The VARC section of CAT is generally the least analysed section, and there are many misconceptions among students. Many of them want to know what reading materials should they refer to improve their speed and understanding. And to find out the right answer, we went through all the 58 RC passages that have appeared in the last 5 years CAT exam.
Based on our thorough analysis, here are our top takeaways:
1) You should read international books and publications.
All of us have grown up reading local and national newspapers. But there was not even 1 passage that was borrowed from any Indian newspaper or magazine. International publications have a slightly different style of writing, and they use different words and phrases compared to Indian articles. So you should be comfortable reading globally-renowned publications such as the Economist and Guardian.
2) Is AEON the best source for CAT Reading Comprehension practice? Probably NOT.
We analysed the RC passages that appeared in the last 5 years and found that AEON wasn't among the top two sources of texts. CAT borrowed most from the Economist and New York Times. For general reading, you should read a variety of publications. It will give you flavour of what to expect on CAT, and help you improve your English and general awareness.
3) Read the right kind of passages.
So what kind of articles you should read? Short Answer: Off-beat, boring stuff. CAT does NOT pick passages related to "breaking news", politics or sports, unfortunately. You need to actively seek out OTHER passages, related to arts, science, music, history et cetera. It will be difficult to concentrate at first, because this is not what you are used to. But it is the best way to practice, apart from taking mocks.
4) If you don’t read books, then you should at least read reviews.
BOOK REVIEWS are a common source of RC passages for CAT. Book and essay reviews have appeared 7 times in the last 5 years' RC sections, based on our analysis.
5) CAT RC passages taken from international magazines and newspapers were EASIER TO READ than others.
This is based on their Readability Scores, which are commonly used around the world and provide an objective assessment. Clearly, you will have a higher success rate with such easier passages. The question is – How will you identify them? If you read the magazines and newspapers we have mentioned, you'll get a better understanding of their writing style and pick the right RC passages during CAT.
You can download the attached excel file containing the data we have collected for our analysis. All the best!
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First of
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