Preparing for VARC (Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning) section of CAT 2025 requires consistent reading, sharp comprehensive skills, and a slod grasp of vocabulary and grammar. Since this section can be scoring yet tricky, its essential to build a strong reading habit and practice different types of questions regularly. Here’s a strategy-driven guide to follow and gain CAT Preparation tips for VARC 2025.
CAT 2025 VARC Exam Pattern
| PARTICULARS | DETAILS |
|---|---|
|
Total Questions
|
24
|
|
Time Duration
|
40 Minutes
|
|
No. of MCQs
|
21
|
|
No. of TITA
|
3
|
|
No. Of RCs
|
4 Passages
|
|
Verbal Questions
|
8
|
|
Marking
|
+3 for correct answers
-1 for incorrect answers
No negative for TITA
|
CAT 2025 VARC Syllabus
- The VARC section of CAT exam plays and essential role in measuring a candidate’s command over language and comprehension abilities.
- Having a clear understanding of VARC syllabus is highly essential for candidates to score well in this section.
- Mastering the topics of VARC can significantly boost overall performance in the CAT exam.
CAT 2025 Focus Areas
- The CAT VARC syllabus includes a wide range of topics that are designed to measure candidates’ language proficiency and comprehension skills.
- Reading comprehension is the core component, measuring the ability to understand and comprehend the passages of diverse topics.
- A solid grasp and foundation are essential for constructing correct and clear sentences.
- A strong vocabulary helps in building up the ability to comprehend complex readings and articulating thoughts precisely.
- Verbal reasoning is also important allowing candidates to evaluate arguments and make logical conclusions.
- For a better overview, candidates can go thought the below table:
| CAT 2025 VARC SYLLABUS | QUESTION NUMBERS | DIFFICULTY LEVEL |
|---|---|---|
|
Reading Comprehension
|
16
|
Moderate to Difficult
|
|
VA-Para Jumbles
|
3
|
Moderate to Difficult
|
|
VA-Odd Sentences
|
2
|
Easy to Moderate
|
|
VA-Summary
|
3
|
Easy to Moderate
|
|
Total
|
24
|
Moderate to Difficult
|
Also read, How to Start CAT Preparation for Beginners
CAT 2025 VARC Preparation Tips
Understanding the distinct approach required for VARC and other sections
Different nature of VARC
Unlike QA, DILR, which have well-defined topics and can be mastered through structured practice, short tricks, the VARC section is more abstract and less predictable.
Challenges in verbal preparation
Reading comprehension passages don’t always benefit from speed reding and may contain traps.
Topics like sentence formation, para jumbles lack standard methods.
Though practice is highly essential, the returns from this section is challenging.
Reading is a game changer
RC dominates VARC
Around one-third of VARC comprises of reading comprehension around 16 questions.
Focus on deeper understanding
Success in RC depends on full meaning and underlying themes of complex passages.
Building reading stamina
Regular reading build and improves mental endurance, making it easier to tackle challenging passages without fatigue.
Mastering Option Evaluation
Thorough comparison is the key
Carefully read all the answers and compare all before choosing appropriate one.
Contextual analysis
Evaluate each of the option against the passages context and look for minor yet crucial differences.
Critical thinking boosts accuracy
A careful and analytical approach to options improves the chances of selecting the correct answer.
Importance of Sectional and Mock tests
Stimulate real exam conditions
Taking timed tests helps in building up familiarity with pressure during exam time.
Identify strengths and weaknesses
Detailed performance analysis after mocks helps to identify areas of improvement.
Boost Confidence
Regular testing builds exam temperament and confidence
CAT 2025 VARC Preparation Strategy: Topic-Wise
Reading Comprehension
- Read Consistently: Dedicate at least 30-45 minutes dedicatedly to reading a variety of content such as magazines, newspapers, journals, and online articles to enhance comprehension and reading speed.
- Practice Active Reading: After reading each paragraph, jot down the main idea, inferences, or arguments in 1-2 lines. This helps in maintaining the flow of passage and keeps focus sharp.
- Work on RC questions: Habituate yourself with regularly practicing reading comprehension questions from past CAT papers and other resources to get familiar with questions patterns and boost the accuracy level.
- Focus on Time Management: During practice, train yourself to complete each RC passage within a short span of 10 minutes to develop the ability to read, comprehend and answer under timed conditions.
Para Jumbles
- Grasp the logical structure: Focus on how the sentences are logically connected to each other to build a clear and cohesive paragraph.
- Spot the Topic sentence: identify the sentences that sets the tone or introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
- Notice the transition words: Pay attention to words and phrases that signa the order or relation ship between ideas, as they help track the flow of paragraph.
- Sharpen logical sequencing skills: Enhance your reasoning ability to determine the correct order of sentence to develop a natural flow of paragraph.
Odd Sentences Out
- Spot the odd sentences: Train yourself to recognize the sentences that breaks the logical flow or doesn’t align with the central theme of paragraph.
- Understand the context: Evaluate how each sentence fits within the overall context and contributes to the paragraph’s coherence.
- Detect inconsistencies: Look out for any of the ideas or statements that are causing conflicts and set sentence apart from rest.
- Apply Logical thinking: Strengthen your deduction skills to identify the sentences that disrupts the logical sequence or subject matter.
- Practice Regularly: Work on odd-one out sentences questions from variety of sources to get comfortable with different formats and sharpen your accuracy.
Para-Summary
- Grasp the central theme: Focus on capturing the core idea or overall message of the passage.
- Highlight Essential Details: Identify the main arguments, significant points, supporting facts discussed in the texts.
- Summarize effectively: Practice writing the passage in your own words while preserving its key message and meaning.
- Enhance summary skills: Consistently work on summarizing content from different sources to improve clarity.
CAT 2025 VARC Best Resources
To strengthen skills in Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning section, exposure to quality content and consistent practice is the key. Here’s how you can approach:
Read quality articles daily
Dedicate at least 45 minutes daily to reading articles from a wide range of genres and topics. This will enhance reading speed and improve ability to comprehend well by diving deep into variety of topics such as economics, environment, philosophy, psychology, literature etc.
Top reading resources are: The Hindu, Aeon, Financial Express, The Guardian
Train your mind to process complex texts
Focus on understanding intent, authors tone, central idea, structure of every passage or article you refer too.
Practice previous year CAT RCs to get better idea
Get used to exam pattern by solving past year CAT exam papers
Pro tip: Practice RCs within time constraints to improve speed and accuracy.
Make Notes while reading
Summarize each passage in 3-4 lines. This helps in understanding and improves retention.
Attempt CAT Daily targets
Regular RC practice keeps your momentum going and helps to identify strong and weak areas with VARC
Revisit and review difficult passages again
Go and revisit the difficult passages that are confusing and identify the committed mistakes which is the key to improvement.
Focus on inference skills and vocabulary
Learn new words daily and practice drawing logical conclusion
Conclusion
- VARC preparation demands a unique strategy-focused more on comprehension and critical thinking rather than formulas.
- Engaging in diverse content, developing reading habits, and refining analytical skills are highly essential.
- Ultimately, success in VARC comes for understanding rather than memorizing.
FAQS CAT Preparation Tips for VARC 2025
To get 99 percentile check reading speed, develop good comprehension skills, maintain accuracy, develop time management skills and practice more.
The difficulty level of VARC section cannot be determined but it generally falls between moderate and difficult. The VARC section includes 24 questions, out of which 16 questions are of Reading comprehension rest are based on verbal ability.
How to prepare for verbal ability and Logical Reasoning Comprehension by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Updahyay is best book for CAT VARC.
