The CAT exam has three sections, and the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section tests your English skills and understanding of passages. There are 24 VARC questions (out of a total of 68 questions) to solve in 40 minutes. This part includes reading passages (about 16 questions) and other verbal topics like para-jumbles, grammar, and vocabulary (about 8 questions). Performing well in VARC is important: even if your Quant or DI/LR scores are strong, a low VARC score can change your overall percentile.
A good VARC book covers all verbal topics in one place. It provides practice exercises in grammar rules, vocabulary building, reading comprehension passages, para-jumbles, and more. This structured practice helps you learn each type of question well.
Why the VARC Section Matters
Even the top candidates have warned that VARC is equally important for your CAT score. If you have a lot of points in Quant or DI/LR but struggle in VARC, your final percentage may fall. Many students find the speed of reading and verbal reasoning difficult. A strong VARC score can make a big difference for admission to top business schools. It is necessary to improve reading skills and verbal strategies.
Benefits of Using a VARC Book
A reliable VARC book provides you a clear study plan and focused practice. Here are the main ways it helps you:
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Structured learning: It breaks down each question type (like reading passages, para-jumbles, odd-sentence-out, etc.) and shows a step-by-step way to solve them. This means you can study each topic in an organized way instead of getting confused by mixing everything together.
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Enough practice questions: These books contain sufficient practice questions for the actual CAT exam. Regularly solving these questions builds your familiarity. You learn how to write answers and also the difficulty of CAT questions, so you feel more confident on test day.
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Time management: Many VARC books include timely exercises and mini-testing. By doing this, you learn to work quickly without losing accuracy.
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Detailed solutions: A high-quality VARC book offers you detailed solutions with clear explanations for every question. After solving each question, you can check the solution to understand where you made mistakes. Learning from errors makes your preparation more effective and improves your accuracy over time.
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Exam-like practice: Once you have learned how to solve the VARC portion from the book, you can practice a CAT sample question paper under exam conditions.
Read More: Top 10 Tips to Crack CAT 2025 in First Attempt
Typical VARC Topics and Question Counts
Knowing where most of the questions come from helps you focus on your study. In CAT, the reading section usually dominates VARC with around 16 questions, while the remaining 8 questions are spread across small verbal topics. The table below reflects the approximate number for each major VARC theme based on the recent CAT trends:
|
VARC Topic |
Approx. Questions |
|
Reading Comprehension (RC) |
16 |
|
Para-Jumbles |
2–4 |
|
Para-Summary |
2–3 |
|
Odd-Sentence-Out |
1–2 |
|
Sentence Completion/Correction |
2–3 |
|
Vocabulary (Synonyms/Antonyms) |
1–2 |
|
Fill in the Blanks |
1–2 |
From this breakdown, it’s clear that reading passages are the largest part of VARC. A good VARC book will have lots of practice passages. For smaller topics (like para-jumbles or vocabulary), even 1–3 practice sets in the book can cover them well.
How to Use a VARC Book Effectively
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Start with a review of the concept: Read each chapter on grammar rules or carefully read strategies. Make sure you understand the basics of grammar use, sentence improvement tips, and paragraphs in summary.
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Practice regularly: Determine a daily or weekly time to solve book exercises. Consider each set of questions as a real practice. Sometimes, give yourself time to follow the pressure of the examination.
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Analyze errors: After solving the questions, always read the explanation for the answer. Note why you got a question wrong. This feedback loop helps you avoid repeating mistakes.
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Mix with reading: Apart from books, read a newspaper or an article to increase your reading speed and vocabulary. It complements the practice of the book.
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Take a mock test: Try the CAT sample question paper or online mock test from time to time. When solving this, use strategies learned in the book.
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Conclusion
In summary, a VARC book provides structured practice and guidance that you cannot get from random study. It organizes your preparation by the subject, provides tons of practice questions, and shows you tips and strategies for the test. Use the book with mock tests and sample papers for a balanced study plan. With stable exercises and reviews, you can significantly increase your CAT Verbal Score.
Frequently Asked Questions
VARC stands for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. It covers comprehension passages, verbal skills like grammar usage, sentence correction, para-jumbles, summary questions, and vocabulary (synonyms/antonyms). In total, CAT usually has 24 VARC questions divided among these topics.
A VARC book is designed for CAT, so it covers all topics you will face. It gives you organized practice with many questions and explains the answers. This focused practice helps improve your reading speed, vocabulary, and understanding of question types. As a result, you learn strategies and gain confidence before the actual exam.
A VARC book is a very useful tool, but it’s best used with other practice. In addition to the book, you should solve CAT sample question papers and mock tests under exam conditions. This way, you apply what you learned in the book to real test scenarios. Together, they give a complete preparation.
First, study each chapter and do the exercises chapter-wise. Review the answer explanations in the book to analyze your mistakes. Then practice full-length VARC sections in mock tests. Also keep reading newspapers or articles regularly to build your comprehension skills. Consistency and review are key to improving your VARC score.
