CAT Preparation 2023 should start with the understanding of the detailed syllabus of the 3 sections i.e. VARC, DILR & QA, and deciding on which subject to start with.
- Based on the experience of test-takers, CAT DILR preparation takes time as the topics involve the thinking process whereas on the other hand CAT VARC Preparation does not take must time because calculations are not involved in this subject.
- CAT Quant Preparation needs more focus as you need to learn various formulas and should have good knowledge of tips & tricks of solving mathematical questions in less time.
- Candidates are advised to follow the 6 month timetable which should include all the 3 subjects, important sub-topics, and solving CAT previous years’ question paper.
- Topics like Reading Comprehension and Para-jumbles in VARC, Graphs, and Charts in DILR, and Number System and Geometry in Quant carry maximum weightage. Therefore it is necessary for CAT aspirants to be thorough with the CAT Exam Pattern 2023.
CAT Preparation 2023: Exclusive Study Plan for 1 Year
CAT Preparation Plan for VARC
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | |
| Topic | Approx. Number of Days Required |
| English Usage/Grammar | 8 |
| Sentence correction | 8 |
| Fill in the blanks | 8 |
| Para completion | 20 |
| Jumbled paragraph | 20 |
| Odd sentence out | 20 |
| Para summary | 20 |
| Verbal reasoning | 6 |
| Critical Reasoning | 6 |
| Reading Comprehension | 24 |
CAT Preparation Plan for DILR
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | |
| Topic | Approx. Number of Days Required |
| Arrangements | 11 |
| Venn Diagrams | 6 |
| Set theory | 8 |
| Selections & Ordering | 11 |
| Networks & Routes | 6 |
| Games & Tournaments | 8 |
| DI based reasoning | 8 |
| Tables | 8 |
| Graphs | 19 |
| Charts | 14 |
| Caselets | 8 |
| Combinations | 6 |
| Data Sufficiency | 6 |
CAT Preparation Plan for QA
| Quantitative Ability | |
| Topic | Approx. Number of Days Required |
| Number System | 15 |
| Averages | 6 |
| Percentages | 5 |
| Profit, loss & discount | 6 |
| Simple & compound interest | 5 |
| TSD | 6 |
| Time & work | 4 |
| Mixtures & allegation | 4 |
| Ratio & proportion | 4 |
| Linear equations | 4 |
| Quadratic equations | 5 |
| Inequalities | 4 |
| Logarithm | 4 |
| Progressions | 4 |
| Surds & Indices | 4 |
| P&C | 9 |
| Probability | 5 |
| Functions | 4 |
| Geometry | 15 |
| Coordinate geometry | 3 |
| Mensuration | 8 |
CAT Preparation 2023: Time Required for Each Subject
For the candidate’s convenience, find a breakdown of the ideal time that should be devoted to each subject for each day. This timetable can be modified based on the candidate’s preference.
| Day | 2 hours | 1-2 hours | 1 hour |
| Monday | QA | DI/LR | VA/RC |
| Tuesday | QA | DI/LR | VA/RC |
| Wednesday | QA | DI/LR | VA/RC |
| Thursday | QA | DI/LR | VA/RC |
| Friday | QA | DI/LR | VA/RC |
| Saturday | Take a Full-length Mock (3 Hours) | ||
| Sunday | Mock Analysis( 2-3 Hours) and retaking the same mock (3 Hours) | ||
CAT Preparation 2023: How to Prepare for CAT Quantitative Aptitude?
Candidates should begin revision with the Number System section and then follow it up with Algebra, Permutation and Combination and other topics
| Important Topics | Answering Tips |
| Number System | Elementary concepts of remainders, Divisibility rules, Concepts of Digits, Elementary Properties of Numbers, Factorization, HCF, and LCM |
| Algebra | Linear and Quadratic Equations, Logarithms, Progressions, Functions |
| Geometry | Similar triangles, Pythagoras Theorem, Fundamentals of Circles, Mensuration, Polygons |
| Arithmetic | Percentage, TSD, Ratio, Profit & Loss |
| Modern Maths | Set Theory, Sequence & Series, Principles of Counting |
- Lay the foundation and brush up on the concepts. If you don’t know the basics of any topic, you cannot solve complex questions.
- Learn time-saving techniques like tables till 40, squares up to 30, cubes up to 20, and percentage equivalent of fractions till 25.
- Maintain a formula book. Note down all the essential and direct formulas and go through them regularly.
- Practice solving questions within 2 minutes. This is the average time you get to spend on each question in CAT 2023 Quant section
- When you attempt QA in mocks, break the entire section into three parts as per the difficulty level of the question- easy, moderate, and difficult.
- You need to solve more questions in less time. It is better to solve 3 easy questions than 1 difficult question.
CAT Preparation 2023: How to Prepare for CAT DILR?
For the past two years, DI/LR has proved to be the most difficult of the three sections. The absence of a set syllabus makes preparing for this section difficult. Practice is the only way to ace this section. You can follow the tips mentioned below:
- Syllogism is a very scoring section and thus candidates should pay ample attention and use Venn diagrams to solve important questions
- To solve questions that are formed on the basis of inequality, candidates should use the King, Soldier, and Public Technique For questions that involve arrangements, candidates should start by solving questions that have a small number of variables, and then gradually move up to questions that have more. For e.g. starting by solving questions that have only 5 variables and then moving to questions that have 7-8.
- Important topics in DI/LR include: Seating Arrangement, Blood Relations, Propositions, Syllogism, Data Arrangement, Puzzles, Statements & Assumptions
- Candidates should re-read the questions multiple times in this section because it is easy to misinterpret questions that complex logic
CAT Preparation 2023: How to Prepare for CAT VARC?
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension is the section that scares a lot of aspirants. The section is designed to test your English skills in depth. It consists of the following types of questions.
- For unseen passages in the ‘Reading Comprehension’ section, candidates should select the questions and passages that they are comfortable with. Thus, if someone is comfortable with factual passages, they should try to avoid inferential questions that involve critical thinking
- Candidates should not just apply guesswork or answer blindly in grammar-related questions or in sentence correction sections that involve applied knowledge. Candidates need to make sure that at least an educated deduction is made on the basis of inference. If a question is too complex, the candidate should move on to the next question.
- Use a two-step strategy. Divide the VARC section into one section that includes Reading Comprehension and include the rest in the second section.
- Due to the fact that para jumbles and deductive logic require logic, candidates can move to and fro between the questions in order to make the most accurate choice. For eg. in para jumbles, test takers can pinpoint the beginning and end of a logical pair and remove the choice that does not seem to fit.
- When attempting the Reading Comprehensions section, read the questions before reading the passage.
- Candidates that are currently attaining above 85%ile should focus on the following: Vocabulary and Sentence Completion, Grammar, Deductive Logic, Para Jumbles, Critical Reasoning, Para-Completion, Summary Questions
| Topic | Number of Questions |
| Reading Comprehension | 24 |
| Sentence Correction | 3 |
| Summary | 3 |
| Para Jumble | 4 |
CAT Preparation Through Online Mode
With the growth of technology in the education sector, online coaching classes have grown in popularity and candidates are opting for them for various competitive exams. Though Online Coaching Centre provides smart tips and preparation strategies, no less than an offline coaching institute, the difficulty lies in choosing a good online coaching learning center. Best Online Exam Coaching Institute for CAT 2023:
- IMS Learning
- Career Launcher
- T.I.M.E
- Byju’s and Unacademy Plus.
CAT Preparation 2023: Join Online CAT Study Groups
- There are numerous groups on Facebook and other community portals for CAT aspirants. It is beneficial to join these groups for doubt clearing sessions and practice. Discuss important topics, tricks, and strategies by interacting with fellow aspirants.
- Personal Whatsapp groups with friends can also be created. There are certain moderated forums on Facebook like Handakafunda Facebook Group for like-minded aspirants. In Addition, 2IIM also has a FB forum. Discussion on a particular topic is quite an affair on these forums.
- To top on, there are a couple of quora threads like IIM preparation which is an interactive space for IIM alumni, CAT trainers students.
CAT Preparation 2023: Books & Magazines
- For QA, it is recommended that candidates prepare from Class X and XII NCERT books.
- The best source to prepare for VA/RC is your daily reading material like novels, newspapers, magazines, etc.
- Go through the pages of the dictionary at random. This helps in learning new words.
| Name of CAT Books | CAT Magazines for Preparation |
| How to Prepare Quantitative Aptitude for CAT | The Economist |
| How to Prepare Logical Reasoning for CAT | Bloomberg Businessweek, Frontline |
| How To Prepare For Data Interpretation for CAT | Outlook Business, Business Today |
CAT Preparation Through Mock Test
The conducting IIM releases the official mock test is an outline of the pattern of the exam. Do not rely solely on it and take mock tests from the beginning of your preparation.
- It is essential to join a good test series for mocks. They are available with coaching centers like T.I.M.E, Career Launcher, etc. as well as online sites like HandakaFunda, Unacademy, etc.
- Mocks tests help in eliminating most of the surprise elements.
- The more mocks are attempted, the better speed and accuracy get.
- CAT Mock Tests help in identifying areas of strength and weakness.
- They also help in accustoming your body to sit for a 3-hour extended test.
CAT Preparation 2023: Solve Previous Year CAT Question Papers
CAT 2023 aspirants must solve CAT previous year question papers to get valuable insights into the paper pattern, type of questions, distribution of MCQs & TITA questions, difficulty level of each section, weightage of important topics, and your weak & strong points.
CAT 2023 Last Minute Preparation Tips
- Overlook the entire CAT Syllabus and Exam Pattern to make sure you have not kept any topic completely unsupervised
- Instead of strengthening the topics that you are already good at, focus on improving the areas in which you struggle
- Make sure you have set aside a daily set period of 3-4 hours for regular preparation
- Set aside a major portion of your preparation time to work on improvement
- Sit for timed sectional and full-length mock tests that have different ranges of difficulty
- Complete your full CAT preparation at least 10 days in advance so that you have time for revision
- Treat your mock tests as the final CAT exam