VARC (Verbal and Reading Comprehension): How to Prepare for VARC? Tips, Questions And Preparation

Yes, the difficulty level of CAT syllabus is very high as compared to other MBA entrance exams. However, if you prepare well and follow the CAT exam pattern well, you will be able to score well. Besides having an understanding of the CAT syllabus 2024, candidates also need to be well aware of the CAT exam pattern before they start preparing for the exam. The CAT exam pattern was revised in 2021 and the number of questions were reduced from 76 to 66. The structure of CAT 2022 and CAT 2023 was the same. The syllabus is still tougher than other exams.

The most important things to keep in mind are:

1. CAT exam mode is online
2. Each question carries three marks 
3. There is negative marking of minus one mark for wrong attempts

The section-wise distribution of questions and difficulty levels as per the latest CAT exam pattern are listed below:

• Quantitative Ability (QA) - 24 questions, difficulty level - moderate to high 
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) - 20 questions, difficulty level - moderate 
• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) - 22 questions, difficulty level - moderate. to high

The SNAP General English syllabus is similar to that of other MBA entrance exams. It includes passages, Syllogisms, Analogies, Grammar, Antonym-Synonym, One Word Substitution, Similar Sounding Words, Parajumbles and Fill in the Blanks. This is the shortest section of SNAP having only 15 questions. Most of the questions are usually based on English grammar. For the past 2 years, no Reading Comprehension passage is seen in the exam. However, candidates still need to practice Reading Comprehension passages as it has not been completely scrapped. Preparation for the exam as per the SNAP syllabus requires not much time to prepare if your English is strong. But if it is not, then you must start studying English much earlier as developing hold on a language requires time.

VARC is one of the tougher sections of CAT and often poses challenge to test takers. The key to score well in this section is long-term preparation. The CAT question paper is dominated by Reading Comprehension questions, so you can’t be ill prepared for it. The maximum number of passages that you can skip is 1. So, there is no alternative to reading. Developing reading habit is a necessity. You can crack this section if you don’t have the habit of reading. Even parajumble questions require clear comprehension of the theme and sentences to arrange them in a logical passage. Reading also strengthens vocabulary and grammar which forms the remaining part of CAT VARC section.

The CAT VARC section is dominated by RC questions. Out of 24 questions about 14-16 are based on Reading Comprehension passages and the rest of them are based on parajumbles, para completion, etc.

CAT has about 12-16 RC question. In CAT 2022, there were four RC passages each having four questions. The ideal attempt was estimated at 13. Since, it is not mandatory to solve all the questions, candidates can maximize their scores by leaving out the questions related to the passage they find the toughest. There is negative marking in CAT so candidates must ensure that they mark only the correct options or do not mark any option at all.

Those preparing for both CAT and SNAP exam need not prepare separately. CAT and SNAP syllabus are the same so one can prepare for both from the same study material.  However, since the exam pattern and difficulty level of both exams are different from each other, candidates need to devote a good amount of time on exam specific preparation. They must practice SNAP mock tests to understand the test pattern, topic-wise weightage, types of questions and difficulty level of the questions. The biggest difference between SNAP and CAT is the type of questions, so you need to practice sample question for SNAP to know how and what to prepare for it. You also need to know the sectional composition of SNAP, which is different from CAT. SNAP is easier than CAT so a mix of tough and moderate level SNAP sample questions and mock tests will be adequate for preparation. 

In XAT, Reading Comprehension passages are usually taken from Philosophy, Psychology, History, Art, research articles. Sometime, the XAT RC section also has poems. These areas are chosen to test the candidates, who are largely Science, Commerce and Engineering graduates, on their ability to come out of their comfort zone and adapt to unfamiliar situations. Out of 26 questions, about 14-16 questions are based on RC passages or a poem. Candidates must target solving about 10 questions accurately to score well. XAT has negative marking so do not mark an option as your answer if you are not 100 percent sure of it.

Ideally, XAT preparation takes six to nine months, but if candidates have prepared for CAT too, XAT preparation can be done in lesser time as one will have to only work on Decision Making and General Knowledge topics. Those who are weak in English Comprehension must start reading practice early on. The ideal time to start XAT preparation is May, so you can cover the whole syllabus by October and dedicate two months to mock test practice.

If you start studying for XAT late, by July or so, make sure you complete the syllabus by October only. Remember that XAT syllabus is tough, so you’ll need to study at least 6-8 hours daily from start until the end. Give ample time to yourself to complete the XAT syllabus.

MAT exam has five important sections - Mathematical Skills, Language Comprehension, Intelligence and Critical Reasoning, Data Analysis and Sufficiency, Mathematical Skills and Indian and Global Environment. Each section carries 40 questions each. Given below are the important topics from which questions are asked in MAT. 

• Language Comprehension - Verb, Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Adverb, Antonyms and Synonyms, Reading Comprehension, Parts of Speech, One Word Substitution, Vocabulary, Sentence Correction, Idioms/Phrases, Grammar, Fill the Blanks, Para Jumbles and Verbal Ability.
• Intelligence and Critical Reasoning - Family Tree, Strong Arguments and Weak Arguments, Multi-Dimensional Arrangements, Course of Action, Puzzles, Visual Reasoning, Arrangement, Series, Numeric Grid, Pie Chart, Blood Relations, Critical Reasoning, Calendars, Coding and Decoding, Syllogisms, Statement Conclusions, Column Graphs and Graphs Representing Area.
• Data Analysis and Sufficiency - Tables, Pie Charts, Caselet-based Data Charts, Graphs - Line X-Y Graphs, Venn Diagram, Bar Diagrams, Data Analysis and Data Comparison and Data Sufficiency Mathematical Skills- LCM and HCF, Commercial Maths Complex Numbers, Percentages, Permutation and Combinations, Binomial Theorem, and more.

Section C of MICAT exam is the Aptitude Test with four sub sections. Candidates who have prepared for CAT or other MBA entrance exams will have a clear foundation to ace the competitive exam. Four sections of the MICAT aptitude test include 

• Verbal Ability (VA)
• Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation (QA & DA)
• General Awareness (GA)
• Divergent-Convergent Reasoning (DCR)

Several MBA entrance exams have a similar section structure. However, some may not have a General Awareness section, while some may have an additional section. Candidates must go through the topics covered under all the sub sections of MICAT Section-C to get a clear understanding of their preparation stage.

Yes, XAT is slightly tougher for candidates with non-Engineering background as the Quantitative Aptitude section is of higher difficulty level. However, they can crack it if they work on the fundamentals of Math and practice questions of all difficulty levels. It will take time but they will be able to crack XAT's quant section if they dedicate extra hours to it. Aspirants can find XAT study material online in various online study groups. Students’ groups on Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. share study material with each other. One can also download MBA exam preparation apps to get relevant and useful study material.

The good part about XAT is that, it has different cut offs for candidates belonging to different academic backgrounds. As part of its commitment to academic diversity, the institute has lower cut offs for candidates from non-engineering background than candidates from engineering background.

To develop reading habit, one should start reading books and newspapers every day for at least one hour daily from at least six to eight months before the exam. Ideally, you should start reading books from a year before the entrance exam you are planning to appear for. We say so because, reading depends a lot on one’s interest. You need to first build interest in reading. Candidate who have to habit or interest in reading may not find it too difficult to read 100 pages every day, but those who have no interest in reading will have to develop it. So, start reading early on and read a variety of books. Start will books having easy language, once you develop interest and speed, move to books with tough English.

To prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, stick to the traditional path of concepts first and practice later. Study English grammar and Verbal Ability first to understand the concept. Then practice a number of sample questions of different kinds to gain confidence, speed and accuracy. For RC passages, develop the habit of reading from early stages. Read books from all walks of life.

Practicing sample Reading Comprehension passages and questions in a crucial part of VARC preparation. This will help you understand the types of questions and RC passages asked in various entrance exams.

As an aspirant, you will be appearing for more than one entrance exam, thus you need to have the practice of different types of RC passages.

Reading Comprehension passages in CAT exam are usually inference based. The topics are usually based on Economy, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences and Current Affairs. There are several types of questions, such as:

• Central theme based questions
• Vocabulary based questions
• Inference based questions
• Title based questions
• Paragraph and Structure based questions
• Tone based questions

The approach to every type of question has to be different depending on their theme. To master this skill, you will need to start preparing for English section of any entrance exam early on. Firstly, you will need to develop reading comprehension speed and skill, secondly, you will have to practice sample RC passages of different types to understand the difference in approach.

Candidates preparing for SNAP exam must study all the topics included in the SNAP syllabus i.e. General English and Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency and Analytical and Logical Reasoning.

Some of the important topics of SNAP General English section are Passages, Syllogisms, Analogies, Grammar, Antonym-Synonym, One Word Substitution, Similar Sounding Words, Parajumbles and Fill in the Blanks.

Some of the important topics of SNAP Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency section are Trigonometry, Geometry, Algebra, Ratio and Proportion, Percentages, Partnership, Time-Speed-Distance and Data Interpretation.

Some of the important topics of SNAP Analytical and Logical Reasoning are Column Graphs, Pie Chart, Coding and Decoding and Puzzles.

SNAP aspirants must focus on these topics during exam preparation to score well. Most of the questions will be asked from these topics only.

Candidates must read books on economy, philosophy, science, astronomy, psychology, sociology, history, geography, psychoanalysis, economics, astronomy, art & culture, literature, fiction novels, auto-biographies and biographies. Most of the passages that appear in any MBA entrance exam are based on these topics. The RC passages length may vary but most of the times the language is tough with foreign words and expressions or a good amount of data.

It is also recommended to candidates to read research papers, survey reports, etc. to have the practice of understanding and relating data in a quick read. Always refer to dictionary for word meanings while reading books.

XAT question paper is similar to other MBA entrance exams, i.e. it has a limited number of MCQs. Check the table below for th pattern of XAT question paper 2025:

Candidates must check out previous years' XAT question papers to have an understanding of the paper pattern, topic-wise weightage and types of questions.  These official XAT question papers are available in PDF format for free download. They can download the question paper PDFs for practicing XAT questions.

It depends upon each candidate which section of XAT exam paper they find lengthy. It also depends on the questions chosen for the exam in that particular year. However, it has been seen that Data Interpretation questions are usually lengthy. Overall, the Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section has the maximum number of questions i.e. 28 and candidates have to solve at least 22-24 questions to meet the desired cut off. So, this section may appear lengthy to the candidate. 

To some candidates, the Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning section appears to be lengthy, because of dense reading comprehension passages and reasoning questions based on analogy, series, etc. The fact that both these sections are from the Part 1 of the XAT exam which is of 175 minutes makes it manageable as along with Decision Making, one can solve a decent number of QA-DI and VA-LR questions in 175 minutes.

The VARC section of any MBA entrance exam or a competitive exam typically comprises MCQs based on Grammatical concepts like tenses, articles, noun/pronoun, conjunctions, subject-verb agreement; Verbal Ability questions on word meaning, one-word substitution, fill in the blanks, parajumbles, para completion, antonyms/synonyms, etc. Apart from these, every VARC section has reading comprehension passages of 300 to 900 words. Candidates have to answer questions based on these passages.

In MBA entrances exams, you will find RC passages dominating CAT, XAT, IIFT, NMAT, GMAT, whereas there will be less of them MAT, CMAT, ATMA. In SNAP there is no RC passages anymore.

Best books for VARC preparation are Word Power Made Easy by Normal Lewis and High School English Grammar by Wren & Martin. Apart from these two books, students must refer to practice books such as,  How To Prepare For Verbal Ability And Reading Comprehension For CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay,  The Pearson Guide to Verbal Ability for the CAT and Other MBA Entrance Examinations by Sujit Kumar and The Pearson Guide to Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha.

These books are recommended for all the MBA entrance exams as well as other competitive exams.

No, it is not true that someone who is weak in English can’t score well in Verbal Ability. If one works hard and prepares well for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, they can score well in the section. One only needs to have the drive and discipline. They will require to start preparation for this subject earlier than those who have a good command over the language. Start reading books and novels. Keep a dictionary and mark the difficult words. Make notes of common idioms and phrases. Revise word meaning and concepts of Grammar every alternate day. Practice questions and mock tests.

It is necessary to practice sample questions for preparation of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension because all the MBA entrance exams are speed based test and there is just about minute allotted to each question. By practicing sample questions, you will get the practice of reading 600 plus words passages quickly, develop speed and accuracy in solving question and learn the skill to choose which question to answer and which one to skip to avoid negative marking.

Practicing sample questions will also give you prior experience of different types of Reading Comprehension questions of different exams. Remember that same preparation formula cannot be applied to all entrance exams.