CAT 2026
CAT 2026 preparation — pattern, syllabus, year plan.
The CAT exam tests three sections — Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension — across two hours. This page covers the exam pattern, what each section actually demands, and how to structure a year of preparation.
Exam pattern
Three sections, 40 minutes each.
Verbal Ability + RC
24 questions
Reading comprehension passages dominate. Para jumbles, summary, and TITA-style verbal reasoning round it out. The section that often decides whether 99 vs 99.9.
Data Interpretation + LR
20 questions
Four to five sets, mix of DI tables and LR puzzles. The most variable section year-over-year — pattern recognition matters more than calculation here.
Quantitative Ability
22 questions
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, modern math, number systems. Mostly MCQ with a few TITA. Strong fundamentals beat clever shortcuts.
Marking: +3 for correct, -1 for incorrect MCQs, no negative for TITA (type-in-the-answer). Total 120 marks across 66 questions, 120 minutes total.
How to plan the year
A year, sequenced.
April–September: syllabus build
Five modules — Module Zero (foundation), then Modules 1 through 4 — built sequentially with mastery gates at 75%. Skipping ahead of a gate accumulates gaps that surface in the mocks. Most students who plateau later have a Module 2 weakness they didn’t close.
August–October: consolidation
Sectional mocks alongside the last modules. The DILR section in particular needs sectional practice — full-length mocks alone don’t expose the right gaps.
September–November: mocks
43 mocks across the year — pre-mocks → take-home SimCATs → proctored SimCATs → real past CAT papers. Each mock is read in detail with a mentor. Score progression matters less than question-selection improvement.
November: real CAT
Sit the exam. Then start WAT/GD/PI prep through Feb. Don’t wait for results.
The full methodology, in writing.
The above is the skeleton. The long-read covers why each piece exists — why we run 43 mocks, why we save real CAT papers for the last weeks, why the BMT gate sits at 75%. About fifteen minutes.
Read the methodology →