The Indian Institute of Management Indore administered the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2020 on November 29, 2020. All testing was conducted online at various test centres across India. Due to COVID-19 pandemic related disruptions in 2020, there were dramatic changes to formats and structure for CAT 2020. Notably, the total time to take the CAT was only 120 minutes versus the typical 180 minutes. CAT 2020 was also administered with each section receiving a 40-minute time limit.
CAT consisted of three sections. The sections were Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). Each section has a mix of multiple-choice questions and non-multiple-choice questions and has a scoring system of +3 for correct answers and -1 for incorrect MCQ's. CAT 2020 had a moderate/difficulty level overall. The hardest subject was DILR, followed by QA, and the easiest subject was VARC.
Also Check: CAT 2022 Paper Analysis: Complete Breakdown & Percentile Guide
CAT Paper Analysis 2020
Aspirants may find out the CAT paper analysis for 2020 academic year below separately for each section. Students will also be able to know about slot wise CAT difficulty level by going through the following.
CAT VARC Analysis:
Slot | Difficulty Level | Key Highlights |
Slot 1 | Easy to Moderate | Shorter RC passages; VA had para jumbles, odd sentence out, and summary questions; manageable timing. |
Slot 2 | Moderate | RC slightly denser; VA required more inference-based responses. |
Slot 3 | Moderate | RC required careful reading; VA had subtle answer choices making them trickier. |
CAT DILR Analysis:
Slot | Difficulty Level | Key Highlights |
Slot 1 | Difficult | 2 approachable sets, rest highly time-consuming with layered conditions. |
Slot 2 | Difficult | Data-heavy sets with complex constraints; time management crucial. |
Slot 3 | Difficult | Only 1–2 sets approachable; required high accuracy and quick elimination. |
CAT QA Analysis:
Slot | Difficulty Level | Key Highlights |
Slot 1 | Moderate | Arithmetic dominated; calculation-heavy; few geometry questions. |
Slot 2 | Moderate to Difficult | Arithmetic-heavy with slightly more complex algebra than Slot 1. |
Slot 3 | Moderate | Balanced mix of arithmetic and algebra; speed was essential. |
CAT Paper Analysis 2020 | Highest Weightage Topics
The following table comprises CAT highest weightage topics of 2020 academic year. Students may go through the same and read section wise important topics carefully to boost their overall CAT 2025 preparation.
Section | Topic | Approx. Weightage | Key Details |
VARC | Reading Comprehension | 16 questions (4 passages) | Covered diverse themes like philosophy, science, society; questions mostly inference and fact based |
Para Jumbles | 3 to 4 questions | Required logical arrangement of sentences; moderate difficulty | |
Summary Questions | 2 to 3 questions | Focused on identifying main ideas from short paragraphs | |
Odd Sentence Out | 1 to 2 questions | Tested understanding of logical flow and coherence | |
DILR | Games and Tournaments | 1 to 2 sets (8 to 10 questions) | Rule based logic with constraints; involved points table and elimination formats |
Data Interpretation (Graphs and Tables) | 1 to 2 sets | Calculation intensive; involved ratios, averages, and combined graphs | |
Data Arrangement and Puzzles | 1 to 2 sets | Complex seating, grouping, and scheduling arrangements | |
Venn Diagrams or Set Theory | 1 set (4 questions) | Required understanding of intersections, unions, and exclusions | |
QA | Arithmetic | 8 to 10 questions | Percentages, profit and loss, time speed distance, time and work, averages |
Algebra | 4 to 6 questions | Equations, inequalities, progressions, and functions | |
Geometry and Mensuration | 2 to 3 questions | Triangles, circles, coordinate geometry, area based problems | |
Number System | 1 to 2 questions | Divisibility rules, remainders, and factors | |
Modern Math | 1 question | Probability, permutations and combinations |
CAT 2020 Score Vs Percentile
The following table contains data for CAT exam 2020 scores vs percentile. The CAT paper was of different difficulty in the three slots of 2020 and had a direct impact on the scores required for various percentiles.
Percentile | Score VARC | Score DILR | Score QA | Overall Score |
99.5 %ile | 45 | 35 | 48 | 114 |
99 %ile | 41 | 30 | 43 | 104 |
97 %ile | 37 | 27 | 39 | 94 |
95 %ile | 35 | 24 | 37 | 88 |
90 %ile | 30 | 21 | 33 | 75 |
85 %ile | 27 | 18 | 30 | 66 |
Note: Students are also advised to go through the CAT 2020 question papers to prepare for the upcoming exam. This will help them enhance their overall preparation level for the next CAT examination.
