CAT Exam Pattern 

We all know that CAT exams 2023 are knocking at the door and the CAT aspirants are making themself ready for it. As this article is all about the CAT Exam pattern so let me tell you about it first. There is a piece of good news for the CAT aspirants as there is no changes made to the CAT exam pattern 2023 from the last 2 years. Let me also tell you that the candidates prefer looking at the CAT exam pattern 2023 because it makes good strategies for facing the CAT exam paper. Below in this article through the research and knowledge we have provided deep information about the CAT exam pattern 2023.  

As said the CAT Exam pattern 2023 will be the same as the last 2 past years because the conducting body has not made any relevant changes in the CAT exam pattern of the years 2021 and 2022. IIMs every year authorize the CAT exam pattern and as pet its latest test pattern, there will be a total of 66 multiple questions (MCQs) and the candidate has to solve this within 120 minutes. And there are a total 3 sections and each section has 40 minutes to be solved. Therefore the CAT exam pattern has been already released on 30th July along with the CAT 2023 Registration announcement. 

All the latest updates and information regarding the CAT Exam pattern 2023 is mentioned below so that the CAT aspirants can prepare themself. How many questions are in the CAT exam? This year there will be 66 questions and the total marks of the CAT exam is 198. And we all know that the mode of the CAT 2023 Exam is CBT (Computer-Based Mode). 

CAT Exam Pattern 2023 Overview (Expected)

We all know that the CAT Exam is the 5th toughest exam in India and let me also tell you that this exam neither have pre-defined syllabus nor a set exam pattern. But from the last 2 years the pattern has not been changed so it expected to be same this year. Below we have provided the CAT exam pattern overview in the table format: 

Particulars	Details
CAT Exam Duration	2 Hours
CAT Exam Making Scheme	+3 For Correct Answers-1 For Incorrect Answers0 For Unattempted Questions
CAT Exam Section Names	Quantitative AptitudeVerbal Ability & Reading ComprehensionLogical Reasoning & Data Interpretation
Mode of Paper	Online Only
Question Types	MCQs and Non-MCQs (TITA)
Total CAT Exam Sections	3
Total Marks	198
Total Questions in CAT Exam	66

Latest Updates of CAT Exam Pattern 

• On 7th of November the CAT aspirants will be able to download the CAT 2023 admit card though the official website of CAT that is https://iimcat.ac.in.  
• Talking about the CAT exam pattern then there are total 3 exam portions according to the official CAT exam pattern. If you are appearing for the CAT exam then you must keep CAT Exam Pattern at the first priority.

They distributed in 3 different sections which are mentioned below: 

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

CAT 2023 Exam Pattern List 

As said earlier that the exam pattern of the CAT exam are divided into 3 different sections that are VARC, DILR and QA. The candidates prepare themself just for to take admission in the Top IIMs College in India or in Best MBA Colleges in India. Therefore below are the list of the CAT 2023 exam pattern list in detailed manner: 

Section	CAT Exam Duration	MCQs	Non-MCQs	Total No. of Questions
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)	40 min	21	3	24
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR)	40 min	14	6	20
Quantitative Ability (QA)	40 min	14	8	22
Total	120 (2 hours)	49	17	66

Important Points for CAT Exam Pattern 

• It is a computer based exam 
• There will be all total 66 question that will be MCQs and non MCQs
• The exam will be of 198 marks and the candidates are not allowed to switch between the sections. 
• The candidates are allowed 40 minutes for every sections and the total duration for the CAT exam is 120 minutes or you may say 2 hours. 
• 1 marks will be dedicated for each incorrect attempt. 
• No electronic devices are allowed in the exam room and only the  non-scientific and onscreen calculator will be provided to the students. 
• Talking about the time duration then it will be displayed on the computer screen till the exam gets over. 

CAT Syllabus 2023 

The syllabus 2023 contains are divided into 3 sections that are Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). and we all know that CAT syllabus is huge and lengthy. The main topic that the candidate must cover before appearing at the CAT exam is Geometry, Arithmetic, Percentage, Algebra, Coding-Decoding, Graphs,  Series Completion, etc as most of the questions are asked from these sections. Below we have provided the CAT Syllabus 2023 sectional wise so lets see them: 

CAT Syllabus 2023 for VARC Section

CAT VARC Syllabus
Antonyms	Syllogisms	Analogies
Errors in tenses	Phrases modifiers	Article usage
Foreign language words used in English	Sentence completion	Different usage of the same word
Idioms	Grammar	Reading Comprehension
Para completion and inference	Phrasal Verbs	Fill in the blanks
Sentence correction	Jumbled Paragraphs	One word substitution
Subject-verb agreement	Para jumbles	Verbal reasoning
Types of clauses	Parts of speech	Preposition

CAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Passages of Previous Years

We have also mentioned some of the main concepts of the RC that is the part of the VARC.

Below are the previous year details on the CAT RC

CAT RC Passages
CAT 2022
Slot 1	Two levels of emotional thinking Stoics Ghosts and their mysteries how we can’t find their history Chinese Copy of articles
Slot 2	Philosophy Octopus      Music  Engineering technology
Slot 3	Software if more easy humans are not capable of getting solutions) Social reorganization increasing crime rate Indian history American migration/ urbanization increasing
CAT 2021
Slot 1	Utopia and Dystopia Mayan Civilization Marshmallow Experiment Evolution of Tea as a Drink
Slot 2	Why Fiction Trumps Truth Language/ Indigenous People Knowledge and Problems of Knowledge is a Scandal to Philosophy Colonialism/ Nationalism
Slot 3	Unconscious and Psychoanalysis Time Accuracy Entropy Nanotechnology Language Instinct
CAT 2020
Slot 1	Migration of Northern Seals Grammar/ Vocabulary Currency of the Tang Dynasty Anarchism
Slot 2	Piracy in International Trade Investing in Renewable Energy Technologies Freudian Models of Aggression A Study of Visualisation
Slot 3	Travel Writing and Feminism During Colonial Times The Need for Economic Literacy in the General Population Screen Time and Undercurrents of Social Class An Analysis of Human Nature

CAT Syllabus 2023 for DILR Section

CAT DILR Syllabus
Statements	Venn Diagram	Series
Seating Arrangements	Assumptions	Data Sufficiency
Pie Charts	Coding-Decoding	Binary Logic
Family Tree	Tables	Direction Sense
Data Arrangement	Propositions	Data Structure
Clocks and Calendars	Syllogism	Blood Relations
Bars & Line Graphs	Puzzles	Seta & Caselets

CAT Syllabus 2023 for QA

Quantitative Aptitude (QA) is the last section of the CAT question. Below are the details of the  CAT Syllabus 2023 for QA.

CAT Quant Syllabus
Trigonometry	Simple interest and compound interest	Work and Time
Profit & Loss	Ratios and Proportion	Geometry
Probability	Partnership (Accounts)	Square Root and Cube Root
Permutation & Combination	Surds and Indices	Percentages
Mean, mode, median	Binomial theorem	Geometric Progression
Logarithms	Number System	Inequalities
In-equations Quadratic and linear equations	Time-Speed-Distance	Mensuration

CAT Exam Pattern for MBA

MBA is one of the most opt courses in India. And there are many MBA Colleges in India that provide this course for 2 years. Talking about the CAT Exam pattern for MBA then below is the list of it in detailed manner: 

Section as per IIM CAT Exam Paper 2023	Total Questions	Allotted Time
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	20	40 Minutes
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)	22	40 Minutes
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)	24	40 Minutes
Total	66	120 Minutes

CAT Exam Pattern and Cut off Marks

CAT Cut off marks varies from the colleges to colleges also in IIMs and Non IIMs. It is very hard to crack the CAT Exam by bringing the 99+ percentile. But though the CAT aspirants try its best to take admission in the top IIMs in India. Therefore belew are the list of the IIMs CAT cut off percentile 

IIMs	CAT Cut Off Percentile
IIM Vizag	92-94
IIM Udaipur	92-94
IIM Trichy	94-95
IIM Sambalpur	95-96
IIM Rohtak	92-94
IIM Ranchi	94-95
IIM Raipur	94-95
IIM Nagpur	95-96
IIM Lucknow	97-98
IIM Kozhikode	97-98
IIM Kashipur	94-95
IIM Indore	97-98
IIM Calcutta	99
IIM Bangalore	99-100
IIM Amritsar	95-96
IIM Ahmedabad	99-100

Non IIMs CAT Cut off Percentile List: 

Non IIMs	CAT 2022 Cut Off (Percentile)
SPJIMR	85
NITIE	97
MDI Gurgaon	95
IMT Ghaziabad	93
IIT Madras	95
IIT Delhi	98
FMS	99

CAT Sectional Cut Off

The colleges accepting CAT Score are many in India or we may say that most of Colleges Accept CAT Score for the admission process. These colleges look upon the CAT sectional cut off to shortlist the candidates on the basis of the CAT percentile. In the below table we have provided the list of the CAT sectional cut off for the general category candidates so please refer:

Name of the Institutes	CAT Sectional Cut Off
	VARC	DILR	QA
IIM Ranchi	80	80	80
IIM Raipur	>=70	>=70	>=70
IIM Nagpur	72	72	72
IIM Lucknow (PGP)	85	85	85
IIM Kozhikode	75	75	75
IIM Kashipur	70	70	70
IIM Jammu	70	70	70
IIM Indore	80	80	80
IIM Calcutta	≥80	≥80	≥75
IIM Bodh Gaya	70	70	70
IIM Bangalore	80	75	75
IIM Amritsar	75	75	80
IIM Ahmedabad	70	70	70

CAT Exam Time Duration

Each section are divided into the particular time that is 40 minutes. As per the CAT Exam pattern 2023 the slot-by-slot information and the sectional timings are listed below:

• Evening session: 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
• Afternoon session: 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
• Morning session: 8:30 am – 10:30 pm

CAT Exam Sections	CAT Exam Time Duration
CAT Exam Sections	CAT exam time duration
VARC	40 Minutes
DILR	40 Minutes
QA	40 Minutes
Total	120 Minutes

Frequently Asked Questions about CAT Exam Pattern 

Q. What are the 3 subjects of CAT exam?

Ans. The 3 subjects of CAT exam are mentioned below: 

• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning.
• Verbal and Reading Comprehension.
• Quantitative Ability.

Q. Which is tough CAT or IIT?

Ans. These question start coming in the mind of the students of the clases 11 and 12 Maths, Physics and Chemistry. And we all know that CAT is the 5th toughest exams in India and IIT is much tougher than the CAT Exam. 

Q. Is CAT exam very easy?

Ans. CAT exam comes in the list of the 5th toughest exam in India and it is a moderate difficulty level exam but the candidates who has start the preparation early can crack this exam very perfectly. If the candidates are well planned, doubts are are cleared or has covered the whole syllabus can easily crack the CAT Exam. 

Q. What is the total marks of CAT exam?

Ans. From the last 2 years there have been no changes made in the CAT exam pattern so for this year the candidates can prefer the last years exam patter for the preparation. Talking about the total marks of CAT exam the it is of 198 marks. 

Q. Is 70 a good score in CAT?

Ans. 70-80 percentile are considered to be a moderate score in CAT exam and can be considered above average. 

Q. Does CAT have negative marking?

Ans. As per the CAT exam pattern, then yes CAT have negative marking that for one incorrect answer 1 marks will be deducted. So candidates must be very careful while answering the questions.   

Q. Is calculator allowed in CAT?

Ans. The candidates are not allowed to bring up the calculator with themself as an on-screen calculator is already provided by the conducting body.