CAT Question Paper [PDF] | Previous Year CAT Papers with Solutions

CAT Previous Year Paper: Overview

Once the candidate finishes the CAT syllabus, they should practice as many CAT past year question papers as possible before beginning with the mock tests and the test series. This helps candidates understand the CAT pattern and structure in a better way as well as enhances their scores.

CAT 2023 Exam Marks Distribution Highlights

CAT 2023 Question Paper: Highlights

CAT 2023 was successfully conducted across the country by IIM Lucknow in three slots. A total of 66 questions were asked from all three sections of the exam. The overall difficulty level of CAT was moderate. The pattern of the exam was similar to CAT 2022.

Previous Year’s CAT Question Paper: Important Changes

Before jumping into the CAT important changes, let’s read what has not changed to date.

The basic syllabus remains the same i.e. the questions was asked from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA).

The marking scheme remains the same i.e. 3 marks are allotted for each correct MCQ and 1 mark is reduced for each incorrect attempt. For TITA (Type in Text Answer), there is no negative marking but 1 mark is awarded for the correct answer.

Key Changes in Previous Year Paper

Till the year 2009, the CAT was held as Pen-paper based test. From the year 2010, this exam mode changed to a computer-based test.

Initially, CAT had 2 sections namely a combination of VARC and LR, and the other section comprised of QA and DI. But after 2014, it changed to have 3 sections.

Formerly, the sectional time limit of 1 hour was allocated for each of the 3 sections but in the year 2020, it was reduced to 40 minutes for each section i.e. a total of 2 hours.

NOTE:

The majority of the renowned colleges have an individual sectional cut-off that aspirants should clear due to which the overall score was not important. So if the aspirants failed to meet the sectional cut-off, they were not called for the next round of the admission process.

CAT Questions 2023: Slot Wise Analysis

1) Slot 1: VARC

The VARC section was same as CAT 2022. This section was the toughest one among 3 sections. There were four Reading Comprehension passages with four questions each. The VA questions were based on para jumbles and odd sentence. In a VARC Section, VA (Verbal Ability) was easier than RC (Reading Comprehension) questions, as always.

 Topic-wise distribution of questions in VARC section:

2) Slot 1: DILR

The DILR section of consisted of total 20 questions. There was total 4 sets, out of which two sets of LR with six questions each and the other two sets of DI with four questions each.

3) Slot 1: Quantitative Aptitude

This section was moderate to difficulty level.

4) Slot 2: VARC (Verbal- Ability & Reading-Comprehension)

The CAT VARC section consisted of 16 RC and 8 VA questions. One question in the VA section was Mandatory. Overall the section was easy.

5) Slot 2 DILR

The structure of DILR section of CAT 2023 slot 2 was same as slot 1 and the questions were moderate in terms of difficulty level. An attempt of 12+ questions with 80 % was considerable for good performance.

6) Slot 2: Quantitative Ability

CAT 2023 slot 2 Quantitative Aptitude questions were slightly tougher in terms of level of difficulty compared to CAT 2023 Slot 1. Overall, an attempt of 12+ questions with accuracy of approximately 80% will be a good performance.

7) Slot 3: VARC

In this Slot, VARC section consisted of 16 RC questions and 8 VA questions. Overall, the section was Moderate. An attempt of 16-18 questions with 80 % accuracy was considered a good performance in VARC section.

8) Slot 3: DILR

This DILR Slots of Slot 3 had moderate to high difficulty level questions. Like slot 1, slot 2, slot 3 also had four DILR sets having five questions each. An attempt of 11+ questions with 80% accuracy was considered a good performance.

9) Slot 3: Quantitative Ability

The QA section of Slot 3 of was slightly tougher in difficulty level, if compared to slot 1 and slot 2. Overall, an attempt of 12+ questions with approx. 80% accuracy was considered a good performance.

CAT 2022: Question Paper Analysis

The paper comprises three sections and 40 minutes of duration is allotted for each section.

CAT 2022 exam paper had 66 questions in total from three sections namely;

1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
2. Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
3. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

CAT Exam Question Paper – Section Wise

Here is the tabular form of the sectional weightage. Aspirants should follow the below-mentioned pattern to complete their preparation effectively.

NOTE:

• Each year the conducting IIM prepares the CAT Questions.
• CAT’s previous year papers of 2021 and 2022 had the same pattern, total questions, and sectional weightage.
• The difficulty level of the CAT varies from moderate. But compared to slots 1 and 3, the QA section was a little difficult to attempt.
• 40 minutes were allotted for each section.

Previous Year CAT Topic Wise Weightage

A total of 66 questions were asked in the CAT Slot-1 exam and the difficulty level was moderate.

Slot-1: Section-wise detail

VARC Analysis

Verbal Ability included:

No questions from Odd One Out were asked.

4 reading comprehensions were given with 4 questions in each passage making it a total of 16 questions.

The RC part had the the following subject matter:

• Culture and Religion (Moderate- Difficulty Level)
• Primitive Anthropology and Buddhism (Easy- Difficulty Level)
• Philosophy, Stoicism, and Epicureanism (Easy- Difficulty Level)
• Philosophy, Marx, Foucault, and Habermas (Difficult- Difficulty Level)

DILR Analysis:

The majority of the questions asked were based on Logical Reasoning (LR), and no questions were from DI (Data Interpretation). Here is the detailed analysis of the CAT 2022 DILR section:

QA Analysis:

Below are the topic-wise questions that was asked in CAT 2022 QA section:

Majorly questions from the Averages and Ratios were asked in the QA section. No questions from Time and Work were asked. The overall QA difficulty level was moderate.

SLOT-2 ANALYSIS

Here is the section-wise analysis of the CAT 2022 Slot-2:

Slot 2: VARC Analysis

Total 8 questions from Verbal Ability were asked which included:

Para Summary: 2 (Easy questions)

Para Completion: 2 (Easy questions)

Para Jumbles: 3 (Moderate questions)

A total of 16 questions were asked from Reading Comprehension (RC), 4 from each passage. For the RC passage, the difficulty level was moderate.

Slot 2: DILR Analysis

Slot 2: QA Analysis

Questions from Algebra and Arithmetic were majorly asked. Compared to Sot-1, the QA section was a bit difficult to attempt. The topics included:

CAT 2022 SLOT-3 ANALYSIS

The overall difficulty level was moderate.

Slot 3: VARC Section:

Under the VARC section, 16 questions of RC and 8 questions of VA were asked.

Slot 3: DILR Section:

Slot 4: QA Section:

CAT PREVIOUS YEAR PAPER’s ANALYSIS: CAT 2023, CAT 2022, CAT 2021, CAT 2020, CAT 2019, CAT 2018

CAT Preparation

What do you learn from the CAT previous year’s papers?

Pursuing MBA from one of the IIMs is a dream of many and CAT is the only competitive MBA exam to fulfill that dream. Hence, it is very important to understand how to answer the questions accurately.

Points to follow while CAT Preparation:

• Attempt the recent year papers to understand the asked questions and the frequently asked questions.
• Read the questions properly to get the clue.
• Begin with easy questions.
• Identify the best step for answering the individual questions as well as the complete CAT question paper.

Cracking CAT 2024 Strategy

To plan Your CAT in 2024, you must follow our Expert Strategy. The most effective strategy is to solve the CAT past year papers and analyze their solutions. Practicing CAT previous year question papers helps in familiarizing oneself with the pattern of the exams and understanding the difficulty level of recent year exam papers. Additionally, downloading CAT past year papers in PDF format allows for convenient offline practice. By dedicating time to practice exam questions and reviewing detailed solutions, candidates can enhance their readiness for the exam and improve their performance. For any kind of latest update, it is strongly advisable to keep visiting the official CAT website or stay connected with Ekoching Classes website www.ekoching.com

Benefits of Solving CAT Previous Year Papers PDF

• By solving past year question papers, the MBA aspirants assess their strengths and weaknesses which further helps them in strategizing their preparation and build confidence for the exam.
• Aspirants get familiarized with the exam pattern, the type of questions asked, and the difficulty level.
• Aspirants get to know the frequently asked questions.
• Practicing exam papers also helps in enhancing accuracy and the time management skills.
• Stay CAT updated with Ekoching.

Conclusion

Exam Pattern changes frequently and the best way to get an idea of the CAT Syllabus is to go through the recent year papers. The best strategic preparation for CAT is to download the actual CAT question paper with detailed solutions. Click on the pdf according to the Years as given in the link. Just follow the link of CAT 2023 Question Paper, CAT 2022 Question Paper, CAT 2021 Question Paper, CAT 2020 Question Paper, CAT 2019 Question Paper, CAT 2018 Question Paper and CAT 2017 Question Paper.

Solving previous CAT question papers and CAT sample papers and Joining Classroom Course and Mock Exam Test Series is the ultimate suggestion to all of the current aspirants. Those students who have dream of IIM’s and Top Management colleges may start preparing for CAT 2025 Exam from now onwards. CAT 2021 and CAT 2022 questions with solutions pdf will give you the quick idea of the exam.

Download CAT Previous Year Paper