CAT 2026 Slot 1 Exam Analysis: The CAT 2026 exam will be conducted on November 29, 2026. The exam will be administered throughout the day in three separate shifts. The first shift of CAT 2026 will be concluded at 10:30 AM.
The CAT 2026 exam analysis will be updated here post-exam slot 1 in detail based on the data provided by CAT takers. We will revise the data to match the displayed trends, make predictions, and provide an updated comparison across all slots and expected percentiles.
The marking scheme of CAT 2026 was as follows:
The overall breakup of CAT 2026 - Slot 1 paper is to be announced with section-wise marking scheme and difficulty level of the exam at the day of the CAT exam:
|
CAT Exam Sections |
Total No. of Questions |
Questions |
MCQs |
TITA (type in the answer) |
Difficulty Level |
No. of Doable Questions |
|
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) |
24 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) |
22 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
Quantitative Ability (QA) |
22 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
TOTAL |
68 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
The overall breakup of the CAT 2025 - Slot 1 paper with the section-wise marking scheme and difficulty level of the exam has been tabulated below.
CAT Slot 1 Detailed Analysis
Students can look for the CAT 2025 detailed exam analysis and analyse their performance. Following is a brief analysis of CAT 2025 for each section.
|
Section |
No. of questions |
Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|
VARC |
24 |
4 Passages * 4 Questions 2 Para summary, 2 Para Jumble 2 Para completion, 2 Odd one out |
Easy - Moderate |
|
DILR |
22 |
2 Sets * 5 Questions 3 Sets * 4 Questions |
Moderate - Difficult |
|
QA |
22 |
Algebra - 8, Arithmetic- 7, Geometry- 2, Number System- 4-5, Modern Maths- 1 |
Moderate |
|
Total |
24 |
Moderate |
The VARC section was on the easier side. The RCs passage seemed difficult at first glance; however options were easier to eliminate and the answer can be reached. The topics para summary, para jumbles, para completion and odd one out, had two questions each.
There were a total of 24 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.
|
Passage Number |
Passage Topic/ Area |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Number of Doable Questions |
|
1 |
Income Inequality |
4 |
Moderate - High |
Dense - difficult to read - 2 |
|
2 |
Electronic Music |
4 |
Moderate - High |
Dense - difficult to read - 2 |
|
3 |
Mental Insanity |
4 |
Moderate - High |
Dense - difficult to read - 2 |
|
4 |
Complex System |
4 |
Moderate - High |
Dense - difficult to read - 2 |
|
Total |
To Be Updated |
16 |
Moderate - High |
7-8 |
|
Question Type |
No of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Description/doable |
|
Para Summary (Zombie Cells, Inspiration) |
2 |
Moderate |
2 |
|
Para Completion (Silver, Guitar Making) |
2 |
Moderate - Difficult |
1 |
|
Odd One Out (Bayeux Tap, Legalized Assisted) |
2 |
Moderate - Difficult |
1 |
|
Total |
8 |
Moderate |
4-5 |
The DILR section difficulty level was moderate to difficult. There were 5 questions drawn from AR-based arrangements and 4 questions from circular arrangements.
CAT 2025 DILR was difficult than compared to the CAT 2024 DILR section. The DILR section had 22 questions. Have a look at the breakup of CAT DILR section as follows: In terms of difficulty level CAT 2025 DILR was similar to CAT 2023.
|
Set Number |
Set – Topic/ Area |
No of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Description/ Doable |
|
1 |
LRDI Based - Ticket |
5 |
Moderate |
2 |
|
2 |
Circular Arrangement |
4 |
Difficult |
1-2 |
|
3 |
Radar Graph - Import Export |
4 |
Easy |
4 |
|
4 |
DILR Based - Taps |
4 |
Moderate- Difficult |
2 |
|
5 |
AR Based Arrangement |
5 |
Moderate |
2-3 |
|
Total |
|
22 |
Difficult |
8-9 |
QA is moderate when compared to last year. A good number of questions were from the number system. 6 questions were from Algebra, and 8 questions were from Arithmetic.
|
Sub-section/ Module |
Description |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|
Number System |
Factors-1,Digits Based-1,Set Based -1 |
3 |
Easy to Moderate |
|
Algebra |
Log-1, Linear Equations-2, Functions-2, Inequality-1 |
6 |
Moderate |
|
Arithmetic |
TSD-1, T&W-1, SI CI-1, Percentage-1, Ratio-1 PLD-1, Mixture-1,, Maxima/Minima -1 |
8 |
Moderate |
|
Modern Math |
P&C -1 |
1 |
Easy |
|
Geometry & Mensuration |
Circle- 1, Polygon-1, Coordinate Geo - 2 |
4 |
Moderate |
|
Total |
22 |
Moderate |
|
Section |
No. of Questions |
No. of non-MCQ questions |
Time (in minutes) |
Difficulty Level CAT 2025 |
Difficulty Level CAT 2024 |
Ideal Score (Attempts) for CAT 2025 |
Ideal Score for CAT 2024 |
Ideal Score for CAT 2023 |
|
VARC |
24 |
4 |
40 |
Easy - Moderate |
Moderate |
12 ( 5-6 VA) |
41 |
37 |
|
DILR |
22 |
10 |
40 |
Moderate - Difficult |
Moderate- Difficult |
10 (2 -2.5 sets) |
38 |
27 |
|
QA |
22 |
9 |
40 |
Moderate |
Difficult |
11-12 |
33 |
26 |
|
Total |
68 |
23 |
120 |
Moderate |
Moderate- Difficult |
34 |
95 |
76 |
