Books For the CAT Exam
If you are looking for a list of books, then you have come to the right place. There are three areas of study in the CAT exam. We will look at different books for CAT which students should refer to in order to perk up their study. Quantitative Aptitude is one section for which the coaching institutes have developed the most comprehensive preparation material.
There are loads of books in the market which can be bought by students in this section. However, the most recommended ones are given below
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) section – Arun Sharma Rocks!
- Arun Sharma – Highly recommended and since it is popular, it has its own thread on Pagalguy too. There are a lot of students who are in fact searching for pdf of Arun Sharma online. To be honest, it’s best not to waste time on that and just buy the book from Amazon directly. It’s not that expensive and worth every penny. Check the book over here.
- SK Verma – If you want to improve your basics in quant, then this is a great option. The book goes into much detail and may get a tad boring for those who are used to this section. Those who are brand new to quant, should buy this book over Arun Sharma. Details over here.
- Nishant Sinha – A good book for MBA preparation but the above two shine above and beyond this one.
- TIME material of Quant is pretty good.
- Total Gadha Number System Book.
No matter which book you pick, follow this golden rule:
Once you are through with your quant book e.g. Arun Sharma, complete it twice again. It is probably one of the most important books for CAT. You should be able to remember each and every type of question when you sit for the exam.
The CAT exam has a crucial element under the Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation niche and students are always found searching books for CAT in order to study this section effectively.
Here we share some resources which students can and should use in order to prepare this section.
Logical Reasoning and DI Books
- Career Launcher LR DI book – a thick booklet, the thickest in fact.
- TIME Logical Reasoning for checking out the type of questions which are normally asked.
- Test Fundas’ Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation Module
- Test Funda free puzzle.
- Shakuntala Devi Puzzles
- Last but certainly not the least – Arun Sharma Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation book.
These books for CAT should form part of your arsenal and virtually anything which wreaks your brain like Sudoku etc. would be a plus. Data Interpretation is one section that is more about practice than logic. However, even the logical reasoning part can be improved by students with consistent effort.
The Verbal Ability section of this exam is perhaps the broadest of all. It cannot be encompassed by just one book and needs a wholesome approach, with consistent side by side practice on part of the student.
Books for Verbal Ability Section of CAT
- SAT Preparation – It is used for preparing SAT. It is good for the critical reasoning section in particular.
- Normal Lewis Vocabulary book.
- Career Launcher RC 2
- Flash cards would also do justice to your preparation.
The key to acing this section is to get used to reading a lot and especially on screen. Some students who are habituated of reading novels in paperback version may find the transition cumbersome but in the long run, it is easy to adapt. Try to read as much as you can and as boring stuff as you can from various niches.
Best Support Books For CAT
If you have gone ahead and purchased your basic elementary books, depending on subjective needs, there can be some supplementary material that you can use to help you in different areas. Here is a showdown of some of the good books that you can take a look at beyond the normal study material of a leading provider.
Quantitative Aptitude
- Arun Sharma – One of the best books out there for Quant Preparation. Check Out The Book
- Nishit Sinha – Another Quant Preparation Book. Check Out the Book
- Sarvesh Kumar Verma – An elementary level Quant level book that is much more detailed than the other two.Check Out the Book
Winner – Arun Sharma if you don’t want to go through the basics, Sarvesh Kumar if you are looking for much more detailed understanding.
- Total Gadha Book On Number System – Visit http://www.totalgadha.com/. It’s one of the best books out there for covering number system. They offer other books too but this particular one stands apart. Their online portal is decent considering the price.
Test Funda Support Products
- Skill Builder – Gives 95 lessons with examples and 318 latest exam pattern tests.
- Test Center – 31 CAT exam tests.
- Rank Booster – A valuable product that contains Concept Level Tests for 43 most important concepts for CAT & Other Exams, Questions based on Past Years’ Papers for CAT and other exams + 23 Past Years’ Papers for CAT, XAT and other exams. Recommended for students 2-3 months before the exam.
Verbal Ability
- Normal Lewis – Amazing book to build vocabulary. Check Out This Book
- Free Barrons Word List.
- Wren and Martin for grammar. But honestly, I would not go deep into this as it’s better if you dedicate your time reading and reading and doing some more reading rather than going too deep into the skeleton of sentence construction.
- Just read as much as you can online. Sources like HBR blog, The economist are just wonderful ways to see how arguments are constructed and a point is presented.
- Novels, English Movies with subtitles.
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
- Practice is the key in this section.
- Shakuntala Devi Puzzles – Check Out this Book
- George Summers Puzzles – Check Out This Book
- RS Aggarwal
Past Papers of CAT
- Past papers of the written CAT exam can also be very useful for students. Check Out the Free Source
- IIM Alumni Tips and Introduction to CAT – Check Out This Book
Mock Test Series
- Two test series out of TIME/CL/Test Funda. Ideally, go for TIME + one of the other two.
- TIME test series is quite popular and of decent quality overall.
- CL and Test Funda offer the best post exam analysis, which helps a student analyze the shortcomings and strengths, hence recommended as second support options.
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Books from Coaching Institutes
1) Time – Without doubt one of the best options and very exhaustive. Really well laid out and the books of TIME are a choice of millions of students across India. An experienced company that has catered to the needs of the students.
2) Career Launcher – Indeed good chunks of questions are ingrained in the material of career launcher. They provide material through correspondence just like TIME and indeed it is quality stuff.
3) IMS, Resonance, PT etc – Not a bad choice, but why bother. IMS is definitely better but the other two tend not to focus on MBA coaching that much.
Apart from these book options available offline, there are many other books which are available online. Here are two of the best sources in the market today that we have tested personally.
1) Test Funda – Excellent material, very good website and good support too. Definitely worth spending your time with their books. The best part is that you can get their books in online format too which is absolutely great.
2) Total Gadha – Seems like these folks have left the CAT preparation field. They have some historical content which is quite unique and can be looked at. They dish out e-books on selected topics and have an exclusive CBT club too. Not a bad option for browsing.