CAT VARC Question Types: RC and Verbal Ability Counts, 2017–2025
Every CAT VARC question from 2017 to 2025 counted by type: the RC vs verbal ability split, passages per paper, TITA share and how to approach each type.
CAT VARC question types come in two groups: reading comprehension, which has been exactly 16 of the 24 questions in every slot from 2021 to 2025, and verbal ability, the other 8, split among para jumbles, para summary, para completion, odd one out and missing sentence. From our tagging of every CAT VARC question since 2017, para jumbles (96 questions) and para summary (66) are by far the most common verbal ability types, but CAT 2024 and 2025 brought back odd-one-out and missing-sentence questions after years of absence.
Below: the full count, the slot-by-slot pattern for each year, how many questions are TITA, and a practical approach to each type with links to practice pages built from past CAT questions.
How we counted
We tagged every question in the 24 CAT VARC slot papers on our site for 2017–2025 (642 questions) by type. Each VARC question has exactly one tag, so counts and shares add up cleanly. VARC had 34 questions per slot in 2017–2019 (two slots), 26 in 2020 and 24 from 2021 to 2025 (three slots each year). "Passages" is the number of distinct RC passages in a paper.
CAT VARC question types: the 2017–2025 count
| Rank | Question type | Qs 2017–25 | Share | Qs 2017–20 | Qs 2021–25 | Share 2021–25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reading Comprehension | 439 | 68.4% | 199 | 240 | 66.7% |
| 2 | Para Jumbles | 96 | 15.0% | 50 | 46 | 12.8% |
| 3 | Para Summary | 66 | 10.3% | 27 | 39 | 10.8% |
| 4 | Para Completion | 18 | 2.8% | 0 | 18 | 5.0% |
| 5 | Odd one out | 14 | 2.2% | 6 | 8 | 2.2% |
| 6 | Missing Sentence | 9 | 1.4% | 0 | 9 | 2.5% |
Reading comprehension is 68.4% of all VARC questions over nine years: 70.6% in 2017–20 and exactly two-thirds (66.7%) since 2021. Para jumbles have lost the most ground, from 17.7% of the section in 2017–20 to 12.8% in 2021–25. In our 2017–25 data, para completion first appeared in 2022 and missing sentence in 2024.
RC vs verbal ability: the split by year
Question-type columns are totals for the year across all its slots; divide by the number of slots for a per-slot figure.
| Year | Slots | Qs per slot | RC (all slots) | Passages per slot | Para jumbles | Summary | Completion | Odd one out | Missing sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 34 | 48 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 34 | 48 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 34 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 26 | 54 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 24 | 48 | 4 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 3 | 24 | 48 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3 | 24 | 48 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 3 | 24 | 48 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 24 | 48 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
- 2017–2019: 24–25 RC questions in 5 passages, then 9–10 verbal ability questions dominated by para jumbles (6–7 per slot) and 3 summaries.
- 2020: 18 RC questions in 4 passages, and 8 VA: 3 jumbles, 3 summaries, 2 odd one out.
- 2021–2023: 16 RC in 4 passages, 8 VA. Jumbles went 5 → 3 → 4 per slot; completion joined in 2022 at 2 per slot.
- 2024: the VA mix differed by slot. Slots 2 and 3 had completion (3), summary (3) and jumbles (2); Slot 1 had summary (3), missing sentence (3) and odd one out (2), with no jumbles.
- 2025: four VA types in every slot: jumbles, summary, odd one out and missing sentence, 2 each, and no completion.
The constant is RC. The verbal ability mix changes most years, so prepare all five types rather than betting on last year's pattern.
How many CAT VARC questions are TITA?
In our records, VARC had 49 TITA questions across the fifteen 2021–25 slots: 1–5 per slot, about 3–4 in a typical slot. That is about 4 in 10 (40.8%) of the 120 verbal ability questions in those years; RC questions are multiple choice. TITA in VARC has mainly meant para jumbles (type the order, such as 3142) and odd one out (type the number of the misfit sentence). TITA answers carry no negative marking, so always enter an answer for these, even after elimination leaves you unsure. The MCQ types (summary, completion, missing sentence and RC) carry −1 for a wrong answer.
A practical approach to each question type
Reading comprehension (16 questions, 4 passages)
Read actively for the author's main claim and the role of each paragraph; most CAT RC questions test inference and the author's view rather than facts. Eliminate options that are too extreme, out of scope or true but irrelevant. Do one passage of each kind (humanities, science, economics) every day. Practise on the RC chapter page, which has every CAT passage with explained answers, and read our CAT VARC preparation guide for a reading routine.
Para jumbles
Find the opening sentence (it introduces the subject without needing context) and lock pairs: pronouns, "however", "this", examples that follow a claim, and time order. Build the sequence from two or three fixed pairs instead of testing all orders. Practise: Para Jumbles; a jumble-heavy paper is CAT 2021 VARC Slot 1.
Para summary
Write your own one-line summary before reading the options. Reject options that add a new idea, distort the emphasis or cover only part of the paragraph. Practise: Para Summary.
Para completion
Identify where the paragraph is heading: its last two sentences usually set the direction. The right option continues the argument without introducing a new subject. Practise: Para Completion; examples in CAT 2024 VARC Slot 2.
Odd one out
Four or five sentences, one of which does not belong. Find the pair or trio that clearly link, then test which sentence breaks the common theme; a sentence on the same topic but a different angle is a common misfit. Practise: Odd one out; examples in CAT 2020 VARC Slot 1 and CAT 2025 VARC Slot 1.
Missing sentence
A sentence must go into one of several blanks in a paragraph. Look for what the sentence refers back to and what it sets up, and check the sentences on either side of each blank. Practise: Missing Sentence; see CAT 2024 VARC Slot 1.
What this means for CAT 2026
CAT 2026 is on Sunday 29 November 2026 (confirm on iimcat.ac.in), with VARC as the first 40-minute section. If the 2021–25 pattern holds, expect 4 RC passages with 16 questions, and 8 verbal ability questions drawn from the five types, about 3–4 of them TITA. A sensible time split is about 28–30 minutes on RC and 10–12 on verbal ability. Since RC is two-thirds of the score, it deserves about two-thirds of your VARC practice time. For the full picture, see the CAT exam pattern and our CAT 2025 paper analysis.
How to practise on apti4all
- Take full VARC slot papers under time, such as CAT 2025 VARC Slot 2 and CAT 2023 VARC Slot 1; the full list is on the CAT previous year papers page.
- Use the test builder to make a mixed set of verbal ability questions, or four RC passages, in a timed block.
- Save questions you got wrong to your mistake notebook and revisit the reasoning, not just the answer.
For the other two sections, see most asked topics in CAT Quant and CAT DILR set types.
Frequently asked questions
How many RC passages are there in CAT VARC?
Four passages with 16 questions in every slot from 2021 to 2025. CAT 2017–2019 had five passages with 24–25 questions.
What are the verbal ability question types in CAT?
Para jumbles, para summary, para completion, odd one out and missing sentence. In 2021–25 they made up 8 of 24 questions per slot; para jumbles (46) and summary (39) were the most common.
Are para jumbles still asked in CAT?
Yes, but fewer: 2 per slot in CAT 2025, against 6–7 per slot in 2017–2019, and CAT 2024 Slot 1 had none.
Is there negative marking on CAT VARC TITA questions?
No. TITA questions carry no negative marking; MCQs carry −1 for a wrong answer and +3 for a right one.
Where can I practise CAT VARC questions?
Use topic-wise preparation for each question type, or the question of the day for a daily habit.