CAT 2023 Exam Pattern

Common Admission Test
CAT   Online
Exam Dates: 26th Nov 2023

By: Avantika Bhardwaj on Aug 24, 2023

The conducting IIMs have made changes in CAT Exam Pattern several times in the past few years. Students appearing in CAT 2023 must be aware of the changes that have taken place in the pattern. Having a proper knowledge of the cat paper pattern will help students make strategies to devise their test taking skills. As per the recent notifications, we have come to know that there might be a few changes introduced in CAT Exam Pattern 2023. Being the conducting body of the exam, IIM Lucknow has released all the important details regarding the exam months before the examination is conducted.

The CAT Exam Pattern given below will give you a brief idea about how the question paper is formed and the no. of questions asked in the exam. Go through these details and prepare accordingly. The details given below will be updated in case there are any changes in the official statement. 

Common Admission Test is a computer-based entrance examination which analyzes candidates' skills in various segments required to qualify the entrance examination. Though there have been numerous changes in the CAT Exam Pattern for the last 4 years, the basic structure remains the same.

Overview of CAT Expected Exam Pattern 2023

Particular

Details

Total No. of Questions

66-76

Total Marks

198-228

Total Sections

3

Names of Sections

Quantitative Aptitude

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

Logical Reasoning & Data Comprehension

Total Exam Duration

2 hours

Mode of Exam

Online

Type of Questions

MCQs and Non MCQs (TITA)

Marking Scheme

+3 for every correct answer

-1 for every incorrect answer

0 for unanswered questions

CAT Exam is one of the toughest MBA Entrance Exams in India as it has no predefined syllabus or a proper exam pattern. As the examination pattern keeps changing, aspirants are required to focus more on the exam preparation strategy. 

The examination conducting authority made a few changes in the CAT 2015 Exam Pattern and introduced a sectional time limit. Besides, it also introduced Type In The Answer (TITA) type questions. The CAT 2022 Exam Pattern was made with these changes only and has been mentioned below:

Expected CAT Exam Pattern - Sectional Pattern

CAT 2021 Sectional Pattern

Section

MCQs

Non-MCQs

Total No. of Questions

Duration

VARC

18-21

5-8

24-26

40 min

DILR

17-18

6-7

22-24

40 min

QA

18-20

6-8

24-26

40 min

Section-wise Exam Pattern

A section wise bifurcation of the number of questions in each section would help students prepare in a proficient way. There are three sections namely Verbal Ability and Reasoning Comprehensive, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability. Each segment consists of MCQ and Non MCQ types of questions. Each correct answer is rewarded with 3 marks while 1 mark is deducted as a penalty for each incorrect answer. 

The bifurcation of number of questions asked in each section, number of MCQ and NON MCQ questions in each section, and maximum marks each section holds is given below:

CAT Quantitative Aptitude Pattern

The Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT Exam is the only section consisting of Numerical based questions based on various topics of Mathematics. There will be a total of 26 questions asked in this section in CAT 2023. CAT Quantitative Aptitude Section mainly comprises 5 topics. The detailed pattern for the section is given below:

  • Basic Arithmetic
  • Algebra
  • Number System
  • Geometry & Mensuration
  • Modern Maths

Below mentioned tables mentioned the distribution of these topics every year:

Topics

No. of Questions

CAT 2020

CAT 2019

CAT 2018

CAT 2017

Algebra

6

13

8

8

Arithmetic

10

14

14

14

Number System

4

2

2

2

Modern Maths

2

1

3

3

Geometry and Mensuration

4

4

7

7

CAT Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Pattern

CAT VARC Section mainly focuses on checking students' English language skills as well as their ability to interpret paragraphs and understand the concepts and basics of these topics. There will be a total of 26 questions in the CAT VARC section this year in CAT 2022. 

In the CAT Verbal Ability Section, there will be 8 questions this year. The main area of focus for students in the section have been mentioned below:

  • Para Jumbles
  • Sentence Correction and Completion
  • Summary Based

Some of the questions in this section are from the verbal ability while the other questions are from the reading comprehension. The types of questions in CAT Reading Comprehension include vocabulary, title, and grammar based questions. The table given below shows the analysis of CAT VARC section:

Topics

No. of Questions

CAT 2020

CAT 2019

CAT 2018

CAT 2017

Reading Comprehension

18

24

24

24

Verbal Ability - Para Jumbles

3

4

4

4

Verbal Ability – Summary

3

3

3

3

Verbal Ability - Odd Sentence Out

2

3

3

3

Besides, there have been TITA (Type In The Answer) types of questions introduced in the section which will have no options to choose from and candidates will be required to type the answers in the box given on the screen. There will be 5 to 8 TITA Questions. This section will consume most time and the difficulty level of CAT Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension section will be moderate. 

CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Pattern

The CAT DILR section of the paper analyzes candidates' proficiency of interpreting data and understanding logical assumptions. There will be a total of 22-24 questions in this section. This year, the CAT Logical Reasoning part of the paper will have 18-20 questions. The questions are based on inequalities, symbol operations, direction sense test, etc. This section is considered the most scoring section as it consists of easily solvable questions.

The questions from Data Interpretation are of difficult level and consume more time.

On the other hand, the data interpretation section is a bit difficult and time-consuming. Several confusing data caselets are included in this section, and candidates are required to understand the data sets thoroughly to be able to answer the full question sets. The CAT data interpretation section should be attempted cautiously as a single mistake can lead the candidates to attempt all the questions from a particular set incorrectly.

Topics

No. of Questions

CAT 2020

CAT 2019

CAT 2018

Logical Reasoning

20

24

20

Data Interpretation

4

8

12

FAQs related to CAT

CAT

Can I use calculator while taking CAT 2023 Exam?

Yes. But you can only use the onscreen calculator available on your desktop which will be able to perform only basic calculation. Candidates are not allowed to bring calculators of their own inside the examination hall.

CAT

What is the pattern and time per section for CAT 2023?

In CAT Exam, the question paper is divided in three sections namely, VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension), DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning), and QA (Quantitative Aptitude). The sectional time per section is 40 minutes.

CAT

What is the exam pattern of CAT?

As per the CAT Exam Pattern, there are three sections i.e. There are total 66 questions which need to be answered in 120 minutes. VARC, DILR, and QA in the CAT question paper. VARC section of CAT Exam consists of 24 questions, DIRL has 20 questions and QA section has 22 questions.

CAT

What is the maximum duration of the CAT exam?

The total duration of CAT Exam is 2 hours i.e. 120 minutes. However, candidates belonging to the PwD category will be given 2 hours and 40 minutes i.e. 160 minutes in total to complete the exam.

CAT

What should be the average time spent on a question in cat?

There are total 66 questions in the CAT Question Paper and the total duration to complete the exam is 2 hours i.e. 120 minutes. It means on an average, a student must not spend more than ~2 minutes on each question. But this won’t entirely work in this case since each section comes with a sectional time limit. Candidates will be required to attempt these questions in the given sectional time.

CAT

What is the Question pattern for the cat exam?

There are three sections in CAT Exam namely VARC, DILR, and QA and the number of questions in these section is 24, 20, and 22 respectively.

CAT

Which section of CAT is easiest?

The easiest section of CAT Exam varies as per the students’ level of preparation. In my opinion, I find VARC the easiest one as there is no calculation involved. You just need to read the questions and answer them.

CAT

What is the difference between the syllabus of CAT and XAT?

There are a few differences between XAT Exam and CAT Exam. CAT is conducted by IIMs for admission to IIMs and other MBA colleges while XAT is conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur for admission to XLRI, IMT, XIMB, MICA, RIMA and other MBA colleges. There are 3 sections in CAT Exam and 4 in XAT Exam. The total tie duration to complete the test for CAT Exam is 120 minutes and for XAT, it is 210 minutes.

CAT

Is CAT exam online or offline?

CAT Exam is an online i.e. computer based test conducted by one of the IIMs on a rotational basis.

CAT

Is CAT exam necessary for MBA?

No. CAT Exam is not the only option for admission to MBA. There are several other MBA Exams such as MAT, XAT, SNAP, NMAT, etc. Qualifying this exams can get you admission to MBA Institutes. But if you are seeking admission to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), or any top level management institutes across the country, then CAT Exam is the only option to get through.

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