CAT Reading Comprehension passages are not written by IIM faculty. They are adapted from published non-fiction writing, and over a decade of papers, a clear pattern has emerged in where those passages come from.
The Economist is the single most recurrent source in CAT RC, appearing across the 2022, 2023 and 2024 papers. It accounts for passages on economics, global affairs, business strategy and policy. The writing is dense, the sentences are long, and the arguments are layered. If you are not reading The Economist regularly, you are underprepared for at least one passage per paper.
Aeon Essays is the second most frequent source. It publishes long-form essays on philosophy, psychology, science and culture. Many CAT aspirants believe Aeon is the dominant source, but data from 2017 to 2025 shows only around six CAT passages trace back to Aeon out of roughly 102 RC passages in that period. Aeon matters, but it is not the whole picture.
The New York Times has contributed significantly more passages than Aeon over the same period, particularly from its opinion, science and culture sections. Other confirmed sources include Smithsonian Magazine for history, anthropology and science passages, The Atlantic for dense analytical writing, Scientific American for technical passages, and The Guardian for society and culture pieces.
Looking at the genre distribution across CAT papers from 2017 to 2025, philosophy passages appear most frequently. Science and technology, economics and society, history and culture, and psychology form the rest of the regular mix. Literary or fiction passages are rare. CAT RC is almost entirely non-fiction.
The pattern is clear. CAT does not reward familiarity with one website. It rewards comfort with diverse, high-quality non-fiction. Reading only Aeon, or only The Hindu, gives you a narrow slice of the actual variety you will face.
The most efficient preparation is daily reading from sources that mirror CAT passage style: analytical, idea-driven, 600 to 1200 words, non-fiction, with a clear argument structure. That is exactly what GRADFLIX essays are built on. Every essay on GRADFLIX is written in the length, tone and genre mix of actual CAT RC passages, with RC questions attached. Reading on GRADFLIX is not preparation for the exam. It is practice of the exam itself.
GRADFLIX essays are written in the exact style of CAT RC passages across philosophy, psychology, science and technology, history and civilisation, economics and society, arts and literature, politics and governance, nature and environment, culture and identity, and education and knowledge. With RC questions built in.
Start Reading FreeCAT RC passages are adapted from published non-fiction sources including The Economist, The New York Times, Aeon Essays, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atlantic and Scientific American. The Economist and Aeon together account for roughly 25 percent of all RC passages in the last four years.
No. Aeon Essays is an important source but only around six CAT passages from 2017 to 2025 trace back to Aeon. The New York Times has contributed more passages. You need a diverse reading diet across multiple sources.
Philosophy, science and technology, economics, history and psychology appear most frequently. Fiction and literary passages are rare in CAT RC.
The Economist is the single most recurrent source in CAT RC, appearing in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 papers. It is followed by Aeon Essays.