CAT preparation 2020: VARC syllabus and important books

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section of CAT exam comprises 34 questions. Candidates need to attempt it in 60 minutes.

CAT 2020 will be conducted in the last week of November (tentatively November 29), which means candidates have just over five and a half months to prepare for the exam.

Most students find either Quant or Reasoning tough and spend most of their CAT preparation time on these and neglect VARC section. Now as we all know CAT is divided into three sections and it is extremely important to score well in all the sections to get a good overall percentile. It will be suicidal to not pay equal attention on the VARC section.

To guide candidates in preparation of VARC, Shiksha has complied a few tips and books for reference.

In CAT 2020 exam, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section will be the first section having 34 questions. Candidates need to attempt it in 60 minutes.

Ideally, candidates should finish VARC syllabus by October end and focus on mocks in the month of November. One needs to create a solid preparation plan as soon as possible and stick to it. Create this plan keeping in mind your strengths and weakness in VARC. Spend at least three hours a day for CAT preparation. That’ll give you about 350 hours before CAT 2020 exam day. Out of 350 hours, keep about 100 hours in practicing Mock Tests.

VARC section can be broadly classified into four sub-categories:

• Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Verbal Reasoning
• Reading Comprehension

Best Books for VARC Preparation

Some of the most recommended CAT books for VARC section are mentioned below:

• How To Prepare For Verbal Ability And Reading Comprehension For CAT by Arun Sharma, Meenashi Upadhyay
• The Pearson Guide to Verbal Ability for the CAT and Other MBA Entrance Examinations by Sujit Kumar
• The Pearson Guide to Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
• High School Grammar and Composition Wren and Martin
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis

Also Read: CAT Books - Section wise best books for CAT and secondary reading

CAT Preparation: Section-wise VARC section

Let us look at each VARC section in detail below:

Grammar:

CAT exam generally tests the basic high school level grammar of students. One needs to identify and correct grammatical errors swiftly.

Some of the common concepts that candidates need to prepare are use of subject-verb agreement, articles, prepositions, modifiers, parallel construction, phrasal verbs and redundancy and so on. Candidates may get questions on identifying mistakes in a sentences or sequence of sentence.

Vocabulary:

This part tests a candidate's knowledge of language and lexicon. There can be simple sentence completion (fill-in-the-blanks) or correct/incorrect use of words in a sentence. This section cannot be developed/practiced overnight. Candidates need to develop a regular study habit to score well in this section.

Verbal Reasoning:

Questions related to paragraph formation and paragraph completion are integral in this section of verbal ability. Candidates will have to identify sentence that stands out in a paragraph or deduce summary, or identify the statement that fits the best summary or organise a given set of questions based on the given passage. Deducing such questions is direct application of logic/reasoning. Regular practice will help build proficiency in this area.

Reading Comprehension:

Like vocabulary, RCs can be mastered with regular practice and attempting mocks. One should start reading editorial columns of leading newspapers or good online news and opinion websites. Read at least one dense passage every day and try to summarise it. Do not limit yourself to reading on a particular subject. Read from a diverse set of topics: Politics, science, economics, psychology, environment and so on.

Read More:

• CAT Preparation Plan For VARC

• Make These 7 Guys Your Companion For VARC

• CAT Preparation: Your Love For Reading Can Get You Desired Result

• Common pitfalls to avoid in RC questions
• 10 tips for time management in VARC section