Arun Sharma VARC Book PDF Download – Is It Worth Buying for CAT Prep?
Arun Sharma VARC Book PDF Download Preparing for the CAT exam can feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section. Among the many books available, How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay has become a popular choice. But does it really live up to the hype? Let’s find out.
Overview of the Arun Sharma VARC Book PDF Download
This book, published by McGraw Hill Education, is designed to help aspirants master the VARC section for CAT and other MBA entrance exams like XAT, SNAP, NMAT, and IIFT.
It’s divided into two major parts:
- Reading Comprehension (RC): Strategies to tackle different RC questions, with topic-wise passages and detailed solutions.
- Verbal Ability (VA): Covers para jumbles, odd sentence out, para completion, paragraph summaries, grammar, vocabulary, and critical reasoning.
Why You Might Love This Book
✅ Step-by-Step Learning: Starts from the basics and gradually increases difficulty — perfect for self-study.
✅ Easy to Understand: Concepts are explained in a simple and straightforward manner.
✅ Practice-Oriented: Includes numerous solved examples and exercises with explanations.
✅ Reading Tips: Offers practical suggestions to improve comprehension speed and accuracy.
✅ Exam-Focused: The question formats are closely aligned with CAT and similar exams.
Where It Falls Short
⚠️ Slightly Theoretical: Some strategies feel a bit long-winded for those looking for quicker hacks.
⚠️ RC Practice Level: The RC passages are good, but not always as tricky as actual CAT questions — so you’ll need extra practice from mock tests.
⚠️ Vocabulary Coverage: While useful, it’s not as comprehensive as dedicated vocab books like Word Power Made Easy.
How to Get the Most Out of It
- Beginners: Follow the book chapter-by-chapter, starting with basics before moving to advanced levels.
- Advanced Aspirants: Focus more on the Verbal Ability section and use CAT past papers for tougher RC practice.
- Daily Habit: Combine the strategies with regular newspaper/magazine reading to boost comprehension skills.
Final Verdict – Should You Buy It?
⭐ Rating: 4/5
The Arun Sharma VARC book is one of the best resources for building a solid foundation in verbal ability and RC for CAT. It’s ideal for beginners and self-study aspirants, but if you’re aiming for the 99th percentile, you’ll need to pair it with actual CAT past papers, high-difficulty RC practice, and extra vocabulary resources.
📌 Best For:
- Beginners to intermediate CAT aspirants
- Students preparing for multiple MBA entrance exams
