CAT 2020 Analysis by TIME : Know Overall Difficulty Level and Number of Good Attempts

Across all the passages, the options were on the lengthier side, which makes answering a large number of questions in the given time challenging.

In the Verbal Ability, the Para Formation questions were, as expected, on the challenging side, with very few connectors and hints to find the correct order of the sentences. The Odd One Out questions were a little more doable than the Para Formation questions. Two of the three Para Summary questions were doable with the other one being on the tougher side.

Those of you who have attempted a decent number of AIMCATs would have found the difficulty of the questions in this section familiar. The different patterns that you were exposed to would also have helped in planning your time.

A net score of 23-25 would be a decent score to get 85 percentile in this section.

CAT 2020 Analysis: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

The DILR section was of a higher difficulty level compared to that of CAT 2019. While there were at least two easy to moderate sets last year, this year there was only one such set. All the other sets were challenging and there were no low hanging fruits among these sets.

The variation in the number of questions across sets also posed a challenge to the students. With two sets having six questions each and two sets having four questions each, the distribution of time across sets becomes all the more important.

The set on ‘Musicians’ was an LR set on Distributions, and was relatively the easiest of the sets in this section.

The set on ‘Medicines’ (four questions) was doable, despite the fact that it was a four set-Venn diagram question. However, the lack of options, as all the four questions were non-MCQs, pushed the difficulty level of this set upwards, to ‘moderate’.

The set on ‘Cabs and Drivers’ involves concepts of Maxima/Minima and was a little challenging to understand all the conditions involved. Each question in this set has to be solved independently. This makes the set a little lengthy and more on the moderate side than on the difficult side.

Both the six question sets, on ‘Companies & Contracts’ and on ‘Average Marks’ were the toughest sets in the section as both of them can be considered difficult. Given the high return on time Invested for these sets, any student who is able to crack these sets completely would have a significant advantage. For the set on ‘Average Marks’, the options were confusing, adding to the difficulty level of the set.

The details of the sets in the DILR section are given below:

A net score of 20-22 would be a decent score for a test-taker to be able to get 85 percentile (sectional cut-off).

CAT 2020 Analysis: Quantitative Ability

The QA section was, as has been over the past few years, a relief after the two heavy sections. The section was over-all, a shade lower on difficulty level compared to last year.

The topic-wise distribution in this section was as mentioned below:

While the Arithmetic based questions were doable, the Algebra based questions made students work harder to solve.

Overall, this section was a shade less difficult than what it was last year with some sitters helping the students’ cause.

A net score of 19-21 would be a decent score for a test-taker to be able to get 85 percentile (sectional cut-off).

About the Expert:

Mr Ramnath Kanakadandi is National CAT course director, T.I.M.E.

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