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Home > News & Articles > How to prepare for Reading Comprehension for CAT? Preparation Tips, Pattern, Reference Books
Updated on 22nd September, 2023 , 4 min read
Understanding the complexities of a language requires the capacity to read, comprehend its context and meaning, absorb the information offered, and retain the information given. There is no better way to evaluate this skill than to include a reading comprehension question on an exam. This ability is essential to communicating.
As a result, there is usually a portion on reading comprehension in the majority of competitive examinations in English-speaking countries or for courses that use English as their primary language. This component frequently appears with the verbal ability portion or the critical reasoning section, both of which are crucial for assessing our capacity to read something, understand its meaning, and make conclusions for CAT Exam.
According to the CAT Exam Pattern, the Reading Comprehension portion is weighted as follows:
Total No. of Questions | Number of Questions | Weightage Awarded |
Total Number of Question in CAT | 100 | |
Total Number of Question in Reading Comprehension Section in CAT | 24 | 24% of the Total CAT Questions |
Total Number of Question in VARC Section | 34 | 70% of the Sectional Weightage is given to RC [24 Questions] 30% of the Sectional Weightage is given to VA [10 Questions] |
It is necessary that applicants practice and become proficient in the Reading Comprehension (RC) component of the CAT since it plays a significant role in raising their CAT score. The candidates might develop a strategy for mastering the RC portion by considering the following criteria.
While it is necessary to read the material quickly, it's just as critical that you comprehend what it is trying to say. As a result, you should connect each line to the one before it and continually reflect on and assess what was addressed in the line above. You must eliminate the irrelevant or insignificant material and save the crucial data.
Start with the following exercises to get into the flow of reading and interpreting:
You would have one hour to complete this component of the CAT exam. It is crucial that we comprehend how difficult it will be to attempt around 5 readings in addition to the 10 Verbal Ability problems. Therefore, it is essential that we speed up so that we have enough time to answer the question and maintain interest in the chapter. Since there is no quick fix for improving your speed, frequent and comprehensive reading will be helpful. To determine your reading speed and track your progress over time, count the words in each section you read and record the time it takes you to finish it.
Grammatical tools, their purpose, and the relationship one thing has with another all play a role in interpreting a passage. Start by reading grammar books while practicing reading comprehension for the CAT. Your fundamental understanding of topics like nouns, pronouns, adjectives, articles, punctuation, prepositions, clauses, etc. will be clarified by them. You can start reading extensively once you have a general understanding of the subject. By doing this, you would acquire a grasp of language and its syntax and automatically internalize its functions.
Sample RC Passages followed by questions and answers might assist candidates better comprehend the format of the questions and the strategy for responding to RC-based questions
Reading Comprehension passages for CAT | Number of Questions | Type of Questions |
Long Passage – 1 Usually moderate based on facts | 6 | MCQs with ⅓ negative marking |
Long Passage 2 – Moderate to Difficult, Rich Vocabulary, more literary and opinion-based | 6 | MCQs with ⅓ negative marking |
Long Passage 3 – Difficult-based on abstract topic/opinion based/literature-based, may contain too much unknown vocabulary words | 6 | MCQs with ⅓ negative marking |
Short Passage 1 – Moderate to difficult, business – economy/geography-based | 3 | MCQs with ⅓ negative marking |
Short Passage 2 – Sometimes difficult, based on historical facts, opinion, future plans | 3 | MCQs with ⅓ negative marking |
Short Passage 3 – may be more difficult than the other two; usually on abstract topic | 3 | MCQs with ⅓ negative marking |
The exam covers a broad range of subjects, including editorial, social, and economic issues. Articles from foreign newspapers, websites, and other sources are frequently included.
Also Read: CAT Preparation Tips
Also Read: How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT?
Also Read: How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT?
The top books for studying for the CAT Reading Comprehension are listed below. Candidates can develop a strong vocabulary and become accustomed to different sentence structures and usage by reading books.
Book Title | Author/Publisher |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Nishit Sinha |
High School Grammar and Composition | Wren and Martin |
How to Prepare for Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability for the CAT | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay |
Word Power Made Easy | Normal Lewis |
In addition to the books mentioned above, candidates can study newspaper and magazine articles to prepare for the RC for CAT.
News and Journals | |
The Hindu | Times of India |
The Stateman | Business Week |
The Economist | Newsweek |
The National Geography | Fortune |
Business World | The Telegraph |
Therefore, start studying for it if you want to ace this section, that not only requires the use of your English language proficiency but also your logical comprehension and capacity to interpret material and access it accordingly.
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By - Chetna Verma 2023-12-19 15:57:01 , 7 min readTo improve conceptual clarity for the questions, try to adhere to the reading comprehension CAT recommendations provided by professionals. Your understanding of RC for the CAT test will be strengthened if you once again clarify the questions.
There are no fixed books from where the CAT RC questions are prepared. So, follow daily habits of reading newspapers, business magazines, and good novels to prepare yourself.
For CAT RC preparation, the aspirants must follow books on economy, art & culture, philosophy, psychology, sociology, science, astronomy, history, geography, literature, fiction novels, autobiographies, and biographies.
Yes, practising RC sample questions for the CAT exam is really required to develop accuracy, solving speed, and avoid negative marking.
Not at all. If you follow a strategic preparation strategy and have a good grasp of English vocabulary, then you can easily solve CAT reading comprehension questions.
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