MAT Intelligence and Critical Reasoning often poses chanllenges at the time of preparation because it does not have formulas to memorise or concepts to understand. But if you like to solve puzzles then you can score well in this section. If you are preparing for MAT 2025, find here key tips for MAT Intelligence & Critical Reasoning section.
MAT Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section is a test of candidate's reasoning ability in various types of situations. It has questions on coding-decoding, series, blood relation and verbal reasoning, etc. Solving puzzles and choosing a correct option in a few seconds is not easy, thus, the preparation strategy for MAT Intelligence and Critical Reasoning has to holistic.
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Your MAT 2025 preparation plan for Intelligence and Critical Reasoning should be focused on observation and practice. MAT 2025 exam’s Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section covers 1/5th part of the question paper with 30 questions. Each question carries 1 mark and there is negative marking of -0.25. IFor an ideal MAT score, candidates must attempt at least 2/3 of the total questions in this section. So, it is critical to attain accuracy in this section. An ideal MAT preparation plan for Intelligence and Critical Reasoning should include practice questions of all variety and difficulty levels.
Given below are some useful MAT preparation tips for Intelligence and Critical Reasoning. These tips will help MAT exam 2025 aspirants sharpen their critical reasoning skills.
- How to Prepare for MAT Exam 2025: Intelligence & Critical Reasoning
- MAT Mock Test Practice
- Best Books for Intelligence and Critical Reasoning
How to Prepare for MAT Exam 2025: Intelligence & Critical Reasoning
As per the official MAT syllabus, Intelligence & Crtiical Reasoning topics include the following:
- Family Tree
- Course of Action
- Arrangement
- Pie Chart
- Calendars
- Statement-Conclusion
- Strong Arguments and Weak Arguments
- Puzzles
- Series
- Blood Relations
- Coding and Decoding
- Column Graphs
- Multi-Dimensional Arrangements
- Visual Reasoning
- Numeric Grid
- Critical Reasoning
- Syllogisms and Graphs
Check MAT previous year's questions papers to understand the pattern of questions related to these topics. You will understand the types and patterns of questions asked in the MAT exam. Practice sample questions of similar nature to master critical reasoning.
Also Read:
MAT Intelligence & Critical Reasoning: How to Practice Sample Questions
If you are new to critical reasoning concepts, then you will have to practice MAT sample questions to understand the concepts and their application. If you have appeared for the MAT exam before, you may not need to practice too many sample papers. Whatever be the case, you will need to practice Reasoning questions daily. Your aim should be to be able to solve questions swiftly and improve your score day by day.
Scores in the Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section of MAT improves only with practice. The best way to prepare for Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section of MAT exam is by considering it more as a riddle than as a subject. If you develop interest in this section, you will be able to crack any type of reasoning question.
While sovling MAT sample questions, time yourself to see how many minutes you take for solving what type of questions. With practice, the time duration should come down.
MAT Mock Test Practice
MAT mock tests are a great source of preparation for Intelligence and Critical Reasoning. MAT mock tests are available with varied difficulty levels. Start with easy mock tests. After you've started scoring well, move to moderate and then to high difficulty level MAT mock tests. At first, you might find it challenging to solve tough questions however, once you get clarity on structure, flow, logic and the connection, you would be able to solve the problems quickly.
In the Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section of MAT exam, following a systematic approach plays a decisive role in building skills and improving analytical and reasoning aptitude. It also helps to inspect the series strategically and understand concepts faster.
Check out free Shiksha Mock Test-
| MAT_Mock_Test_1 | MAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions |
| MAT_Mock_Test_2 | MAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions |
Best Books for Intelligence and Critical Reasoning
Check below recommended books for preparation of Intelligence and Critical Reasoning section of MAT 2025 exam:
| MAT Books |
Publication/ Authors |
|---|---|
| The Hand on Guide to Analytical Reasoning & Logical Reasoning |
Arihant publication |
| Logical Reasoning Ability and General Mental Ability |
Sanjeev Joon, RA Sharma |
Also read: Best Books for MAT Exam Preparation
MAT, like any other MBA entrance exam, is a speed based test so focus on speed and accuracy. There is negative marking too. Relax and give your best with focused preparation. All the best!
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Student Forum
Answered 6 days ago
Hi.
- Minimum Requirement: A MAT score of at least the 64 percentile is the standard benchmark for general category candidates to be consider
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Scholar-Level 17
Answered 6 days ago
Hi.
Yes
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Scholar-Level 17
Answered 6 days ago
Hi.
- Per
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Answered 6 days ago
Hi.
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Scholar-Level 17
Answered 6 days ago
VIT Business School accepts MAT exam percentile for admission to MBA programme. The MAT Cutoff 2024 is 80 for students belonging to the General All India category. In 2023, the VIT Business School cutoff was 80, and in 2022, it was also the same, at 80.
This trend suggests that the MAT percentile has
N
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 3 weeks ago
The admission deadline for GITAM MBA through the MAT entrance exam is February 21, 2025, based on information from their admissions notice.
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 3 weeks ago
Yes, you can get admission to the MBA programme at AURO University with a valid MAT score. The university accepts MAT besides other recognised entrance examinations such as CAT, CMAT, XAT, and GMAT for admissions to its MBA programs. This is because AURO University aims to provide an opportunity to
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 3 weeks ago
No, MAT is not compulsory for the admission process in MBA or PGDM courses offered at ICBM-SBE. The institute uses a number of national-level entrance examinations such as CAT, XAT, CMAT, ATMA, GMAT, and MAT for multiple qualifying opportunities. This flexibility gives students with diverse academic
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a month ago
If you make an error in the educational qualifications section of the MAT form, you can typically make amends during the official correction period offered by AIMA. The correction period is open for a short time after the submission of the application. You can log in with your MAT account and edit t
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Contributor-Level 10
Registration - 23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25
