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CAT Exam Pattern & Marking Scheme - A Detailed Breakdown & Analysis
Ridhima Jindal
Updated on 30th September, 2024 , 4 min read
The CAT Exam is conducted every year at the end of November, and is a prestigious examination conducted for admission to the MBA programs offered by the 20 IIMs, and other top b-schools like XIME, XIMB, etc. To get into a dream college like the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) it is important to understand the CAT Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme, so that the students know what they need to do to prepare for the CAT Exam.
The CAT exam is an extremely prestigious and powerful exam, and also one of the toughest MBA exams. The CAT exam has 66 questions in total to be answered within 120 minutes or 2 hours. The total marks of the CAT exam are 198, and there are 3 sections in the exam. These Three sections included in CAT question papers are Verbal & Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.
In the CAT exam, the maximum number of questions comes from the VARC section with 37% weightage. The weightage of questions asked in QA, and DILR are 33% and 30% respectively. The overall difficulty of previous years’ exam was reported to be between moderate and difficult.
In this article we will understand the CAT exam pattern and marking scheme in detail including the CAT Total Marks, CAT sectional marking scheme, CAT important topics and their weightage, and a comparative analysis of the CAT Past Years’ papers for a better understanding.
CAT Exam Pattern - At A Glance
In this section we have provided the candidates with the key highlights of the CAT Exam Pattern like the CAT marks, exam duration, time limit, and other significant details.
Particulars | CAT Pattern 2024 and Syllabus |
CAT exam time duration | 2 Hours (120 Minutes) |
Name of the Section |
|
Section-wise CAT exam duration |
|
CAT slot timings |
|
How many questions in CAT exam | 66 Questions |
CAT total marks | 198 marks |
Mode of the CAT 2024 exam | Computer-Based Mode (CBT) |
CAT Marking Scheme |
|
CAT Marking Scheme
In the CAT exam each section has a different number of question. Through this table we will aim to understand the question and mark division for each section.
Sections | Number of Questions | Total Marks | Marking Scheme |
24 Questions | 72 Marks |
| |
22 Questions | 66 Marks | ||
20 Questions | 60 Marks | ||
Total | 66 Questions | 120 Minutes |
CAT Section-Wise Weightage - Question Distribution & Marking Scheme
The CAT exam has two type of questions - MCQ and TITA. The detailed analysis of the questions and their distribution is provided below for reference along with their weightage.
Sections | Number of MCQs | Number of TITAs | Weightage of Questions |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 20 | 4 | 37% |
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 15 | 7 | 33% |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 14 | 6 | 30% |
CAT Exam Vs Other Management Exams
In this section, we aim to provide a comparative analysis of the CAT exam with the other important management exams like XAT, MAT, SNAP, etc. This will help the candidates draw a guided analysis of the CAT exam pattern in comparison to other exams, which will in turn help them in understanding the difficulty level of the exams.
Exams | Total Questions | Marks Allotted | Negative Marking | Time Allotted | Sectional Time Allotted |
CAT | 66 | 198 | Yes (33.33%) | 2 Hours | Yes |
SNAP | 60 | 60 | Yes (25%) | 1 Hour | No |
CMAT | 100 | 400 | Yes (25%) | 2 Hours | No |
XAT | 102 | 101 | Yes (25%) | 3.5 Hours | Yes |
NMAT | 108 | 360 | No | 2 Hours | Yes |
IBSAT | 140 | 140 | No | 2 Hours | No |
MAT | 200 | 200 | Yes (25%) | 2.5 Hours | No |
CAT Exam Pattern - Changes Over the Years
CAT Exam has observed significant changes in the CAT Exam pattern over the past years. The CAT exam Pattern has remained the same for the past 3 years. From 2014 to 2019, there were 100 questions, which was reduced to 76 in 2020, and further reduced to 66 in 2021. Take a look at the CAT Exam Pattern over the years tabulated below.
Years | Number of Questions | VARC Questions | QA Questions | DILR Questions |
2023 | 66 | 24 | 22 | 20 |
2022 | 66 | 24 | 22 | 20 |
2021 | 66 | 24 | 22 | 20 |
2020 | 76 | 34 | 26 | 24 |
2019 | 100 | 34 | 34 | 32 |
2018 | 100 | 34 | 34 | 32 |
2017 | 100 | 34 | 34 | 32 |
2016 | 100 | 34 | 34 | 32 |
2015 | 100 | 34 | 34 | 32 |
2014 | 100 | 34 | 34 | 32 |
CAT Exam Difficulty Level
The general difficulty level of the CAT exam is considered to be between moderate and difficult. However, this difficulty level may or may not vary for each section. Check this difficulty level below. Read More.
Sections | Number of Good Attempts | Difficulty Level |
VARC | Slot 1: 10-12 Slot 2: 13-15 Slot 3: 12-14 | Moderate to Difficult |
QA | Slot 1: 15-18 Slot 2: 14-17 Slot 3: 13-16 | Moderate to Difficult |
DILR | Slot 1: 9-11 Slot 2: 9-12 Slot 3: 10-12 | Moderate |
Overall | 35-49 | Moderate |
CAT Exam Syllabus
Before understanding the topic-wise weightage, candidates need to understand the CAT syllabus. Refer to the below table to check the CAT Syllabus.
Sections | Topics Included |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) |
|
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) |
|
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) |
|
CAT Important Topics & Weightage
To understand the CAT Exam Pattern, it is not only important to know the number and kind of questions asked, but it is equally crucial to understand the important topics asked in the CAT exam, and also their weightage. This section provides a detailed analysis of the topics that are crucial for the upcoming CAT exam, and the topic wise weightage for each section. Click Here to check the CAT Preparation Tips.
Section | Important Topics | Weightage in Percentage |
Quantitative Aptitude | Geometry, Arithmetic, Algebra, Mensuration, Number System | 34% |
Data Interpretation | Tables, Pie Charts, Graphs, Venn Diagram | 16% |
Logical Reasoning | Seating Arrangement, Blood Relation, Syllogism And Caselets | 16% |
Reading Comprehension | Questions based on passages, order of sentences, para meaning. | 24% |
Verbal Ability | Para summary, Para jumbles, Inferences and Sentence Completion | 10% |
CAT VARC Topic Wise Weightage
CAT VARC Syllabus Topics | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
Reading Comprehension | 16 | 16 | 16 |
Para Jumbles | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Para Summary | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Odd Sentence | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Para Completion | 2 | 2 | 2 |
CAT DILR Important Topics & Weightage
CAT 2023 DILR Sets | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Total Questions |
Set 1 | College Elections | Arrangement → Scores → two days average | Girls / Boys (Caselet) Tests | 5 |
Set 2 | Visa Applications (Time & Sequence set) | Missing Values Based Table→ Company Starting/ Closing Years | Caselet→ Window/ Split AC | 5 |
Set 3 | 12 Houses Rectangular diagram (3*2) | Rides & Timings | Route Based Diagram | 5 |
Set 4 | Restaurant→ Rating (Mean, Median, Mode) | Grid Based→two 3*3 tables (Mean, Median, Mode) | Online Sites (Mean, Median, Mode, Max/Min) | 5 |
CAT QA Important Topics & Weightage
CAT QA Syllabus Topics | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
Number System | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Algebra | 8 | 7 | 7 |
Arithmetic | 9 | 9 | 8 |
Modern Maths | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Geometry & Mensuration | 3 | 3 | 3 |
CAT Section-Wise Difficulty Level
For a deep understanding of the CAT exam, candidates need to check the difficulty level of each section separately tabulated below.
CAT QA Section Difficulty Level
QA Sections | No. of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
Arithmetic | 10 | Moderate |
Algebra | 5 | Moderate |
Geometry | 3 | Moderate |
Modern Maths | 4 | Moderate |
Total | 22 | Moderate Level |
CAT DILR Section Difficulty Level
DILR Sections | No. of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
Data Interpretation | 4 | Easy |
Data Interpretation | 4 | Moderate |
Logical Reasoning | 6 | Moderate to difficult |
Logical Reasoning | 6 | Easy to Moderate |
Total | 20 | Moderate to Difficult level |
CAT VARC Section Difficulty Level
VARC Topics | No. of Questions in CAT Exam | Difficulty Level |
Reading Comprehension | 16 | Moderate to Difficult |
VA-Parajumbles | 3 | Moderate to Difficult |
VA-Odd Sentence | 2 | Easy to Moderate |
VA-Summary | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
Total | 24 | Moderate to Difficult level |
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