Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section of the CAT (Common Admission Test) exam assesses candidates’ proficiency in the English language, as well as their ability to comprehend and analyze written passages. The syllabus for the VARC section covers various topics related to verbal ability and reading comprehension. Here’s a comprehensive outline of the CAT VARC section syllabus:

1. Reading Comprehension (RC):

   • Reading comprehension passages are typically taken from various sources such as newspapers, magazines, journals, and literary works.
   • Passages cover a wide range of topics including social issues, economics, science, technology, philosophy, literature, etc.
   • Questions may test candidates’ ability to understand the main idea, identify supporting details, infer implied meanings, analyze arguments, and draw conclusions from the given passages.
   • Different types of questions in RC may include multiple-choice questions, true/false statements, inference-based questions, vocabulary-based questions, and summary writing.

2. Verbal Ability (VA):

   • Vocabulary: Candidates should have a strong command of English vocabulary. Topics may include synonyms, antonyms, idioms, phrases, word usage, and analogies.
   • Grammar: Candidates should be familiar with English grammar rules and usage. Topics may include sentence correction, error identification, parts of speech, tenses, subject-verb agreement, parallelism, etc.
   • Para-jumbles: Candidates may encounter questions involving the arrangement of sentences to form a coherent paragraph. Questions may require candidates to identify the correct sequence of sentences or paragraphs based on logical and grammatical coherence.
   • Sentence Completion: Candidates may need to complete sentences or paragraphs by selecting appropriate words or phrases that best fit the context and meaning of the passage.
   • Critical Reasoning: Candidates may encounter questions involving critical reasoning and analysis. This may include identifying assumptions, evaluating arguments, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and drawing conclusions based on given statements or passages.