CAT Exam Pattern 2024: Marking Scheme, Previous year's Section wise Pattern

According to the CAT Exam Pattern 2024, the exam will have 3 sections– Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA).

Abhishek AroraUpdated on : Nov 13 2024 14:27 IST

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CAT Exam Pattern 2024

CAT Exam Pattern 2024: 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 2024. This year the exam will be conducted on November 24, 2024. 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 2024 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.

Also Read - Best Books for CAT Exam 2024

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 2024

CAT Exam Pattern is flexible and it has been witnessed that the exam conducting body i.e. IIMs frequently change the CAT 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 2024 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).

In the table below, aspirants can get a complete highlight of the CAT exam pattern 2024 which includes the types of questions asked in the paper, marking scheme, slots, and duration.

Particulars	Details
No. of Questions	66 in 2022
Sections in Exam	3 (VARC, DILR and QA)
Exam Duration	2 hours (2 hr and 30min for PwD Category)
Section Wise Time Duration	40 minutes
CAT 2024 Exam Slots	3
Mode of Exam	Computer-based Exam (CBE)
Medium of Instruction	English
Types of Questions	MCQ and Type in Type Answer
CAT Marking Scheme	+3 for every right answer -1 for every wrong answer TITA has no negative marking

CAT Exam Pattern 2024: Detailed Sectional Pattern

The table below is based on the previous year exam pattern, CAT 2023, 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

Sections of Exam	No. of questions	Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)	Type in Type Answers (TITA)	Time Limit
VARC	24	19	5	40 mins
DILR	20	15	5	40 mins
QA	22	14	8	40 mins
Total	66	48	18	120 mins

CAT Exam Pattern 2024: Making Scheme

The Common Admission Test (CAT), conducted by the IIMs, is regarded as one of the toughest exams in India, partly due to the absence of a fixed exam pattern. Each year, around 2-3 lakh candidates compete for approximately 5,000 seats across the 20 functioning IIMs.

Adding to the challenge is the negative marking scheme in the CAT exam. The table below provides aspiring candidates with details on the marking scheme according to the official CAT notification:

Question Type	Correct Answer	Incorrect Answer
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)	+3	-1
Type in the Answer (TITA)	+3	0

CAT Exam Pattern: Previous year's Structure

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.

Year	Duration	No. of Questions	Difficulty Level
2021	2 hours	66	Moderate to High
2020	2 hours	76	Moderate to High
2019	3 hours	100	Moderate to High
2018	3 hours	100	Moderate to High
2017	3 hours	100	Moderate
2016	3 hours	100	Moderate to difficult
2015	3 hours	100	Moderate to High
2014	2 hours 50 minutes	100	Moderate to Easy
2013	2 hours 20 minutes	60	Moderate to Easy
2012	2 hours 20 minutes	60	Moderate to Easy
2011	2 hours 20 minutes	60	Moderate

CAT 2024 Exam Pattern: 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.

Section	Topics
Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC)	Verbal Ability English Usage or Grammar Close Passage Synonyms Antonyms Facts-inferences-judgments Jumbled Paragraph Reading Comprehension Verbal Reasoning
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	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
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)	Algebra Higher Maths Geometry Trigonometry Mensuration Arithmetic