CAT Exam Pattern 2024 - CAT Paper Pattern for QA, VARC and DILR Sections

CAT 2024 exam pattern has been released by IIM Calcutta along with an official notification. The CAT paper pattern remains the same as in last year's CAT. The CAT 2024 question paper will have a total of 66 multiple-choice questions with a time limit of 120 minutes. Each section (VARC, QA, and DILR) of the CAT exam will last 40 minutes. The total marks of the CAT exam is about 198. Read this article to know all about CAT pattern 2024, including CAT paper timing, sectional time limit, CAT total marks, etc.

CAT Exam Pattern 2024

The CAT exam 2024 will be held on November 24, 2024. The CAT exam pattern is a mind-driven exam designed to test a candidate's ability to solve reasoning and mathematical questions accurately in the least amount of time. The CAT exam 2024 is all about using logical reasoning and aptitude skills. Those who are going to take CAT 2024 must familiarise themselves with the updated CAT entrance pattern. It will help them understand the structure of the CAT question paper and the marking scheme.

CAT 2024 Exam Pattern: Major Highlights

The CAT exam paper pdf will help with better CAT exam preparation. Before going to appear for this national-level MBA entrance exam, one should know what the CAT 2024 pattern is. The CAT pattern and the test procedure will be announced, along with the CAT exam 2024 date and the notification. Candidates planning to opt for CAT 2024 must familiarise themselves with the latest CAT entrance exam pattern along with the CAT syllabus 2024. For the past two years, the CAT exam has had 66 questions.

Check out the best CAT Study Material

As per the previous year's CAT question paper pattern, the exam will be held in three slots, that is, in the morning, afternoon, and evening on the same day, as the computer-based test (CBT). The CAT exam pattern for MBA is summarised in table below.

CAT Paper Pattern and Syllabus

CAT Paper Pattern 2024- Important points

• Candidates can use an on-screen calculator for computation during CAT 2024.
• By using an on-screen clock candidates can check the time
• Sheets will be provided to candidates for rough work, which has to be submitted after the conclusion of the CAT Exam.
• Candidates will not be allowed to switch from one section to another while answering questions in one section.
• The CAT official mock test has been released on the official CAT website, iimcat.ac.in. It generally reveals the overall and section-wise exam pattern of CAT. The three sessions in which CAT 2024 will be conducted are:
  • Morning session (8:30 am - 10:30 pm)
  • Afternoon session (12:30 pm - 2:30 pm)
  • Evening session (4:30 pm - 6:30 pm).

Click here to download the CAT test pattern pdf

CAT Duration 2024

The CAT 2024 exam will be held in three different shifts with a duration of 120 minutes (2 hours) for each CAT slot. CAT 2024 entrance exam will be held on November 24. The CAT exam will be administered in the morning, afternoon, and evening sessions as per the norms. Check out more details about CAT exam 2024 slots.

CAT Exam Time Duration

As per trends and CAT paper patterns, candidates have to solve every section in 40 minutes. After the conclusion of 40 minutes (sectional time limit), no changes or corrections will be allowed after that. Checkout section-wise number of CAT questions and the sectional time limit is listed in the below table.

CAT Exam Slot Timings

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CAT Qualifying Marks

CAT 2024 qualifying marks will be available with the release of the CAT cutoff for the next academic session. The CAT qualifying marks will be released by the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and by other top MBA colleges that accept CAT scores for MBA/ PGDM admissions. In order to appear for the selection rounds of MBA admission the first criterion is to satisfy the CAT qualifying marks criteria.

How many total marks are in the CAT exam?

The total marks for the Common Admission Test (CAT) exam will be 198 marks in total.

How many questions in CAT exam?

The total number of CAT total questions will be 66. The entire CAT question paper will be divided into three sections (VARC, DILR, and QA). As per the CAT MBA pattern, VARC will have 24 questions, DILR will have 20 questions, and QA will have 22 questions.

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CAT Exam Pattern 2024 - What kind of questions come in the CAT Exam?

As per the previous year's CAT question paper given below are the section-wise questions covered in the CAT 2024 test pattern.

• VARC Section: 4 RC passages with 18 MCQs; VA 8 Non-MCQs are subdivided into Para Summaries, Para Jumbles, and Context Sentences.
• DILR: Data Interpretation: 14 Questions, Logical Reasoning: 10 Questions, All in Sets of 6 & 4 Questions

• QA: High on Arithmetic, Other on Geometry, Log, Algebra, Roots, etc.

How many times CAT exam is conducted in a year?

• Indian Institute of Management (IIM) conducts Common Admission Test (CAT) exam once a year.

Which slot is easy in CAT?

• Last year the overall difficulty level of CAT exam was difficult. However, as per student reactions, the second slot of CAT exam was moderate. The QA was somewhat difficult in all the CAT slots.

CAT Marking Scheme 2024

CAT test pattern 2024 includes the answer to the searched question "Is there negative marking in CAT?" Under the CAT marking scheme, candidates get to know the CAT exam total marks awarded for each correct answer and how many marks will be deducted if the candidate answers the question incorrectly.

• For each correct answer, three marks will be awarded.
• CAT Negative Marking: For each wrong answer, one mark will be deducted.

• For unanswered CAT questions, no marks will be deducted. Also for Non-MCQs, no marks will be deducted.

The following table summarizes the marking scheme for CAT 2024:

CAT entrance exam pattern changes over the years

How many levels are there in CAT exam?

As per the CAT MBA test pattern, there are three exam sections including VARC, DILR, and QA. The CAT VARC section includes 24 questions with a weightage of 72 marks. CAT DILR section comprise 20 questions with a weightage of 60 marks and the QA section will have 22 questions with a weightage of 66 marks.

Do questions get repeated in CAT?

As of now VARC and DILR questions have not been repeated ever. Every year, candidate find a new set of questions that have not come before. But there are some rare instances where QA questions were repeated.

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How has the CAT exam pattern evolved over the years?

In last few year's CAT question paper pattern has been changed multiple times. By referring to the below table the candidates will be able to know a clear idea of how the CAT 2024 paper pattern evolved over the years.

Paper pattern of CAT contains three sections such as,

• Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
• Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

There is no difference in the sections for each year. Also, there is no difference in the CAT exam pattern for MBA marking scheme.

CAT Exam Pattern - Previous Years

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CAT Syllabus 2024

CAT conducting body will not release the official CAT exam syllabus. However, based on the CAT MBA exam pattern, candidates can check the topics on which the questions are asked.

Section-Wise CAT Syllabus 2024

CAT Mock Test 2024

The candidates can take the official CAT Mock Test. CAT conducting body will release the official CAT 2024 mock test on iimcat.ac.in. It will help to face the actual exam without any fear and also help to attend to the questions within the given time.

By appearing in the mock test, the aspirants can get an idea of how to move between different sections. Before appearing in the CAT exam mock test, students must know the CAT test pattern 2024 and they must also go through the CAT sample papers.

How to answer the questions in the CAT 2024 question paper?

Before going to start the CAT exam, the students should have to know how to answer questions. Candidates should use the following options when answering questions:

• Save and Next: Candidates should select the answer, save it, and move on to the next one.
• Clear Response: Candidates will have the option to delete the answer to the question they answered.
• Mark for Review and Next: If the candidate is unsure about the answer, in such a case they have the option to mark it as a review, then answer it, and then move on to the next question.

NOTE: When answering CAT questions, one should use the mouse provided. Using the system keyboard will lock the computer screen.

What does each colour on the panel represent?

Previous Years CAT Exam Analysis

As per last year's CAT paper analysis, the exam was tough in terms of difficulty level but the VARC and QA section was tough in all three slots. DILR section was moderate as compared to VARC and QA. Check below question wise break of the previous year paper pattern of CAT:

CAT Total Marks vs Percentile

As per experts, last year's CAT exam was difficult, so going by that trend here we have provided the CAT expected score vs percentile 2024 on the basis of CAT cutoff marks vs percentile.

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