CAT 2017 Question Paper PDF with Answer Key & Solutions
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
CAT 2017 question paper PDF with answer key & solution is provided here to help the candidates understand the test structure and analyse the types of questions asked in the CAT exam.
CAT 2017 Question Paper can be considers moderately difficult. The first slot of CAT question paper IS however, a bit more difficult than the question paper of second slot. CAT 2017 question paper with solutions is provided in this article below for candidates to practice and analyses their hold over various CAT topics. Thos who are preparing for the CAT 2025 exam must solve previous years' question papers as part of their study plan. Apart from covering the syllabus with CAT books and practicing CAT mock tests, aspirants must ensure they practice at least last 10 years' CAT question papers.
The structure of CAT 2017 question paper is same as that of CAT previous year papers, i.e. there are three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). Given below is the overall structure of CAT question paper. Also get the CAT 2017 question paper PDF (downloadable).
- CAT Question Paper 2017
- CAT 2017 Question Paper: Slot 1
- CAT Mock Test
- CAT 2017 Question Paper, Slot 2
CAT Question Paper 2017
CAT question paper 2017 has 100 questions. Given below is the table indicating section wise difficulty level and number of good attempts.
| Section |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Good Attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| VARC |
34 |
Easy-moderate |
26-27 |
| DILR |
32 |
Difficult |
12-14 |
| QA |
34 |
Easy-Moderate |
25-26 |
| Total |
100 |
Moderate |
63-67 |
CAT 2017 Question Paper: Slot 1
The first slot of CAT question paper 2017 is of a higher difficulty level. Among the three sections, DILR section was the toughest and most time consuming. Discussed below are all three sections of CAT 2017 question paper slot 1.
Section wise break up of CAT 2017 question paper, slot 1
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension |
|
|---|---|
| No. of Questions |
34 |
| No. of MCQ questions |
24 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions |
7 |
| Difficulty Level |
Easy-Moderate |
| Good Attempts |
26-27 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
|
| No. of Questions |
32 |
| No. of MCQ questions |
24 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions |
8 |
| Difficulty Level |
Difficult |
| Good Attempts |
12-14 |
| Quantitative Ability |
|
| No. of Questions |
34 |
| No. of MCQ questions |
22 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions |
12 |
| Difficulty Level |
Easy-Moderate |
| Good Attempts |
25-26 |
Download CAT previous year question paper PDFs
- CAT 2024 Question Paper
- CAT 2023 Question Paper
- CAT 2022 Question Paper
- CAT 2021 Question Paper
- CAT 2020 Question Paper
- CAT 2018 question paper
- CAT 2017 question paper
CAT Mock Test
Check below free Shiksha CAT Mock Test for practice. These CAT mock tests are prepared from original CAT questions.
| CAT_Mock_Test_1 | CAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions |
| CAT_Mock_Test_2 | CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions |
CAT 2017 question paper, slot 1: VARC section
The VARC section of CAT question paper 2017, slot 1 has five RC passages; three passages of 539-600 words and two passages of 299 and 363 words each. Out of five RC passages have six questions and two passages have three questions, each. Three questions are information based and three other are inferential in nature. Overall, six RC questions are easy; and six questions are difficult as there are close choices for answer. The remaining 18 questions are easy to moderate.
| CAT Sections |
CAT VARC Topics |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension |
Reading Comprehension |
24 |
| Verbal Ability |
Para-jumble |
4 |
| Summary |
3 |
|
| Para-jumble (Odd sentence out) |
3 |
CAT 2017 question paper, slot 1: DILR section
The questions of DILR section of CAT question paper 2017, slot 1 range from sets on survey of students, burgers & fries, routes between two cities, flight operations and square matrix of pillar heights. DI questions do not require much calculation; however, one question is difficult to crack. Logical Reasoning questions are of easy to moderate level.
| CAT Sections |
CAT DI Topics |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Data Interpretation |
Happiness index- difficult |
4 |
| Matrix- moderate |
4 |
|
| Routes - moderate |
4 |
|
| Flight operation - Moderate |
4 |
|
| Logical Reasoning |
Projects - Difficult |
4 |
| Burgers/Fries - Easy |
4 |
|
| Children survey - Easy |
4 |
|
| PCM - difficult |
4 |
Practice:
- CAT Verbal Ability (VA) questions with solutions PDFs
- CAT Parajumble questions with solutions PDFs
- CAT Quantitative Aptitude (QA) questions with solutions PDFs
- CAT Data Interpretation (DI) questions with solutions PDFs
- CAT Logical Reasoning (LR) questions with solutions PDFs
CAT 2017 question paper, slot 1: QA section
In the third and final section of CAT question paper 2017, slot 1, there are 34 questions. The questions of this section are easier than the ones of 2016 and 2015 papers. Most of the questions test the fundamentals of maths. Algebra questions were on Inequalities and Quadratic equations and Arithmetic questions on Profit Loss and TSD.
| CAT Sections |
CAT Quants Topics |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Ability |
Number System |
4 |
| Algebra |
10-11 |
|
| Arithmetic |
11 |
|
| Modern Math |
2 |
|
| Geometry and Mensuration |
6-7 |
| Free VARC Questions with Answers for Practice | Free DILR Questions with Answers for Practice | Free Quantitative Aptitude Questions with Answers for Practice |
CAT 2017 Question Paper, Slot 2
The difficulty level of CAT question paper 2017, Slot 2 is a bit more difficult than the slot 1 question paper. Overall, the question paper can be considered moderate in terms of difficulty level with VARC on the easier side but with close options, DILR tricky and QA easy. Take a look at the overall break-up of the question paper.
Also Read:
| CAT Sections |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Good Attempts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension |
34 |
Easy-moderate |
25-27 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
32 |
Difficult |
12-14 |
| Quantitative Ability |
34 |
Easy-Moderate |
25-26 |
| Total |
100 |
Moderate |
64-68 |
CAT 2017 Question Paper, Slot 2: Section-wise break-up
Take a look at the section wise break up of CAT question paper 2017 of second slot.
| CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension |
|
|---|---|
| No. of Questions |
34 |
| No. of MCQ questions |
24 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions |
7 |
| Difficulty Level |
Easy-Moderate |
| Good Attempts |
25-27 |
| CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning |
|
| No. of Questions |
32 |
| No. of MCQ questions |
24 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions |
8 |
| Difficulty Level |
Difficult |
| Good Attempts |
12-14 |
| CAT Quantitative Ability |
|
| No. of Questions |
34 |
| No. of MCQ questions |
26 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions |
8 |
| Difficulty Level |
Easy-Moderate |
| Good Attempts |
25-26 |
CAT 2017 question paper, slot 2: VARC section
The VARC section of CAT question paper 2017, slot 2 is on the easier side. The Reading Comprehension (RC) passages are easy to read but the questions carry close options that may deceive candidates. There are five passages and 24 questions. Three passages are of 500-550 words and two are of 25-350 words. Out of 24 questions, around 16 are inference based and the rest are fact based. Check the table below for more details.
| CAT Sections |
CAT VARC Topics |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension |
Reading Comprehension |
24 |
| Verbal Ability |
Para-jumble |
4 |
| Summary |
3 |
|
| Para-jumble (Odd sentence out) |
3 |
CAT 2017 question paper, slot 2: DILR section
The DILR section of CAT question paper 2017, slot 2, has questions in the form of sets. Two sets are easy and one is lengthy. Rest of the sets are solvable but requires concentration. Check the table below for topic wise weightage of questions.
| CAT Sections |
CAT DILR TopicS |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Data Interpretation |
Chess |
4 |
| Pizza |
4 |
|
| Dorms |
4 |
|
| Asset Management |
4 |
|
| Airplane |
4 |
|
| Biometric |
4 |
|
| Tea |
4 |
|
| Elective |
4 |
CAT 2017 question paper, slot 2: QA section
The QA section of CAT question paper 2017, slot 2 comprises questions, which test the candidate’s grasp of fundamentals of Mathematics. Arithmetic and Algebra dominate this section with 22 questions. Geometry and Mensuration together have 4-5 questions.
| CAT Sections |
CAT Quants Topics |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Ability |
Number System |
4 |
| Algebra |
12 |
|
| Arithmetic |
12 |
|
| Modern Math |
2 |
|
| Geometry and Mensuration |
4 |
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CAT question papers are released within a week of the exam in the form of a PDF as a response sheet and answer key. Candidates who have appeared for the test are able to access the CAT question paper and answer key. The question paper of every slot is released on the same day along with candidate response sheet and official answer to all question. If any candidate needs previous year CAT question papers for preparation purpose, then they can download them from Shiksha website. We have hosted last five years' CAT question papers for aspirants to download and practice. These official CAT question papers are available for download free. You can download the CAT question paper PDFs at this link: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/cat-exam-question-papers Candidates must check and practice the latest CAT question paper to know the latest exam pattern and difficulty level.
The CAT VARC section is dominated by RC questions. Out of 24 questions about 14-16 are based on Reading Comprehension passages and the rest of them are based on parajumbles, para completion, etc.
CAT has about 12-16 RC question. Since, it is not mandatory to solve all the questions, candidates can maximize their scores by leaving out the questions related to the passage they find the toughest. There is negative marking in CAT so candidates must ensure that they mark only the correct options or do not mark any option at all.
No, it is not mandatory to attempt all the questions in CAT. Candidates can choose to attempt questions as per their preparation. It is not possible also to attempt all the questions due to time limitation and difficulty level. Reading dense RC passages often take up a lot of time. In DILR and QA too, some questions are time taking and calculation intensive due to which not much time is left in hand to attempt all questions. The aim of every test taker should be to attempt about 2/3rd of the total questions in all the sections of CAT.
The key change in CAT question paper 2024 was increase in number of questions in DLIR section. Till 2023, the DILR section used to have 20 questions. In 2024, it had 22 questions. The time limit for it was the same and no other section had less questions. Which means, in CAT 2024, candidates had to attempt 68 questions instead of 66 to solve in the same time (120 minutes). DILR sectional time limit was 40 minutes as in previous years. There was no other change in CAT 2024, the difficulty level was same as previous years.
Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 9 hours ago
Candidates with a valid score of CAT/ GMAT/ GRE score are exempted from the written test. These candidates still need to complete the form by paying the application fees. However, these aspirants may get called for the IIM Trichy - Chennai campus PGPBM interview round.
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 10 hours ago
CAT is one of the accepting exams for admission to PGDM at IPE Hyderabad. Candidates with a good score in CAT can also get a scholarship. However, CAT is not mandatory. Aspirants with a score in MAT, XAT, ATMA, GMAT or CMAT exams can also get admission in the PGDM course.
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 2 days ago
No, candidates who wish to apply for the Global MBA course at Lexicon MILE are required to clear the LAT conducted by Lexicon MILE. The CAT exam score at Lexicon MILE is only used for deciding the PGDM admissions along with several other entrance exams.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
CAT is one of the accepting exams for MBA admission at Karunya School of Management. However, it is not compulsory. Aspirants can also apply through XAT, MAT or KMAT scores. Candidates must also complete graduation to apply for MBA at KSM Coimbatore.
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 2 days ago
CAT is one of the accepting exams for admission to MBA programme at Amity University Bengaluru. However, it is not compulsory. Aspirants can also get admission in MBA via MAT, GRE or CMAT scores. Candidates with scores in these entrance exams can also get scholarship provided they meet the criteria.
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered 2 days ago
No, CAT exam is not mandatory for VIT-AP MBA admissions. Candidates who are interested in the MBA course offered by the institute can also apply through the scores in the XAT and MAT as well.
VIT-AP also accepts the scores obtained in the VITBEE for the MBA admissions. However, candidates with a high
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
No, CAT scores are not compulsory for enrollement into MBA course at IIS Jaipur. As per the info. available on the website of the institute, the institute give prefrences to those students who have secured scored in the management entrance exams, such as CAT/ XAT/ CUET PG/ MAT. Thus, CAT scores can
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 3 days ago
Yes, Manipur Institute of Management Studies, Manipur University does accept CAT scores for admission to its MBA course. Students can also submit scores of other national-level exams, such as MAT/ XAT/ CMAT/ GMAT/ ATMA etc.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
No, CAT scores are not compulsory for enrollement into MBA course at International School of Informatics and Management. As per the info. available on the website of the institute, the institute give prefrences to those students who have secured scored in the management entrance exams, such as CMAT/
I
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
CAT registrations generally start from the month of Aug. Candidates wanting to get into IBMR MBA course can apply with a valid CAT score. The application window closes by Sep. Both the applications for CAT exam and IBMR Kolkata MBA course are separate.
R
Contributor-Level 9
Till 2014, there were only two sections in CAT. Quantitative Aptitude was clubbed with Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning was clubbed with Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. In 2015, the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning were clubbed together and Quantitative Aptitude and Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension made two individual sections. Since 2015, the sectional segregation has remained the same but the number of questions have come down from 100 to 66. The exam duration has also been reduced. Until 2019, the CAT exam was of 180 minutes and the total number of questions were 100. However, in 2020, the question paper structure was revised due to COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the total number of questions came down to 76. In 2021 and 2022, the number of questions were further lowered to 66. For the last two years, CAT is conducted for 2 hours, and the number of questions is 66. In CAT 2024 however, the number of questions were increased to 68.
The latest CAT question paper structure is: Total questions: 68 Number of sections: 3 Order of sections - 1. VARC 2. DILR 3. Quantitative Aptitude Sectional time limit: 40 minutes VARC questions: 24 DILR questions: 22 Quantitative Aptitude questions: 22.