CAT syllabus 2018 – The key to success in CAT exam is understanding the CAT syllabus and exam pattern. The syllabus of CAT includes Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC).
To prepare well in these subjects, candidates must take help from CAT previous year question papers, mock test series and topics compiled by experts.
CAT 2018 exam will be conduct on November 25, 2018 in two sessions: morning and afternoon. The morning session was held from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and the afternoon session was from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Before we proceed to describe syllabus of CAT 2018, let’s take a look at the exam pattern of CAT. CAT exam will be conducted in online mode and each section will be allotted 60 minutes. Total number of questions in CAT exam paper will be 100, carrying 3 marks each.
Here’s the pattern of CAT 2018 question paper
| Section | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 34 | 60 minutes |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 32 | 60 minutes |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 34 | 60 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 180
|
Overview of CAT syllabus 2018
CAT candidate must pay extra attention on the main topics of QA, DILR and VARC while preparing from CAT exam syllabus.
| Sections | Important Topics |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | Number System, Geometry, Algebra, Mensuration, Time and Work |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | Seating Arrangement, Blood Relation, Syllogism, Tables, Graphs, Data Caselets |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | Para-jumbles & para-summary, sentence completion, inferences, RC passages based questions. |
Take a look at topics of CAT 2018 syllabus that the candidates need to prepare to perform well in the CAT exam.
1. CAT Syllabus for Mathematics or Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
| Geometry | HCF & LCM | Averages |
| Trigonometry | Algebra | Partnership (Accounts) |
| Mensuration | Profit & Loss | Time-Speed-Distance |
| Ratios and Proportion | In-equations Quadratic and linear equations | Surds and Indices |
| Number system | Geometric Progression | Inequalities |
| Work and time | Percentages | Logarithms |
Best Books for CAT Mathematics or Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
| Books for CAT | Author Name/Publisher |
| CAT 2018 Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | Gautam Puri |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT | Nishit K. Sinha |
| Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency | Ananta Ashisha |
| How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT | Arun Sharma |
2. CAT Syllabus for English or Verbal Section
| Fill in the blanks | Verbal Reasoning | Sentence completion |
| Grammar | Syllogisms | Jumbled paragraphs |
| Para Completion and inference | Contextual usage | Foreign language words used in English |
| Reading Comprehension | Analogies | Sentence correction |
| Verbal Logic | Different usage of same word | Idioms |
| Parajumbles | Antonyms | One word substitution |
Best Books for CAT Exam Verbal Section
| Books for CAT Exam | Author Name/ Publisher |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay/Arihant |
| 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary Mass Market Paperback | Wilfred Funk & Norman Lewis/ Simon & Schuster |
| How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT | Sharma and Upadhyay |
| PSC for VA for CAT | Nishit Sinha |
3. CAT Syllabus for Analytical Reasoning Section
| Blood Relations | Series | Proposition |
| Direction Sense | Coding-Decoding | Assumptions |
| Puzzles | Clocks and Calendars | Statements |
| Data Arrangement | Family Tree | Binary Logic |
| Seating Arrangement | Venn Diagram | Sets |
| Data Structures | Syllogism |
4. Data Interpretation Section
In CAT syllabus for Data Interpretation, problems related to organised and unorganised data are quite common. Core topics in this section are:
| Tables | Pie Charts | Caselets |
| Bars | Line Graphs | Data Sufficiency |
Best Books for CAT Exam Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Preparation
| Books for CAT | Author Name/Publisher |
| CAT 2018 Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | Gautam Puri |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT | Nishit K. Sinha |
| Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency | Ananta Ashisha |
| How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT | Arun Sharma |
To perform well in CAT exam, it is not enough to understand each topic of CAT syllabus only. CAT exam preparation is incomplete without attempting mock test series. Attempting mock test series, not only improves speed and accuracy of the candidate, but also provides him/her the confidence to handle any kind of question.
