If you’re planning to appear for the CUET, the CUET General Aptitude Test is one section you can’t afford to overlook. This part of the exam evaluates your logical reasoning, general awareness, numerical ability, and problem-solving skills. A clear understanding of the CUET General Aptitude Test syllabus, pattern, and difficulty level can give you a sharp edge in your preparation.
What is CUET
The common university entrance test is commonly known as CUET . This is an exam to get entry in to various renowned undergraduate programmes at participating central universities in India. The exam is conducted by The National Testing Agency. The exam is definitely an important part during this journey of students as it helps in identifying and determining the eligibility of students for various programmes in the participating universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Delhi University (DU), and others.
Importance of General Test
For CUET 2025, the General Test is a very important component of the exam. students want to pursue the graduation in the fields like Social sciences, Management, Humanities etc, the course is definitely designed for them.
CUET General Test Exam Pattern
CUET 2025 General Test is intended to assess the student’s general aptitude, skill, and knowledge of various subjects. The mode of the exam is computer based, i.e. online. It is a MCQ type test , that is a multiple choice question type test, where students get options and they have to choose one correct answer among those options. The duration of the test is 120 minutes i.e. 2 hours. The CUET 2025 exam has 3 sections namely Section IA and II and section III. Section IA is a language test, for the candidates choosing a language paper. Section II is the Domain Specific Subjects , based on students’ programme choice, and Section III is a General Test .
| Mode of exam | Test Type | Total Duration | No. of sections |
| Online | MCQ | 2 Hours | 3 |
Let us know more about Section III , The General Test .
The General Test focuses on General Knowledge, Mental Ability and Reasoning. The section has MCQs i.e. Multiple choice questions on various topics. The section is designed in a way that it is the best way to assess candidate’s aptitude skills, reasoning skills and general awareness. Each correct answer fetches candidate 5 marks and each incorrect answer gets a student deducted 1 mark. The unanswered or question not attempted does not have any mark, that means there is no negative marking for the questions not answered or not attempted. The general Test consists of a total of 200 marks. However, this can vary on the specific requirements of different universities. In this section, there are generally 50 questions asked carrying 5 marks each.
| Correct Answer | +5 marks |
| Incorrect Answer | -1 mark |
| Unanswered Question | No Negative Marking. |
CUET 2025 General Test Syllabus :
The syllabus for CUET 2025 General Test covers the topics like General Knowledge and Current Affairs, Reasoning and Analytical Ability , Quantitative Aptitude , English Language and Comprehension, General Science , General Mental Ability, Social Studies/History.
In General Knowledge and current affairs, students must be prepared and be aware of the areas like important events in India and around the world in the fields of Politics, Sports, Science, Technology and Economics, Awards and honors, like noble prizes, national awards and others, Books and authors, famous personalities, and their contributions, Recent developments in fields like Science, Environment, Technology etc, International organizations like United Nations, World Health Organisation etc.
In Reasoning and Analytical ability
students should study thoroughly the areas like Verbal reasoning like analogies, antonyms, synonyms etc, Non – verbal reasoning like series, completion, figure based questions etc, Critical thinking like logical puzzles, data interpretation etc, Number series and pattern recognition.
Quantitative Aptitude, students need to be aware of Basic Mathematics like Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra and Statistics, of Data Interpretation like pie charts, bar graphs, tables etc, Ratio and proportion, Percentages, profit and Loss, Speed and Distance, Time and Work, in English language and comprehension, students should be proficient in the areas like Vocabulary like Synonyms, Antonyms, Analogies etc, students should be proficient in Reading Comprehension, to solve passage based questions and test their reading and understanding skills.
Students need to practise Grammar and cover the topics like Sentence Error, Spot the error and others. This topic has questions from Sentence Completion and Para Jumbles too.
In General Mental Ability, questions related to Logical Reasoning, Pattern identification and classification, Coding Decoding, Decision making ability, problem solving, blood relations etc are the part of General Mental Ability. In Social Studies/History, the test has the topics like Indian History and culture including Ancient, Medieval and Modern, topics covered in areas like Geography are important rivers, countries, capitals, Mountain ranges etc, in Political science like major political systems, constitution of India, in Economics, Basic economics terms, national and economic policies etc.
| General Knowledge and Current Affairs | Important events in India and around the world Awards and Honors Books and Authors Recent Developments in various fields International Organisations |
| Reasoning and Analytical Ability | Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning Critical Thinking Number Series Pattern Recognition |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Basic Mathematics Data Interpretation Percentages, Ratio and Proportion Profit and loss, Work and Time, Speed and Distance |
| English Language and Comprehension | Vocabulary Reading Comprehension Grammar Sentence Completion Para Jumbles |
| General Mental Ability | Logical Reasoning Pattern Identification & Classification Blood Relation, Directions, Coding Decoding Decision Making Ability Problem Solving |
| General Science | Basic Knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science |
| Social Studies/History | Indian History and Culture Geography Political Science Economics |
CUET General Test – Level Of Difficulty
The difficulty level of CUET can be considered to be moderate to high. However, this also depends on the subject areas covered. Let us see the level of difficulty of various topics .
General Knowledge and Current Affairs:
This area can be a little difficult because it will require students to have up to date knowledge of current events and general awareness on a wide range of topics and areas.
Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude :
This section generally remains moderate to difficult. This section does require quick thinking and application of logical reasoning and skills. However, Quantitative Aptitude questions might have a mixture of easy to moderate level questions.
English Language :
This section has moderate difficult level . As Reading Comprehension requires a strong and deep understanding. If you are not a regular good reader, you might find reading comprehension on a tougher side to understand.
Mental Ability:
This section might be challenging for those students who are not well versed with analytical and logical reasoning.
By understanding syllabus for the General Test well, Practising regularly, staying informed about the General Knowledge and Current Affairs, can definitely improve candidate’s chance to perform well in CUET 2025 General Test.
All The Best ! Keep Learning!