CAT Exam
Exam Image

CAT Exam Pattern 2023

The CAT 2023 Exam Pattern will constitute 3 sections :

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

The CAT Exam is held as a Computer Based Test (CBT) with a duration of 2 hours. Each section has an individual time limit of 40 minutes each. The CAT 2022 Exam Pattern is given below which should give an idea about what you can expect in CAT 2023.

Sections of Exam

Sections of Exam (in that order) No of questions Multiple Choice Questions Non–MCQs
VARC 24 21 21
DILR 20 14 14
QA 22 14 14
Total 66 49 49

CAT VARC Exam Pattern

The VARC section in CAT 2023 is expected to have 24 questions in total. In the verbal section, the CAT exam pattern of the past years indicates that the section consists of two primary components, i.e. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension

  • This section accounts for over 67% of the question (16 questions out of 24)
  • Question Format: MCQs with a few TITA (Type in the Answer) questions
  • There will be 4 passages comprising 4 questions each

Verbal Ability

  • Relatively small subsection with only 8 questions
  • The expected division of the questions, as per CAT 2022, is 3 parajumbles, 2 para completions, 3 parasummary

CAT DILR Exam Pattern

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning is the second section of the CAT Exam. Candidates will be able to attempt it only after they submit the VARC section in the CAT Exam. It is by far the most dynamic section in CAT with new types of questions being introduced almost every year. It is advisable to be very careful when it comes to the selection of the questions.

Based on the CAT DILR exam pattern, here is the breakup of the sets:

  • The section will have 4 sets comprising 5 questions each

As the CAT quant exam pattern has no sub–sections all the questions are focused on the mathematical skills of the candidates

CAT Exam Pattern: Important Points to Remember

  • Candidates cannot choose the order of the sections back and forth between sections. The fixed order of the exam is- VARC, followed by DILR and then Quant
  • CAT has two types of questions- MCQ-based and TITA (type in the answer)
  • The MCQ type has a negative marking of 1 for every wrong answer. The TITA questions have no negative marking

CAT Score vs Percentile 2023 (Expected)

The anticipated CAT 2023 score vs. percentile range is shown below based on the CAT cut off marks and percentiles from the previous year:

Get in Touch

Get in Touch We're Hereto Answer your Questions

Contact Us

Contact Us

You can reach us anytime

+91