Expected CAT Exam Pattern 2024 - Overview

The CAT 2024 exam pattern is expected to be similar to CAT 2023. Based on past trends, the notification for CAT 2024 was released on July 28th, 2024, and the exam for this year will be held on the last Sunday of November, i.e., November 24th, 2024. Thus, it’s high time for the aspirants to gear up their CAT preparation to get admission into their dream B-schools.

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

CAT Exam Components

CAT Paper Pattern

No. of Questions

66

Number of Sections

3

Sections

VARC, DILR and QA

Exam Duration

2 hours

Time Allotted per Section

40 minutes

Slots for Exam

3 Shifts

Mode of Exam

Computer-Based Exam

Medium of Instruction

English

Types of Questions

MCQ and TITA

To stay updated with all the latest updates on CAT 2024, you can check: CAT Notifications 2024

CAT Paper Pattern 2024: CAT 2024 Marking Scheme

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 2024-

CAT 2024 Question Type

For Correct Answers

For Incorrect Answers

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

+3

-1

Type in the Answer (TITA)

+3

0

CAT Exam Analysis 2024: CAT 2024 Raw Scores & Time Allotment

The provided CAT Exam Analysis for past years allows candidates to compare and understand the changes in exam trends over the years. Read the CAT Exam Analysis mentioned below to understand the exam better.

CAT Exam Sections

Total Number of Questions

MCQs

(Multiple Choice Questions)

TITA

(Type in The Answer)

Time Allotted

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

24

20

4

40 Minutes

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

20

14

6

40 Minutes

Quantitative Ability (QA)

22

15

7

40 Minutes

Overall

66

49

17

120 Minutes

CAT Exam Analysis 2024: CAT 2024 Slot-Wise Analysis & & Difficulty Level

On the day of the CAT 2024 exam, after each slot, we will help you with the CAT 2024 First Impression & Detailed Exam Review being made live here. Our CAT experts will also discuss the Paper Pattern, CAT 2024 Difficulty Level, CAT scores, Good Attempts, and CAT cutoff for all the slots in the live webinar.

CAT 2024 Exam Analysis - Slot 1

The overall breakup of CAT 2024 - Slot 1 paper with section-wise marking scheme and difficulty level of the exam is given below for your reference:

CAT Exam Sections

Total Number of Questions (Expected)

MCQs

(Multiple Choice Questions)

TITA

(Type in The Answer)

Difficulty Level

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

24

TBA

TBA

TBA

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

20

TBA

TBA

TBA

Quantitative Ability (QA)

22

TBA

TBA

TBA

TOTAL

66

TBA

TBA

TBA

CAT 2024 Exam Analysis - Slot 2

The overall breakup of CAT 2024 - Slot 2 paper with section-wise marking scheme and difficulty level of the exam is given below for your reference:

CAT Exam Sections

Total Number of Questions (Expected)

MCQs

(Multiple Choice Questions)

TITA

(Type in The Answer)

Difficulty Level

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

24

TBA

TBA

TBA

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

20

TBA

TBA

TBA

Quantitative Ability (QA)

22

TBA

TBA

TBA

TOTAL

66

TBA

TBA

TBA

CAT 2024 Exam Analysis - Slot 3

The overall breakup of CAT 2024 - Slot 3 paper with section-wise marking scheme and difficulty level of the exam is given below for your reference:

CAT Exam Sections

Total Number of Questions (Expected)

MCQs

(Multiple Choice Questions)

TITA

(Type in The Answer)

Difficulty Level

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

24

TBA

TBA

TBA

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

20

TBA

TBA

TBA

Quantitative Ability (QA)

22

TBA

TBA

TBA

TOTAL

66

TBA

TBA

TBA

CAT Exam Analysis 2024: Recent Changes in CAT Exam Pattern

IIM Calcutta is responsible for the smooth conduction and execution of the CAT 2024 exam. With the release of the official CAT notification 2024, a few changes may be predicted in the recent CAT Exam Pattern. Here are some of them listed below that candidates should be aware of:

CAT Exam Analysis 2024: Time Management in CAT 2024

The duration of the CAT 2024 exam will be 120 minutes, with each section having a sectional time limitation of 40 minutes, after which candidates will not be able to submit answers for that particular section. Therefore, effective time management and test-taking strategies are crucial before appearing for the actual exam. It is advisable for all serious CAT takers to buckle down with their preparation, practice CAT previous year papers, and start attempting mocks on a regular basis if they want to ace CAT 2024.

CAT 2023 Exam Analysis - Overall

CAT 2023 was held on 26th November 2023 in three slots. As per expectations, the exam pattern was the same as last year. The only surprise in the exam was that the VARC section of slot 2 had a mandatory VA question that was absent in the other two slots.

Based on the data provided by CAT takers, we have revised the data to match the trends displayed. Here are a few observations and a revised comparison of slots and expected overall & sectional percentiles.

CAT Exam Analysis 2023 - CAT 2023 Difficulty Level

The overall difficulty of CAT 2023 was higher than that of CAT 2022. The exam followed the exam pattern of CAT 2022, with 66 questions to be answered in 120 minutes. The distribution of questions across the sections also remained the same, with 24 questions in VARC, 20 questions in DILR, and 22 questions in QA. Each section had to be attempted in 40 minutes.

Among the 3 slots, there was only a marginal difference in the level of difficulty.

Section (CAT 2023)

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

DILR was the most difficult section of CAT 2023 and the easiest was VARC. Ideally, a CAT score of 84 was required to get a 99%ile in CAT 2023.

Detailed Analysis

CAT 2023 Scores vs Percentiles: Analysis as of November 26, 2023

Expected

Percentiles

VARC Score

DILR Score

QA Score

Overall Score

Slot 1

Slot 2

Slot 3

Slot 1

Slot 2

Slot 3

Slot 1

Slot 2

Slot 3

Slot 1

Slot 2

Slot 3

99

40

40-42

38-40

25-27

25-26

27-28

25-28

28-30

27-28

80-81

82-83

78-80

95

28-30

30-33

28-30

18-20

18-20

18-20

20-22

20-22

18-20

55-56

57-58

57-58

90

22-24

24-26

24-25

15-17

14-15

15-17

15-17

15-17

15-17

45-48

46-48

46-48

85

20-22

20-22

20-22

13-14

12-13

12-14

12-14

12-14

12-14

39-41

40-43

40-41

80

18-20

18-20

18-20

11-12

10-11

10-11

10-12

10-12

10-11

35-37

36-39

36-37

* As soon as the CAT Answer Key is out, fill in the score calculator to get your exact overall percentile along with a predicted sectional percentile.

CAT 2022 Exam Analysis

As per the expectations, CAT 2022 followed the pattern of 66 questions to be solved in 2 hours with 40 minutes allotted to each section.

The marking scheme remained the same: +3/-1 for MCQs, and +3/0 for non-MCQs. The overall level of difficulty for CAT 2022 slot 3 was difficult with respect to CAT 2022 Slot 1 and Slot 2. Thus, the LOD across the three sections of the three slots varied slightly:

An overall raw score of around ~84 could fetch a 99%ile in CAT 2022.

CAT 2022 Paper Pattern & Section- score wise for 99%ile+

Section Name

Total Questions

Time Limit

Score for 99%ile

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

24

40 Minutes

39

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

20

40 Minutes

29

Quantitative Ability (QA)

22

40 Minutes

33

Detailed Analysis

CAT 2021 Exam Analysis

The overall difficulty level for CAT 2021 was moderate. An overall raw score of around 97-99 was good enough to fetch a 99%ile in CAT 2021. CAT 2021 followed the CAT 2020 exam pattern of reduced time (2 hours) with 40 minutes allotted to each section. However, the number of questions under each of the sections reduced. CAT 2021 had 66 questions to be attempted in 2 hours with the section-wise distribution of questions as follows: VARC: 24 questions in 40 minutes; DILR: 20 questions in 40 minutes; QA: 22 questions in 40 minutes.

Section

No of questions

Non MCQ Questions

Time in Minutes

Difficulty Level

Ideal Score/Attempts for 99 %ile

VARC

24

5

40

Moderate

35-38 (15-18)

DILR

20

5

40

Moderate

28-30 (10-12)

QA 

22

8

40

Easy

39-42 (15-17)

Total

66

18

120

 

97-99 (42-48)

Detailed Analysis

CAT 2020 Exam Analysis

We all know that the CAT 2020 notification came up with the surprise of reduced time - just 70 odd-days - before CAT. From the earlier duration of 3 hours, the test duration was reduced to 2 hours with 76 questions.

The marking scheme remained the same: +3/-1 for MCQs, and +3/0 for non-MCQs. The overall level of difficulty for CAT 2020 slot 1 was slightly higher than that of CAT 2019. In terms of section-wise level of difficulty, VARC was lengthy and slightly tricky. DILR went back to CAT 2016-18 levels after a short breather in CAT 2018. QA was slightly easier than CAT 2019, in terms of LOD.

An overall raw score of around 105-110 should fetch a 99%ile in CAT 2020.

CAT 2020 Paper Pattern & Section-wise expected score for 99%ile+

Section Name

Total Questions

Time Limit

Marking Scheme

Score for 99%ile

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

26

40 Minutes

+3/-1 (for MCQs)

+3/0 (for non-MCQs)

40-42

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

24

40 Minutes

+3/-1 (for MCQs)

+3/0 (for non-MCQs)

32-34

Quantitative Ability (QA)

26

40 Minutes

+3/-1 (for MCQs)

+3/0 (for non-MCQs)

46-48

Total

76

120 Minutes

+3/-1 (for MCQs)

+3/0 (for non-MCQs)

105-110

Detailed Analysis

CAT 2019 Exam Analysis

CAT 2019 did not throw any surprises in paper format. In terms of level of difficulty, VARC was slightly trickier this year with 2 passages on the difficult side. Both DILR and Quant were slightly easier than last year. Overall, the paper was slightly less difficult, as compared to last year.

Section Name Total Questions Total number of MCQs Total number of non-MCQs Cut Off
99%ile 95%ile 90%ile
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) 34 27 7 65 57 50
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) 32 24 8 48 39 32
Quantitative Ability (QA) 34 23 11 55 43 33
Total 100 74 26 160 123 108
Detailed Analysis

CAT 2018 Exam Analysis

CAT came out of the bag with two thuds and one loud bang. The paper started with an 'even easier than 2017' VARC section. Then the level of difficulty of the DILR section provided a major reprieve to the nervous 'jantaa' as it broke with the trend of the last three years. It was a moderately difficult section, as compared to an out and out difficult section that has been observed over the last 2-3 years. However, this relief was short-lived as QA came out all guns blazing. IIM-C kept its reputation intact, with its emphasis on the QA section

Section No. of Questions No. of non-MCQ questions Difficulty Level Good Attempts
Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension 34 7 Easy 28+
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 32 8 Moderate 16+
Quantitative Ability 34 12 Difficult 15+
Total 100 27   60+
Detailed Analysis

CAT 2017 Exam Analysis

CAT 2017 did not throw up any surprises wrt the paper format. The level of difficulty of the paper changed this year as compared to last year. While VARC continued to be easy, DILR was more difficult than last year with sets that took more time to solve as well. Quant was also easier and similar to CAT 2015 in level and marginally easier than 2016. On first impressions, an overall raw score of around 160 should fetch a student a 99%ile in CAT 2017. LRDI would not be the differentiator this year, since all students would be lumped in smaller categories. Quant, being easy, would play the role of differentiator. The overall structure of the CAT paper was as follows:

Section No. of Questions No. of non-MCQ questions Difficulty Level Good Attempts
Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension 34 7 Easy-moderate 26-27
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 32 8 Difficult 12-14
Quantitative Ability 34 8 Easy-Moderate 25-26
Total 100 23   63-67
Detailed Analysis

CAT 2016 Exam Analysis

CAT 2016 did not undergo any changes in its pattern and as expected the level of difficulty went up because of which the percentile went down and only a scaled score of 153+ was required for a 99+ percentile which was much lower as compared to 2015.

Section Name No. of Questions Marks/Q Total marks
Section 1 Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension 34 (60 minutes) 3 102
Section 2 Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning 32 (60 minutes) 3 96
Section 3 Quantitative Ability 34 (60 minutes) 3 102
Total 100 300
Detailed Analysis