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Why Practicing Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions is Essential for CAT VARC Success



Preparing for the CAT exam requires mastering all sections, but one area that often gets overlooked is Critical Reasoning (CR) in the VARC section. While CAT VARC is heavily driven by Reading Comprehension (RC) passages, the skills of analyzing arguments, identifying assumptions and drawing correct inferences are exactly what CR develops. Strong CR skills directly impact your RC performance and that’s a game-changer. 

1. CAT VARC: All About Logic

Many CAT aspirants mistakenly believe that Verbal Ability in CAT is just about vocabulary or grammar. In reality, more than 70% of VARC requires:

  • Understanding the author’s intent (RC passage)
  • Identifying underlying assumptions
  • Evaluating evidence and logical flow
This is exactly what CR trains you to do. By practicing CR, you sharpen your ability to follow an argument to its logical conclusion, a skill that translates directly into higher RC accuracy. 

 2. CR Improves Accuracy in Reading Comprehension 

Whether it’s a “strengthen the argument,” “weaken the claim,” or “find the inference” type of question, the skill set is identical. Students who practice CR regularly notice improvements in:

  • Pinpointing the main argument of a passage
  • Eliminating wrong options more efficiently
  • Avoiding traps created by extreme or irrelevant answer choices
In short: Strong CR skills = Higher RC accuracy. 

 3. Enhances Decision-Making Speed

Time management is one of the biggest challenges in CAT VARC. With only 40 minutes to solve 24 questions (based on the CAT pattern), speed with accuracy matters. CR questions build your brain’s ability to process options logically within seconds, which saves precious time in RC. For instance:

  • If an RC question asks which statement weakens the passage’s claim, a student practicing CR won’t spend extra time re-reading. They’ll instinctively check whether the answer logically shifts the argument’s strength.

4. Boosts Logical Confidence Beyond VARC: While CR primarily belongs to VARC, the logical thinking it fosters helps across the entire CAT exam:
  • In DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning), you need to spot patterns, understand conditions, and eliminate impossibilities, skills honed by CR.
  • In GD/PI/WAT rounds post-CAT, CR helps frame structured, logical arguments in group discussions and case analysis.
So, CR is not just an exam practice tool but a career skill builder. 

5. Pattern-Proof Preparation 

CAT is known for surprises. While direct CR questions were more prevalent in earlier CAT papers, the logical reading skills of CR are still tested indirectly through:

  • Inference-based RC questions
  • Author’s viewpoint questions
  • Options that look similar but hinge on logical assumptions
By building a strong CR foundation, you make your preparation pattern-proof ensuring adaptability to any paper variation. 


How to Practice CR for CAT VARC

  1. Start Small: Begin with standard CR categories: strengthen/weaken, assumption, inference.
  2. Link it to RC Practice: After solving an RC, practice identifying the argument, assumption, and inference as if it were a CR set.
  3. Analyze Options, Not Just Answers: The key to CR is learning why wrong options are wrong, which improves elimination skills across VARC.
  4. Daily 10-Minute Drill: Solve a few CR questions daily; consistency builds mental wiring for logical reading.
  5. Use Past Year CAT & GMAT CR Sources – GMAT-level CR is slightly higher but great for CAT practice.

Most CAT aspirants fail to recognize the importance of solving CR questions, while the trend shows an increase in the number of CR questions in the CAT, and XAT is already a CR-heavy exam. So, keep practicing CR questions which build a strong base for your VARC section.