The exam pattern for CAT has been changed several times in the past years by the conducting IIMs. Since 2015, the CAT pattern, with respect to the total marks, duration, and total questions, has remained the same. It is extremely important for the CAT aspirants to know the CAT paper pattern, as it helps to devise personal test-taking strategies. The CAT Exam Pattern 2021 is slightly different from the 2020 pattern. The CAT exam Pattern 2021 given below will help the CAT aspirants to get acquainted with the latest pattern and prepare accordingly.
Any changes in the CAT 2021 exam pattern will be updated in case any official statement is released.
The Common Admission Test is one of the most competitive tests held in India annually. The CAT can be undertaken by graduates from almost all streams. The exam attracts a huge competition from all the MBA aspirants who endeavour admissions in the IIMs or other prestigious B-schools in the country.
CAT 2021 exam pattern has seen some minor changes. Aspirants can refer to the 2021 pattern given below for reference.
CAT 2021 Exam Pattern: Overview
| Total Questions in CAT Exam | 76 |
| Total Marks | 300 |
| Total Sections | 3 |
| Total Exam Duration | 2 Hours |
| Mode of Paper | Online Only |
| Question Types | MCQs and Non MCQs (TITA) |
| Making Scheme | +3 For Correct Answers
-1 For Incorrect Answers 0 For Unattempted Questions |
| Section Names | 1. Quantitative Aptitude
2. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension 3. Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation |
The CAT exam is one of the toughest exams in the country, since it has neither a pre-defined syllabus nor a proper exam pattern. Thus, the candidates often get confused as the CAT pattern changes frequently.
The examiners made some major changes in CAT 2015 exam pattern by introducing sectional timing and TITA (Type In The Answer) type questions. This exam pattern for CAT Exam was repeated in CAT 2016 and remained unchanged in CAT 2017 and 18 also. An expected CAT 2021 exam pattern is given below:
CAT Expected Exam Pattern 2021: Detailed Sectional Pattern
| CAT 2021 Sectional Pattern | ||||
| Section | MCQs | Non-MCQs | Total No. of Questions | Duration |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 21 | 5 | 26 | 40 min |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR) | 18 | 6 | 24 | 40 min |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 20 | 6 | 26 | 40 min |
| Total | 59 | 17 | 76 | 120 (2 hours) |
CAT Quantitative Aptitude Pattern
The CAT quantitative aptitude section is a standalone section comprising only numerical-based questions from different maths topics. A total of 26 questions are included in this section for this year. The detailed pattern for the quantitative aptitude section is given below
The complete quantitative section comprises mainly of 5 topics, which are:
- Basic Arithmetic
- Number System
- Geometry
- Algebra
- Modern Maths
The distribution of questions on these topics varies every year. A tentative marks distribution graph of quantitative topics is given below.
CAT Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Pattern
The CAT VARC section is mainly focussed to check the English language skills of the candidates and check how well they can interpret paragraphs and understand the core ideas. In this section also, 26 questions are asked in the CAT exam for this year from the VA-RC section.
In CAT Verbal ability section, 8 questions are included this year. The main areas from where questions are asked are in the verbal section are:
- Parajumbles
- Sentence Correction and Completion
- Summary based
Altogether, some questions are asked from the verbal ability section. Other questions are from the reading comprehension passages. In CAT reading comprehension, there are various types of questions which include vocabulary-based, title based, etc.
A tentative questions’ pattern for CAT verbal ability and reading comprehension section is given below.
CAT Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation Pattern
The logical reasoning and data interpretation section test the proficiency of the candidates to interpret data and their ability to understand logical assumption. In this section a total of 24 questions are included.
In the CAT logical reasoning section, 20 questions are included this year. The questions vary from inequalities to symbol operations, direction sense test, etc. The questions in this section are easily solvable and thus, this section is highly scoring.
On the other hand, the data interpretation section is a bit difficult and time-consuming section. Several confusing data caselets are included in this section, and candidates are required to understand the data sets thoroughly to be able to answer the full question sets. The CAT data interpretation section should be attempted with cautiously as a single mistake can lead the candidates to attempt all the questions from a particular set incorrectly.
A total of 6 TITA questions are included in this section. The questions’ pattern in the CAT LR-DI section are often confusing and thus, the candidates need to attempt this section properly. This section is very scoring and one should not hurry to read the data caselets and logical reasoning statements.
Also Check: Change in CAT Pattern over the past 5 years
Other important points for CAT 2021 exam pattern:
- The exam will be conducted in three shifts of 2 hours examination on a single day ,with 40 minutes allotted for each section.
- The exam will be a computer-based test.
- The exam will be of 300 marks and the candidates cannot switch between the sections.
- A non-scientific and onscreen calculator is provided, and no other electronic devices are allowed inside the room.
- An onscreen timer is also present on the computer screen which shows the remaining time for the respective sections.
- There is a negative marking of 1 mark for each incorrect answer.
Being one of the toughest exams in the country, the CAT exam surely requires the candidates to be extremely prepared and well-versed with all the syllabus topics to ace the exam. So, it is very important to know the proper CAT exam syllabus and pattern to get prepared to face the competition.
The CAT exam is generally conducted in the month of November every year, while the registration starts in August. This year, CAT 2021 is expected to be conducted on 28 November 2021. The notification for CAT 2021 is released on the official site and the CAT 2021 registration opened up on 4 August 2021. Stay tuned with BYJU’S to get more info on CAT exam 2021 along with effective preparation tips, the latest notifications, and previous year question papers.
