CAT: CAT 2020 Syllabus

CAT Syllabus for Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension: Expected Topics

CAT Verbal Ability is one area which has seen the maximum change in topics and structure over the last three years. Going by the topics that appeared in the CAT 2019 exam, you need to prepare for the following important topics:

• Reading Comprehension: Out of the 34 questions in the exam, 24 questions were from this area.
• Paragraph Summary: This is another area which has gained prominence over the last couple of years.
• Para-jumbles & Misfit Sentences: These two topics have become a regular in the exam over the last couple of years.

If you look at the above topics, you should be able to notice the absence of a significant number of topics. Remember, the CAT syllabus is not set in stone and this means you should prepare for topics which have been a part of the exam over the last few years. CAT Syllabus covered all the important topics that have appeared in the last few years are:

• Critical Reasoning
• Paragraph Completion
• Grammar & Usage (including questions based on common Grammar errors, Confusing Words, & Phrasal Verbs)
• Vocabulary based questions (mainly Fill in the blanks).

There are some other topics in Verbal Ability which you should cover. These topics are important from the standpoint of other MBA entrance exams:

• Vocabulary Topics: Synonym-Antonym based questions, Cloze Passage, Analogies or Reverse Analogies, Meaning-Usage Match, Idioms and Phrases, Secondary Shades of Meaning, Usage, Associated words, Antonyms, etc.
• Verbal Reasoning: Fact-Inference-Judgement
• Grammar: Sentence Correction

Remember, Grammar-based questions test the candidate’s capability to mark and correct grammatical errors. CAT generally tests knowledge of high school level grammar and includes areas like use of articles, prepositions, use of modifiers, subject-verb agreement, parallel construction, phrasal verbs, redundancy etc.

CAT Syllabus for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

• Caselets, Tables, Bar Graphs, Column Graphs, Line Charts, Venn Diagrams, Pie Charts, Combination of two or more types linked to each other
• Games & Tournaments, Number and Letter Series, Calendars; Cubes, Clocks, Venn Diagrams, Binary Logic, Seating Arrangement; Syllogism; Logical Matching; Logical Sequence; Logical Connectives; Blood Relations.

CAT Syllabus for Quantitative Ability

• Number Systems; LCM and HCF; Profit, Loss and Discount; Percentages; Speed, Time and Distance; Time and Work; Simple and Compound Interest ; Ratio and Proportion; Averages; Quadratic Equations; Linear Equations; Complex Numbers; Logarithm; Binomial Theorem; Sequences and Series; Surds and Indices; Inequalities; Probability; Permutation and Combination; Set Theory; Functions; Geometry; Mixtures and Alligations; Trigonometry; Coordinate Geometry; and Mensuration.