Get These 7 Study Companions for CAT & MBA Verbal Ability Preparation
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Admit Card - 5 Nov '25 - 30 Nov '25
CAT VARC preparation cannot be dependent only on syllabus based books and study material. You need to study extra for CAT VARC for handling long and dense Reading Comprehension passages and tricky parajumbles.
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension is one of pain points of majority of MBA entrance exam aspirants, especially for the CAT aspirants. This is one section that cannot be prepared in a short time or via mock tests. Good verbal ability and reading comprehension skills can be developed over time with adequate reading and writing practice. The key is to select the right material to study.
CAT 2025 exam aspirants have to read a good number of books and novels to strengthen reading comprehension skills. To crack VARC section of CAT or any MBA entrance exam preparation of Reading Comprehension can be done only through extensive reading. This requires time, so if you are planning to prepare for CAT, XAT or other MBA entrance exams, start reading early on.
Why Read Extensively for CAT preparation?
One needs to have extremely good English reading comprehension skill for CAT and XAT as their passages are long and inference based. XAT in fact has one passage in the form of a poem every year. So, it is very important to be able to read fast, understand fast and note highlights of the prose and poems. Below, we have listed seven items that will enhance Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension skills for CAT 2025 exam and help them traverse through other MBA exams too. Aspirants need to become friends with these seven items listed below:
7 Study Companions for CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Preparation
1. Dictionary
Candidates will come across new words and phrases during CAT 2025 preparation. Knowing the meaning of words and how to use them correctly in a sentence is extremely important for cracking parajumble questions of CAT. This is where the good old dictionary comes handy. We suggest you to carry a dictionary everywhere. Yes, everywhere. You can choose to carry the physical dictionary (big ones or pocket sized) or simply download the dictionary app on your smartphones and tablets and check out words/word meanings whenever you get time. In short, dictionary (Shabd Kosh) is an essential element while preparing for CAT and all MBA entrance exams.
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2. Mobile Apps
Smartphones are man’s new best friend. Let’s utilise this. Download mobile applications related to verbal ability preparation and grammar. Visit these prep apps anytime you are free to solve practice exercises and play word meaning/antonym or synonym puzzles. But before downloading, review the ratings and comments of these MBA preparation apps in app stores. Download apps with 4 stars+ ratings, which have explanatory videos as well as practice questions.
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3. English Newspapers
Every mentor and guide will tell you to read newspapers regularly for CAT VARC preparation. We also advise the same. Read both the news sections and editorial columns. Reading newspaper regularly will not only improve your verbal ability and vocabulary but will also improve your reading speed which is critical to CAT as it is a time bound exam. You can also read news on mobile.
4. English Novels
Read English novels of various genres. Go for fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, popular fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, biography, auto-biography, classic novels and even historical novels to improve your reading comprehension as well as speed. Carry one with yourself anywhere you go to read in transit. Read it while waiting for the bus or train or before the teacher comes in class. The idea is get familiar with English language and also develop good reading speed. Pick up a book of your interest, else it may become a task rather than a pleasant activity.
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5. Movies, Teleseries
Watch movies and television shows in your free time to get familiar with spoken English. Watch popular English international TV series and listen to the conversation carefully. Observe the nuisances of the language and how people speak. It can be quite useful during GD-PI and interview stage. Many shows have subtitles. Reading subtitles can also help developing a good reading speed.
6. YouTube
Out of the seven listed Verbal Ability companions for CAT preparation, YouTube is our new favourite! On YouTube, you can not only watch full-length CAT VA preparation videos but also enjoy various shows, videos and movies. It is helpful in developing their language skills, and also in preparing for CAT Verbal Ability at ease. All you need is a wifi connection or good mobile data package.
7. Verbal Ability Preparation Material
And finally, never let go of the CAT books and crucial material provided to you by your mentors. Developing an ease with English language is as crucial as knowing what topics are expected in the exam. Get hold of sample papers, sectional CAT mock tests and previous years' CAT question papers. Practice them in time bound manner to develop speed and accuracy.
Candidates must read books on economy, philosophy, science, astronomy, psychology, sociology, history, geography, psychoanalysis, economics, astronomy, art & culture, literature, fiction novels, auto-biographies and biographies. Most of the passages that appear in any MBA entrance exam are based on these topics. The RC passages length may vary but most of the times the language is tough with foreign words and expressions or a good amount of data.
It is also recommended to candidates to read research papers, survey reports, etc. to have the practice of understanding and relating data in a quick read. Always refer to dictionary for word meanings while reading books.
The best books for Quantitative Aptitude preparation of CAT exam are listed below. These books are recommended by experts and mentors not only for CAT but also for other MBA entrance exams.
- NCERT Mathematics books (Class 9-10)
- How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha
- Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Verm
- Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha
- Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal
The NCERT Mathematics book is recommended for CAT preparation because it is the best source of building or revisiting the fundamentals of Algebra Geometry, Trigonometry Mensuration and Arithmetic. The NCERT books are extremely helpful to students from non-Engineering background. Quantitative Aptitude books by Arun Sharma, Abhijit Guha, Sarvesh Verma, Nishit Sinha and RS Aggarwal are the main books for CAT preparation as they cover all the topics at advanced level. They also have 1000s of sample questions of easy, moderate and high difficulty levels for practice.
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- Reading Comprehension preparation tips
- Verbal Ability preparation tips
- Pronouns with exercises
- Parajumbles with exercises
- Prepositions with exercises
- Types of clauses with exercises
- Examples of articles with exercises
- Phrases Modifiers with articles
- Parts of Speech with articles
- Errors in Tenses with articles
The best resources for Quantitative Aptitude preparation is sample papers and previous years' CAT question papers. Since both Quantitative Aptitude is all about Mathematics, it can only be mastered by having enough practice. But only solving question papers and practice papers will not be enough. You will need to first be thorough with the topics and their concepts/formulae. For that refer to books like Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha, Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha and Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Sharma. Sectional mock tests for Quants are also very important for preparation.
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There are a range of books available for preparation of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section of CAT. However, the most recommended books are mentioned below:
For Verbal Ability preparation, practice questions of different difficulty levels are a major part of preparation. The abovementioned books are the best resources of Verbal Ability and practice questions. To prepare for Reading Comprehension, candidates should read books, novels, magazines, research papers, newspaper editorials, etc. Along with these books.