CAT Exam Pattern 2025: Total Marks, Exam Duration, Number of Questions, and Marking Scheme

What is CAT Exam Pattern 2025?

CAT exam pattern is nothing but the CAT exam paper pattern for the 2025 intake. There is no fixed CAT paper pattern authorized by any supreme authority. However, based on past trends and patterns, we can conclude that there are three exam sections, including DILR, VARC, and QA, to evaluate a candidate’s aptitude for resolving mathematical and reasoning problems.

This may vary depending on which body is creating the paper for CAT 2025; however, the CAT 2025 exam pattern will more or less follow the same frequency.

As in CAT 2024, major changes have been observed with a total of 68 questions across all three sections. The DILR section saw an addition of 2 questions, now featuring 5 sets instead of 4. Despite these changes in the CAT paper pattern, the sectional time duration remained the same, with 40 minutes allotted to complete each section.

If you are a CAT 2025 aspirant, then it's time for you to buckle up with your CAT preparation. You can boost your preparation with our CAT previous year papers and free CAT mocks.

Expected CAT 2025 Exam Pattern - Key Highlights

The CAT 2025 exam pattern is expected to be similar to CAT 2024. Thus,it is the perfect tile for all the CAT 2025 aspirants to kickstart their CAT 2025 preparation if they want to land into their dream B-schools.

Some of the major points to keep in mind with regard to the CAT 2025 paper pattern are:

Know About The CAT Test Pattern 2025

Before jumping into the CAT 2025 Paper Pattern, we must know about what will be covered under the CAT syllabus 2025 to have a better idea of the areas from which the questions can be asked. CAT 2025 will consist of three sections, namely:

• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
• Quantitative Ability (QA)

CAT 2025 Exam Marks Distribution

The CAT Exam is held as a Computer Based Test (CBT) with a duration of 2 hours. Each section has an individual time limit of 40 minutes each. The CAT 2025 Exam Pattern is given below:

CAT Exam Pattern 2025 - Overall and Sectional Time Limit

It is very crucial that you have a basic understanding of the CAT paper pattern and syllabus before you approach the exam. This approach will boost your confidence for the actual exam and provide you with effective strategies, as well as smart tips and tricks to ace your CAT 2025.

Detailed Section-Wise Analysis of CAT 2025 Exam Pattern

Here is the breakdown of the CAT exam pattern 2025 for all the sections separately to give candidates a better idea of what is expected to be asked from them.

1. CAT Exam Pattern for VARC

The VARC section in CAT comprises 24 questions in total. In the verbal section, the CAT exam pattern of the past years indicates that the section consists of two primary components, i.e. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension.

Reading Comprehension:

• This section accounts for over 67% of the questions (16 questions out of 24)
• Question Format: MCQs with a few TITA (Type in the Answer) questions
• There will be 4 passages comprising 4 questions each

Verbal Ability:

• Relatively small subsection of VARC with only 8 questions
• The expected division of the questions, as per CAT 2024, is 3 para completions, 3 para summaries, and 2 odd sentences out.

2. CAT Exam Pattern for DILR

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning is the second section of the CAT Exam. Candidates will be able to attempt it only after they submit the VARC section in the CAT Exam. It is the most dynamic section in CAT, and new types of questions are introduced almost every year. It is advisable to be very careful when selecting the questions, as your choice can make or break your overall percentile.

Based on the CAT test pattern for DILR, here are the changes as per CAT 2024:

• This section consists of 2-3 sets of both data interpretation and logical reasoning, or it can even be a combination of both.
• The section will have 5 sets comprising 4-5 questions each, with each set lending a maximum of 15 marks.
• The most common areas questioned include bar graphs, arrangements, missing data, and puzzles (games).

3. CAT Exam Pattern for Quant

This is the section that most candidates prepare extensively. This is because the CAT exam pattern and syllabus for this section are the most fleshed out among all the other sections. It is the section that can make or break the exam for most candidates.

• The quant section has a total of 22 questions.
• As the CAT quant exam pattern has no sub-sections, all the questions are focused on the mathematical skills of the candidates.
• It is comprised of five major areas, including arithmetic, algebra, modern maths, geometry and number systems.
• Based on past trends, the questions are dominated by arithmetic and algebra, including geometry, from which 3-4 questions can be seen every year.

CAT Exam Pattern 2025: Important Points to Remember

• Candidates cannot choose the order of the sections or move back and forth between sections. The fixed order of the exam is- VARC, followed by DILR and then Quant.
• CAT has two types of questions- MCQ-based and TITA (type in the answer). The MCQ type has a negative marking of 1 for every wrong answer. The TITA questions have no negative marking.
• In the MCQs, candidates will be given four options; in the Non-MCQs, the answer must be typed.
• An on-screen calculator will be provided to the candidates during the exam.
• Candidates can check the time with the help of the on-screen clock provided.
• A sheet will be provided to the candidates for rough work. Candidates must submit the sheet upon the completion of the exam.

CAT 2025 Exam Pattern: CAT Exam Time Duration

CAT 2025 will be divided across three slots throughout the day. Candidates will have the slot they must appear for, which is mentioned on their admit cards. Here is the slot-based division of the paper:

CAT Exam Timings 2025

CAT 2025 will be conducted in three separate time slots throughout the day. Each candidate will have a specific time slot assigned to them, which will be indicated on their CAT 2025 admit card.

Here’s the breakdown of the CAT exam slots for your reference:

What Is CAT Marking Scheme 2025?

Similar to the previous year's exam pattern, the marking scheme for the MCQ and TITA questions is different. Here is an overview of the marking scheme for CAT 2025:

CAT 2025 Marking Scheme

• There will be a total of 66 questions, with a total of 198 marks.
• Each correct answer will fetch you +3 marks.
• For every incorrect answer, there will be a negative marking of 1.
• There is no restriction on the number of attempts.
• There will be no deduction of marks for skipping questions.
• The questions will be either multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and type-in-the-answer (TITA) type questions.

CAT Paper Pattern 2025

CAT Test Pattern 2025: How to Mark Answers In CAT 2025?

As mentioned before, the CAT 2025 exam will be computer-based. Therefore candidates will be required to input their responses into the computer. Candidates will have to select one of the given options when putting in the answers:

• Save and Next: Candidates will select the answer, save it and then move to the next question.
• Clear Response: Candidates can delete the response to the question they answered.
• Mark for Review and Next: For answers that candidates are unsure about, they can mark it for review, answer it and then go to the next question.

Changes Over the Years In CAT Exam Pattern 2025

Based on the official CAT sample paper, there were changes have been observed in the CAT paper pattern. The paper comprised 68 questions to be attempted in 120 minutes. Additionally, major changes have been noted in the CAT 2024 DILR and VARC sections, with two additional questions in the DILR section and no questions on para jumbles present in the VARC section.

The exam pattern for CAT 2021 comprised 66 questions to be completed in 2 hours. However, before this, the exam pattern remained the same for five consecutive years till 2019. Here is a view of the exam pattern across the past few years.

Preparation Tips For Beginners Based On CAT 2025 Paper Pattern

The CAT exam pattern 2025 gives the candidate a brief idea of how to prepare for the exam:

• Each section has roughly equal weightage which indicates that while studying the basics, each section has to be given equal importance.
• Following this, mocks play an important role in determining the route that the CAT preparation will take. It will enable the candidate to analyze their performance and identify their weaknesses & strengths.
• The section in which the aspirant is scoring the most marks is the clearest for him in terms of concepts. Thus, the amount of time spent on that section can be reduced while the section where the aspirant is scoring the lowest has to be focused upon.
• After a while, the performance in the mocks has to be taken stock of again. The aspirant needs to ensure that the section where he/she was strongest is not slipping and that there is some improvement in the section where he/she is focusing.

Along with following these preparation tips, every serious CAT taker must refer to some of the best books for CAT preparation, which include a variety of questions with 3-4 different ways of solving the same by the experts that can aid during your preparation.

CAT Syllabus 2025

The official CAT syllabus for VARC, DILR, and QA hasn't been released by the IIMs. However, by looking at past question papers from the CAT exam, we've been able to identify the key topics that are likely to be included in CAT syllabus 2025. Here are the main topics based on that analysis:

Conclusion

CAT 2025 is a computer-based test (CBT) that consists of three sections with a total of 66 questions: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). Each section allows 40 minutes for completion. The exam will include multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and type-in-the-answer (TITA) questions, with most questions being MCQs. Familiarizing oneself with the CAT paper pattern should be the first step toward preparing for CAT 2025, following the CAT 2025 syllabus and preparing accordingly to ensure effective preparation.