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CAT Preparation Books For Beginners: The CAT exam is one of the popular and toughest exams for getting admission to IIMs. If you are a beginner then you must have a question in mind about how to start CAT exam preparation. Finding the best book is necessary if you are planning to appear for the exam. There are lots of books available in the market and choosing the best CAT book can be tough for the students starting CAT preparation. In the blog, we will discuss some of the best CAT preparation books for beginners that will put you in a better position in the exam.
| Exam Name | CAT |
| Full Name | Common Admission Test |
| Exam Conducting Body | Indian Institute of Management(IIM) |
| Exam Syllabus | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Aptitude (QA) |
| Exam Frequency | Once a year |
| Exam Level | Moderate to Difficult |
| Exam Date | November, 2024 |
| Exam Application Fees | General, OBC and EWS – Rs. 2300 ST, SC, and PwD – Rs. 1150 |
| Official Website | https://iimcat.ac.in/ |
Table of Contents
How to Choose the Best Book for CAT Exam 2024?
Having the best reference book by your side will help you ace the examination in one attempt. If you want to choose the best book for the CAT exam then you must check the buying tips given below:
- Make sure the book covers all the syllabus and topics related to the CAT exam.
- The book must provide a clear explanation of all the topics/subjects.
- Additionally, the book must have enough in-depth conceptual study material, explaining every concept with clarity.
- The books must also have enough practice questions, and exercises with clear explanations related to each topic.
Must Read: Is CAT Necessary for MBA? Evaluate and Check MBA Options without CAT
CAT Preparation Books for Beginners
The beginners can start their preparation through NCERT books for mathematics from Class 6th to Class 10th. It allows the students to get a good hold on different topics of mathematics. A person can start preparing using the NCERT book which will help in improving the basics of the students. It will also make them move step by step ahead in the preparation for the CAT exam. Preparation of all of them should be done well by the candidates. Here, are some of the best books section-wise whose help you can take for starting your preparations.
Quantitative Aptitude
The students who are starting their preparations can take the help of the NCERT to make their basics strong. Here, are some of the Quantitative Aptitude CAT preparation books for beginners are:
| Books | Author or Publication |
| NCERT Mathematics book(Class 6th to 10th) | NCERT |
| Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations | Sarvesh K. Verma |
| How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT | Arun Sharma |
| Quantitative Aptitude | R S Aggarwal |
| Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT | Nishit K Sinha |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Candidates starting preparation for the DILR section should start with “A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning” by R.S. Aggarwal. The book will help in understanding the basic concepts of logical reasoning. You can also check some of the best books for the section below in the table.
| Books | Author or Publication |
| A Modern Approach To Logical Reasoning | R.S. Aggarwal |
| “How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT” and ”How to Prepare for Logical Reasoning for CAT” | Arun Sharma |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT | Nishit Sinha |
| CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | Gautam Puri |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
The VARC section is divided into two sub-sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. One can start reading newspapers, journals, magazines, and journals for reading comprehension and improving vocabulary. You can get help from various books from the table given below:
| Books | Author or Publication |
| Mastering the Verbal Ability for CAT | Ajay Singh |
| How To Prepare For Verbal Ability And Reading Comprehension | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay |
| Word Power Made Easy | Norman Lewis |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension For The CAT | Nishit Sinha |
Also Read: CAT Numerical Reasoning: Formulas, Preparation Tips, and Sample Questions
Beginner’s Strategy to Prepare for the CAT Exam 2024
A beginner who is starting the preparations for the CAT exam should follow a proper strategy for the examination. They can start by strengthening their basics and preparing the topics according to the CAT syllabus. The CAT exam is an aptitude test so candidates’ reasoning skills, vocabulary, and other skills can be assessed. They must prepare all the subjects well to score good marks. Here, we will discuss the beginner’s strategy to prepare for the CAT exam section-wise.
Quantitative Aptitude
NCERT is best if you are searching for a CAT preparation book for beginners. Other books that you take to prepare for this section are quantitative aptitude books by Arun Sharma, R.S. Aggarwal, and Sarvesh Verma. These books help the students clear the concepts as well as provide enough questions for practice.
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
The section of VARC is divided into parts: reading comprehension and the other is Verbal ability. For reading comprehension, you should give at least 1 hour for reading every day. You can refer to different websites available and read according to the topics that come in the RC section. Take help through YouTube for understanding to read the difficult articles.
For the Verbal ability part one can start by practicing questions through books and taking lectures online. Take help from the VARC books by Arun Sharma or Sujit Kumar as both can help boost your preparations.
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Understand the data given in the questions properly in the DI part where the questions generally have lots of data. After understanding each question just note down all the data given in the table, or chart. Follow the steps to reach the final answer by completely solving it.
Practice different types of puzzles such as Sudoku, 2048 to improve puzzle-solving skills. Various kinds of questions are given in the section so proper practice of each one of them is necessary. Additionally, the candidates can also solve previous year’s question papers and model test papers for better preparation.
Related Reads
FAQs
Some of the best CAT preparation books for beginners are NCERT Mathematics, How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension For The CAT by Nishit Sinha, A Modern Approach To Logical Reasoning
R.S. Aggarwal etc.
Candidates should make a proper strategy plan for every section so that they can prepare well. They must revise topics after studying them properly. Additionally, they can solve previous year’s questions as well as model test papers for the exam.
Make a reading habit by practising reading comprehension topics properly every day. For this, you can read newspapers daily along with magazines and journals.
A candidate who wants admission to IIM Bangalore is required to score a final percentile of 99 in the CAT exam.
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