COMMON ADMISSION TEST PATTERN

CAT exam pattern has gone with perceptible changes since 2014 not only in CAT structure but also in content. Going by the tradition in changes in different type of questions in CAT, you cannot rule out a different CAT 2018 Exam pattern. CAT 2018 exam is expected to be held in the month of November/December 2018. Next 6 months will be a crucial period to devise a well chalked out plan for your CAT preparation as per the CAT 2018 pattern.

However, despite number of changes brought about during last 4 years in CAT exam pattern, the basics of the CAT exam have not changed. CAT exam pattern since 2015 has remained on the same lines. CAT 2018 exam pattern is also expected to remain as per the last 3 years CAT pattern, although there could be some minor changes in number and type of questions and their sectional composition.   To make sure to bell the CAT 2018 with high score you need to begin your CAT exam preparation 2018 without waiting any longer.

As per the revised CAT exam pattern 2018, CAT 2018 will consist of 3 sections with a total of 100 questions. Each section is timed with the individual time limit of 1 hour. You need to ensure high score in each of the 3 sections as there is also a sectional score cut off in IIMs for shortlisting.

CAT Pattern 2018 

  • Total Questions: 100
  • Number of sections: 3
  • Questions with negative marking (MCQs): 75
  • Questions without negative marking (Non-MCQs): 25
  • Score awarded for each correct answer: 3 marks
  • Negative marking (Applicable for  wrong answers in MCQs): -1 mark

CAT 2018 pattern: Sectional composition

Section name Total questions Total MCQs (With negative marking) Total Non-MCQs (Without negative marking) Total maximum marks
VARC*
34
24 to 27
7 to 10
102
DILR*
32
24
8
  96
Quant*
34
23 to 27
7 to 11
102

*VARC: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

*DILR: Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

*Quant: Quantitative Ability

CAT 2018 exam will be conducted on the 3rd or last Sunday of November, 2018 or on the 1st Sunday in December 2018 in a single day divided in morning and afternoon sessions. One of the top six IIMs will be the Convener for CAT 2018 and has announced that CAT 2018 exam pattern will remain unchanged.

CAT 2018 Exam pattern: Sections, sub-sections, Expected difficulty level

CAT exam pattern was totally revamped in CAT 2015 by IIM Ahmedabad and since then CAT exam pattern has followed the same CAT pattern for all the 3 sections. The key features of CAT 2018 sectional exam pattern are:

VARC: 1st section

  • Total questions: 34
  • MCQs: 24 to 27
  • Non-MCQs: 7 to 10
  • RC passages: 5
  • RC Based questions (All MCQs): 24
  • VA questions (Mix of MCQs & non-MCQs): 10
  • LOD: Moderate to Very difficult
  • Section Highlights:
  • No Grammar or vocabulary based questions since CAT 2015
  • Verbal Ability questions remain confined to 3 topics only – Jumbled paragraph; Para summary; picking the odd sentence out of the jumbled sentences

DILR: 2nd section

  • Total questions: 32
  • MCQs: 28
  • Non-MCQs: 8
  • Share of DI questions: 16
  • Share of LR questions: 16
  • LoD: Moderate to difficult
  • Section Highlights:
  • Questions appear in set of 4
  • Time crunch is faced by test takers as questions are more time consuming

Quant: 3rd section

  • Total questions: 34
  • MCQs: 23 to 27
  • Non-MCQs: 7 to 11
  • LoD: Moderate to difficult
  • Section Highlights:
  • More questions are on Arithmetic – Percentage, Profit & Loss, Time & speed, Work/days, Compound interest

CAT exam pattern 2018: Key facts

  • CAT 2018 exam is Computer based Test (CBT) of 3 hours duration.
  • CAT exam is divided into 3 main sections of 60 minutes each
  • The 3 sections in CAT exam 2018 pattern are – Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC); Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR); Quantitative Aptitute (QA)
  • There will also be sub sections within the 3 sections in revised CAT exam 2018 pattern. For example, the revamped CAT exam pattern for VARC consists of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension sub sections; DILR contains questions on Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning.
  • Candidates are not allowed to move between one section to other during the 1 hour assigned to the particular section.
  • CAT Test takers cannot leave their seats during the exam.
  • MCQs in CAT 2018 exam pattern will need you to pick out 1 correct answer choice out of 4
  • Non-MCQs in CAT exam pattern will require you to type-in the correct answer on the computer screen.
  • There may not be any answer choices for Non-MCQs in revised pattern of CAT 2018.
  • Each correct answer in CAT exam pattern will be awarded 3 marks whether it is MCQ or Non-MCQ
  • Each wrong answer for MCQ in CAT exam 2018 will be imposed penalty of 1/3 negative mark (-1 mark)
  • There will be no penalty of negative marking on wrong answers to Non-MCQs in CAT 2018 exam pattern
  • CAT exam pattern remains on the lines of CAT official Mock test released by IIMs a month before the CAT exam.

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