CAT Exam Analysis 2025: Check CAT 2024 and Previous Year Section Wise Analysis for Slot 1, Slot 2, Slot 3

CAT 2025 exam will be held on November 26, 2025. CAT 2025 Exam Analysis will be published on the exam day. CAT exam analysis 2025 will include analysis of CAT Exam Pattern, Type of Questions, Topics/Theme of Questions, Difficulty level, Good attempts, Surprises and much more. Based on this exam paper analysis, CAT Score Vs Percentile and CAT Cut Off for top colleges is also be published. 

Continue reading CAT exam analysis for previous years. 

CAT 2024 Exam Pattern was same across all the three slots. Check table below. However, there were minor changes in section wise compositions. 

CAT 2024 Exam Pattern for Slot 1, 2, 3 

CAT Exam Day Center Dos and Donts 

• Shoes and metallic objects (including metal jewelry) were not allowed. 
• Only the admit card and the ID proof were allowed. 
• CAT exam authorities at exam center took possession of the admit cards. 
• The candidates were given a pen and a small pad with IIM CAT Logo for rough work. This was taken back at the end of the CAT exam.

CAT Exam Interface

• CAT Exam Interface was user-friendly and same as official CAT Mock Test. 
• There was an arrow provided near the question palette which when clicked expanded the question window to full-screen view by hiding the question palette & vice versa. 
• At the end of the test, a summary of the number of questions attempted, visited, and not visited was displayed for each section. 
• There was a button marked ‘Question Paper’ that opened up a screen containing all the questions of the section. This was used by students for planning their approach for the section. 
• A simple calculator was provided, and not a scientific one.

CAT 2024 Slot 1 Analysis
CAT 2024 Slot 2 Analysis
CAT 2024 Slot 3 Analysis

CAT 2024 Slot 1 Exam took place on November 24, 2025 between 8.30 am and 10:30 am. CAT 2024 exam structure saw many changes compared to 2023, with a total of 68 questions. Notably, CAT 2024 Slot 1 Verbal Ability (VA) and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) sections saw changes in segmentation and the distribution of MCQs and TITA (Type In The Answer) questions. 

• VA Section: There were no Paragraph Jumble questions in VA in Slot 1. Like in the past years, there were no direct Grammar or Vocabulary questions.
• DILR Section: The number of sets increased from 4 to 5. This included 2 sets with 5 questions each and 3 sets with 4 questions each. 

Check CAT 2025 Slot 1 exam pattern and type of questions section wise below. 

3.1 CAT 2024 Slot 1 Exam Analysis VARC Section 
The VA-RC section consisted of 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions. Like in the past years, there were no direct Grammar or Vocabulary questions. There were no jumbled paragraph questions. One additional paragraph completion question and one summary question replaced the two jumbled paragraphs. 

3.2 CAT 2024 Slot 1 Exam Pattern for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

In CAT 2023, there were a total of four sets in Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section, each comprising five questions. This pattern was changed in CAT 2024. There were two sets with 5 questions in each and three sets with 4 questions in each. 

3.3 CAT 2024 Slot 1 Exam Pattern for Quantitative Ability Section
CAT 2024 Slot 1 Quantitative Ability section was comparatively was dominated by Arithmetic (8 questions), followed by Algebra (7 questions). There were 3 questions on Geometry, 3 questions on Modern Math and 1 on Numbers. Check details in the table below. Number of TITA (8 questions) and MCQ (14 questions) in this section. 

CAT 2024 Slot 2 was held on November 24, 2025 between 12.30 and 2:30 PM. CAT 2024 Slot 2 also had a total of 68 questions. Similar to Slot 1, Verbal Ability (VA) and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) sections saw modifications in segmentation and the distribution of MCQs and TITA (Type In The Answer) questions. In Verbal section, Paragraph Jumble questions did not appear. Instead, 3 Summary (MCQ) questions, 3 Paragraph Completion (MCQ) questions, and 2 Odd Sentence (TITA) questions appeared in the exam. 

4.1 CAT 2024 Slot 2 Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Section Analysis 
CAT 2024 VARC section consisted of 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions. There were no direct Grammar or Vocabulary questions. Check details below. 

4.2 CAT 2024 Slot 2 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Section Analysis 
In CAT 2023, there were a total of four sets, each comprising five questions. In CAT 2024, there were two sets with 5 questions in each and three sets with 4 questions in each. 

4.3 CAT 2024 Slot 2 Quantitative Ability Section Analysis 
Quantitative Ability Section was dominated by Arithmetic (8 questions), followed by Algebra (5 questions). There were 3 questions on Geometry, 3 questions on Modern Math and 3 on Numbers. Check details in table below. 

CAT 2024 Slot 3 was held on November 24, 2025 between 4.30 and 6:30 pm. The structure of CAT 2024 Slot 3 was same as earlier slots with a total of 68 questions. As in Slots 1 and 2, the Verbal Ability (VA) and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) sections experienced modifications in segmentation and the distribution of MCQs and TITA (Type In The Answer) questions. 

5.1 Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension 
CAT Slot 3 VARC section consisted of 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions. There were no direct Grammar or Vocabulary questions. There were no jumbled paragraph questions. One additional paragraph completion question and one summary question replaced the two jumbled paragraphs. Check details in table below.  

5.2 CAT 2024 Slot 3 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Section Analysis 
In CAT 2023, there were a total of four sets, each comprising five questions. In CAT 2024, there were two sets with 5 questions in each and three sets with 4 questions in each. Check details in table below. 

5.3 CAT 2024 Slot 3 Quantitative Ability Section Analysis 
Quantitative Ability Section was dominated by Arithmetic (8 questions), followed by Algebra (5 questions). There were 3 questions on Geometry, 3 questions on Modern Math and 3 on Numbers. Check details in table below. 

CAT Exam Analysis for Previous Years reveals that CAT exam pattern has become more focused on conceptual clarity, time efficiency, and reasoning ability. Over the last five years, the CAT exam pattern has undergone several notable changes in its pattern, number of questions, and difficulty level. Check key changes in CAT exam pattern below. 

1. Total Number of Questions:
   o In 2019 and 2020, CAT had 100 questions (VARC: 34, DILR: 32, QA: 34).
   o From 2021 onwards, the number of questions was reduced to 66 (VARC: 24, DILR: 20, QA: 22), making the test shorter but more intense.
   o This pattern has continued through CAT 2023 and is expected to remain in CAT 2025.
2. Time Duration:
   o Until 2019, CAT had a 3-hour duration (60 minutes per section).
   o From 2020 onwards, the exam duration was reduced to 2 hours, with 40 minutes per section, which increased the pressure on time management.
3. Sectional Pattern & Difficulty Level:
   o The VARC section has seen a greater emphasis on Reading Comprehension, with fewer Verbal Ability questions like Odd One Out and Para Summary.
   o DILR has become more reasoning-focused, with tougher logic-based sets and fewer straightforward data interpretation questions.
   o QA has shifted towards Arithmetic, making it more accessible for non-engineering background candidates.
4. Question Types – MCQ vs. TITA:
   o The TITA (Type in the Answer) questions have fluctuated but generally make up 25-30% of the total paper.
   o The number of MCQs has reduced, making the paper more unpredictable, as TITA questions do not have negative marking.
5. Slot-wise Variations & Normalization:
   o Since CAT is conducted in multiple slots, the level of difficulty has varied across different slots, requiring score normalization to ensure fairness in percentile calculations.

CAT Previous Year Exam Pattern is as below. 

Table: CAT Previous Year Exam Pattern 

As evident, CAT 2019 exam consisted of 100 questions, divided into three sections: VARC (34 questions), DILR (32 questions), and QA (34 questions). In CAT 2020 exam, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exam duration was reduced to 120 minutes, and the total number of questions was decreased to 76. The distribution was VARC (26 questions), DILR (24 questions), and QA (26 questions). Since CAT 2021, the pattern is consistent with a total of 66-68 questions. 

Understanding CAT past year exam analysis will help you in cracking CAT 2024. Here is the analysis of CAT 2023 paper. 
Same Exam Pattern: There was no change in CAT 2023 Exam Pattern. It was same as CAT 2022. Total Questions remain same at 66 like last year. But sectional composition of MCQs and Non MCQs had changed.

More Difficult Exam Paper: CAT 2023 Exam is rated as more difficult than last year by Experts. 

Summarizing CAT 2023 exam, Mr Arun Sharma, regarded as one of India’s top CAT experts, told MBAUniverse.com said: “This year while the overall exam pattern was same as last year, the questions in the Quantitative section in CAT 2023 exam paper were the toughest in last 5 Years!” Check Slot Wise Exam Pattern and CAT 2023 Score Vs Percentile. 

CAT 2023 Slot 1 Exam Analysis: Pattern 

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Section: Topics & Question Types 

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: Topics & Question Types

Quantitative Ability Section: Topics & Question Types

There were 7 TITA questions and 15 MCQ questions in this section. 

CAT 2023 Slot 2 Exam Analysis: Pattern 

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Section: Topics & Question Types

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: Topics & Question Types

Quantitative Ability Section: Topics & Question Types

There were 8 TITA questions and 14 MCQ questions in this section. 

CAT Score vs Percentile estimates what score is required for getting a specific percentile. Check CAT 2024 Score Vs Percentile estimates below. 

CAT 2025 Score Vs Percentile estimates will be published before the exam and will be updated after the exam.

In summary, CAT exam analysis 2025 reveals that CAT pattern has undergone changes in the last few years. Before 2020, CAT consisted of 100 questions spread across three sections. But, in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exam duration was reduced from 180 minutes to 120 minutes, and the total number of questions was also reduced to 76. From CAT 2021, the number of questions was further reduced to 66-68. CAT Exam Analysis 2025 reveals that difficulty level has fluctuated, with very high difficulty level in CAT 2023 paper. CAT Exam Analysis 2025 will be published on CAT exam day (November 26, 2025) on MBAUniverse.com. CAT exam analysis 2025 will include analysis of CAT Exam Pattern, Type of Questions, Topics/Theme of Questions, Difficulty level, Good attempts, Surprises and much more.