CAT Exam Question Paper

CAT Exam Question Paper can be your best study material to prepare for the CAT exam 2023. The CAT Exam is a national-level exam conducted on a rotating basis by the IIMs. IIM Bangalore held CAT 2022 online on November 27 2022 across the country and this year the CAT exam will be administered by IIM Lucknow.

After completing the the syllabus for CAT Exam and all of the important topics, applicants must tackle CAT Previous Year Papers. Official Website of CAT iimcat.ac.in will also upload some practice papers online.

The CAT 2023 registration started on 2^nd August 2023. The Exam date for the CAT Exam 2023 is declared to be on 26 November 2023 i.e. Sunday.

This Article contains information regarding CAT Exam Question Paper. Go through the article to know about the pattern of the previous year's CAT Exam Question Paper, syllabus - topic wise and weightage of the three sections in CAT Exam 2023.

Previous year CAT Exam Question Paper – Pattern 

If we see the Question pattern of the CAT Exam Question Paper in 2022, then the level of difficulty in the question paper was moderate and the total no. of question were 66 to be attempted in 2 hours.

The pattern for CAT 2021 was as same as the CAT Exam Question paper of 2021.

Sections in CAT Question Paper	Total no. of Questions	MCQs (negative marking)	TITA Questions (no Negative Marking)
VARC	24	21	3
DILR	20	14	6
QA	22	14	8
Total	66	49	17

CAT Exam Question Paper 2023 - Pattern 

There will be 66 questions in total and the time limit will be 2 hours. 

You will have to attempt three sections in the CAT Exam Question Paper

• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension - VARC; 
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning - DILR and 
• Quantitative Ability – QA

Section in CAT Exam Question Paper	Weightage	Time duration
Total Questions in VARC - 24	34-36%	40 Minutes
Total Questions in DILR - 20	32-34%	40 Minutes
Total Questions in QA - 22	34%	40 Minutes
Total Questions - 66		120 minutes (2 hours)

CAT Exam Question Paper Highlights

CAT Question Paper will have three sections namely the VARC, DILR/LIDR and QA. The exam will be computer-based. You will get loose sheets for rough work that you will have to submit later in the exam hall and a digital calculator and digital clock will be available on your computer in the exam hall. 

The questions are of two types – MCQs and Non-MCQs, where MCQ questions have negative markings but non-MCQs do not have any negative markings for wrong answers.

See the table below to know about the important highlights of CAT Exam Question Paper:

Mode	CBT
Medium of Exam	English
Total no. of Questions	66
Sections	3 Sections – VARC, DILR, QA
Time limit	120 minutes (Each section gets 40 minutes)
Types of Questions	MCQ and TITA (Type in the Answer)
Marking Scheme	-1 for each wrong answer in MCQ+3 for each correct answer in MCQ(no negative marking for TITA)
Total marks	198 marks

CAT Exam Question Paper: Syllabus Overview

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 

Topics under VARC in CAT exam 2023

• Jumbled Paragraph Questions
• Reading Comprehension Questions
• Para Summary Questions
• Para Completion Questions
• Odd-sentence-out Questions

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 

Topics under DILR in CAT exam 2023

• Logical Sequence, Connectives, Matching
• Bar Graphs, Line Charts, Venn Diagram, Column Graph
• Syllogism
• Pie Charts, cubes
• Calendars and Clocks
• Blood Relations
• Number and Letter Series
• Binary Logic
• Caselets
• Seating Arrangement

Quantitative Ability 

Topics under QA in CAT exam 2023

• Number Systems
• HCF & LCM
• Profit, Loss and Discount
• Time & Work 
• Linear Equations
• Quadratic Equations
• Permutation and Combination
• Set Theory & Function
• Coordinate Geometry
• Sequence and Series
• Geometry
• Mixtures and Allegations
• Ratio & Proportion
• Complex Numbers
• Logarithm
• Speed, Time & Distance
• Percentages
• Simple and Compound Interest
• Inequalities
• Surds & Indices
• Probability
• Averages
• Mensuration
• Trigonometry

CAT Exam Question Paper: Pattern over the years (2012-2023)

If we see the CAT exam Question Paper pattern of 2022, no. of questions was 66 with 2 hours of time duration, whereas in the year 2020, a total of 76 questions were to be attempted in 2 hours.

And for the year 2019, the number of questions CAT Exam Question paper was 100 to be attempted in 3 hours (180 minutes).

The table below shows the change in pattern for CAT exam Question Papers from 2012 to 2023

CAT exam for the year	Time allotted and no. of Questions
2012	140 minutes for 60 Questions
2013	140 minutes for 60 questions
2014	170 minutes for 100 questions
2015	180 minutes for 100 questions
2016	180 minutes for 100 questions
2017	180 minutes for 100 questions
2018	180 minutes for 100 questions
2019	180 minutes for 100 questions
2020	120 minutes for 76 questions
2021	120 minutes for 66 questions
2022	120 minutes for 66 Questions

Frequently Asked Questions about CAT Exam

Q. What is the CAT Exam Pattern?

Ans. CAT Exam Question paper pattern is given below:

There will be 66 questions in total and the time limit will be 2 hours. 

You will have to attempt three sections in the CAT Exam Question Paper

• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension - VARC; 
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning - DILR and 
• Quantitative Ability – QA

Section in CAT Exam Question Paper	Weightage	Time duration
Total Questions in VARC - 24	34-36%	40 Minutes
Total Questions in DILR - 20	32-34%	40 Minutes
Total Questions in QA - 22	34%	40 Minutes
Total Questions - 66		120 minutes (2 hours)

Q. How many questions are there in CAT Exam?

Ans. No. of questions have changed over the years in CAT Exam Question Paper If we see the Question pattern of CAT Exam Question Paper in 2022, then the level of difficulty in the question paper was moderate and the total no. of question were 66 to be attempted in 2 hours.

The pattern for CAT 2021 was as same as the CAT Exam Question paper of 2021.

There will be 66 questions in total and the time limit will be 2 hours in CAT Exam 2023. 

Q. What is the syllabus of VARC?

Ans. Topics under VARC in CAT exam 2023

1. Jumbled Paragraph Questions
2. Reading Comprehension Questions
3. Para Summary Questions
4. Para Completion Questions
5. Odd-sentence-out Questions

Q. What is the syllabus of DILR?

Ans. Topics under DILR in CAT exam 2023

1. Logical Sequence, Connectives, Matching
2. Bar Graphs, Line Charts, Venn Diagram, Column Graph
3. Syllogism
4. Pie Charts, cubes
5. Calendars and Clocks
6. Blood Relations
7. Number and Letter Series
8. Binary Logic
9. Caselets
10. Seating Arrangement

Q. What is the Syllabus of QA?

Ans. Topics under QA in CAT exam 2023

1. Number Systems
2. HCF & LCM
3. Profit, Loss, and Discount
4. Time & Work 
5. Linear Equations
6. Quadratic Equations
7. Permutation and Combination
8. Set Theory & Function
9. Coordinate Geometry
10. Sequence and Series
11. Geometry
12. Mixtures and Alligations etc.

Q. What is the weightage for VARC in CAT Exam?

Ans. Weightage for VARC in CAT 2023 is 32-34%

Q. What is the weightage for QA in CAT Exam?

Ans. Around 34% weightage of QA in CAT exam 2023

Q. What is the marking scheme of CAT Exam 2023?

Ans. -1 for every wrong MCQ answer,

+3 for every correct MCQ answer and 

No Negative marking for the Non- MCQ (TITA) questions