The CAT 2022 exam pattern came as no surprise as it followed the predictions of CL’s CAT gurus. Much like CAT 2021, the paper followed 66 questions with 40 minutes allotted to each section. The division of the questions among the slots also remained the same as that of CAT 2021, that is,
The marking scheme also remained the same: +3/-1 for MCQs, and +3/0 for non-MCQs. The overall level of difficulty for CAT 2022 slot 1 was marginally more than that of CAT 2021. Regarding the section-wise level of difficulty, VARC was easy to moderate. However, there was an addition of para completion in place of the odd-sentence-out questions. DILR had 4 sets of 5 questions each. This section was slightly more difficult than that of CAT 2021. QA was a shade easier than the section of CAT 2021.
An overall raw score of around ~97 to 99 should fetch a 99%ile in CAT 2022.
CAT 2022 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) |
24 |
40 Minutes |
+3/-1 (for MCQs) |
38-40 |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) |
20 |
40 Minutes |
+3/-1 (for MCQs) |
28-30 |
Quantitative Ability (QA) |
22 |
40 Minutes |
+3/-1 (for MCQs) |
36- 38 |
The VARC section was the same as last year and had an easy to moderate level of difficulty. There were a total of 24 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.
3 questions were Non-MCQs. The RC passages were around 300-350 words each. 2 were easy while 2 passages were difficult.
VA came with a surprise as the odd-sentence-out questions were removed and para completion was in the section.
Overall, a score of 38-40 can be considered enough for a 99 %ile.
CAT 2022 VARC Question-wise Breakup:
Topic |
No. of Questions (MCQ/non-MCQ) |
Ideal Attempt |
Reading Comprehension |
16 (4+4+4+4) |
13 |
Verbal Ability - Parajumbles |
3 |
3 |
Verbal Ability - Summary |
3 |
2 |
Verbal Ability - Para completion |
2 |
2 |
The DILR section had 20 questions distributed across 4 sets with 5 questions each. CAT 2022 DILR was difficult as compared to CAT 2021 DILR section. The number of non-MCQs was 6. The total number of doable questions was around 8-10.
A score of 28-30 marks can be considered ideal for a 99+ percentile in DILR.
CAT 2022 DILR Question- wise Breakup:
Subject |
Topic |
No of Questions |
Ideal Attempt |
Data Interpretation + Logical Reasoning |
Token |
5 |
3 |
University Team |
5 |
4 |
|
15 girls get together |
5 |
3 |
|
Metrolines |
5 |
2 |
As expected, the QA section of CAT 2022 was easy to moderate in terms of the level of difficulty. It had 22 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes. The section had 8 non-MCQs.
As expected, Arithmetic dominated this section. A score of 36-38 would be ideal for a 99+ percentile in the QA section of CAT 2022.
CAT 2022 QA Questions- wise Breakup:
Topic |
No of Questions (MCQ/non-MCQ) |
Ideal Attempt |
Number System |
1 |
1 |
Algebra |
8 |
5 |
Arithmetic |
8 |
5 |
Modern Math |
2 |
2 |
Geometry & Mensuration |
3 |
3 |
Based on the overall and section-wise scores, level of difficulty and good attempts, given below are the score required for various percentiles:
| Percentile | Sections | Overall | ||
| VARC | DILR | QA | ||
| 99 | 38-40 | 28-30 | 36-38 | 97-99 |
| 95 | 30-32 | 22-24 | 28-30 | 70-72 |
| 90 | 26-28 | 18-20 | 22-24 | 58-60 |
| 85 | 23-25 | 16-18 | 18-20 | 49-50 |
| 80 | 19-20 | 14-16 | 16-18 | 44-45 |
Candidates would have done well to stay calm and follow the guidelines shared by Career Launcher, in all its sessions. The overall raw score for a 99 percentile is expected to be in the range 97-99!