CAT 2025 Syllabus PDF Download Here [Section Wise & Important Topics]

Q: What is the syllabus for the Common Admission Test (CAT)?

The Common Admission Test (CAT) syllabus includes topics from Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.

Q: How many sections are there in the CAT exam?

The CAT exam consists of three sections: Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.

Q: What is the duration of the CAT exam?

The CAT exam is a 2-hour long exam.

Q: Is there a negative marking in the CAT exam?

Yes, there is a negative marking of 1/3rd of the total marks assigned to the question.

Q: Is there a sectional cut-off in the CAT exam?

No, there is no sectional cut-off in the CAT exam. Candidates are evaluated on their overall performance.

Q: What is the syllabus of CAT?

The CAT syllabus covers three primary sections: Verbal Ability &amp; Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation &amp; Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability. Each section tests critical thinking and analytical skills needed for management studies.

Q: What is the syllabus of CAT exam for MBA?

The CAT syllabus for MBA includes topics from English language skills, logical reasoning, data interpretation, and quantitative ability. It evaluates overall aptitude for advanced management education.

Q: Does CAT syllabus change every year?

The core CAT syllabus remains largely consistent every year, focusing on skills such as verbal ability, data interpretation, and quantitative analysis. However, the exam pattern may have slight modifications.

Q: How to complete CAT syllabus in 2 months?

To complete the CAT syllabus in two months, prioritize important topics, take regular mock tests, and focus on time management and accuracy. Consistent revision is key to covering the vast syllabus in a short time.

Q: Is a CAT exam difficult?

The CAT exam is considered challenging due to its competitive nature and the need for strong analytical and time-management skills. However, with focused preparation, it is definitely achievable.

Author : Lalita Vishwakarma

December 23, 2024

Overview: The 2025 Common Admission Test (CAT) is set for 30th November 2025, likely under the oversight of IIM Kozhikode. The first step to begin your preparation is familiarizing yourself with the CAT syllabus 2025 to fully prepare for the exam in the coming few months.

The Indian Institute of Management released the CAT 2025 syllabus, which includes topics like VARC, DILR, and QA.
The first and most important fact is that the CAT exam syllabus for MBA is never released by any IIMs conducting the CAT entrance exam.
To score high percentile in the CAT exam, you need to have a good hold on the IIM CAT Syllabus 2025.

Continue reading to know the key topics of the CAT examination syllabus, including CAT Arithmetic Syllabus, CAT VARC Syllabus and CAT QA syllabus for 2025!

CAT 2025 Syllabus PDF - Section-Wise

What is the CAT syllabus 2025? This is to inform you that the IIMs do not officially release the CAT exam syllabus PDF 2025.

Moreover, we depended on the previous year's CAT Exam Pattern and Syllabus and asked for the topics from all three sections.

The CAT reasoning syllabus for the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section typically includes topics such as puzzles, seating arrangements, data sufficiency, and logical sequences.

There are three sections asked in the CAT detailed syllabus pdf download for MBA, also called CAT exam subjects, viz.,

Quantitative Aptitude
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Our team has meticulously analyzed the trends of the past few years of the CAT exam to research and compile the entire CAT exam syllabus 2025 into PDF. The CAT 2025 Syllabus and Pattern for the MBA, essential topics and respective weightage are listed below:

CAT Syllabus PDF Download 2025 Quantitative Aptitude

The CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus is one of the most important parts to cover to score 90+ percentile in CAT 2025. The Quants syllabus for CAT 2025 includes the following topics:

Topics	Sub -Topics
Number System	Prime Factorization
	Divisibility Rules
	Finding Units place and tens place of a number
	LCM and HCF
	Indices and Surds
	Cyclicity
	Remainders
	Base Change
	Factorial
Arithmetic	Simple Interest and Compound Interest
	Time, Distance and Speed
	Mixtures and Allegations
	Ratios, Proportions and Variations
	Time and Work
	Pipes and Cisterns
	Percentages
	Averages
	Profit and Loss
Geometry	Circles
	Polygons
	Triangles
	Trigonometry
	Lines and Angles
	Coordinate Geometry
Algebra	Functions and Groups
	Inequalities and Modulus
	Logarithms
	Maxima and Minima
	Polynomials
	Linear and Quadratic Equations
	Algebraic Identities
Modern Mathematics	Probability
	Permutations and Combinations
	Set Theory
	Venn Diagram
	AP, GP, HP
	Binomial theorem

Read More | CAT 2024 Exam Analysis

General Trend of Past 4 Years in QA CAT Syllabus PDF Download - Topic Wise

You need to learn about the topic-wise breakdown and the weightage of each topic in the CAT Quant Syllabus. This can be done once you thoroughly review the CAT eligibility criteria.

In CAT 2023, out of the 22 questions, 8 were TITA questions, and the remaining were MCQs. Over the years, the maximum number of questions in the QA section of CAT have been from Arithmetic.

Topics	Sub-Topics	2023				2022				2021				2020
Topics	Sub-Topics	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Total	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Total	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Total	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Total
CAT Arithmetic Syllabus	Ratios, Mixtures, Averages	3	3	3	9	6	4	5	15	5	3	4	12	3	2	4	9
	Percents, Profits, SICI	2	3	3	8	2	2	1	5	3	3	4	10	3	3	3	9
	Speed, Time, Distance, Races	3	1	1	5	1	1	3	5	1	1	1	3	4	4	3	11
	Pipes, Cisterns, Work, Time	1	1	2	4	0	1	2	3	2	2	2	6	0	1	1	2
CAT Algebra Syllabus	Linear and Quadratic	3	2	2	7	1	2	3	6	0	1	1	2	2	4	2	8
	Progressions	2	1	2	5	1	2	0	3	1	2	1	4	1	1	0	2
	Polynomials	2	2	1	5	2	0	0	2	1	2	1	4	0	1	0	1
	Inequalities	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	3	0	1	0	1
	Functions	0	0	1	1	3	2	2	7	1	1	1	3	1	1	1	3
	Logarithms and Exponents	1	2	3	6	0	1	1	2	1	1	1	3	4	1	4	9
CAT Geometry Syllabus	Geometry	2	2	2	6	0	3	3	6	3	2	1	6	1	3	1	5
	Co-Geo	1	1	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	3
	Mensuration	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	2	0	1	3	4	2	1	0	3
	Trigonometry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
NT and Modern Maths	Combinatorics	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	3	1	1	0	2	0	0	1	1
	Digits	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	2	1	1	4	4	2	2	8
	Factorials	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Factors	1	2	1	4	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
	Remainders	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Set Theory	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1

Check | CAT Exam Day Instructions

Here is an overview of the four broad areas (in %) covered over the years in the QA section. CAT exam syllabus

CAT exam syllabus

CAT DILR Syllabus 2025

Here is the topic-wise CAT 2025 syllabus for logical reasoning and Data Interpretation:

DI Topics	Tables
	Data Caselets – Reasoning-Based DI
	Column Graphs
	Bar Graphs
	Venn Diagrams
	Line Charts
	Pie Charts
	Scatter Plot
	Radar Chart
	Routes and Network
	Bubble Chart
LR Topics	Binary Logic
	Games and Tournaments
	Arrangements
	Team Formations
	Order and Ranking

Below is the detailed CAT exam syllabus PDF 2025 for Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation:

Check | How to prepare for logical reasoning for CAT 2025?

General Trend of Past 4 Years in DILR CAT Syllabus - Topic Wise

Topics	CAT 2020			CAT 2021			CAT 2022			CAT 2023
Topics	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
Routes and Networks	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	-	-	-	5
Tables	-	10	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	5	5	5
Scheduling, Optimization and Allocation	6	6	6	4	-	-	5	-	5	10	-	-
Bar Graphs	-	-		4	4	-	-	-	5	-	-	-
Grids	10	8	6	6		-	-	-	5	5	5	5
Arrangements	-		6	6	6	5	-	-	-		-
Word Puzzle	-	-	4	-	4	6	-	-	-	-	-	-
Games and Tournaments	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Math Puzzles	-	-	4	-	-	4		5	5	-	5	5
Venn Diagrams	8	-	4	-	-	-	5	5	-	-	-	-
Pie Charts/Doughnut Charts	-		-	-		-		-	-	-	-	-
Scatter Plot	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-
Coding/Decoding	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Radar Chart	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gnatt Chart	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-		5	-

Here is an overview of the topics (in %) covered over the years in the DILR section.

CAT exam syllabus

Check | CAT Exam Preparation Books 2025

CAT VARC Syllabus 2025

The VARC Syllabus for CAT is both lengthy and scoring. Here are the important topics you must cover for the CAT English Syllabus and the pattern specifically for the VARC section.

S.No.	Important Topics
1	English Usage or Grammar
2	Vocabulary-Based (Synonyms/ Antonyms)
3	Fill in the blanks
4	Sentence Correction
5	Cloze Passage
6	Jumbled Paragraph
7	Meaning-Usage Match
8	Analogies or Reverse Analogies
9	Summary Questions
10	Verbal Reasoning
11	Facts-Inferences-Judgments
12	Reading Comprehension

Below is the detailed CAT exam syllabus PDF 2025 for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension:

Check | What to do after the CAT exam?

General Trend of Past 4 Years in VARC CAT Syllabus - Topic-Wise

Topics	2023	2022	2021	2020
Reading Comprehension	16	16	16	18
Para Summary	2	3	3	3
Para Jumble	2	3	3	3
Odd One Out	2	0	2	2
Sentence Placement	2	2	0	0
Total	24	24	24	26

Among the three sections, describing the syllabus for VARC is the simplest. Reading Comprehension dominates the section with a little more than 65% of the question weightage.

The remaining questions are from Para Summary, Para Jumble, Odd One Out, and Missing Sentence (introduced in CAT 2022). So, building a reading habit is the key to covering the VARC syllabus.

In CAT 2023, 4 passages with a total of 16 questions were asked. 3 Para Summary Questions, 3 Para Jumble Questions and 2 Missing Sentence Questions completed the section. From a total of 24 questions, 3 were TITA questions.

Check | CAT Exam Slot Timings

Here is an overview of the RC genres (in %) covered over the years in the VARC section.

CAT exam syllabus

Check | CAT 2025 Exam Maths Syllabus

Conclusion

Keeping updated with the CAT syllabus helps you prepare accordingly for the main exam.

Each section of the CAT exam has its importance and marking, so it's important to monitor and grasp each topic of the different subjects.

Check | List of CAT Exam Centres

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