The CAT 2024 exam is set to be conducted on 24th November 2024. The exam will be conducted in 3 slots - morning, afternoon, and evening, at various locations across the nation. The CAT exam difficulty level this year is expected to be between moderate and difficult, and the assumption and analysis is drawn based on the past year papers analysis. The CAT difficulty level is often the same every year - moderate to difficult, and the qunatitative aptitude and data interpretation section are often the most challenging sections.
In this article we will discuss about the CAT expected difficulty level for this year, and also provide a comprehensive analysis of the past year papers which will help the candidates in understanding the CAT exam as a whole, and this analysis will also benefit the future and upcoming CAT aspirants to plan and devise their CAT preparation strategy.
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CAT 2023 Exam was successfully conducted on 26th November 2023. The overall difficulty level of the exam was moderate to difficult for all three slots, according to the CAT 2023 Analysis. The exam sections, which included VARC, DILR, and QA, were moderately tough for all candidates. The full CAT Exam Analysis covers all of the important facts regarding the exam, such as the difficulty level, topic-wise weightage of questions asked, section-wise detailed CAT Analysis 2023, estimated cutoff, and more. Also Read - IIM Admission Process
CAT Previous Years' Exam Analysis
This section of the article aims to present a detailed yet comprehensive analysis of the CAT previous year exams by providing the exam analysis like the CAT exam difficulty level for all the slots. Check this detailed analysis below.
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CAT 2023 Exam Analysis
More than 2 lakh applicants registered for the exam across 438 exam centers due to the rising demand for management courses. The exam included 66 questions in total with a duration of 2 hours. The following is a slot-by-slot analysis of the CAT 2023 examination.
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CAT 2023 Slot 1 Paper Analysis
The analysis of the CAT 2023 Slot 1 question paper is given in the table below.
Particulars | VARC | DILR | QA | Marking Scheme |
Difficulty Level | Easy to Moderate | Moderate to Difficult | Difficult | +3/-1 (For MCQs)
+3/-0 (For Non-MCQs) |
Number of MCQs | 21 | 14 | 14 | |
Number of TITA Questions | 3 | 6 | 8 | |
Total Number of Questions | 24 | 20 | 22 | |
Good Attempt | 17-19 | 12-14 | 14-16 |
- The slot 1 CAT 2023 examination has a moderate level of difficulty.
- The VARC part consisted of four RC passages and summary-based questions.
- There were no questions about Venn diagrams, bar graphs, or pie charts in the DILR section. The majority of the questions in the QA were about Arithmetic (8 questions), Algebra (8 questions), and Geometry (3 questions).
- Candidates rated the QA portion to be the most challenging and the VARC section to be the easiest among the three sections.
CAT 2023 Slot 2 Paper Analysis
The analysis of the CAT 2023 Slot 2 question paper is given in the table below.
Particulars | VARC | DILR | QA | Marking Scheme |
Difficulty Level | Easy to Moderate | Moderate to Difficult | Difficult | +3/-1 (For MCQs)
+3/-0 (For Non-MCQs) |
Number of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) | 18 | 14 | 14 | |
Number of Non-MCQs or TITA Questions | 6 | 6 | 8 | |
Total Number of Questions | 24 | 20 | 22 | |
Good Attempt | 17-18 | 13-14 | 13-15 |
- The difficulty level of the CAT 2023 slot 2 examination was comparable to that of Slot 1
- The following subjects were covered in the VARC section:
- Reading Comprehension- 16 questions
- Para Completion- 3 questions
- Para Jumbles- 2 questions
- Para Summary- 3 questions
- The DILR portion contained four sets of five questions each (revenue/cost; cosmetic item sale; diagram - four destinations; salesman and four colonies).
- In the QA part, there were 9 Arithmetic questions, 7 Algebra questions, and 4 Geometry questions.
- As in slot 1, candidates considered QA to be more difficult than the other two parts and VARC to be the simplest of all.
CAT 2023 Slot 3 Paper Analysis
The analysis of the CAT 2023 Slot 3 question paper is given in the table below.
Particulars | VARC | DILR | QA | Marking Scheme |
Difficulty Level | Easy to Moderate | Moderate to Difficult | Moderate to Difficult | +3/-1 (For MCQs)
+3/-0 (For Non-MCQs) |
Number of MCQs | 21 | 14 | 14 | |
Number of Non-MCQs | 3 | 6 | 8 | |
Total Number of Questions | 24 | 20 | 22 | |
Good Attempt | 17-19 | 12-13 | 13-14 |
- The difficulty level of slot 3 CAT 2023 has been described as moderate.
- VARC, like the previous two slots, was the simplest. The DILR section in slot 3 was, however, a little more tough than the other two.
- The question breakdown in the VARC part is as follows: four sets of four questions each from Reading Comprehension, three questions each from Para Summary and Para Jumbles, and two questions from Para Completion.
- The DILR part contained four sets of five questions each (COVID instances; computer science ratios; blue and pink - male female graph; games - four persons).
- The topics covered in the QA part was Arithmetic-9, Algebra-7, Geometry-4, Modern Math-1, and Number System-1
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CAT 2022 Exam Analysis Slot 1
On November 27th, from 8.30 AM to 10.30 AM, IIM Bangalore Pan India administered the CAT Slot One exam. During the examination, COVID criteria were rigorously observed. The difficulty level of the DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning), VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension), and QA (Quantitative Ability) parts on the CAT exam slot one is described below. The students were allotted 120 minutes to complete 66 questions, which is 10 fewer than the last time. The exam went well. The trend was similar to the previous year's.
Exam Paper Pattern and Difficulty Level
Marking Scheme - There was no negative marking for TITA-based questions. However, for MCQs, 3 marks are given for correct answers and 1 mark is deducted for wrong answers.
Section Wise Breakdown
The table below shows the number of questions asked in accordance with the time allotted for the three parts of the CAT slot 1 exam.
Sections | No. of questions | Difficulty level | Marking Scheme | Score for 99%ile |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | Moderate | +3/-1 (For MCQs)
+3/-0 (For Non-MCQs) | 37-39 |
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | Easy | 40-42 | |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 | Moderate to Difficult | 27-30 | |
Sections (Total) | 66 | Moderate to Difficult | Approximately: 96-99 |
CAT 2022 Exam Analysis Slot 2
The CAT exam slot two was held from 12:30 PM to 2.30 PM. Three marks are given for each correct response, whereas one wrong answer will be marked by -1. There was no negative marking in the TITA (Type in the Answer) part. Students were allotted 120 minutes to complete 66 questions, which is 10 fewer than the previous time. The exam went well. The trend was similar to the previous year's.
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Exam Paper Pattern and Difficulty Level
According to the candidates, the Slot 2 CAT exam was 'Moderately Difficult, but was easier than the 2021 exam. In comparison to slot 1, the paper was long and the difficulty levels varied in three portions.
Section Wise Breakdown
Sections | No. of questions | Difficulty level | Marking Scheme | Score for 99%ile |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | Easy | +3/-1 (For MCQs)
+3/-0 (For Non-MCQs) | 37-39 |
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | Moderate | 39-42 | |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 | Difficult to Moderate | 29-32 | |
Sections (Total) | 76 | Moderate | Approximately: 96-99 |
CAT 2022 Exam Analysis Slot 3
The third test session was held from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. The exam was for two hours. In order to determine how well the candidates appeared in the CAT 2022 test and to predict the score beforehand, it is important to review our slot three paper analysis.
Exam Paper Pattern and Difficulty Level
The Slot 3 CAT exam was described as 'Moderately Difficult' by several applicants. The question paper was a little lengthy, and a few questions were difficult, but the pattern stayed consistent with slots 1 and 2. DILR seems to be the easiest of the three portions. The VARC and QA section was moderate.
Section Wise Breakdown
Sections | No. of questions | Difficulty level | Marking Scheme | Score for 99%ile |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 26 | Moderate | +3/-1 (For MCQs) +3/-0 (For Non-MCQs) | 36-39 |
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | Moderate | 34-37 | |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 | Easy-Moderate | 30-33 | |
Sections (Total) | 76 | Moderately Difficult | Approximately: 93-97 |