The most frequently asked question by MBA aspirants is how to prepare for CAT? The past trends show that CAT usually tests aspirants on various parameters like general aptitude including Verbal Ability (English), Quant Ability (Mathematics), Logical Reasoning (LR) and Data Interpretation (DI) skills. However, what CAT earlier was known for i.e. its surprise factor, is slowly fading away since the time it has gone online. You can and can’t expect anything in CAT syllabus. It is a bit unpredictable. Therefore, it would be judicious to prepare all sections with equal emphasis as you need to clear individual cut offs too.

The syllabus is easy to understand but difficult to prepare when you need to cram at least 4000+ new vocabulary. It’s just a very common factor with which you need to sit in an exam like CAT. Not only will it help you answer word meanings but will also help you improve your reading comprehension level. Speed reading is one more factor in a time bound test pattern like CAT. Here we discuss each section CAT syllabus for MBA so that you can start preparing.

English/Verbal Ability

Reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, syllogisms, analogies, antonyms and synonyms, fill in the blanks, sentence correction, idioms, etc. are the type of questions mostly seen during the exam.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary questions are set to test your knowledge of word meanings, secondary shades of meaning, usage, idioms and phrases, antonyms, related words, etc. In grammar-based questions, your basic ability to spot and correct grammatical errors if there are any is tested. CAT exam syllabus generally contains questions that test your knowledge of high school level grammar and includes areas like subject-verb agreement, use of modifiers, parallel construction, redundancy, phrasal verbs, use of articles, prepositions, etc. Verbal reasoning is included with a purpose to test your ability to identify relationships or patterns within groups of words or sentences.

CAT Data Interpretation

Under this section you have to interpret and analyse data based on text, tables, graphs (line, area), charts (column, bar, pie), Venn diagram, etc. Sometimes data will be given in many forms such as tables, charts and graphs. In this section it is tested how you can interpret the given data and answer the questions based on it. Combination of two or more types linked to each other is also a common pattern that is followed.

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CAT Logical Reasoning

Clocks, calendars, binary logic, seating arrangement, blood relations, logical sequence, assumption, premise, conclusion, linear and matrix arrangement, etc. are the common types on which questions are based.

Quant

This is a nightmare for most of the students considering the vastness of the CAT 2016 syllabus. The syllabus includes Number Systems, LCM and HCF, Percentages, Profit, Loss and Discount, Interest (Simple and Compound), Speed, Time and Distance, Time and Work, Averages, Ratio and Proportion, Linear Equations, Quadratic Equations, Complex Numbers, Logarithm, Progressions (Sequences & Series), Binomial Theorem, Surds and Indices, Inequalities, Permutation and Combination, Probability, Functions, Set Theory, Mixtures and Allegations, Geometry, Co-ordinate Geometry, Trigonometry, Mensuration.

Special note

It is observed that Algebra and Set Theory are two of the most tested areas now with respect to Quant syllabus for CAT 2016. Other topics such as percentages may not be a part of any direct questions but can be tested in combination with other chapters. So you need to be ready with these topics. Basic understanding of such chapters goes a long way in helping you to crack the CAT Exam.

All the Best!!!

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