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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Updated on Nov 24, 2019 21:30 IST
CAT 2019 exam was conducted today in two sessions at various centers in 156 cities across India. Here’s the CAT 2019 analysis by TIME.

CAT 2019 Analysis by TIME - CAT 2019 exam was conducted today in two sessions at various centers in 156 cities across India. Here’s the CAT 2019 analysis by TIME.

CAT 2019 analysis by TIME
Table of contents
  • CAT Percentile Predictor/Calculator Tool
  • CAT 2019 Analysis for Slot 1 & Slot 2
  • Section-Wise Break-Up of Questions in CAT 2019 question paper
  • Section-Wise CAT 2019 Analysis: Slot 1
  • CAT Percentile Predictor/Calculator Tool
  • CAT 2019 Analysis: Slot 2
  • Section-wise CAT 2019 analysis: Slot 2
View More

CAT Percentile Predictor/Calculator Tool

Given below is the link to the CAT percentile predictor tool. All you need to do is enter your expected overall CAT score. The tool will give you your expected CAT 2019 percentile.

CAT 2019 question paper of the first slot was of moderate difficulty. The VARC section was a bit tricky with two lengthy RC passages. The Quants and DILR sections were slightly easier than last year. Overall, the CAT 2019 paper was easier than last year. Detail CAT 2019 analysis by TIME for slot 1 and slot 2 is available here. Read below. 

CAT 2019 Analysis for Slot 1 & Slot 2

CAT as always had a surprise this year for the test takers. While VARC was slightly more difficult than the the previous three years, QA came down a notch in difficulty level. The difficulty level of LRDI was also  easier as compared to the previous year.

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CAT 2019 Analysis: Highlights

  • The CAT test structure was same as last year, with no change in number of questions
  • Overall difficulty level of CAT 2019 was lower than CAT 2018
  • VARC was tough while DILR and QA were on the easier side
  • In VARC, there were 27 MCQs and 7 non-MCQs.
  • In DILR, there were 24 MCQs and 8 non-MCQs.
  • In QA, there were 23 MCQ and 11 non-MCQs.

Section-Wise Break-Up of Questions in CAT 2019 question paper

Section

Number of Questions

Breakup of Questions

Number of Non-MCQ questions

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

RC: 24 Questions

 

4 Passages of 5 Questions

1 Passage of 4 Questions

7

VA: 10 Questions

 

4 PFQs

3 Odd One Out

3 Para Summaries

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

32 Questions: 8 Sets of 4 Questions each

8

Quantitative Ability

34 Questions

11

Also Read:

Section-Wise CAT 2019 Analysis: Slot 1

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

VARC section saw no changes in the pattern from last year. There were four 5-Q passages and one 4-Q passage with 10 VA questions split between 4 Para Formation Questions, 3 Odd One Out and 3 Para Summaries. However, the difficulty level of the RC questions was higher from previous years’ difficulty levels. One can say it was not easy for even those who have a good command on the language.

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Area

Topic

No. of Questions

Difficulty level

Reading Comprehension

Passage on Topophilia

5

Moderate

Passage on Folk Music

5

Difficult

Passage on Emperor Penguins

4

Difficult

Passage on Aladdin

5

Difficult

Passage on Shopping & Choice Anxiety

5

Moderate

Verbal Ability

PFQs

4

Moderate

Odd One Out

3

Easy

Para Summary

3

Moderate

Sectional cut off: A score of 38-40 would fetch 85 percentile

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

The DILR section, compared to previous few years, was much easier. While this does not mean that the section was easy, it wasn’t as challenging as it was in the last three years. A couple of sets were relatively straightforward but some sets required a good deal of application. Those who could identify the straightforward sets, they would score well in this section.

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Area

Topic

No. of Questions

Difficulty level

Data Interpretation &

Logical Reasoning

100 boxes, with diff. types of items

4

Moderate to Difficult

Addition of 6-digit numbers

4

Moderate

Sixteen shelves and 12 items

4

Moderate to Difficult

Spider Web

4

Moderate

Tournament

4

Difficult

Crime-rate

4

Very Difficult

Intersection and network

4

Moderate to Difficult

Dancers and composers

4

Moderate

Sectional cut off: A score of 30-32 would fetch 85 percentile.

Quantitative Aptitude

In the QA section, all the 34 questions were from expected topics like Arithmetic (Time, Work and Distance, P&L, Ratios, Equations, AMA and SI-CI), Geometry and Mensuration, Numbers, Algebra, Trigonometry and Permutations & Combinations. The difficulty level, was lower than CAT 2018. The key in this section was to identify easy questions. Overall, the QA section was of moderate difficulty level.

CAT Percentile Predictor/Calculator Tool

Given below is the link to the CAT percentile predictor tool. All you need to do is enter your expected overall CAT score. The tool will give you your expected CAT 2019 percentile.

Topic

Description

No. of Questions

Difficulty Level

Arithmetic

RPV, PPL, T&W, T&D, SICI, AMA

14

Easy-Moderate

Algebra

Q. Eqns, Functions, Graphs, Progressions

11

Difficult

Geometry

Geometry, Mensuration, Trigonometry, Co-ordinate Geometry

6

Moderate

Modern Maths

P&C, Venn Diagrams

2

Moderate

Numbers

Numbers

1

Difficult

Sectional Cut Off: A score of 29 -31 would fetch 85 percentile.

 CAT 2019 Analysis: Slot 2

The VARC and DILR sections were a couple of notches tougher compared to that of slot 1. The QA section, however, was much easier compared to that of the forenoon session.

Section

No. of Questions

No. of Non-MCQ Questions

Difficulty Level

VARC

34

7

Moderate-Difficult

DILR

32

8

Difficult

QA

34

11

Moderate-Difficult

TOTAL

100

26

 

Section-wise CAT 2019 analysis: Slot 2

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

  • The five RC passages in CAT 2019 slot 2 were difficult to handle.  Neither the subject of the content, nor the questions gave students any easy opportunities to score.
  • They were of moderate length and included the following subjects: Literature (Language and cultural barriers), History (British Colonial Policy), Science &Technology (Google and archaeology), Sociology (Dense cities and efficiency & Distributing bureaucracy).
  • One passage was very difficult to read and navigate, while a couple of them were quite dense and difficult to deal with.
  • The VA questions, on Para Formation/Para Odd-One-out were tricky and lengthy.

Area

Topic

No. of Questions

Difficulty level

Reading Comprehension

Passage on Dense Cities

5

Difficult

Passage on Google and archaeology

5

Difficult

Passage on Distributing Bureaucracy

4

Difficult

Passage on Language& Culture

5

Moderate

Passage on British Colonial Policy

5

Very Difficult

Verbal Ability

PFQs

4

Difficult

Odd One Out

3

Moderate-Difficult

Para Summary

3

Moderate-Difficult

Sectional Cut Off: A score of 34 – 36 would fetch 85 percentile.

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

The DI & LR section of slot 2 brought no cheer to those looking for some respite after a tough VARC section. There were three to four moderate sets, two to three moderate-difficult sets, and two very difficult sets. The sets on the shooting tournament and mid-term and end-term exams were particularly difficult and should have been avoided, while the sets on coins and rainfall were easy to score off.

Area

Topic

No. of Questions

Difficulty level

Data Interpretation &

Logical Reasoning

Grid with bags of coins

4

M

Doctors and rooms

4

M+

Venn Diagrams

4

M+

Rainfall

4

M

Languages and teams

4

M+

Shooting tournament

4

VD

Radar chart

4

M

Mid-term and End-term exams

4

VD

Sectional Cut Off: A score of 26-28 would fetch 85 percentile.

Quantitative Ability

The QA section of CAT 2019 in slot 2 was significantly easier compared to that in slot 1 and also that of CAT 2018.

Maximum questions were asked from Arithmetic with 14 questions, most of which ranged from easy to moderate. Algebra had 11 questions, ranging from moderate to difficult, while Geometry and Mensuration had 6 questions most of which were of moderate difficulty. 

Topic

Description

No. of Questions

Difficulty Level

Arithmetic

RPV, PPL, T&W, T&D, SICI, AMA

14

Easy-Moderate

Algebra

Q. Eqns, Functions, Graphs, Progressions

11

Moderate - Difficult

Geometry

Geometry, Mensuration, Trigonometry, Co-ordinate Geometry

6

Moderate

Numbers

Numbers

3

Difficult

 Sectional Cut Off: A score of 33-35 would fetch 85 percentile.

Download: Institute wise IIM CAT cut off

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Previous years’ and expected CAT cut offs

CAT Percentile predictor prepared by Shiksha.com helps students to get their predicted CAT 2019 percentile on the basis of their expected exam score. So, predict your CAT 2019 score by clicking the link below:

CAT Percentile Predictor

Check 2018 CAT Cut offs and predict calls from IIMs and other Top MBA Colleges, whether your CAT score is 70 percentile, 80 percentile or 90 percentile. Check Fees, Placement Reviews, Admission, Shortlist Criteria and eligibility of all MBA Colleges by clicking the link below:

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About the Author
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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content

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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