CAT 2019 VARC Analysis: Slot 2 Breakdown and Strategy
📋 Table of Contents
🔍 Introduction
The CAT 2019 VARC Slot 2 paper challenged aspirants with dense reading comprehension passages and a few strategically placed easier sections. For many, success depended not on speed but on strategic question selection and careful elimination. This breakdown provides everything you need to learn from it and excel in upcoming attempts.
📊 CAT 2019 VARC Slot 2 Structure
| Section | Questions | MCQs | TITA |
|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 24 | 24 | 0 |
| Verbal Ability | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| Total | 34 | 31 | 3 |
- Structure identical to Slot 1
- Moderate-to-difficult overall, with 2 tough RCs pulling the section’s average up
📘 Reading Comprehension: Key Takeaways
Question Distribution
- 5 RC passages:
- 4 passages with 5 questions
- 1 passage with 4 questions
- Average passage length: 550–600 words
Observations
- British Colonialism and Languages in Egypt RCs were tricky and time-consuming
- Other RCs were easier to moderate, enabling scoring
- Many students skipped the hardest RC to focus on achievable questions
🧠 Verbal Ability Breakdown
Para-Jumbles (4 Questions)
- Mixed bag:
- 1 easy
- 2 moderate
- 1 difficult
- Focus required on recognizing opening statements and forming logical pairs
- TITA format makes all worth attempting
Odd Sentence Out (3 Questions)
- 2 easy, 1 moderate
- Most students found this section scoring
- Tip: Identify the outlier by assessing the paragraph theme and sentence roles
Summary Questions (3 Questions)
- 2 easy, 1 moderate
- Short academic paragraphs
- Elimination worked well here for most aspirants
- Pro Tip: Look for options that represent all ideas concisely without introducing new ones
📚 Passage-Wise RC Summary
| Passage Topic | Difficulty | Attemptability | Notes |
|---|
| British Colonialism | Difficult | Low | Dense and abstract |
| Languages in Egypt | Moderate | Moderate | Slightly tough phrasing |
| Ecology | Easy–Moderate | Moderate | Straightforward logic |
| History, Art & Museums | Moderate | Moderate | Slightly abstract, but solvable |
| Shifting of Capitals | Easy | High | Clear and direct |
📅 Slot 1 vs Slot 2: What Changed?
| Feature | Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
|---|
| Tricky RCs | Aladdin, Topophilia | Colonialism, Egypt |
| Easy RCs | Emperor Penguins, Marketing | Capitals, Ecology |
| Summary Difficulty | Easy | Easier |
| Overall Difficulty | Moderate–High | Similar, but slightly more direct |
⏱️ 99 Percentile Strategy for VARC
Ideal Target
- Net Correct: 24–26
- Estimated Score: 60–62 marks
- Percentile Range: ~99%
Strategy Tips
- Skip the toughest RC after a quick scan (e.g., Colonialism or Languages in Egypt)
- Prioritize passages with linear ideas and familiar contexts
- Attempt all TITA VA questions—no penalty, high reward
- Use POE (Process of Elimination) in Summary and RC options to improve accuracy
❓ FAQs
- Was CAT 2019 Slot 2 tougher than Slot 1? Not significantly, but Slot 2 had different RC challenges. The difficulty level was mostly balanced across both slots.
- What was the biggest challenge in this VARC section? The RC passages on Colonialism and Egypt were the trickiest—due to both vocabulary and inference complexity.
- How many questions should I have attempted for 99 percentile? Targeting 24–26 correct questions with ~85–90% accuracy would be ideal.
✅ Conclusion
The CAT 2019 VARC Slot 2 exam tested aspirants’ comprehension depth and strategy. Success depended less on speed and more on judgment—knowing what to skip, how to eliminate, and where to capitalize. Use this analysis to refine your preparation and simulate similar conditions in mock tests.
