As a CAT aspirant, you will have to consider multiple factors while choosing the best CAT online coaching for your preparation. Proper analysis needs to be done about the team of teaching professionals, study resources, etc, to ensure you have access to structured preparation for the entire CAT exam syllabus.

CAT (Common Admission Test) is an MBA entrance exam conducted mainly to provide admission into the top MBA colleges in India. The question paper of the CAT exam 2025 will consist of three different sections, i.e, Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. It will be a set of 68 questions. But the most scoring section is VARC, which will include 24 questions. There will be 22 questions each in the QA and DILR sections.

Comparatively, VARC is the easiest section to score in the CAT exam. Yet most of the students fail to clear the sectional cut-off in the VARC section, which hampers their total raw score and overall CAT percentile. This issue is mainly faced by the students who are poor in English communication, grammar and vocabulary and majority of the students are engineers. 

Other than this, those candidates who don’t put much effort into preparing for the VARC also encounter multiple challenges while attempting the questions from this section in the actual CAT exam. Henceforth, we are here to address that every section holds equal importance to achieve a remarkable percentile in the CAT exam. In case you are weak in the VARC section, then it’s very important to choose the best CAT online Coaching Institute that offers structured preparation to ace the VARC section. In this blog, we will mainly discuss the importance of VARC, tips for preparation and which institute is best to prepare for the VARC section. 

CAT VARC Section Overview 

What is the Importance of the VARC Section in the CAT Exam?

VARC is one of the most crucial sections in the CAT exam. It helps in developing a strong command on reading comprehension, critical reasoning, grammar and vocabulary. The moment you start your CAT preparation, your main goal should be to hone your communication skills. It’s very much necessary to deliver an exceptional performance in the GD-PI-WAT rounds. 

These stages are all about effective communication and how you present yourself to the interviewer. Preparing vigorously for the VARC section will help you boost your overall score and percentile. Moreover, it will also develop numerous interpersonal skills that are mandatory to succeed in managerial roles at top organisations. 

How Should You Prepare To Score 99+ in VARC Section for CAT 2026?

VARC has been the simplest section in the CAT exam. It’s the first section in the online CAT exam and consists of MCQ and TITA questions. In VA, questions will appear from the Para Jumbles, Para Summary, Sentence Placement and Odd One Out. On the other hand, the RC section will consist of 4 RCs with a total of 16 questions. Achieving the 85-90% accuracy rate along with quick speed is the “X” factor to crack the VARC section.

Here are some key tips and tricks that you must follow to accomplish this target seamlessly. Alongside this, it will also help you to improve your English grammar and vocabulary. All these practices will lead to a 99%ile in the VARC section. 

• Consistent Reading Habit: Pick top newspapers like The Hindu, The Economist, etc, to build a strong foundation in the reading comprehension section.
• Planned VARC Strategy: Create a proper schedule to read daily. Dedicate enough time daily for reading top newspapers, magazines, English books, etc. 
• Opt for Skimming and Skipping Technique: Build a habit of extracting the main gist of the passage while reading it. Master the art of finding main keywords in the passage. 
• Practice RCs from Different Genres:  Every day, you should practice 3-4 RCs from distinct genres. Ensure that you solve RCs across basic, intermediate and advanced levels. 
• Extract Main Passage Structure: When reading a passage, pay attention to understand the main theme and tone of the passage. Check for supportive arguments and summarise the passage. 
• Proper Time Management: Don’t spend more than 8 minutes on a particular passage. Initially, allocate the first 5 minutes to read the passage. Aim to answer it in the next 3 minutes. 

Which is the Best CAT Online Coaching Institute for VARC Preparation?

The competition is tough amongst the CAT coaching institutes in India. If you’re aiming to appear in the CAT 2026 but want access to streamlined preparation, then iQuanta is the best option for you. It’s widely recognised for its CAT expert faculty, course modules, conceptual sessions, iCAT mocks and many more features. Their personalised CAT course module for VARC, DILR and QA is the main factor that sets them apart from their competitors. Specifically for the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section, they are known for these core features amongst the CAT aspirants.

• VARC Academic Expert: Shabana Ma’am (CAT VARC 99.56%iler and 15+ years of teaching experience) is one of the leading teaching experts for the VARC section. Her teaching style is extremely unique. She provides the simplest trips and tricks to achieve a good sectional score in the VARC section. 
• VARC Essential Module: A compilation of 500 repository words is a part of this module. Their teaching professionals provide a proper explanation for every term. They use an informative article, an RC and a detailed video to explain a specific term to the students. 
• Engineer’s VARC Module: Another interesting module. It’s designed with a major purpose to help the engineering students excel in the VARC section. To provide an in-depth explanation about the RCs, there are 40 videos from different genres. 
• IIM ABC Practice Batch: iQuanta has set another example for offering customised courses for online CAT preparation. If you’re aiming to get into IIM ABC, then purchase this course, which will come along with static and dynamic questions for the VARC, QA and DILR sections. 
• CAT Crash Course (Bonus): A free package which consists of amazing components like mega marathons on VARC, DILR and QA. This crash course will be a vigorous revision session and will also include 3 workshops on each section. 
• Sectional and Mocks: They have an in-built AI-based mock platform where students can attempt mocks and get a detailed performance report. It includes your common errors and patterns. Subsequently, you can also access “Goal Tracker” to prepare according to your desired MBA college. 
• Latest VARC Books: Students who enrol in their online preparation course receive 12 CAT-level books. From this, there are 3 books for the VARC. One book is dedicated to the most common questions from the VA section. The remaining two books comprise RC questions across different levels. 
• 24*7 Doubt-Solving Support: On Facebook, they have a dedicated student community with around 4.1+ lakh members. Top teaching experts from their team are available throughout to provide an instant solution to the students. 

Final Words 

As a CAT aspirant, you will have to consider multiple factors while choosing the best CAT online coaching for your preparation. Proper analysis needs to be done about the team of teaching professionals, study resources, etc, to ensure you have access to structured preparation for the entire CAT exam syllabus. Presently, iQuanta is the most chosen online coaching institute to commence the preparation for the CAT exam. 

Their team offers a well-balanced timetable to the students to keep their preparation on track. In comparison to the other coaching institutes, they opt for a unique teaching style (live sessions+conceptual sessions) which boosts the foundational knowledge of the students. If you’re searching for the best coaching institute to start your CAT preparation, then choose them without any second thought. The moment you enrol for their online preparation course, you will open the doors to progressive career opportunities. 

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Frequently Asked Questions 

Which type of questions appear in the VARC section?

Reports state that the VARC section will consist of 24 questions. VA will consist of 8 different questions on Odd One Out, Fill in the Blanks, etc. Besides this, there will be 16 questions in the RC section. RCs will come across from different genres. 

What will be the marking scheme for VARC in CAT 2025?

IIMs follow a simple marking scheme to evaluate and shortlist the candidates who appear for the CAT exam. A correct answer will result in +3 marks. For an incorrect response, you will get -1 mark. 0 marks are allocated for the wrong TITA attempts and unanswered questions. 

How many types of RC genres should I practice?

Science, Politics, Psychology, Society and Culture, History, Abstract, and Miscellaneous are extremely significant RC genres that you must practice for the CAT 2026. Reading passages of different genres and solving them will help you answer maximum RC questions correctly. 

Is it mandatory to clear the sectional cut-off in the VARC section?

Yes, IIMs evaluate the sectional performance of the candidates in the CAT exam. Failure in achieving the qualifying cut-off in the VARC section will result in a low CAT score and percentile. As a result, your name will not appear in the list of shortlisted candidates. 

How many times should I read daily to clear the VARC section?

Candidates who demonstrate strong communication and reading skills in the English Language must spend at least 1-2 hours daily. Weak candidates with poor reading abilities must dedicate 2-3 hours every day to read high-quality English newspapers, books, etc.