CAT Exam Pattern 2020

The exam pattern for CAT has been changed several times in the past years by the conducting IIMs. Since 2015, the CAT pattern, with respect to the total marks, duration, and total questions, has remained the same. It is extremely important for the CAT aspirants to know the CAT paper pattern, as it helps to devise personal test-taking strategies. The CAT Exam Pattern 2022 may be different from the 2021 pattern. The CAT exam Pattern given below will help the CAT aspirants to get acquainted with the latest pattern and prepare accordingly.

Any changes in the CAT exam pattern will be updated in case any official statement is released.

The Common Admission Test is one of the most competitive tests held in India annually. The CAT can be undertaken by graduates from almost all streams. The exam attracts huge competition from all the MBA aspirants who endeavour admissions to the IIMs or other prestigious B-schools in the country.

CAT exam pattern may see some minor changes. Aspirants can refer to the 2021 pattern given below for reference.

CAT Expected Exam Pattern 2022: Overview

The CAT exam is one of the toughest exams in the country since it has neither a pre-defined syllabus nor a proper exam pattern. Thus, the candidates often get confused as the CAT pattern changes frequently.

The examiners made some major changes in CAT 2015 exam pattern by introducing sectional timing and TITA (Type In The Answer) type questions. This exam pattern for CAT Exam was repeated in CAT 2016 and remained unchanged in CAT 2017 and 18 also. An expected CAT 2021 exam pattern is given below:

CAT Expected Exam Pattern: Detailed Sectional Pattern

CAT Quantitative Aptitude Pattern

The CAT quantitative aptitude section is a standalone section comprising only numerical-based questions from different maths topics. A total of 26 questions are included in this section for this year. The detailed pattern for the quantitative aptitude section is given below

The complete quantitative section comprises mainly of 5 topics, which are:

• Basic Arithmetic
• Algebra
• Number System
• Geometry & Mensuration
• Modern Maths

The distribution of questions on these topics varies every year. A tentative marks distribution graph of quantitative topics is given below.

From the chart, it is clear that Arithmetic is one of the most important CAT exam topics, and 10-14 questions related to Arithmetic are repeated in the exam every year. In this section, almost 6-8 TITA questions (Non-MCQs) are included where candidates are required to type their answers. Overall, the level of difficulty of the CAT quantitative aptitude section ranges from easy to moderately high and can be answered easily with the proper practice of the syllabus topics.

CAT Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Pattern

The CAT VARC section is mainly focused to check the English language skills of the candidates and how well they can interpret paragraphs and understand the core ideas. In the VA-RC section, 26 questions will come in the CAT exam this year.

In the CAT Verbal Ability section, 8 questions will be included this year. The main areas in the Verbal Ability section from where the questions will come are:

• Para jumbles
• Sentence Correction and Completion
• Summary based

Altogether, some questions are from the verbal ability section while others are from the reading comprehension passages. In CAT reading comprehension, there are various types of questions such as vocabulary-based, title based, etc.

A comparative analysis of cat verbal ability and reading comprehension section is given below. As evidenced below, the reading comprehension rates as the most important aspect of this section.

In this section, a total of 5-8 TITA questions will be included in which no options will be given, and the candidates need to type the answers. The overall level of difficulty of CAT verbal ability & reading comprehension section is moderately difficult and this section will be time-consuming.

CAT Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation Pattern

The logical reasoning and data interpretation section test the proficiency of the candidates to interpret data and their ability to understand logical assumptions. In this section, a total of 22-24 questions will be included.

In the CAT logical reasoning section, 18-20 questions will be included this year. The questions vary from inequalities to symbol operations, direction sense test, etc. The questions in this section are easily solvable and thus, this section is highly scoring.

On the other hand, the data interpretation section is a bit difficult and time-consuming. Several confusing data caselets are included in this section, and candidates are required to understand the data sets thoroughly to be able to answer the full question sets. The CAT data interpretation section should be attempted cautiously as a single mistake can lead the candidates to attempt all the questions from a particular set incorrectly.

A comparative analysis for CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section given below.

A total of 6-7 TITA questions will be included in this section. The question pattern in the CAT LR-DI section is often confusing and thus, the candidates need to attempt this section properly. This section is high scoring and one should not hurry to read the data caselets and logical reasoning statements.

Also Check: Change in CAT Pattern over the past 5 years

Other important points for CAT 2021 exam pattern:

• The exam will be conducted in three slots of 2 hours each on a single day, with 40 minutes allotted for each section.
• The exam will be a computer-based test.
• The exam will be of 192-228 marks and the candidates cannot switch between the sections.
• A non-scientific and onscreen calculator is provided, and no other electronic devices are allowed inside the room.
• An on-screen timer is present on the computer screen which shows the remaining time for the respective sections.
• There is a negative marking of 1 mark for each incorrect answer.

Being one of the toughest exams in the country, the CAT exam surely requires the candidates to be extremely prepared and well-versed with all the syllabus topics to ace the exam. So, it is very important to know the proper CAT exam syllabus and pattern to get prepared to face the competition.

The CAT exam is generally conducted in the month of November every year, while the registration starts in August. This year, CAT 2022 will be conducted tentatively in the last week of November 2022. The CAT Notification will be released on the official site and the CAT Registration is expected to open up in the first week of August 2022. Stay tuned with BYJU’S to get more information on the exam along with effective preparation tips, the latest notifications, and previous year question papers.

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