The Common Admission Test (CAT) is conducted annually by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) on a rotation basis for granting admission to students in an array of MBA courses offered by top B-Schools of the country. Through the CAT score, you can apply to various institutes like the IIM, IIFT, MDI-Gurgaon, SPJIMR, BITS Pilani, etc. Due to the increase in the number of students appearing for the exam, the competition has become tougher. It thus has become more than important to prepare for the exam thoroughly by reading the best books for CAT. The first step to scoring a high percentile in CAT 2023 is to understand the exam pattern and the syllabus. In this blog, we will share the information related to the CAT exam pattern and syllabus.
| Full form | Common Admission Test |
| Conducting Body | IIM Lucknow (tentative) |
| Administrator | Indian Institute of Management |
| Eligibility | Bachelor’s degree with at least 50 % marks or equivalent CGPA 45% for reserved categories |
| Use Of CAT exam | To get admission into top business schools for pursuing MBA |
| Top MBA colleges accepting CAT score | 20 IIM’S Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research International Management Institute Xavier Institute of Management IIT’S |
| Offered | Once a year |
| Fees | General category – Rs.1900 Reserved categories – Rs. 900 |
| Official website | https://iimcat.ac.in/ |
Important Details
These are all the basics that you need to know about CAT exam 2023
| Timing : Morning Slot | 8.30 AM – 10:30 AM |
| Timing : Afternoon Slot | 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM |
| Timing : Evening Slot | 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM |
| Mode | Computer based Exam |
| Expected Marking Scheme | -1 for a wrong answer +3 for a correct answer No Negative marking for non MCQ questions |
| Sections | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Quantitative Aptitude |
| Total marks | 198 Marks |
| Total duration | 2 hours |
| No. Of Questions | 66 |
| Language of question paper | English |
CAT Exam Pattern: Overall and Sectional Time Limit
The Indian Institute of Management, Indore has recently announced a change in the pattern of the CAT for the year 2023. The CAT exam will be of a total Duration of 120 minutes, as opposed to the earlier duration of 180 minutes. The exams will be held in 3 slots instead of two, which are as follows:
- Morning session (8:30 AM – 10:30 AM)
- Afternoon session (12:30 PM – 2:30 PM)
- Evening session (4:30 PM – 6:30 PM)
The time allotted for each section in the revised CAT exam pattern is as follows:
| CAT Sections | Time allotted |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension(VRAC) | 40 minutes |
| Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation(LRDI) | 40 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude(QA) | 40 minutes |
To know more read our blog on – CAT undergoes major changes!
CAT Exam Pattern 2023
We have already given you the updated CAT 2023 exam pattern but here are the other key changes that have taken place.
- The duration of the exam has been reduced from three hours to two hours.
- The candidates can use the on-screen calculator for computational work
- CAT 2023 is divided into three sections instead of two. With a time limit of 40 minutes for each section.
- You cannot switch between sections and there will be a fixed order of sections. You have to finish one section and move on to the next section after 40 minutes.
- Candidates can access the official mock test through the official CAT website, iimcat.ac.in
Key Changes in CAT Exam Pattern in 10 Years
The CAT exam pattern is revised every year and changes are brought in accordingly. The changes vary in terms of duration, sections and even number of questions. For instance, till 2013 the number of questions was limited to 60. But since 2014, the number of questions has been raised to 100. Given below are the significant changes that have taken over time in the CAT exam pattern.
| Year | No. Of questions | Duration |
| 2023 | 66 | 2 hrs |
| 2022 | 66 | 2 hrs |
| 2021 | 66 | 2 hrs |
| 2020 | 100 | 2 hrs |
| 2019 | 100 | 3 hrs |
| 2018 | 100 | 3 hrs |
| 2017 | 100 | 3 hrs |
| 2016 | 100 | 3 hrs |
| 2015 | 100 | 3 hrs |
| 2014 | 100 | 2.5 hrs |
| 2013 | 60 | 2.20 hrs |
CAT Exam: Syllabus
Before understanding the CAT exam pattern, it is important to go through the syllabus. The primary objective of the CAT exam is to select the best minds out of a pool of candidates to grant admission into the top elite B-School of the country. For this, the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Aptitude, and Logical Reasoning ability of the candidates are assessed. Given below is the detailed syllabus of the CAT exam:
Verbal and Reading Comprehension
This section of the CAT exam pattern has witnessed many changes in the last 3 years. Generally, vocabulary topics are asked in the form of fill in the blanks are of High School standard. Referring to CAT 2023, the topics covered in this portion are:
| Reading Comprehension Grammar and Usage | |
| Paragraph Summary Idioms and Phrases | |
| Para jumble and Misfit Sentence Synonyms and Antonyms | |
| Critical Reasoning Close Passage | |
| Paragraph Completion Analogies and Reverse Analogies, |
Also Read: CAT score vs percentile
Quantitative Aptitude
Considered as one of the toughest sections of all three, the Quantitative Aptitude portion needs a lot of practice to score well. The topics covered in this section of the CAT exam pattern have been tabulated below:
| Number System | LCM and HCF | Profit, Loss, and Discount related Questions | Permutation and Combination |
| Time, Work and, Distance | Mixtures and Alligations | Sequence and Series | Surds and Indices |
| Complex Number and Logarithms | Simple and Compound Interest | Coordinate Geometry and Mensuration | Ratio and Proportion |
| Quadratic Equation | Trigonometry | Averages | Linear Equations |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section of the CAT exam pattern forms an integral part of the test. The topics from which the questions are framed are as follows:
| Number and Letter Series | Caselets | Graph and charts related questions(Line charts, pie charts, bar graphs) | Combinations and Venn diagram |
| Games and Tournaments | Calendars | Cubes, clocks | Binary Logics |
| Seating Arrangement | Syllogism | Logical Matching | Logical Sequences |
| Logical Connectives | Blood Relations | Tables | Column charts |
CAT 2023 Preparation Tips
The following are the tips recommended to prepare for CAT 2023:
- Familiarize yourself with the updated exam pattern for CAT 2023
- Create a schedule to practice for the exam
- Practice a lot of sample paper and mock test
- Time yourself to check your efficiency
- Analyze your mistakes and work on them
Also Read: Best Books for CAT
FAQs
The revised duration for CAT 2023 in 2 hours.
The different sections in the CAT exam include the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation and Quantitative Aptitude
Each section will be for 40 minutes as per the revised CAT exam pattern 2023.
The CAT 2023 will be conducted in 3 slots instead of two due to the current Covid-19 situation.
Hopefully, with this blog, you are now familiar with the CAT exam pattern and the syllabus. If you are preparing for any such competitive and need assistance then you can reach out to our study abroad experts at Leverage Edu. Our experienced professionals will help you with building a complete preparation strategy along with equipping you with the best tips and study material to ensure that you sail through your exam with flying colors.
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