CAT Verbal Ability Books: Which is the best Verbal Ability Book for CAT?
How is your search for CAT Verbal Ability Books going on? In case you are not finding much success in this pursuit, then just keep in mind that you are not the only one to struggle with this aspect of preparation. In fact, finding verbal ability books for cat preparation is quite a challenge for a simple reason: there are no quality sources available!
Unlike CAT Quantitative Aptitude books, which offer good value for money, most CAT Verbal Ability Books are simply a compilation of previous year CAT, XAT, IIFT, etc. exam questions and these books feature very little original questions. In fact, with most books, you will realise that your expectations have been belied and the books simply did not live up to the level you expect them to.
Now that I have outlined the problem, what is the solution to this problem?
Well, there are some quality resources and books that you can use for your CAT Verbal Ability preparation. Remember, your search for verbal ability books for CAT ends with using a combination of resources for the different sections of the exam:
CAT Verbal Ability Books Area-1: Reading Comprehensions
Sadly, there is not even a single book that is up to the mark for CAT RC prep. Instead, you should do the following:
- Solve previous year CAT RCs and passages from all exams you plan to appear for.
- Solve mocks of leading institutes. I only recommend Career Launcher, Time, and IMS for this part of your preparation.
- Solve RCs in our RC section.
CAT Verbal Ability Books Area-2: Reading
While there is no book for CAT Reading Comprehensions, there are definitely two books you can use to improve your reading skills:
- How to get more out of your reading by Norman Lewis
- How to read better and faster by Norman Lewis
These two books will most definitely help you improve your language and comprehension skills.
CAT Verbal Ability Books Area-3: Grammar
For Grammar, you can use the following books:
- Better English by Norman Lewis (a light read)
- High School Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin (a very tough read, requires a lot patience)
For confusing words/usage tips and phrasal verbs, our sections provide you more than enough information and practice.
CAT Verbal Ability Books Area-4: Vocabulary
For Grammar, you can use the following books:
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
- Six weeks to words of power by Wilfred Funk
I have put up study notes for these two books here. You can use this to supplement your learning.
The above are some of the books you can use for CAT Verbal Ability preparation. Remember, you can always count on us for your Verbal Ability prep.
