CAT Exam 2026 Syllabus: Section-Wise Breakdown

T he first thing to get right while preparing for CAT 2026 is not a mock test score but having clarity about what you're preparing for. The CAT 2026 is a computer-based test that will be held over 120 minutes and comprises 68 questions – VARC (24 questions, 40 mins), DILR (22 questions, 40 mins) and QA (22 questions, 40 mins). Marks are awarded as follows: MCQ- 3 for correct, -1 for incorrect answer and no negative marking is enforced for non-MCQ (TITA).

Through this guide you can find details of each section, what is important and how you should plan your preparation in the months to come.

CAT 2026 Exam Pattern at a Glance

Section	Questions	Time Limit	Approx. Weightage
VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension)	24	40 minutes	~34–36%
DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning)	22	40 minutes	~32%
QA (Quantitative Aptitude)	22	40 minutes	~32–34%

The sectional timing is strict; once the 40 minutes have passed in a section, you cannot return to it. This means that time management in each section is as important as raw accuracy.

VARC: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

RC is where the majority of your prep time must go, not vocabulary lists or grammar rule books. The Reading Comprehension consistently constitutes around two-thirds of the 24 VARC questions.

Core VARC topics:

• Reading comprehension traverses texts (generally 4-5 arrangements, political and social issues about present issues, science, history writing, theory and theoretical opinion)
• Para jumbles (arrange the sentences in a particular way to form a meaningful paragraph.)
• Para Summary (Find best one-line summary of a passage)
• Odd-sentence-out questions
• Sentence correction and completion
• Vocabulary-in-context questions

What does the passages usually consist of: CAT RC sets include a broad range of themes from science and technology, environment and sustainability to history and culture, economics, or philosophy/abstract argument pieces. Passages are usually dense and abstract rather than narrative, so speed-reading alone won't help; you need to track the author's argument structure. 

Prep Tip: Read topics of Science, Technology, Environment, History and Arts on a regular basis instead of stuffing vocabulary a week before the exam. The RC is a habit cultivated for months, not something you review the week prior.

DILR: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Among all the sections of the exam, DILR is largely viewed as the most challenging section of the paper mostly due to this unpredictability in its sets with respect to topics that are not bound to any specific list (like QA). All CAT papers combine familiar formats along with two or more sets that are truly fresh.

Typical DILR sub-areas and their rough share of the section:

Sub-area	Approx. Share
Graphs and charts (bar, line, pie combinations)	~25–30%
Arrangements and seating puzzles	~20%
Tables and caselets	~15–20%
Data sufficiency	~15%
Games and tournaments, blood relations, syllogisms, Venn diagrams	remaining share

Prep tip: DILR appreciates set selection over sheer speed. The single highest-leverage skill on this front is, when tackling a section, spend the first 3–4 minutes just scanning all sets (w/o attempting any), and choose the 5–6 that you can solve accurately by trying the sets in order.

QA: Quantitative Aptitude

QA comprises Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Number system and modern maths, basically not beyond Class 10–11 level concepts. Non-engineering candidates will be happy to hear that there is no trigonometry, calculus or high-end maths on this paper.

QA topic clusters, roughly ranked by consistency of weightage:

Arithmetic: Percentages, Profit & Loss, Averages, Ratio & Proportion, Time-Speed-Distance, Time & Work, Simple/Compound Interest, Mixtures & Allegations. From papers of the last few years, Arithmetic alone has usually been the largest single topic cluster in QA.

Algebra: Linear and quadratic equations, functions, inequalities, logarithms, progresses (AP/GP) In recent papers, Arithmetic and Algebra together has made up well over half and upward toward 65–70% combined in some years of all QA questions.

Geometry & Mensuration: Triangles, circles, lines and angles, coordinate geometry, mensuration (Area /volume). 

Number systems: Divisibility, remainders factors, base systems.

Analytic Reasoning: Questions based on Modern Maths (Like Permutations & Combinations, Probability, Set Theory/Venn Diagrams etc.)

Prep Tip: Since Arithmetic and Algebra are consistently the top scoring clusters, you might want to master these two first before riding the geometry or modern Maths waves too hard. Also, recent papers have demonstrated some ultra-specific sub-topics- for example intra-Algebra (inequalities) or Arithmetic (time-speed-distance) are now spiking of late and thus once you get your fundamentals locked, then cycle through topic-wise CAT PYQs definitely over generic question banks.

A Month-Wise CAT 2026 Prep Roadmap

This coupled with the fact that serious aspirants usually start preparing by around May–June and ramp up to the exam in November — a runway of an average six months.

Months 1–2 (concept building only): Just work on clarifying the concepts for all three sections. No full mocks at this point Practice Reading Comprehension everyday for 1–2 passages; Go ahead with QA practice topic-wise chapters starting with Arithmetic and Algebra; Get adapted to the basic DILR set formats.

Months 3–4 ( application and speed): Initiate practice on a topic-wise timed basis. Start practicing DILR sets with a timer. Introduce your first sectional tests.

Months 5–6 (mocks and review): Full-length mocks at least twice a week Less time taking new tests and more reviewing mistakes — most percentile gains happen in mock review. Brush up your DILR set-selection strategy and your attempt-order for VARC and QA.

Download Previous Year Question Papers 

FAQs

Q1. Is there an official CAT 2026 syllabus released by IIM Indore?

No. Only three sections — VARC, DILR, and QA are mentioned in the CAT 2026 notification without any detailed topic-wise syllabus PDF. The aspirants' divisions of topics are compiled from studying the paper over a number of years and almost remain constant throughout the year.

Q2. How many questions are there in CAT 2026 and how is it marked? 

 68 questions across VARC (24), DILR (22), and QA (22). Correct MCQs earn +3 marks, incorrect MCQs lose 1 mark, and TITA (Type-In-The-Answer) questions carry no negative marking, making them worth attempting even when you're unsure. 

Q3. Which section is considered the hardest in CAT? 

DILR is typically the hardest, because its sets are not based on a fixed list of topics like QA and VARC each year. The key to strong performance here is just selecting the right sets, rather than learning how to solve every type of puzzle.

Q4. Which QA topics should I prioritise first? 

 Arithmetic and Algebra combined tended to comprise the large majority of QA questions over the last couple of years as most relevant clusters. Geometry maintains constant secondary importance and Number Systems and Modern Maths are worth taking the time for but shouldn't come before the first two.

Q5. When is CAT 2026 and who is conducting it?  

CAT 2026 will be held on Sunday, November 29, 2026, conducted by IIM Indore across approximately 170 test cities in three sessions. 

Q6. How long should I prepare for CAT?  

Successful candidates prepare for around six months, building concepts in May–June and switching to full-length mocks during the last two months prior to the exam.

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