CAT 2021 VARC Analysis: Slot 2 Breakdown and Strategy

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📋 Table of Contents

• Introduction
• CAT 2021 VARC Slot 2 Exam Structure
• Reading Comprehension: Key Trends
• Verbal Ability Breakdown
• Ideal Attempt Strategy
• How to Handle Tricky RC Options
• FAQs
• Conclusion

🔍 Introduction

The CAT 2021 VARC Slot 2 section tested aspirants with dense RC passages and moderately difficult Verbal Ability questions. With a total of 24 questions to be solved in 40 minutes, success demanded not just knowledge, but precise strategy. In this detailed analysis, we decode what worked—and how you can use it to guide your prep.

📊 CAT 2021 VARC Slot 2 Exam Structure

• No grammar or vocabulary-based questions
• All TITA questions were from the Verbal Ability section
• Questions were conceptually challenging with close options in both RC and summaries

📘 Reading Comprehension: Key Trends

Passage Topics and Difficulty

Insights

• Passages ranged between 500–600 words
• 2 RCs (Colonialism, Skepticism) were particularly dense
• Ideal approach: Target Decline of Languages and Power & Truth first
• All questions were MCQs—so accuracy mattered due to negative marking

🧠 Verbal Ability Breakdown

Para-jumbles (3 TITA Questions)

• Moderate to high difficulty
• Tricky openings and misleading transitions
• Strategy: Identify mandatory pairs and build outwards

Odd Sentence Out (2 TITA Questions)

• Moderate
• One passage required a subtle distinction in theme
• Easy marks if flow and idea consistency were assessed correctly

Summary Questions (3 MCQs)

• Medium difficulty
• Options were extremely close in tone and content
• Focus on eliminating options that were too broad, too narrow, or missed key ideas

⏱️ Ideal Attempt Strategy

Tips:

• Start with the easiest RC (Decline of Languages)
• Attempt all 5 TITA questions (no negative marking)
• Be cautious with summary MCQs—eliminate logically
• Don’t force-fit difficult RCs unless confident with inference questions

🎯 How to Handle Tricky RC Options

Even the most readable RCs in CAT 2021 had trickily worded options. Here’s a framework to approach them:

Elimination Framework

1. Scope Check – Eliminate overly broad or narrow options
2. Relevance Test – Discard options introducing new ideas not mentioned in the passage
3. Tone Matching – Align the tone of the answer with the tone of the author
4. Central Idea Anchor – Stick closely to what the main point of the paragraph or passage is

❓ FAQs

1. Was CAT 2021 Slot 2 VARC harder than Slot 1? Yes, slightly. While RC topics were similar in length, Slot 2 had more abstract themes and denser language.
2. Were the VA questions scoring? Yes—especially the Odd Sentence Out and Para-jumbles (due to TITA format and no negative marking).
3. What should be my ideal section-wise time allocation?

   • RCs: 25–28 minutes
   • Verbal Ability: 12–15 minutes
   • Review/flagged questions: 2–3 minutes buffer

✅ Conclusion

The CAT 2021 VARC Slot 2 paper reinforced the importance of accuracy and time management. With dense reading comprehension and tricky summaries, the winners were those who knew what to attempt, when to skip, and how to eliminate effectively. Build these decision-making muscles during your mocks, and you’ll be better prepared to maximize every question in future CAT attempts.