Amongst the various popular entrance exams out there for the management aspirants is the Common Admission Test. It is an entrance exam that is conducted by the older Indian Institutes of Management. This entrance exam gives the opportunity to experienced management aspirants to enter the reputed Indian Institutes of Management.
CAT scores are accepted in all the IIMs and other top-level business institutions of the country. The students need to make sure that they have prepared in a manner which will ensure a high percentile to meet the CAT cutoff for the top B-schools.
It is a computer-based exam, which means that the test-takers have to appear for the exam at the various allocated examination centers. To prepare well for the exam candidates need to work on every section of the exam. Students will find that there are mainly three sections, which are Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. Through the course of this article, we will understand every aspect of the CAT exam pattern that is important for the students.
Sections Of The CAT Exam
The CAT exam is divided into three main sections. The first section is Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, which is also known as the CAT VARC section. The section of the exam is entirely based on the English language knowledge of the students. The questions in this section are also vocabulary- and grammar-based.
The second section of the exam is Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. For the DILR section, the questions will have various analytical and logical reasoning patterns that students need to identify. Apart from this, there will be different tables and graphs for data analysis, and students should develop the skill to understand and interpret the facts and figures.
The last section of the exam is Quantitative Aptitude. It is very important for the students to have good CAT quant preparation because all the section questions in the exam are based on mathematics. The students need to be very well versed with the formulas and have concept clarity ranging from number systems to arithmetic to trigonometry. It is essential for the students to know a lot about how to solve different questions and apply formulas in order to do well.
Sections of CAT Exam Time Duration Number Of Questions
Verbal Ability and
Reading Comprehension 40 minutes 24
Data Interpretation and
Logical Reasoning 40 minutes 22
Quantitative Ability 40 minutes 22
Time Duration Of the Exam
When the students look into the CAT exam pattern, they will find that each section of the exam has an allocated time duration. This is known as the "sectional time duration" because the students will not have the entire time duration of the exam to solve all the sections; rather, the time is divided. This means that each section of the exam in CAT has 40 minutes of duration, so if the students are not able to complete all the questions within this schedule, the computer screen will automatically move to the next section.
Test takers will not get the time to navigate in between sections as well while one section is in progress. With three sections of 40 minutes each, the total duration of CAT is 120 minutes.
Typology Of Questions In CAT
According to the CAT exam pattern, there are mainly two ways in which questions are asked in the CAT exam. The majority of the exam consists of multiple-choice questions, which will have options provided to the students. Apart from this, in every section there are a few type in the answer-type (TITA) questions. These questions have space, and the students have to type the answer on the space provided using a virtual keyboard on the screen with a mouse.
Marking Scheme
In any entrance exam, it is essential for the students to know about the marking scheme. It helps the students to curate a strategy in which they want to solve the different questions in the exam. Looking into the CAT exam pattern, the students will find that for every correct answer in the exam, they are awarded three marks. There is a negative marking for incorrect answers, which is only restricted to the multiple-choice answers. For every incorrect MCQ-based answer, one mark will be deducted. There is no negative marking for the TITA questions, and there is also no mark deducted for the unattempted questions.
Conclusion
In order to prepare for every section of the exam, the students need to have knowledge of the CAT exam pattern first. The more the students are willing to prepare for the exam, the better their preparation is going to be. Being a part of a coaching institution can also only help the students to provide them all the material and the right guidance, but it is entirely up to the efforts that the students make that decide how well they end up scoring. The students need to be very efficient in their preparation and stay consistent.
Sporadic preparation would not make a lot of difference. The important aspect for the students is to willingly put every single day of effort into making their dreams a reality. It will help the students to not just focus on the right aspects, but it will also help them to cover up everything that is important for the exam. Students will find that the exam seems easy when they put in their hard work.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What kind of questions are asked for DILR in CAT section?
A: Students will find that the questions will be based on arrangement puzzles, games and tournaments, scheduling and sequencing binary logic, groups and charts, network and flow diagrams, etc. in this section. The students will need to have good knowledge about their interpretation skills and reasoning ability in order to perform well in this section.
2. How many months should students invest in their exam preparation?
A: The students need to invest at least six to seven months in their preparation. This is important for the students to cover up every aspect of the exam, which is important. The students need time to cover the syllabus and then move on to the practice papers. Towards the end, the students also need time for their revision in order to perform well.
3. How should students go about their CAT Quant preparation?
A: The students firstly need to study every topic really well and understand the formulas. The actual preparation of this section will start when the students will solve different questions. Therefore, the students should look into mock test papers and sample papers and find as many questions as possible to solve in order to solidify their knowledge.