CAT Exam Pattern 2026 : Marking Scheme, Previous year's Section wise Pattern

CAT Exam Pattern 2026: 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 date 2026 will be announced on the official website. The CAT exam pattern changes every year, and there is no prescribed CAT examination pattern or syllabus. However, the basic format of the exam remains the same, consisting of three sections: the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Aptitude.

 The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section 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. 

LATEST UPDATES

CAT 2025 Admit Card to be released on November 12, 2025, at iimcat.ac.in.

Last Updated 7th November 2025

CAT 2025 to be conducted on November 30, 2025.

Last Updated 13th October 2025

Also Read - Best Books for CAT Exam 2026

CAT Exam Pattern 2026

CAT Exam Pattern is flexible, and it has been witnessed that the exam conducting body, i.e., IIMs, frequently change the CAT syllabus 2026 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 yearly.

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 2026 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 2026, which includes the types of questions asked in the paper, marking scheme, slots, and duration.

CAT Exam Pattern 2026: Detailed Sectional Pattern

The table below is based on the previous year's exam pattern (CAT 2023), representing the detailed bifurcation of the CAT exam pattern section-wise. It is to be noted that the exam also has a sectional cut-off. 

Candidates appearing for the exam can understand the CAT exam pattern using the previous year's analysis.

CAT Exam Pattern 2026: Duration of Test

CAT 2026 will be conducted in three sessions. The duration of the test will be 120 minutes. Candidates will be allotted exactly 40 minutes for answering questions in each section, and they will not be allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in a section. A mock exam to understand the format of the test will be available on the CAT website. Check the table below to understand the time duration better. 

CAT Exam Pattern 2026: 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 difficulty is the negative marking scheme in the CAT exam. The table below provides details on the marking scheme according to the official CAT notification:

CAT Exam Pattern 2026: 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, the CAT conducting body, and difficulty level of the examination.

CAT 2026 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 the 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.