Let’s be honest, videos are addictive. You click on “Time & Work in 5 Minutes,” and suddenly, 40 minutes are gone. You’ve gone through three YouTube shorts and one CAT motivation reel and somehow ended up watching a recipe for banana pancakes.

It’s not your fault. Videos are designed to grab attention and keep it. They’re fast, fun, and easier to process. But when it comes to cracking the CAT, here’s the hard truth: video learning alone won’t help. Strengthening your reading skills is non-negotiable.

And no, this isn’t coming from a place of “be traditional, read books.” This is coming from someone who once avoided RC passages like they were math questions.

1. RC is 1/3rd of Your CAT Verbal Section. Need We Say More?

If you’ve given even one mock, you know the giant elephant in the Verbal room is Reading Comprehension. It isn’t just about reading fast, it’s about reading smart. CAT doesn’t care how beautifully animated your prep videos were. It cares how quickly and accurately you process dense, often boring, passages under pressure.

When I finally accepted this and started reading editorials and long-form articles regularly, my RC accuracy jumped from 50% to nearly 80%. 

2. Text = Workout for Your Brain

Think of reading as cardio for your brain. Videos are like escalators, they carry you along. You watch, you nod, you move on. But reading? Reading makes you slow down, think, visualize, and engage. It’s like climbing stairs. You’re in control, you feel the burn, and you build stamina.

That stamina is exactly what you need when the CAT throws a passage on post-modernism or climate treaties at you.

3. Retention is Higher with Text

You know that satisfying moment when you underline a tricky sentence, write a quick note in the margin, or highlight something with your imaginary highlighter? That’s active learning. It stays with you.

I used to watch concept videos and forget 70% by the end. But when I read the same thing, I could recall it even days later—especially if I’d jotted it down in my prep notebook. Reading engages multiple senses: visual, mental, and even muscular (when you take notes). That makes recall stronger.

4. Videos are Passive. CAT is Not.

Watching videos often feels productive. But ask yourself: Are you solving while watching, or just watching? CAT demands action, not passive absorption.

I made a rule: videos only for concept clarity or revision. Everything else, practice, RCs, vocab building, and newspaper reading, was strictly text-based. The shift wasn’t instant, but it paid off. I stopped zoning out mid-passage. My attention span improved. And I finally stopped rereading the same RC paragraph five times.

5. Text Teaches You to Read Between the Lines

The CAT loves nuance. Reading sharpens your ability to catch those hidden cues, implied meanings, and the author’s tone, skills that no video can teach you deeply.

I started with short articles from The Hindu, Economic Times, and The Times of India. Initially, I’d lose track halfway. But after 2–3 weeks, something clicked. I began understanding context better and predicting what the author might say next, and that’s gold in CAT RCs.

Still relying only on videos? Maybe it’s time to turn the page—literally.

Videos are great tools, but they’re supplements, not your main meal. So, don’t just watch your way through prep. 

Read. Struggle. Highlight. Take notes. Be okay with not understanding every paragraph the first time. Because slowly but surely, your brain rewires itself to think faster and deeper.