The CAT 2025 Question Paper will be one of the most important resources for MBA aspirants preparing for the CAT exam. Every year, lakhs of students appear for CAT to compete for admission into India’s most prestigious B-schools, such as the IIMs, FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, IITs, and other top institutes.
This article provides a complete guide to the CAT 2025 question paper, including pattern updates, expected difficulty level, slot-wise structure, section-wise breakup, previous year trend analysis, question types, preparation tips, and downloadable PDFs (to be added after the exam).
Latest Updates – Check Live CAT Percentile Predictor 2025 based on Response sheet Here
Table of Contents
CAT 2025 Question Paper Pattern
| Particulars | Details |
| Exam Date | 30 Nov 2025 |
| Conducting Body | IIM |
| Number of Sessions | 3 (Morning, Afternoon, Evening) |
| Mode | Computer-Based Test (CBT) |
| Expected Total Questions | 68 |
| Sections | VARC, DILR, QA |
| Exam Duration | 120 minutes (40 minutes per section) |
| Marking Scheme | +3 for correct MCQ, -1 for wrong MCQ; Non-MCQ (TITA) → 0 negative marking |
CAT 2025 Question Paper PDF Download – Memory-based Question Paper
Students can find the CAT 2025 memory-based question paper below –
| CAT 2025 Question Paper PDF |
CAT 2025 Question Paper – Slot 1 Analysis
| Section | Difficulty Level | No. of Questions | Good Attempts |
| VARC | Moderate | 24 | 10-12 |
| DILR | Moderate-Difficult | 22 | 8-9 |
| QA | Moderate | 22 | 11-12 |
Also Read – CAT Response Sheet 2025 Release Date
CAT 2025 Question Paper – Slot 2 Analysis
| Section | Difficulty Level | No. of Questions | Good Attempts |
| VARC | Moderate | 24 | 10-12 |
| DILR | Moderate-Difficult | 22 | 8-9 |
| QA | Moderate | 22 | 6-7 |
CAT 2025 Question Paper – Slot 3 Analysis
| Section | Difficulty Level | No. of Questions | Good Attempts |
| VARC | To be updated | To be updated | To be updated |
| DILR | To be updated | To be updated | To be updated |
| QA | To be updated | To be updated | To be updated |
CAT Difficulty Trends – Slot Wise (Last 3 Years)
CAT 2024 Exam Analysis
| Section | Most Difficult | Moderately Difficult | Least Difficult |
| VARC | Slot 2 | Slot 1 | Slot 3 |
| DILR | Slot 1 | Slot 2/3 | – |
| QA | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
Download CAT 2024 question paper PDF
CAT 2023 Exam Analysis
| Section | Most Difficult | Moderately Difficult | Least Difficult |
| VARC | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
| DILR | Slot 3 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
| QA | Slot 3 | Slot 2 | Slot 1 |
Also Check: CAT 2023 question paper with solutions
CAT 2022 Exam Analysis
| Section | Most Difficult | Moderately Difficult | Least Difficult |
| VARC | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
| DILR | Slot 3 | Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
| QA | Slot 3 | Slot 2 | Slot 1 |
To practice the latest exam pattern, you can also attempt our free CAT mock tests.
How to Attempt the CAT 2025 Question Paper (Section-wise Strategy)
VARC – 40 minutes
- Start by scanning all RC passages for 1-2 minutes and pick the easiest or most familiar one to boost confidence.
- Limit each RC to 8-9 minutes (reading + solving); postpone long or dense passages for later.
- Aim to finish 2-3 RCs first, ensuring you have 10-12 minutes left for the VA section.
- Tackle VA after RCs, focusing on para summaries, odd-one-out, etc., while keeping accuracy high.
- Avoid starting with tricky para jumbles, as they consume time and disrupt momentum; attempt them only after RCs.
DILR – 40 minutes
- Use the first 3-4 minutes to scan all four sets, judging their structure, data format, and constraints, set selection decides most of your success.
- Choose one easy and one moderate set to balance accuracy and score stability.
- Avoid overly data-heavy or multi-layered sets that require large tables or long condition chains, they drain time with low ROI.
- Prioritise accuracy over attempts, solving even 1.5-2 sets well can yield a strong score, especially in tough papers.
- Stay calm and don’t over-invest time, if you’re stuck, move on quickly to prevent score loss.
QA – 40 minutes
- Start with your strongest topics, mainly Arithmetic, and quickly solve all straightforward questions to build speed and confidence.
- After the first sweep, move to Algebra and Geometry, choosing only conceptually clear and familiar questions.
- Never spend more than 1.5 minutes on a single problem, CAT QA rewards smart question selection, not lengthy calculations.
- Maintain 85%+ accuracy, even if attempts are moderate; precision matters more than high volume.
- Stay calm and focused, ignoring difficult traps and tackling each question with clear intent and discipline.
Importance of Solving CAT Previous Year Papers
Solving CAT Previous Year Papers helps you understand the real exam pattern, difficulty level, and commonly asked question types. It also improves your speed, accuracy, and time management, making it the closest simulation of the actual CAT exam.
Key benefits of practising CAT PYQs:
- Understand CAT’s exact question style & difficulty
- Spot recurring concepts and trends
- Improve speed under real exam pressure
- Get comfortable with TITA questions & interface
- Best benchmark to measure true performance
Download CAT Previous Year Question Papers:
[ https://www.careerlauncher.com/cat-mba/cat-question-paper/ ]
Common Mistakes Students Make in the CAT Exam
Spending too long on a single question
Many students waste 3-4 minutes on one question, which disrupts momentum and reduces overall attempts. If a question doesn’t click in 90 seconds, it’s better to move on.
Not selecting the right DILR set
Jumping into the wrong DILR set can trap you for 15-20 minutes. A quick 3-4 minute scan helps identify which sets are doable and which ones to avoid.
Attempting quantity over accuracy
Trying to attempt too many questions often leads to careless mistakes. CAT rewards accuracy more than volume, so maintaining 80-90% accuracy is more important than high attempts.
Mismanaging sectional time
Poor time allocation within sections leaves key questions untouched. Having a clear internal plan-like how many minutes per RC or QA question-prevents panic and improves performance.
Avoiding TITA questions
Students skip TITA questions thinking they’re tough, but they carry no negative marking. Even partial logic or elimination can fetch easy, risk-free marks.
Conclusion
The CAT 2025 question paper will follow the recent trend of being balanced yet challenging, with slight variations across slots. Understanding the pattern, previous year trends, and section-wise strategies can significantly improve your performance. This page will be updated with the official CAT 2025 question paper, answer keys, and slot-wise analysis immediately after the exam.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many slots will CAT 2025 have?
A: CAT 2025 will have 3 slots – morning, afternoon and evening.
Q: How many questions will the CAT 2025 paper have?
A: The paper is expected to have around 66 questions, similar to recent years.
Q: What’s the exam duration and structure?
A: Duration is 120 minutes (2 hours), with each section (VARC, DILR, QA) allotted 40 minutes.
Q: What’s the marking scheme?
A: +3 marks for each correct MCQ, -1 mark for each incorrect MCQ, and no negative marking for TITA (non-MCQ) questions.
Q: When will the PDFs of CAT 2025 question papers be available?
A: The PDFs will be updated on this page immediately after the exam and response sheet release.
Q: Will each slot have different sets of questions?
A: Yes, each slot has a unique question set, though the overall pattern and difficulty remain comparable.
Q: Is solving the CAT 2025 paper helpful for future CAT attempts?
A: Absolutely, it gives you the most up-to-date practice material and helps you prepare effectively for upcoming years.
