CAT Exam Analysis 2025: Subject Wise Analysis for Slot 1,2,3, Difficulty Level, Weightage

CAT Exam Analysis 2025: The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025 was successfully conducted on November 30, 2025. The examination was conducted in three sessions: morning (8:30-10:30 AM), afternoon (12:30-2:30 PM), and evening (4:30-6:30 PM). Candidates can check the in-depth CAT exam analysis for all three sessions here. The analysis will include details such as the difficulty level of the question paper, the number of attempts, topics with high weightage, and other additional information regarding the exam. 

The CAT exam 2025 is divided into three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude. As per the CAT exam pattern, all three sections consist of multiple choice questions and type-in-the-answer (TITA) questions. 

CAT 2025 Slot 3 Paper Analysis

According to Ramnath Kanakadandi, Senior Course Director, T.I.M.E., the CAT 2025 exam largely mirrored CAT 2024 in its overall pattern, with no major deviations in structure or composition. Though a few minor surprises were woven into the paper, enough to unsettle some students momentarily. 

In terms of the difficulty level of the CAT 2025 Slot 3 paper, VARC felt broadly in line with this year’s morning slot, whereas LRDI and QA were noticeably more demanding. Check the examination pattern for Slot 3 below.

The evaluation scheme remained unchanged from previous years; three marks for every correct answer, a penalty of one mark for each incorrect MCQ, and no negative marking for non-MCQs. Overall, the CAT 2025 evening slot was noticeably more challenging than any of the slots in 2025 as well as 2024, according to Ramnath Kanakadandi. 

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
In the evening slot, the VARC section featured 16 RC and eight VA questions. True to CAT tradition, the exam maintained complete uniformity in the section pattern across all slots, reaffirming that test-takers could rely on a consistent structure throughout the day. In the Reading Comprehension section, several passages were dense and demanding, and the associated questions intensified the challenge. Inference-driven prompts and subtle distinctions between options meant accuracy often depended on careful re-examination of specific paragraphs. While passages on Dams allowed students to maintain good momentum, those on the Forest Act of India, Formalisation of Ethics, interrupted the rhythm with their dense content and involved reasoning, increasing the overall time spent per question.

Verbal Ability
In the Verbal Ability section in the CAT 2025 lot 3, the distribution of questions across the question types differed from CAT 2024. There were two Sentence Position, two Odd One Out, two Para Formation and two Para Summary questions. Of these, the Odd One Out and Para Formation questions were of a non-MCQ type.

Like in previous years, Sentence Position questions remained on the easier side, offering a scoring opportunity. The logical flow within the paragraphs was clear enough to guide students toward the correct sentence position fairly quickly.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
For the evening slot test-takers, the DILR structure was in line with the earlier slots. There were five sets overall: two longer sets with five questions and three relatively shorter sets with four, ensuring a uniform pattern across all three slots.

The evening slot DILR section proved that the greater difficulty was consistent across the day. Students noted that even the relatively doable sets required methodical planning and correction of trial-based deductions. Compared to the easier flow of last year’s paper, this year demanded maturity in approach. The evening slot carried forward the morning slot’s DILR difficulty level. Still, it was not as tricky as the afternoon slot, where complex constraints made the puzzles harder to crack, according to Ramnath Kanakadandi. 

The LR sets required deep inference and frequent backtracking, making them mentally exhausting. DI was not any kinder – complex data and heavy reasoning kept increasing the pressure as the clock ticked down. Featuring sets based on Quant-Based Reasoning and Caselet, the section presented challenges that were not easy to navigate, demanding sustained focus and accurate interpretation throughout. The inclusion of Step Graph charts added a novelty factor but also increased the cognitive load. Students found themselves spending extra seconds just mapping the chart design to the question requirements.

Quantitative Ability
A major chunk of the QA section was devoted to Arithmetic, Algebra, reflecting a clear and intentional emphasis by the test designers on assessing deep conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills in these areas. A sizable number of questions required students to break down the problems into smaller, logical steps before arriving at the final answer. While they were largely solvable with the right approach, the multi-layered nature of these questions made them slightly time-intensive to handle during the actual test, forcing students to manage their time very strategically.

A good spread of questions came from Numbers, Geometry and Mensuration, reinforcing the importance of these areas in CAT preparation. Navigating these well allowed students to build rhythm and sustain their confidence throughout the section, especially when faced with a few unexpectedly tricky questions elsewhere.

Analysing this distribution provides valuable insight into where the examiners chose to test conceptual depth and where they offered scoring opportunities.

CAT 2025 Slot 2 Paper Analysis

The exam conducting body has successfully conducted Slot 3 of the CAT 2025 exam. Check the CAT 2025 Slot 2 analysis, which concluded at 02:30 PM on November 30, 2025. Based on the initial student reactions, the CAT 2025 slot 2 paper can be considered moderate in difficulty level, according to Gautam Puri, Co-Founder and MD, Career Launcher.

Initial responses coming in from multiple test takers have expressed a mixed opinion about the CAT 2025 slot 2 paper's difficulty. However, most students opined that the difficulty level of the CAT 2025 slot 2 paper was almost similar to the difficulty level of the first slot of the day. However, it was more difficult than CAT 2024, and somewhat similar in difficulty level to CAT 2022 and 2023.

There were a total of 68 questions (all 3 sections combined), for which students were allowed a total of 120 minutes.

CAT 2025 slot 2 section-wise difficulty level overview:

• VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension): Moderate.

• DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning): Moderate to difficult.

• QA (Quantitative Ability): Moderately difficult.

According to Ramnath Kanakadandi, the Reading comprehension and Verbal Ability questions were mixed up in the sequencing, similar to the pattern in CAT 2024. There were four RC passages with four questions each. The RC sets were of a moderate difficulty level, with one difficult set. The distribution of passages and questions were as follows:

There were 22 questions across five sets, similar to last year’s pattern. The breakup of these sets is below:

Detailed section-wise difficulty level and doable questions:

• VARC: There were a total of 24 questions in the VARC section for which students were allotted 40 minutes. In slot 2, the VARC section difficulty level was reported to be moderate.

The difficulty level of the VARC section was similar to the CAT 2022 VARC section. In the VARC section, 10-12 questions were doable.

• DILR: The DILR section had 22 questions, and 40 minutes were allotted. This section in the CAT 2025 slot 2 was moderate to difficult.

The difficulty level of this section was comparatively similar to CAT 2023. In the DILR section, 8-9 questions were doable.

• QA: This section had a total of 22 questions, and the time allotted was 40 minutes. There were 8 non-MCQ questions. The paper was moderately difficult.

According to Gautam Puri, Co-Founder & MD, Career Launcher, the difficulty level of the QA section was comparatively closer to CAT 2023. Students who could get 6-7 correct answers can easily score 90-percentile; for 99 percentile, the number of correct answers would go up to 10-11.

CAT 2025 Slot 1 Paper Analysis

IIM Kozhikode has successfully concluded the CAT 2025 morning session exam. There were no major pattern changes this year. The number of questions was 68, the same as in CAT 2024. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Ramnath Kanakadandi, Senior Course Director, T.I.M.E., gives a preliminary analysis of the exam:

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

The Reading comprehension and Verbal Ability questions were mixed up in the sequencing, similar to the pattern in the CAT 2024 exam. There were four RC passages with four questions each. The RC sets were of a moderate difficulty level, with one difficult set. The distribution of passages and questions was as follows:

In VA, there were two questions each from Para Formation (which made a comeback after disappearing last year), Para Summary, Sentence Placement, Para Odd One Out (2 different presentations: One of them was the usual finding the odd statement and marking it in the answer, while the second one needed the candidate to eliminate the odd statement and then arrange the remaining statements into the logical paragraph and mark that sequence in the answer box). This  VA section was of a moderate difficulty level, with a couple of difficult questions. 

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

There were 22 questions across five sets, similar to last year’s pattern. The breakup of these sets is given below:

Ramnath Kanakadandi explained that the Spider+Bar set was the must-try caselet, which students should have identified and solved first. He added that the other caselets were comparatively trickier, with two of them being particularly difficult. Moreover, he noted that the time spent on attempting the second caselet (other than the Spider+Bar set) would likely have been significantly higher.

Quantitative Ability

There were no surprises in this section. It had 22 Questions. These questions were from the regular set of topics as seen in the previous CATs, with a majority of questions from Arithmetic and Algebra. Numbers and Modern Math had only one question each, while Geometry had three questions. Students who had practised adequately with T.I.M.E. study material and attended the lectures provided would have been able to manage them comfortably.

As per the expert's report, the morning slot of CAT 2025 was slightly more difficult than CAT 2024, primarily due to the increased challenge in the DILR section and the lengthy calculations required in the Quantitative Ability section.

Also Read: 

CAT Exam Analysis 2025: Highlights

Check exam highlights for the CAT 2025 in the table below:

CAT Exam Analysis 2025: Section-wise break-up

Candidates appearing for the CAT exam this year can check the previous years’ section-wise breakup of the question paper below: 

CAT Exam Previous Year Analysis: Section-wise difficulty

The exam analysis for all three shifts of the CAT 2024 exam is given below.

CAT 2024 Exam Analysis for Slot 1

The slot 1 for CAT 2024 has been concluded successfully. Check the table below for detailed exam analysis.

CAT 2024 Exam Analysis for Slot 2

CAT 2024 Exam Analysis for Slot 3

CAT Exam Analysis 2025: Subject-wise weightage

The subject-wise weightage of questions asked in the CAT exam 2024 for all three slots is given below.

CAT Analysis 2024: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

CAT Analysis 2024: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

CAT 2024 Analysis: Quantitative Aptitude