CAT Syllabus 2022, Important topics & Changing trends

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CAT 2022 Syllabus: An Overview

There is a total of 66 questions in the CAT exam but the three sections in the CAT
syllabus carry different weightage in the exam.
Although the CAT syllabus 2022 is divided into 3 sections, the effective number of
sections is five as VARC and DILR sections are further subdivided into 2 sub-
sections.
Despite being very wide, the CAT entrance exam syllabus is neither specifically
defined nor released by IIMs. Instead, IIMs release an official Mock Test which is as
per the forthcoming CAT exam topics and consists of question types that are
expected in the actual CAT Exam.

1. CAT Syllabus for Quantitative Ability (QA): Weightage

Quantitative Ability (QA) is the Mathematics section in the CAT exam. Although
the CAT syllabus for Quant is very wide, the questions and topics in it are of class 10
& 12 standard. Out of 66 questions in the CAT exam, Quant Section in the CAT exam
consists of 22 questions, and 7 questions in the section will be of Non-MCQ type
without carrying a penalty of negative marking.
IIMs have started giving more emphasis on Arithmetic questions in the CAT
entrance exam syllabus to promote diversity. While a maximum of 14-15 questions
is from Arithmetic, the questions on other topics like Algebra, Geometry, and others
are in the range of 3-5. 

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Below shared is the syllabus for the QA portion of the exam:

Arithmetic: Topics under arithmetic will include Number System, HCF, LCM,
Ratio & Proportion, Simplification, Percentage, Average, Age Calculation, Time &
Work, Distance
Algebra: Topics under algebra will include Theory of equations, Quadratic
Equations, Permutation & Combination, Sequence & Series
Geometry: Topics under geometry will include angles, lines, triangles, and circles
Mensuration: Topics under mensuration will include Areas and Volumes-
Rectangle, Squares, Triangle, Circles, Cubes, Cones, Spheres, Pipes, and Cistern
Calculus: Topics under calculus will include Maxima & Minima and Function
Trigonometry: Topics under calculus will include Trigonometric Ratios, Heights
and Distances

2. CAT Syllabus for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR):

Sectional Weightage

CAT 2022 Syllabus for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) is divided into
2 parts:
(i) Data
Interpretation
(ii) Logical Reasoning

DI & LR consists of an equal number of questions and carries a weightage of 32% as

the total questions are 20 out of 66. 
Both the sections have 10 questions each. 
Around 5 questions are of Non-MCQ type which does not have negative marking for
the wrong answer.
Almost all the questions are in sets of 3-4 questions based on each problem. 

Below shared is the syllabus for the DILR portion of the exam:

Data Interpretation: Bar Graph, Line Graph, Pie Chart, Tables, Caselets,
Combination of Graphs, Data Sufficiency, Games, and Tournaments 
Logical Reasoning: Arrangements, Prepositions, Puzzles, Data Arrangement,
Assumptions, Statements, Venn Diagrams, Logical Connectives, Clocks & Calendars,
Logical Matching

3. CAT Syllabus for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC):

Sectional Weightage

The common Admission Test (CAT) syllabus for the VARC section is divided into 2 parts: 

(i) Verbal Ability

(ii) Reading Comprehension 

Total questions in this section are 24 out of which 5 questions are of Non-MCQ type
which does not carry negative marking.

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 The 34% weightage of the VARC syllabus is divided into 24% to RC syllabus and
10% to VA syllabus.
There are 3-4 long and short English Comprehension passages in the VARC section.
6 questions are based on each long passage and 3 questions are based on each
shorter passage. Sometimes a uniform number of 5 questions follows 2 RC passages
and 1 RC Passage is followed by 4 questions. 
Total questions based on Reading Comprehension are 16-18 and are of MCQ type
with negative marking.
The verbal Ability part has individual questions that cover different areas of English
language grammar and usage. The questions are of Non-MCQ type without the
penalty of negative marking. 

Below shared is the syllabus for the VARC portion of the exam:

Reading Comprehension: Inferences, Statements, Arguments, The main idea in

the RC Passage, Author’s assumption
Verbal Ability: Synonyms-antonyms, Meaning of the phrase, Para Summary,
Jumbled paragraphs, Pick Out of Context Sentence, Error Correction in Sentences,
Sequence of sentences, Completion of Paragraph, Analogies, Critical Reasoning,
Sentence Completion, Irrelevant Statements, Vocabulary usage

Changing Trends/Patterns in CAT

The key changes in the exam pattern that have occurred throughout the years are listed in
the table below.

CAT Syllabus & Pattern Changes in CAT

Exam Duration Reduced from 3 to 2 hours

Exam slots Increased from 2 to 3

Total questions Reduced from 100 to 66

Total score Reduced from 300 to 228

Total questions in VARC section Reduced from 34 to 24

Total Questions in DILR section Reduced from 32 to 20

Total Questions in QA section Reduced from 34 to 22

Recent Trends in the QA section of the CAT:

IIMs have started giving more emphasis on Arithmetic questions in the CAT entrance
exam syllabus to promote diversity. While a maximum of 10-14 questions is from
Arithmetic, 8-10 questions are from Algebra, and 3-5 questions are from topics like

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Geometry, Number System, and Modern Math. You can find the number of questions
with their weightage in the exam given below:

Recent Trends in the DILR section of the CAT:

DILR as a section poses many difficulties as it does not have a fixed syllabus. However, 

Recent Trends in the VARC section of the CAT:

For the past few years the VARC syllabus of the CAT focuses on 4 major topics:

Reading Comprehension: Most of this section is made of Reading

Comprehension. Usually, 4 to 5 passages are seen in this section every year and each
passage contains 3 to 6 questions. 
Para Jumbles: There are 2 types of Para jumbles that are generally tested in the
CAT Exam and are a part of the CAT 2022 Syllabus. The normal Para jumbles which
are multiple-choice and the Subjective Para jumbles where the answer needs to be
filled in.
Para Summary: While there are other topics that have been tested in the CAT
Exam, the Para summary topic is tested practically every year and is, therefore, an
immovable part of the CAT 2022 Syllabus.

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 Odd Sentence Out: They are a recent addition to the CAT verbal ability section. It
is very similar to para jumbles. The only difference is that in para jumbles you are
asked to arrange the sentences to form a coherent paragraph, whereas in odd
sentences you are asked to find the sentence that is not a part of the paragraph, thus
the name odd one out.

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