps you quickly identify and apply the correct logic.

DILR Prep for CAT 2026: Roots and Networks

Roots and Networks questions involve paths, connections, and structures. Although the number of questions is lower, with 22 questions in total, this topic has appeared consistently in recent CAT exams.

It came up last year, the year before, and even earlier. So, stay aware of Roots and Networks. This topic primarily checks two things:

• Visualisation: Your ability to clearly imagine and map out paths and connections.
• Fundamental Principle of Counting: Your strong grasp of concepts from Permutations and Combinations (PNC), which is crucial for counting possible routes or arrangements.

There are only 22 previous year questions for Roots and Networks. Solve all of them to master the logic. This practice will ensure you can handle any similar question. Even if a new logic comes up, your strong basics will help you figure it out.

Mathematical Reasoning: Numbers and Logic

Mathematical Reasoning, also called Quant-based Reasoning or Numerical Reasoning, has become a growing trend in CAT DILR. There have been 36 questions from this category.

These questions definitely appear on the exam. A common example is Sudoku-like puzzles, where you fill tables using number logic.

These questions combine puzzles with number concepts. Unlike other puzzles, which often provide plentiful clues, Mathematical Reasoning often provides very few instructions.

You must develop the main logic yourself, using your knowledge of number systems. This means understanding:

• Even and Odd Numbers: Properties and patterns.
• Prime and Composite Numbers: Characteristics and relationships.
• Number of Factors: How many factors a number has.
• Co-primes: Numbers with no common factors other than one.
• LCM and HCF: Least Common Multiple and Highest Common Factor.
• Divisibility Rules: Rules for dividing numbers.

You combine these number concepts with basic puzzle-solving skills like table formation. You then build your own instructions and fill the table.

This section assesses your quantitative reasoning when solving a logical puzzle. It requires both analytical thinking and a solid foundation in number theory.

Conclusion

The DILR section of CAT 2026 can be a high-scoring area with the right preparation. As you enter the final three weeks, a focused and strategic revision plan is essential.

By understanding the weightage of each topic and tackling specific question types in your DILR Prep for CAT, you can significantly boost your performance.

Remember to prioritize topics like Roots and Networks, Venn Diagrams, Mathematical Reasoning, and Games and Tournaments in your final push.

Completing the previous year questions for these areas will build a strong foundation and a sense of accomplishment.

Then, you can revisit the more common topics like Selection and Distribution, Tables and Graphs, and Puzzles and Arrangements.

This balanced approach ensures you cover all important bases. Good luck with your CAT 2026 preparation!