Types of Reading Comprehension Questions in CAT Exam 2026

Cracking the CAT Reading Comprehension (RC) questions is not easy. You need to know how to approach which type of CAT RC question. Read this article to know types of Reading Comprehension questions in CAT exam and how to crack them.

RC for CAT preparation - Reading Comprehension (RC) question in CAT exam make up 3/4^th of the sectional weightage. Out of 24 VARC questions, 12-14 questions are based on RC passages. CAT RC passages are usually of 500 to 600 word-limit but and of high difficulty level. The CAT passages are long and dense, and often from rarely heard about topics. The Reading Comprehension section of CAT is considered the most difficult among all MBA entrance exams mainly because the passages are complicated and inference based. There are rarely fact based RC passages in the CAT. Close answers lead to further confusion in the minds of candidates. 

Preparation of CAT RC is not the same as DILR or Quant. There are no formulaes to apply or no tables to be memorised. It requires long time plan and consistent action. You need to start as early as March. RC for CAT can be mastered only if you have strong English reading skills, as you are required to read long passages in less than a minute and solve at least four questions for each passage. So, more than anything, you need to be able to read fast and understand the passages as well as identify key arguments/facts given. 

Apart from having a reading habit, you also need practice. It is critical to practice sample papers and sectional CAT mock tests for VARC for atleast two months. Another thing that you need for preparing Reading Comprehension for CAT 2026 is the knowledge of types of RC passages. In this article we have discussed different types passages in Reading Comprehension for CAT exam.

Types of Reading Comprehension Passages in CAT Exam

There are mainly three types of Reading Comprehension passages in CAT exam:

• Analytical
• Descriptive
• Data Driven

Also Read: CAT exam preparation tips 

CAT RC Topics of Previous Years

The topics on which CAT RC passages are based include business & economics, science, humanities, social sciences and current affairs. Take a look at the RC topics of CAT exam in the past eight years.

CAT RC Topics 2025

Check below reading comprehesion topics of CAT 2025 exam, Every RC had 4-5 questions. 

CAT RC Topics 2024

Reading Comprehension for CAT 2024 pertained to diverse fields. Every session had 4 RC passages having 3-4 questions. Check the table below for CAT RC passages aked in 2024. 

CAT RC Topics 2023

CAT Reading Comprehension passages in 2023 exam were of high difficulty level. There were four RC passages in every session, having 3-4 questions each. Check the CAT RC topics 2023 below:

CAT RC Topics 2022

CAT Reading Comprehension passages in 2022 exam were moderately difficult. Given below are the CAT RC topics of all the three exam slots:

CAT RC Topics 2021

CAT 2021 was held in three shifts. Given below are the CAT RC topics of all the three exam slots:

CAT RC Topics 2020

CAT 2020 was also held in three shifts. Given below are the CAT RC topics of all the three exam slots:

CAT RC Topics 2019

Check the table below for CAT RC topics of Slots 1 and 2 of CAT 2019 exam:

CAT RC Topics 2018

Check the table below for CAT RC topics of slot 1 and 2 of CAT 2018 exam.

Try this CAT Mock Test by Shiksha to assess your preparation level and time-management skill.

Types of Reading Comprehension Questions in CAT Exam

Coming to the types of questions asked on Reading Comprehension topics, one can expect a variety of questions in CAT 2025. Each CAT RC passage carries three to four questions which can be of the following types based on the theme of the passage:

• Questions based on Central Theme
• Vocabulary based questions
• Inference based questions
• Facts based questions
• Questions based on tone of the passage
• Passage structure based questions
• Title based questions

Let’s discuss each type of CAT RC questions individually.

Questions based on Central Theme:  In this type of RC questions, the test taker has to identify the central theme of the passage. The question could be: ‘Which of the following options sum up the theme of the passage?’ Or ‘What is the central idea of the topic?’

These are generally easy to crack and one can guess the right answer upon reading the passage properly.

Vocabulary based questions: These types of questions in Reading Comprehension for CAT are generally, based on word meaning or antonym/synonym. For example, meaning of a word appearing in the passage will be asked like, ‘What is the meaning of ?’ or ‘What is the synonym of?'

The only way to crack vocabulary-based questions in CAT is by having a strong vocabulary base. There are very less vocabulary based questions in CAT now, though.

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Inference based questions: These are the toughest type of RC questions as the correct answer is completely dependent on ones understanding of the argument presented in the passage. The types of questions on these passages will be, '

What does the author mean by this?'

 or 

What do you infer from this?'

To solve inference-based questions in Reading Comprehension section for CAT, you need to read the passage very carefully and understand the central theme. Break down the sentences while reading the passage, understand the fundamental theme and if needed make notes.

Facts-based questions: These questions are easy to solve, provided you read the passage carefully and mark important points. Also, understand the question well before answering. Fact based questions are usually in the form of fill in the blanks or correct/incorrect statements.

Passage structure-based questions: These types of questions ask candidates to arrange arguments presented in the passage in a logical manner. In CAT, you may also be asked to analyse the logic behind the paragraph. For example, ‘What does the last paragraph describe?’ or ‘What is the main argument in third paragraph?’

To crack CAT RC questions based on structure, read the passage in parts and try to get the gist of each paragraph. Pay attention on words such as ‘however’, ‘but’, ‘although’. Conjunctions can change the meaning of the statement.

Title-based questions: These refer to the questions in Reading Comprehension for CAT where candidates are asked to choose an appropriate title for the given passage. These are the types of questions where one will have to select not the right answer but the most apt option or the title closest to the theme of the passage. These type of questions can be tricky to answer if one hasn’t understood the passage well.

Questions-based on tone of the passage:  Tone-based question require application of critical thinking. The questions usually asked are, ‘What is the attitude of the author while saying this statement?’ or ‘The tone of the author is best described as?’

To solve questions-based on tone of the passage, one needs to understand the nature of the passage - positive, negative or neutral.

CAT questions for practice with solutions - VARC

Get here free PDFs of CAT VARC practice questions with answers. The CAT practice questions are of the same difficulty level as CAT.

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