CAT 2022 Syllabus: Get the Latest CAT Exam Syllabus PDF, Topic-wise Weightage, Previous Year Papers

CAT 2022 is scheduled for November 27, 2022. With only two months remaining for the exam, it is important to focus on completing the syllabus and solving sample papers and previous year papers.

CAT exam syllabus comprises three subjects- Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). The question paper for CAT 2022 will be based on all these three subjects.

The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section covers various topics of English Grammar, Reading Comprehension, and Verbal Reasoning. The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) section consists of topics that require analysis of the data presented in the form of Pie Charts, Puzzles, Tables, Statements, and Bar Graphs. The Quantitative Aptitude (QA) section of CAT syllabus includes all the topics from 9th and 10th standard Mathematics such as Arithmetic, Geometry, Trigonometry, Algebra, and Mensuration.

Latest Changes in CAT Syllabus

For the last 10 years, there have been no changes in CAT syllabus. However, the weightage of topics has undergone a few changes in the past few years. The one significant change done in CAT exam pattern is that IIM has reduced the number of questions from 100 to 66 in the last three years (100 in 2019, 76 in 2020, and 66 in 2021). Candidates must check the link to download CAT previous year question papers given in this article.

CAT 2022 Exam Syllabus

CAT 2022 Syllabus includes all the topics from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA) sections. You can get the latest CAT Exam Syllabus PDF on Collegedunia’s exam pages.

CAT Syllabus for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

CAT VARC Syllabus consists of two sections i.e., Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. Around 67% of the questions are from Reading Comprehension, which comprises 4-5 passages, and the remaining 33% are from the Verbal Ability section including Para Summary and Para Jumbles.

The topics that are included in CAT 2022 Syllabus for VARC are Reading Comprehension, English Usage or Grammar, Paragraph Summary, Odd Sentence, Vocabulary Based (Synonyms/ Antonyms), Sentence Correction, Close Passage, Jumbled Paragraph, Fill in the blanks, Analogies or Reverse Analogies, Meaning-Usage Match, Summary Questions, Facts-Inferences-Judgments, Verbal Reasoning.

CAT Syllabus for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Syllabus for CAT is divided into 2 sub-sections- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. The DILR section has an overall weightage of 32% in the CAT exam. CAT DILR covers both MCQ and Non-MCQ type questions. The Logical Reasoning section covers syllabus topics like seating arrangement, games & tournaments, and team formation.

The important topics that are covered under Data Interpretation syllabus for CAT are Tables, Line Chart, Column Graph, Pie Chart, Scatter Plot, Venn Diagram, Radar Chart, Bubble Chart, Routes and Networks, Bar graphs, Data Caselets – Reasoning Based DI.

CAT Syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude

CAT Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Syllabus covers the application of basic concepts of the 10th standard Mathematics syllabus. The questions asked from CAT syllabus for quantitative aptitude are more logic-based and calculation-intensive. Arithmetic covers around 50% of the total questions. The Quantitative Aptitude syllabus includes Number System, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, Calculus, and Trigonometry.

CAT Exam Syllabus: Topic-wise Weightage

Among the three sections, the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) syllabus carries the highest weightage in CAT exam followed by Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning sections. About 24% of CAT questions are asked from the Reading Comprehension topic. The topic-wise weightage of CAT syllabus is given below:

Topics CAT Syllabus Weightage
Reading Comprehension Passages 24%
Arithmetic 17%
Logical Reasoning Sets 16%
Data Interpretation Sets 16%
Verbal Ability (Summary, Odd Sentence Out, Para jumbles) 12%
Geometry, Number System, Mensuration, Modern Math 9%
Algebra 8%

Latest CAT 2022 Exam Pattern

CAT Exam Pattern has been changed several times in the last few years by the conducting IIMs. As per latest changes, CAT is an online exam i.e., a computer-based exam conducted at multiple test centers across the country. The total duration of the CAT exam is now 120 minutes for attempting 66 questions. For each of the three sections, candidates are given 40 minutes. Aspirants need to appear for the exam in English language only.

CAT paper comprises both MCQs and Non-MCQs or TITA-type questions. Each question has three marks. There is also a negative marking for every incorrect answer. For every incorrect answer to an MCQ, one mark is deducted. There is no negative marking for Non-MCQs or TITA-type questions.

CAT Previous Year Papers

CAT Previous Year Papers form an indispensable part of exam preparation. It is beneficial to solve CAT previous year question papers for understanding the difficulty level of the actual paper set by IIMs. Candidates can access CAT Previous Year Papers for the past 30 years (1990-2021) in Collegedunia.com’s CAT exam articles.

CAT exam is one of the toughest exams in the country as its syllabus is very vast and more than 2 lakh candidates apply every year. To ace the exam, a candidate should be well versed and highly prepared with all the syllabus topics that carry high weightage in the exam. Thus, it is very important for an aspirant to understand the complexity level of CAT Syllabus and the topics asked in the exam to make sure that their preparation plan is strategic and result-oriented.