CAT 2018 question paper: What to expect

Common Admission Test or CAT 2018 is all set to be held on November 25, 2018. The national level management entrance exam is conducted by IIM and is considered the toughest entrance exam.

With just over four months to go for CAT 2018, which is a gateway to 20 IIMs and over 1000 management institutes across India, the aspirants have already paced up their preparations. Experts and toppers, both claim that the key to excel in CAT is attempting at least 30-40 mock tests. Along with a sound understanding of all the concepts and sufficient mock test practice, what really is needed is to understand the question paper.

The CAT question paper is different from other management exam papers in many aspects. The most significant aspect being time-bound sections and no option to go back to older section. Also, the exam is conducted in two slots, and it has been seen that the question paper of one slot is either tougher or lengthy than the others.

Let’s look at the CAT exam pattern to get an understanding as to what will CAT 2018 question paper be like.

The total time to complete the test is 180 minutes. Each section is allotted 60 minutes; as soon as 60 minutes are over, the section will close and the candidate will be taken to the next section. The candidates will not be allowed to choose any section to start with or switch from one section to another. They will have to follow the question paper chronologically, from section 1-3. 

Total marks of CAT 2018 paper will be 300. Each question will carry 3 marks. There will be negative marking of -1 for each wrong answer. There will be no deduction of marks for unanswered questions. Also, some questions in each section may not be of multiple choice type, thus the answers will have to be typed on the screen. Onscreen calculator and clock will be available to all candidates.  Click here for CAT 2018 syllabus.

A brief look at previous year question paper:

The CAT 2017 question paper consisted of 100 questions. There were 34 Quantitative Ability (QA) questions, 34 Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) questions and 32 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI-LR) questions.

The first slot of CAT 2017 was towards higher difficulty level as compared to the second slot. DI-LR section was most difficult and time consuming.

Click here for complete CAT 2017 question paper analysis

CAT 2018 will be conducted by IIM Calcutta and the registration process is expected to begin in the last week of July or first week of August, 2018. The official notification for CAT 2018 is yet to be released. The CAT 2018 applications will be accepted in online mode and the CAT 2018 admit cards will be issued in the first week of November 2018. CAT 2018 result is expected to be announced in the first week of January 2019.