Roadmap to CAT 2024: A Comprehensive

Strategy Guide
Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Cont ent
Updated on Feb 29, 2024 14:08 IST
CAT 2024 preparation strategy - To begin CAT exam preparation, you
must first understand the requirement and target score. Finalise a study
plan before hand. First of all, know the CAT syllabus and question types.
Then, make a monthly strategy. Read here Roadmap to CAT 2024: A
Comprehensive Strategy Guide.

Roadmap to CAT 2024 preparation

It’s time to start planning CAT preparation 2024. The ideal time to start
CAT preparation is March so that you get about 9 months of study time.
To begin with CAT 2024 preparation, f irst understand the requirements.
CAT is a high dif f iculty level exam and requires long hours of study and

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practice. So, will need to make a time table f rom the very beginning.
Whether you’re a graduation student or a working prof essional, you need
to set aside 6-8 hours f or CAT 2024 preparation on daily basis. To help
you prepare f or this national level MBA entrance exam, we have a
comprehensive strategy guide.

Roadmap to CAT 2024: A Comprehensive Strategy

Guide
A comprehensive CAT preparation strategy includes books, study
material, guidance, problem solving sessions and mock tests. If you plan
to join a coaching institute f or CAT preparation 2024, you will be guided
well. But if you plan to prepare by self -study, you will need discipline and
dedication along with a solid CAT preparation strategy.

CAT Syllabus and Exam Pattern

CAT syllabus 2024 includes all important topics of Verbal Ability, Data
Interpretation, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. Unlike other
MBA entrance exams, CAT has no vocabulary or grammar questions. All
the questions in VARC pertain to comprehension – passages, para
jumble, para completion, odd sentence, etc.
Check below the most important topics of CAT syllabus that you need to
f ocus on during the exam preparation.
CAT Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, algebra, arithmetic,
mensuration, trigonometry, modern math.

CAT Data Interpretation: Data structure, data suf f iciency, tables,

pie charts, graphs.

CAT Logical Reasoning: Series, coding-decoding, f amily tree, blood

relation, seating arrangement, assumptions.
CAT VARC: Reading comprehension, f ill in the blanks, para jumble,

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 para completion, odd sentence out

Check below the key highlights of CAT exam pattern. The key to scoring
high in CAT is choosing the right questions to answer and avoid negative
marking.

CAT Exam Pattern 2024

Mode of CAT exam Computer Based Test
120 minutes
Duration of exam
40 minutes per section
Morning: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
CAT exam slots Af ternoon: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Evening: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

Number of questions 66

CAT total marks 198

Language of question paper English
Number of answer choices 4
Question Type MCQ and non-MCQ
+3 f or correct attempt
-1 f or incorrect attempt
Marking scheme 0 f or no answer
No negative marking f or non-
MCQ

CAT Sectional Weightage

CAT VARC has maximum weightage, but since sectional cut of f s are
critical in CAT, you cannot ignore a section with low weightage f or the
section with high weightage. You need to prepare f or every section of the

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CAT 2024 equally well.

Number of Total
Sections Important Topics
questions marks
Parajumbles,
Sentence-Completion,
VARC Reading 24 72
Comprehension, Para-
Summary, Inf erences
Tables, Graphs, Data
Caselets, Blood
Relation, Venn
DILR 20 60
Diagram, Seating
Arrangement and
Syllogism
Percentages, Prof it &
Loss, Simple Interest-
Compound Interest,
Time & Distance,
Averages-Mixtures-
Quantitative Alligations,
Aptitude 22 66
Numbers, Mensuration,
Logarithms, Functions
& Graphs, Indices &
Surds, Quadratic
Equations, Special
Equations, Statistics

Roadmap to CAT 2024: A Comprehensive Strategy

Guide - Section Wise Preparation

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CAT VARC preparation tips: You need to start VARC preparation early
as it involves developing reading habit. Read books and novels of
dif f erent types f rom the very beginning. If you are an avid reader already,
you may not need extensive reading. Only practicing Reading
Comprehension passages f or CAT will be helpf ul. However, if you are not
much of a reader, you will need to start reading on a daily basis. The key
is to practice a good number of Reading Comprehension passages of
various types – easy, moderate and tough. Get hold of practice paper and
sample questions f rom various sources.
Also Read:
CAT Preparation Plan For VARC
Make These 7 Guys Your Companion For VARC

CAT Exam Preparation: Your Love For Reading Can Get You Desired
Result
Types of Reading Comprehension questions in CAT
Common Pitf alls to avoid while solving RC questions in CAT

CAT DILR preparation tips: Data Interpretation section of CAT is

calculation based and has questions on tables, charts, graphs, etc. B
thorough with mathematical calculations. The questions are asked in
sets, so you need to be able to solve all the questions of a particular set.
For this, correct selection of the CAT Data Interpretation set is important.
You will be able to make this judgment if you have enough practice of all
types of DI questions.
In CAT Logical Reasoning, the challenge is to understand the patterns
and puzzles. There is no f ormula or theorem in CAT LR. There is neither
any mathematical calculation involved, so all you have as the sources of
preparation is practice questions. An important aspect to learn f or LR is

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how to unravel a question. For this, take guidance and attend online
practice sessions. Sectional time-bound CAT mock tests f or DILR will be
of great help.
Also Read:
CAT Preparation Plan f or DILR
How to Crack Logical Reasoning Section of CAT 2024
Time Management in QA and DI f or CAT
Challenges of Data Interpretation in CAT
CAT Quantitative Aptitude preparation tips: If your Mathematics is
strong you can sail through this section with practice. However, if it isn’t
then you should better start f rom scratch. Go back to Class 9 and 10
NCERT Maths books to understand the basics of Algebra, Geometry,
Trigonometry and Arithmetic. The CAT Quantitative Aptitude questions
are of advanced level so af ter understanding the basics, start working on
advance level Maths. Practice sample questions and previous years’ CAT
question papers to gain control over the topics. Most of the questions
are asked f rom Arithmetic and Algebra so pay special f ocus on them.
Overall, cracking CAT with high scores is dependent on your practice.
The more you practice the better you gain control over topics and types
of question – easy, medium, dif f icult, tricky or lengthy.
Also Read:

Important CAT Quant f ormulas

CAT Preparation Plan For Quantitative Aptitude
How To Prepare For Quantitative Aptitude For CAT Exam 2024
Master The Secret of Acing QA In CAT Exam 2024
How To Approach Quant Section of CAT 2024 Exam

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 Six Strategies of CAT Quant Preparation

CAT Mock Test and Question Papers

Shiksha has created f ree CAT mock tests f or aspirants to practice and
assess their preparation level. These mock tests are based on previous
years' CAT questions so that you get f amiliar with the dif f iculty level of
the acrtual exam.

CAT_Mock_Test_1 CAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions
CAT_Mock_Test_2 CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions

DOWNLOAD: Previous years' CAT question paper PDFs

CAT Questions with Solutions f or Practice - PDFs
Verbal Ability (VA) solved questions f or practice PDFs
Logical Reasoning (LR) solved questions f or practice PDFs

Logical Reasoning (LR) solved questions f or practice PDFs - Part 2

Data Interpretation (DI) solved questions f or practice PDFs
Data Interpretation (DI) solved questions f or practice PDFs- Part 2
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) solved questions f or practice PDFs

Best Books for CAT Preparation

Preparation of CAT is largely dependent of CAT books. You should ref er
to the book suggested by experts and previous years’ toppers f or
comprehensive preparation. Listed below are section wise best books f or
CAT preparation:

Author/Publisher
CAT Books (DILR)
Name

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Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Gautam Puri
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation f or
Nishit K. Sinha
the CAT
Data Interpretation & Data Suf f iciency Ananta Ashisha
How to Prepare f or Data Interpretation f or
Arun Sharma
CAT

Author/Publisher
CAT Books (VARC)
Name
Arun Sharma and
How to Prepare f or Verbal Ability and Reading
Meenakshi
Comprehension f or CAT
Upadhyay/Arihant
Wilf red Funk &
30 Days to a More Powerf ul Vocabulary Mass
Norman Lewis/ Simon
Market Paperback
& Schuster
How to Prepare f or Verbal Ability and Reading
Sharma and Upadhyay
Comprehension f or the CAT
PSC f or VA f or CAT Nishit Sinha

Author/Publisher
CAT Books (Quantitative Aptitude)
Name
NCERT Mathematics books (Class 9-10) NCERT
How to Prepare f or Quantitative Aptitude f or
Arun Sharma
the CAT
Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT Sarvesh Verma
Quantitative Aptitude f or CAT Nishit Sinha
Quantitative Aptitude RS Aggarwal

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Read More:
What is The Best Time To Start CAT 2024 Preparation

How to Prepare f or CAT 2024 in 6 months

How to Prepare f or CAT 2024 in 3 months
2 months to CAT exam 2024: These many Mock Tests will optimise
your score
Simple Tips To Optimize CAT Exam Preparation
Advantages of Giving CAT For Final Year Student

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