CAT Exam Pattern 2023: The Common Admission Test is a computer-based exam conducted for admission to the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top MBA colleges in India. The CAT exam will be held on the last Sunday of November 2023. This year the exam will be conducted on November 26, 2023. The CAT exam pattern changes every year, and there is no prescribed CAT examination pattern and syllabus. However, the basic format of the exam remains the same, consisting of three sections: the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section and Quantitative Aptitude.
CAT Exam Pattern 2023 will have 3 sections – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section, which aims to test the candidate's ability to understand and analyse the English language, and includes questions on vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension.
Secondly, the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section (DILR), aims to test the candidate's ability to understand and analyse data presented in various formats and includes questions on charts, tables, graphs, and logical reasoning.
And lastly, the Quantitative Aptitude Section is designed to test the Mathematical and calculation skills of the candidate.
CAT Exam Pattern is flexible and it has been witnessed that the exam conducting body i.e. IIMs frequently change the syllabus and Exam pattern of the Common Admission Test (CAT). As per the official exam notification, the duration is not set, although the usual duration is in the range of 2-3 hours, changing on a yearly basis.
The number of questions also varies from year to year. Last year, 66 questions were asked in the exam for a total of 198 marks. CAT Exam Pattern 2023 also has a negative marking scheme, the candidate will be awarded a -1 mark for every wrong answer for Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) meanwhile there is no negative marking for Type in Type Answers (TITA).
CAT Exam Pattern 2023:
In the table below, aspirants can get a complete highlight of the CAT exam pattern 2023 which includes the types of questions asked in the paper, marking scheme, slots, and duration.
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Particulars
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Details
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No. of Questions
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66 in 2022
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Sections in Exam
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3 (VARC, DILR and QA)
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Exam Duration
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2 hours (2 hr and 30min for PwD Category)
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Section Wise Time Duration
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40 minutes
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CAT 2023 Exam Slots
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3
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Mode of Exam
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Computer-based Exam (CBE)
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Medium of Instruction
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English
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Types of Questions
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MCQ and Type in Type Answer
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CAT Marking Scheme
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+3 for every right answer
-1 for every wrong answer
TITA has no negative marking
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CAT 2023 Expected Exam Pattern: Detailed Sectional Pattern
The table below is based on the previous year exam pattern, CAT 2022, representing the detailed bifurcation of CAT exam pattern in terms of section. It is to be noted that the exam also has a sectional cutoff.
Candidates aspiring to appear for the exam are advised to understand the CAT exam pattern from the previous year
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Sections of Exam
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No. of questions
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Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
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Type in Type Answers (TITA)
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Time Limit
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VARC
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24
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19
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5
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40 mins
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DILR
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20
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15
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5
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40 mins
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QA
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22
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14
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8
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40 mins
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Total
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66
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48
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18
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120 mins
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CAT 2023 Exam Pattern: Making Scheme
Common Admission Tests (CAT) conducted by IIMs are considered as one of the toughest examinations in the country because there is no prescribed CAT Exam pattern. Every year nearly 2-3 lakh candidates take the exam for about 5000 seats offered by the 20 IIMs currently functioning in India.
The difficulty level of the CAT Exams further increases due to a negative marking scheme. In the table below, aspiring candidates can find the marking scheme as per the official CAT notification:
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Question Type
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Correct Answer
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Incorrect Answer
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Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
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+3
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-1
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Type in the Answer (TITA)
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+3
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0
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CAT Exam Pattern: Previous year Exam Pattern
Candidates aspiring to appear for the CAT examination must be well acquainted with the fact that IIMs frequently change the CAT exam pattern. In the table below, candidates can observe the flexibility of the CAT exam pattern by analysing the duration, number of questions, CAT Conducting body and difficulty level of the examination.
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Year
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Duration
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No. of Questions
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Difficulty Level
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2021
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2 hours
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66
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Moderate to High
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2020
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2 hours
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76
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Moderate to High
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2019
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3 hours
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100
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Moderate to High
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2018
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3 hours
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100
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Moderate to High
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2017
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3 hours
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100
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Moderate
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2016
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3 hours
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100
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Moderate to difficult
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2015
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3 hours
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100
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Moderate to High
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2014
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2 hours 50 minutes
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100
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Moderate to Easy
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2013
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2 hours 20 minutes
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60
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Moderate to Easy
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2012
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2 hours 20 minutes
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60
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Moderate to Easy
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2011
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2 hours 20 minutes
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60
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Moderate
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CAT Exam Pattern 2023: Section-wise topic
As there is no official exam pattern and syllabus of the CAT examination, candidates are expected to have a holistic and clear understanding of the fundamentals at High school level Curriculum.
The examination conducting body i.e. IIMs has designed the exam pattern to test the candidate's logical, analytical, reasoning and mathematical skills. In the table below aspirants can check the complete section-wise topics for preparation.
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Section
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Topics
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Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
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Verbal Ability
English Usage or Grammar
Close Passage
Synonyms Antonyms
Facts-inferences-judgments
Jumbled Paragraph
Reading Comprehension
Verbal Reasoning
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Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
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Caselets
Blood Relations
Calendars
Bar Graphs
Column Graphs
Tables
Cubes
Clocks
Binary Logic
Line Charts
Combination of two or more types linked to each other
Syllogism
Venn Diagrams
Pie Chart
Number and Letter Series
Seating Arrangement
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Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
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Algebra
Higher Maths
Geometry
Trigonometry
Mensuration
Arithmetic
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