The VARC section of CAT 2024 continued its recent tradition of being conceptually RC-heavy, with moderate Verbal Ability (VA) and plenty of traps in answer choices. The key differentiator, once again, was accuracy in reading and elimination.
🧠 Overview of VARC 2024
- Total Questions: 24
- Reading Comprehension (RC): 16 Qs (4 passages × 4 Qs each)
- Verbal Ability (VA): 8 Qs (Para-summary, Para-jumbles, Odd One Out)
- TITA: Most VA questions were TITA
- Overall Difficulty:
- Slot 1: Moderate to Tough
- Slot 2: Moderate
- Slot 3: Easy to Moderate
SLOT-WISE VERBAL ANALYSIS
📌CAT 2024 – Slot 1: Moderate to Tough
📚 RC Breakdown:
- RCs were dense and abstract—topics from sociology, psychology, ecology, and AI ethics.
- Options were close and confusing, with 2–3 answer choices often seeming correct.
- No direct inference questions—all required careful reading + elimination.
✍️ VA Breakdown:
- 2 Para-jumbles (TITA): Moderate, 4–5 sentence types
- 2 Para-summaries (MCQ): Tricky—close options
- 2 Odd One Out: Abstract arguments
🔍 Key Observations:
- RC passages were wordy and idea-dense (~500–600 words each).
- Para-summary questions had subtle shifts in tone and detail.
- Many reported low accuracy despite “feeling good” during the section.
🎯 Good Attempts: 16–18
✅ Good Score: 36–40
📌 CAT 2024 – Slot 2: Moderate
📚 RC Breakdown:
- One passage on economics and inflation, another on evolutionary biology, a third on media influence, and one on AI & cognition.
- Medium length (~450–550 words); questions required detail-based understanding.
- Some direct inference + main idea questions provided relief.
✍️ VA Breakdown:
- 3 Para-jumbles (TITA): Moderate
- 2 Para-summaries: One easy, one tricky
- 1 Odd One Out: Easy
🔍 Key Observations:
- RC was more balanced—neither too factual nor too abstract.
- VA section was manageable, especially for those familiar with structure-based solving.
- High ROI possible for those with reading habits.
🎯 Good Attempts: 18–20
✅ Good Score: 40–45
📌 CAT 2024 – Slot 3: Easy to Moderate
📚 RC Breakdown:
- Topics included history of architecture, digital privacy, climate narratives, and psychology of habits.
- Passages were readable and shorter (~400–500 words).
- Questions were more direct, with fewer traps.
✍️ VA Breakdown:
- 2 Para-jumbles (TITA): Easy
- 2 Para-summaries: Direct and answerable
- 2 Odd One Out: Moderate
🔍 Key Observations:
- Reading speed helped a lot in this slot.
- Many students finished with 2–3 minutes to spare.
- Ideal slot for those confident in reading comprehension.
🎯 Good Attempts: 20–22
✅ Good Score: 45–50
📊 Comparative Snapshot
Feature | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
Overall Difficulty | Moderate to Tough | Moderate | Easy to Moderate |
RC Tone | Abstract, dense | Balanced | Easy & factual |
VA Difficulty | Moderate | Easy–Moderate | Easy |
Good Attempts | 16–18 | 18–20 | 20–22 |
Good Score (Raw) | 36–40 | 40–45 | 45–50 |
🔑 What CAT 2025 Aspirants Should Learn
- RC is Still the King
RC makes up 66% of the section. Practicing with a mix of abstract and factual articles is key.
- Tone & Inference Mastery
Trap options test your understanding of tone, scope, and logical flow—not just facts.
- Practice with TITA Para-jumbles
Accuracy in TITA comes only through muscle memory—solve 100+ PJs before October.
- Make Reading a Daily Habit
Read articles from Aeon, NYT, The Guardian, The Hindu, Eon, Nautilus, and JSTOR to simulate CAT-style RCs.
- Mock Smartly, Not Just Hard
Analyze not just the questions you got wrong, but also the ones you got right for the wrong reason.
Here’s a complete, month-wise preparation plan for CAT 2025 – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), aligned with CAT 2024 trends and smart strategy:
📅 CAT 2025 VARC Preparation Plan (June–November)
Target: 98+ percentile with strong RC and VA accuracy
✅ JUNE – Foundation Phase
Goals: Build reading habits, understand CAT VARC structure, and begin light practice.
📚 Focus Areas:
- Read 1 long article daily (700–1000 words)
- Topics: Philosophy, Psychology, Economics, Environment, Sociology
- Learn question types: Main idea, inference, tone, summary
📝 Practice:
- 2 RCs/week from previous CAT papers
- 5 Para-jumbles and 2 Para-summary questions/week
- Start a “Words in Context” vocabulary journal
✅ JULY – RC Skills + VA Foundations
Goals: Strengthen comprehension and start solving VA seriously
📚 RC Focus:
- RC Strategy: Elimination > Selection
- Practice 3 RCs/week: Time-bound (12–15 mins each)
- Learn to identify:
- Author’s tone
- Main argument
- Contradictions and comparisons
✍️ VA Focus:
- Para-jumbles (4-sentence, 5-sentence) – 20/week
- Para-summary – 10/week
- Odd One Out – 5/week
✅ AUGUST – Accuracy Building Phase
Goals: Balance speed with comprehension, increase exposure to TITA formats
📚 RC Focus:
- 4 RCs/week from mock level material
- Practice: Inference-based, assumption, tone, application Qs
- Track accuracy using RC logs (create error tracker)
✍️ VA Focus:
- Time-bound VA sets: 6–8 Qs in 20 mins
- Deep analysis of confusing questions
- Reinforce grammar intuitively (through reading, not rules)
✅ SEPTEMBER – Mock Integration Phase
Goals: Shift from practice to simulated testing
🧪 Mock Strategy:
- Full 40-min VARC sections twice a week
- 1 Full-length CAT mock/week
- Analyze:
- % accuracy
- Qs skipped
- Trap choices
📚 RC:
- 5 RCs/week from past CATs + mock-level
- Use time blocks: 30 mins = 2 RCs
✍️ VA:
- Focus on difficult para-summaries & odd-one-outs
- Maintain TITA question logs
- Practice VA under sectionals
✅ OCTOBER – Final Refinement
Goals: Fix weak zones, improve test temperament
🧠 What to Do:
- 3 mocks/week with full VARC analysis
- RCs: Push reading speed to 250–300 wpm
- VA: Solve past 5 years’ actual CAT VA questions
- Analyze incorrect TITA logic
✅ NOVEMBER – Exam Temperament + Micro-Focus
Goals: Maximize performance in 40 mins
🧪 Weekly Routine:
- 4 sectionals (VARC) + 3 full CAT mocks
- Revise RC themes and tone vocabulary
- Practice RCs across slots (CAT 2023, 2024)
✍️ Additional Tools
Tool/Activity | Frequency |
Read newspapers/articles | Daily (45 mins) |
Maintain vocab/context log | 3x/week |
Revise VA errors | Weekly |
VARC Group Discussions | Weekly (1 hr) |
📚 Recommended Reading Sources
Source | Focus |
The Hindu (editorials) | Tone, structure, Indian context |
Aeon / Eon | Philosophy, Psychology |
NYT / The Guardian | Global issues, Opinion pieces |
JSTOR Daily | Abstract RC practice |
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CAT 2025 Magic Toolkit