Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) preparation for CAT Exam requires clarity about the topics to be covered as per the CAT syllabus, kinds of questions asked, regular practice, and more. BYJU'S Exam Prep experts have curated a result-oriented Preparation Plan for CAT VARC sections.
CAT VARC Syllabus 2021
Before checking out the preparation strategy, students must know the syllabus and exam pattern for CAT 2021. In the VARC syllabus, Verbal Ability (VA) is where the student's focus should be. It constitutes 33% of the questions in CAT Exams 2021. The weightage for the same is 34%.
The VARC Syllabus of CAT 2021 has 3 broad categories:
- Reading Comprehension: This section has an approximate weightage of 70%, and the topics could be anything from abstract to scientific.
- Para Jumbles: The student must answer MCQs (objective) and fill in the blanks (subjective) in this section. It carries a marks weightage of 10%. Beware of the negative marking for this section.
- Para Summary: The student can score a minimum of 10 marks, and it carries a weightage of 7%.
VARC Syllabus Topics (As per past Trends)
- Para Jumbles
- Reading Comprehension
- Sentence completion
- Odd One Out
Check how to prepare for CAT VARC Section
VARC Exam Pattern- Difficulty Level of Verbal Ability Section of CAT
The Verbal Ability paper has approximately 34 questions, and the duration of the exam is 60 minutes. For certain sections, there is a negative marking of 1 mark per incorrect answer. The difficulty level is moderate to high.
Check the detailed overview of the CAT VARC exam pattern.
| CAT VARC Section | - Exam Pattern |
| Particulars | Details |
| Time Duration per section for VARC | Pwd - 53 minutes and 20 seconds Others - 40 Minutes for other |
| Question Type | MCQs and TITA Questions (Both) |
| Marking Scheme for MCQs | Correct +3 marks Incorrect -1 mark Unattempted o marks |
| Marking Scheme for TITA Questions | No negative marking |
| Difficulty Level | Moderately High |
Download CAT Question Paper to practice regularly and be exam ready.
CAT VARC Preparation - Vocabulary
What to Expect
The student may be asked to complete incomplete sentences and have CLOZE tests to check their command over the language. The CAT exam will test you with synonyms and antonyms, spelling, analogies, inappropriate words, and odd words.
CAT Exam Strategy for Vocabulary
To tackle these questions, students must have excellent reading skills, a combination of reasoning power, and great vocabulary. Being fluent in the language is insufficient. To crack this paper, you need to know how to use a suitable word in a given context.
For instance, four words may be given, which may mean almost the same. Thus, finding the odd words would be extremely difficult. The student must have excellent knowledge and understanding to notice the slight difference to recognize the odd one.
Example
Though all competitive exams do not allow using a calculator, but where they are permitted, there are restrictions on the models allowed.
- Though all competitive exams do not allow using calculators,
- Not all competitive exams allow the use of a calculator,
- Every competitive exam does not allow using of calculators,
- No correction required
The correct answer is B.
- The question asks for a grammatically correct answer. The exception is stated, with a 'but' in the sentence in the first part contradicting the 'though'. That is why A is incorrect.
- The second question to be reasoned here is what is not permitted by competitive exams. The answer is the use of a calculator. That is why using calculators would be incorrect.
- The term 'every' is also contradictory as it implies the entire group discussed and not a section of it in the sentence. The message to be conveyed is that a section permits the use of calculators. That is why 'every' gives a wrong message and is grammatically incorrect.
Option B conveys the message, and that is why it is the correct option.
Best Approach to solve CAT Vocabulary questions
The etymology approach is excellent for improving vocabulary. Understand the word by referring to its root meaning, the suffixes, and prefixes to have command over your vocabulary.
You can develop vocabulary skills by mastering connotations and colloquial usage to use them in appropriate contexts.
Check the best books for CAT Exam preparation.
CAT VARC Preparation - Grammar
The right approach to learning grammar is knowing the rules, parts of speech, and their usage. That, however, is time-consuming.
The other option is to learn based on previous question papers. Learn how to correct a given sentence by identifying errors. Such a practice helps in the easy detection of errors to aid the student in tackling VARC.
Questions relating to Para Jumbles, Summary, Logical Continuation, and RC paper are easy to handle with sound grammar.
The knowledge of grammar helps eliminate unnecessary options and get to the correct answer quickly. Error detection, word usage, fill in the blanks, and sentence correction can be easily attempted by students with good grammar.
CAT VARC Preparation - Reading Comprehension
The weapon to overcome the hurdle named VARC is reading comprehension skills.
The skill may be developed by reading the newspaper daily. The diverse topics are an aid in improving vocabulary. Mark unknown words and learn pronunciation, usage in varied contexts, synonyms, and antonyms. Retain them by using them in conversation.
Continue to increase the speed of reading by checking just how many you can read in a minute.
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