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CAT 2024 has been prescribed by one of the most renowned institutions in India, IIMs. This has remained the same for the past two years. All those candidates planning to take the CAT exam will have 66 objective-type questions (MCQ and TITA) that need to be solved within 120 minutes. You must note that these 120 minutes will be divided into 40 minutes each for the three sections of the exam. The examination will be conducted in over 150 cities across the country. Continue reading this blog to know all about the CAT exam pattern 2024.
Table of Contents
All candidates must note that the CAT exam pattern has been designed to test the candidate’s ability to solve mathematical as well as reasoning problems. These questions have to be solved in the least amount of time. The CAT exam is all about using one’s aptitude and logical reasoning skills to clear the paper.
CAT Exam Pattern 2024: Overall and Sectional Time Limit
The CAT exam has a sectional time limit. This means that candidates will get a specified time limit to solve the paper in the given time duration. Candidates will not be allowed to choose any section to start with or switch from one section to another. They will have to solve the CAT question paper chronologically.
- Section 1: Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability
- Section 2: Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation
- Section 3: Quantitative Aptitude
CAT Exam Time Duration
As per the CAT exam pattern, all candidates wanting to take the CAT exam will have to complete the same within a set time limit. As soon as the time is over, the screen will automatically move on to the next section. Candidates will not be allowed to make any changes, submissions or corrections. Here are the section-wise CAT questions and the time limit that will be set:
| CAT Exam Sections | No.of Questions | Time Limit | Time Limit for PwD students |
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | 40 minutes | 53 minutes and 20 seconds |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 20 | 40 minutes | 53 minutes and 20 seconds |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | 40 minutes | 53 minutes and 20 seconds |
| Total | 66 | 120 minutes | 160 minutes |
CAT Marking Scheme 2024
Below mentioned is the CAT marking scheme which will help all the candidates appearing for the exam to get an idea of the same:
- The total marks for the CAT exam is 198.
- Each question is of 3 marks.
- There will be a negative marking of -1 for each wrong answer.
- No marks will be deducted for skipping questions.
- Some questions in the QA section will be non-MCQ.
- Finally, there will be no negative marking for non-MCQ questions.
| CAT Sections | Number of Questions | Marks Per Question | CAT Negative Marking (Only MCQ) |
| DILR | 20 | 3 | -1 |
| VARC | 24 | 3 | -1 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 22 | 3 | -1 |
| CAT Exam Total Marks | 66 | 198 | – |
CAT Exam Pattern: Quantitative Aptitude for CAT
Check out all the topics that will be covered in the Quantitative Aptitude section for CAT.
| Topics | Expected No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Time and Work | 1 to 2 Questions | Difficult |
| Geometry & Mensuration | 7 to 8 Questions | Moderately difficult |
| Number System, Basic Arithmetic | 5 to 10 Questions | Moderately difficult |
| Trigonometry, Logarithms, and Sets | 1 to 3 Questions | Easy |
| Profit, loss, and Discounts | 1 to 2 Questions | Easy |
| Algebra | 6 to 7 Questions | Moderately difficult |
CAT Exam Pattern: VARC Paper
To crack the Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension section, it is requested that all candidates invest in books and make this a strong point.
| Topics | No. of Question (Tentative) | Difficulty Level |
| Para Jumbles | 2 to 4 Questions | Moderate |
| Para Summary | 2 to 3 Questions | Moderate |
| Reading Comprehension Passages | 24 Questions | Moderately difficult |
| Odd Sentences | 1 to 2 Questions | Moderate |
| Fill in the Blanks | 1 to 2 Questions | Easy |
| Sentence Completion and Correction | 2 to 3 Questions | Moderately Easy |
| Word Usage (Vocabulary) | 1 to 2 Questions | Easy |
CAT Exam Pattern: DILR Topics for CAT
Here are some of the important topics that will be covered in the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section for the CAT exam.
| Topics | Expected No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Blood Relations | 2 to 3 Questions | Moderate |
| Graphs Related | 5 to 8 Questions | Moderate |
| Data Sufficiency | 3 to 5 Questions | Moderate |
| Puzzles | 1 to 2 Questions | Moderate |
| Tables and Caselets | 3 to 5 Questions | Moderately Difficult |
| Seating Arrangement, and Data Arrangement | 5 to 6 Questions | Moderately Difficult |
| Syllogisms and Venn Diagrams | 1 to 2 Questions | Easy |
| Assumption and Binary Logic | 1 to 2 Questions | Easy |
| Clocks & Calendars | 1 to 2 Questions | Moderately Easy |
Difference Between CAT Exam Pattern and Other MBA Entrance Exams
If you are planning to prepare for the CAT exam and are also confused about which entrance exam will be best for pursuing an MBA. Well, we have listed out a difference between all the exams. Here is a basic difference between the CAT exam pattern and other MBA entrance exams.
| Exam Name | Time Duration | No. of Questions | Sections | Total Marks |
| CAT | 120 minutes | 66 | 3 | 198 |
| XAT | 210 minutes | 105 | 5 | 105 |
| MAT | 150 minutes | 200 | 5 | 200 |
| CMAT | 180 minutes | 100 | 5 | 400 |
| NMAT | 120 minutes | 108 | 3 | 36-360 |
| GMAT | 187 minutes | 70 | 4 | 200-800 |
| SNAP | 60 minutes | 60 | 3 | 60 |
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FAQs
The CAT exam will be conducted on 24 November 20, 2024.
Yes, 2 months are enough for CAT preparation.
There are no limits on the number of times you can take the CAT exam.
This was all about the “CAT exam pattern”. To read more, check out our Management Exams Section, or you can learn more about us by visiting our Indian exams page.