VA-RC Revision Decks

VA-RC revision isn’t about re-reading passages or memorizing vocabulary lists. The students who crack 99+ percentile in VARC share one trait: they’ve internalized question-type patterns so deeply that recognition becomes automatic. This revision system is designed to build exactly that—pattern recognition that works under exam pressure.

Why Question-Type Mastery Changes Everything

Most CAT aspirants prepare RC by solving passages randomly. They finish a passage, check answers, read explanations, and move on. This approach builds familiarity but not mastery. When the exam throws an unusual inference question, they’re back to guessing.

Question-type-specific revision works differently. Instead of asking “How do I get better at RC?”, it asks “How do I get better at inference questions specifically?” This precision matters because each question type has distinct traps, distinct strategies, and distinct verification methods.

The Three Pillars of Effective VA-RC Revision

Pillar 1: Strategy Internalization. Each question type has 3-5 core strategies that work consistently. For inference questions, it’s the half-step forward rule and tone-matching. For main idea questions, it’s the scope test. These strategies must become reflexive—you shouldn’t need to recall them consciously during the exam.

Pillar 2: Trap Recognition. CAT doesn’t test reading ability; it tests trap-avoidance ability. The five trap patterns (outside scope, opposite, extreme language, partial truth, irrelevant detail) appear in 90% of wrong options. Training yourself to spot these traps in seconds is more valuable than reading 100 more passages.

Pillar 3: Time Calibration. Knowing the strategy is useless if you can’t execute it within 6-7 minutes per passage. Revision must include timed practice that forces strategic shortcuts. The goal isn’t perfect accuracy—it’s optimal accuracy within time constraints.

Building Your Revision Plan

With 30 decks covering every VARC question type, the temptation is to go through them sequentially. Resist this. Instead, diagnose your weak areas first. Take 2-3 full-length mocks and categorize every wrong answer by question type. If you’re missing 60% of inference questions but only 20% of main idea questions, your revision priority is clear.

Allocate revision time proportionally to weakness severity. Spend 40% of your time on your two weakest question types, 40% on moderate weaknesses, and 20% on maintaining strengths. This targeted approach delivers results faster than uniform coverage.

The Last-Week Protocol

In your final week before CAT, shift from learning to consolidation. Review all 30 strategy flashcards daily—this takes only 15-20 minutes. Then spend your remaining time on deliberate practice: solving questions from your weakest types with explicit strategy application. Write down which strategy you’re using before selecting an answer. This metacognitive practice cements the connection between question type and response.

The 30 decks in this system represent thousands of hours of CAT pattern analysis. Each flashcard, each practice question, each strategy tip is designed to build the automatic recognition that separates top scorers from the rest. Use them systematically, and watch your VARC accuracy transform.