CAT Books are an essential part of exam preparation. CAT aspirants are advised to choose books that have been updated according to the latest exam pattern and syllabus only. CAT exam pattern has been revised and as per that CAT 2022 paper will have 66 questions only. Check CAT 2022 Exam Pattern
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Read the article to know more about CAT Books for preparation and books suggested by toppers.
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Arun Sharma CAT Books for preparation are one of the best ones available in the market; majorly because his books are available for all three sections that form part of CAT exam pattern. Here are some of the key features of CAT books by Arun Sharma:
Section | Book | Author | Publication |
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VARC | How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Arun Sharma & Meenakshi Upadhyay | McGraw Hill Publication |
DILR | How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT | Arun Sharma | McGraw Hill Publication |
DILR | How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT | Arun Sharma | McGraw Hill Publication |
Quant | How to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT | Arun Sharma | McGraw Hill Publication |
Books from Nishit K Sinha are also quite popular among CAT aspirants. The book is available for each of the three sections. It also has up-to-date CAT pattern and questions.
Section | Book | Author | Publication |
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VARC | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Nishit K. Sinha | Pearson Publication |
DILR | Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation for CAT | Nishit K. Sinha | Pearson Publication |
Quant | Quantitative Aptitude for CAT | Nishit K. Sinha | Pearson Publication |
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In order to seek admission into the top management colleges such as IIMs, it is essential to have a good preparation strategy for CAT. To cover all topics, one must choose the best CAT books for self-learning.
Author | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay |
Publisher | McGraw Hill Education |
Latest Edition | Eighth Edition |
ISBN | 9789353160197 |
Author | Nishit K. Sinha |
Publisher | Pearson |
Latest Edition | Third Edition |
ISBN | 9332570027 |
Author | Ajay Singh |
Publisher | Arihant |
Latest Edition | Eleventh Edition |
ISBN | 9312145754 |
Name of the Book | Author/ Publisher |
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Word Power Made Easy | Norman Lewis |
How to Prepare for VARC for CAT | Sharma and Upadhyay |
High School English Grammar and Composition | Wren and Martin |
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Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation tests a candidate’s ability to think fast and solve tricky questions. Must Read: CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Preparation
Author | Arun Sharma |
Publisher | McGraw Hill Education |
Latest Edition | Sixth Edition |
ISBN | 9353167140 |
Author | Arun Sharma |
Publisher | McGraw Hill Education |
Latest Edition | Fifth Edition |
ISBN | 9353167132 |
Check CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Preparation
Author | Nishit K. Sinha |
Publisher | Pearson |
Latest Edition | Sixth Edition |
ISBN | 9386873516 |
Name of the Book | Author/ Publisher |
---|---|
A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning | R S Aggarwal |
Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency | Anantha Ashisha |
Analytical Reasoning | M K Pandey |
This is a tough section compared to the other 2. Quant for CAT books include:
Author | Arun Sharma |
Publisher | McGraw Hill Education |
Latest Edition | Eighth Edition |
ISBN | 9353160180 |
Must Read: CAT Quantitative Aptitude Preparation Strategy
Author | Sarvesh K. Verma |
Publisher | Arihant |
Latest Edition | Tenth Edition |
ISBN | 9313195283 |
Download CAT Quantitative Aptitude Practice Papers
Author | Nishit K. Sinha |
Publisher | Pearson |
Latest Edition | Fourth Edition |
ISBN | 9332570019 |
Name of the Book | Author/ Publisher |
---|---|
Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations | R S Aggarwal |
Quantitative Aptitude | Abhijit Guha |
Magical Book on Quicker Maths | M Tyra |
NCERT books are a good way to start CAT preparation if you need to clear your basic concepts. The NCERT mathematics class 6-10 books may help you learn some useful basics. But remember that only start your preparation from NCERT books if you have a lot of time in hand before the exam. It may be useful to brush up on some concepts to go ahead with the advanced problems. If you have limited time to study, it is recommended to go ahead with other publications books as mentioned.
Given below are the links for CAT Study Material for various topics of CAT VARC, DILR, and QA. You can find the explanation of concepts, sample questions, and tips to crack the questions.
It is also recommended that aspirants should read newspapers and journals to improve reading comprehension skills. Reading these materials will help to get a strong command of the English language which in turn will help in the VARC section.
Ques: What are the best books recommended for CAT?
Ans: Some of the best books for CAT preparation are by Arun Sharma and Nishit K Sinha. All three books by Arun Sharma for VARC, DILR and QA are highly recommended.
Ques: Should I take up coaching for CAT preparation?
Ans: No. It is not necessary to take coaching. There is enough material available for CAT preparation like reference books, online material and test series if candidates are willing to prepare via self study. You can also download study material and previous year CAT question papers with solutions from the links above.
Ques: Is study material provided by coaching centre necessary while preparing for CAT?
Ans: No. You can refer to other material like books from different authors like Arun Sharma, Nishit K Sinha, R S Aggarwal, etc. These books can be a great source for preparation.
Ques: Which are the other sources for CAT preparation?
Ans: There is a lot of material online available which is also free. Apart from this, online test series for mocks is a great way of learning. Other paid online coaching like Unacademy, BYJU’s, Career Launcher, T.I.M.E, etc., may also be helpful.
Ques: How much time do I need for CAT preparation?
Ans: There is no definite answer to that. The time depends on your current knowledge of CAT concepts. However, a good 7-8 months of preparation can help you get great results. Focus on completing the syllabus and practicing more sample papers and mocks.
Ques: What are some of the best colleges to target after writing CAT?
Ans: Some of the top IIMs which accept CAT score are IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Indore, etc. Some other top colleges are FMS, SP Jain, MDI also accept CAT score.
Ques: What is the CAT fee structure?
Ans: For the past three years, the fee for CAT is Rs 1700/- (general category) and Rs 850/- (reserved category). The application mode is online.
Ques: Is there General Awareness section in CAT?
Ans: XAT, IIFT, SNAP, TISSNET, CMAT, MAT exams have GK section. CAT does not have a GK section mentioned in the exam pattern it only covers Quants, DILR and VARC. But candidates are judged on their awareness skills during WAT/PI rounds.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.
If you are aiming for old IIMs such as IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, you will need to score above 99 percentile in CAT. For IIMs and other top-tier B-Schools in India, the CAT cutoff stays above 90 percentile.
If you have a good profile, and 99+ CAT score, you can expect to get calls from old IIMs, XLRI, JBIMS, IIFT, FMS, etc.
Here are some of the things that you will realize after appearing for the CAT examination.
CAT doesn’t test your knowledge. The only thing matters are how much you score. So, try to attempt as many questions as you can correctly.
Take a look at the below table to know what CAT score will fetch what CAT percentile, for 2022.
Percentile | Score VA-RC | Score DI-LR | Score QA | Overall Score |
90% | 29 | 1 | 26 | 72 |
95% | 32 | 20 | 29 | 81 |
In 2021, for 90 percentile the required score was 59 and for 95 percentile the required score was 72.