Reading comprehension makes up most of VARC, and its questions reward understanding how a passage argues more than remembering what it said. Here is how to read for that. A good CAT reading comprehension strategy has three parts: reading for structure, answering with discipline and reviewing every passage until you can see the examiner's logic.
Read the argument, not just the words
A CAT passage often has a central claim, supporting reasons, counterarguments and qualifications. After each paragraph, summarise its role in a few words: introduces debate, presents evidence, challenges a view or offers a conclusion.
These short notes form a passage map. You do not need to write much; a few words per paragraph is enough. The map lets you go straight to the right part of the passage when a question asks about a detail, and it gives you the main idea almost for free.
A worked example
Read this short original passage.
It has become common to treat boredom as a defect of attention, something to be cured by a better app or a busier schedule. Some psychologists go further, arguing that boredom is simply the discomfort of an under-stimulated mind and has no value of its own. This view is tidy, but it confuses a feeling with its function. Boredom is unpleasant in the way hunger is unpleasant: the discomfort signals that the current activity is not meeting a need. Hunger is not cured by removing the stomach, and boredom is not cured by removing every idle minute. What matters is what we do with the signal. A person who answers boredom by reaching for the nearest distraction learns little about what they actually want; a person who tolerates it for a while may find out. None of this makes boredom pleasant, or suggests that it should be manufactured. It suggests only that a culture which treats every pause as a problem may be silencing one of its more useful alarms.
A passage map might read:
- Common view: boredom is a defect to be cured.
- Stronger view (some psychologists): boredom has no value.
- Author's challenge: boredom is a signal, like hunger.
- Qualification: not pleasant, should not be manufactured.
- Conclusion: treating every pause as a problem may silence a useful signal.
Question: Which of the following can best be inferred from the passage?
- (A) Boredom should be deliberately induced to improve creativity.
- (B) The author regards boredom as a pleasant state that people wrongly avoid.
- (C) Responding to boredom with immediate distraction may stop people from understanding their own needs.
- (D) Psychologists agree that boredom has no value.
Answer: (C). The passage says a person who reaches for distraction "learns little about what they actually want", which directly supports C.
Why the others fail:
- (A) is extreme and contradicted: the author says the argument does not suggest boredom "should be manufactured". Creativity is never mentioned.
- (B) reverses the text: the author says the argument does not make boredom pleasant.
- (D) changes the scope: the passage attributes the view to "some psychologists", not to psychologists in general, and the author disagrees with it.
Separate the author from the subject
A passage may describe an argument without endorsing it. Notice signals such as "however", "although", "some scholars claim" and "the evidence suggests". These reveal whose opinion is being discussed and how strongly the author agrees.
In the example above, the second sentence describes a view held by "some psychologists". The third sentence, "This view is tidy, but…", is where the author's own voice enters. If a question asks for the author's attitude to the psychologists' view, the answer is something like "measured disagreement", not "outright contempt" and not "agreement". Tone questions usually reward the moderate option that matches the strength of the language.
| Signal words | What they usually tell you |
|---|---|
| however, but, yet, nevertheless | A contrast; often the author's real point follows |
| some argue, it is often claimed, critics say | Someone else's view, which the author may reject |
| perhaps, may, suggests, tends to | A cautious claim; avoid options that make it absolute |
| therefore, thus, it follows that | A conclusion drawn from what came before |
| for instance, consider | Evidence or illustration, not the main claim |
Treat inference as disciplined reasoning
An inference must be supported by the passage even if it is not stated word for word. Reject options that introduce new facts, exaggerate a cautious claim or reverse a relationship. An answer that sounds intelligent is not necessarily text-supported.
A useful test: for each option, point to the sentence that supports it. If you cannot, or if you need an assumption the author never makes, the option is probably wrong. Be especially wary of options that are true in the real world but absent from the passage; CAT tests reading, not general knowledge.
Practise with deliberate review
After each passage, explain why the correct answer fits and why every tempting distractor fails. Classify errors as scope change, extreme language, unsupported assumption or misread tone. Review teaches you the examiner's logic.
An RC error log
| Passage | Question type | Your answer | Correct | Error type | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boredom | Inference | A | C | Extreme language | "Deliberately induced" went beyond "should not be manufactured" |
| Urban history | Main idea | B | D | Scope change | B described only paragraph 2 |
| Economics | Tone | C | A | Misread tone | Author was critical but measured |
After 15-20 entries, patterns appear. If most of your misses are scope changes, slow down on the passage map. If they are extreme-language traps, start circling words such as "always", "only" and "entirely" in the options.
Choosing passages and managing time
In recent CAT papers, VARC has been a 40-minute section of about 24 questions, with reading comprehension making up the large majority. That leaves little room for a passage that is going badly. Confirm the current pattern on iimcat.ac.in before your exam.
A practical routine:
- Read the first few lines of each passage and glance at its questions.
- Start with the passages whose subject and style feel most approachable to you.
- Read the whole passage once, building your map, before looking at the questions in detail.
- If a passage is still unclear after a careful read, attempt only the questions you can support from the text.
Passage order is personal. Your mock reviews will show whether you do better starting with familiar topics or with shorter passages. Our guide to analysing CAT mock tests explains how to track this.
Build a sustainable reading habit
Read one thoughtful article daily from varied subjects and write a two-sentence summary. Time some passages, but do not chase speed before comprehension. Speed grows when you recognise structure quickly.
Variety matters because CAT passages range across philosophy, science, economics, history, art and culture. If you avoid a subject, read more of it. Long-form essays and opinion pieces from reputable publications are useful because they argue a position, which is exactly what you need to practise mapping.
A simple weekly rhythm:
| Day | Activity |
|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | One article of 800-1,500 words; two-sentence summary noting the author's main claim and attitude |
| Tuesday and Thursday | Two untimed RC passages with full review |
| Saturday | A timed VARC sectional |
| Sunday | Review the sectional and update your error log |
The summary skill also helps with other VARC question types. Try a summary question and a para jumble to see how the same structure-reading applies. The CAT syllabus breakdown covers the whole section.
Frequently asked questions
Should I read the questions before the passage?
Glancing at the questions first can tell you what to look out for, but most students do better reading the full passage carefully first and building a map. Test both approaches on practice passages and keep whichever gives you higher accuracy.
How can I improve my reading speed for CAT?
Read daily, summarise what you read and practise identifying each paragraph's role. Speed improves as structure recognition becomes automatic. Pushing your speed before your comprehension is stable usually costs more marks than it saves.
What are the most common RC traps?
The four most common are scope changes (too broad or too narrow), extreme language, unsupported assumptions and misread tone. Classifying every wrong answer into one of these is the quickest way to see where you lose marks.
Is reading newspapers enough for CAT RC?
Newspapers help, but CAT passages are often denser and more abstract than news reports. Mix in long-form essays and opinion pieces on unfamiliar subjects, and practise actual RC passages such as this sample RC set.
Try this on Pareto Academy
Practise with free CAT VARC questions and use the review method above on every passage you attempt.