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CAT 2024 Question Paper with Answers (Slot 1, 2 & 3): Download PDFs
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Admit Card - 5 Nov '25 - 30 Nov '25
IIM Calcutta conducted the CAT exam in three slots on November 24. CAT 2024 question paper PDF along with official answer key and candidate response sheet is out for Slot 1, 2 and 3.
CAT 2024 Question Paper PDF Download for Slot 1, 2 and 3
CAT 2024 Question Paper PDF: IIM Calcutta conducted the CAT 2024 exam in three slots. CAT 2024 slot wise question papers are available here. Candidates can download the CAT 2024 question paper PDF to know the sectional weightage and difficulty level. IIM Calcutta has released CAT question paper PDF officially along with the official answer key and response sheet on the exam website, iimcat.ac.in.
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CAT 2024 question paper was designed with a total of 66 questions divided across three different sections. Three sections of CAT question paper include Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). Candidates can use CAT question paper PDF along with the answer key and response sheet to evaluate their probable score.
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Table of content
- CAT 2024 Official Question Papers
- CAT Question Paper PDF 2024 (Memory Based)
- Steps to Download CAT 2024 Question Paper PDF
- How to use CAT 2024 Question Paper?
- CAT 2024 Question Paper Pattern
- CAT Answer Key 2024
- Previous Year’s CAT Question Papers
- CAT 2024 Analysis by Experts
View More
CAT 2024 Official Question Papers
IIM Calcutta releases the answer key, response sheet along with the CAT question paper PDF 4-5 days after the exam date. The table below mentions the CAT question paper PDF for slot 1, 2 and 3.
| CAT Exam Slots | Question Paper PDF Download* |
|---|---|
| CAT 2024 slot 1 question paper | Download PDF Here |
| CAT 2024 slot 2 question paper | Download PDF Here |
| CAT 2024 slot 3 question paper | Download PDF Here |
Q: Which CAT slot has the toughest question paper?
A:
There is no pattern to which CAT question paper can be the toughest. The CAT question paper of every slot has unique questions. The examination body strives to maintain the same difficulty level of the paper across all slots but it may happen that a question can be more difficult from another. It is seen that, to keep the uniqueness of the question paper intact, the examination authority also changes the topic wise weightage a little bit across the exam slots. In most of the previous years, it is seen that the morning slot of the CAT exam is tougher than the rest two. However, candidates must not worry about the difficulty level of the slots as, the scores of all the candidates are normalised on a common scale to root out the possibility of advantage or disadvantage to any student due to difference in difficulty level. To know how the CAT scores are normalised, read this article:
https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/understanding-cat-normalization-process-blogId-9386.
Q: What is the structure of CAT question paper?
A:
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.
Q: From where can I download CAT question papers?
A:
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.
*NOTE: CAT question paper PDF links in the table above will be updated as soon as IIM Calcutta releases the same.
CAT Question Paper PDF 2024 (Memory Based)
The table below mentions the direct links to access the CAT 2024 memory based questions, answer keys, and exam analysis:
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| CAT 2024 Slots |
CAT Answer Key, Question Paper, & Exam Analysis |
|---|---|
| CAT 2024 Slot 1 answer key, question paper, and exam analysis |
|
| CAT 2024 Slot 2 answer key, question paper, and exam analysis |
|
| CAT 2024 Slot 3 answer key, question paper, and exam analysis |
Steps to Download CAT 2024 Question Paper PDF
IIM does not release the CAT question paper separately. Candidates get to access the CAT questions while checking the response sheet and the CAT 2024 answer key. The space below mentions the steps to check the CAT question papers, answer key and response sheet:
- Visit the official CAT website, iimcat.ac.in
- Click on the login button available on the homepage.
- Enter CAT login credentials, including the registration number and password.
- Navigate to the relevant link for CAT 2024 response sheet and answer key.
- Download the response sheet and check all the questions in CAT and the responses recorded on the exam day.
How to use CAT 2024 Question Paper?
Q: How many RC questions does CAT have?
A:
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.
Q: What was the key change in CAT question paper 2024?
A:
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.
Q: Is it mandatory to attempt all the questions in CAT?
A:
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.
Candidates who took the CAT 2024 exam can use these question papers to evaluate their probable scores before the declaration of results. The marking scheme, answer key, response sheet, and CAT 2024 question paper help candidates calculate their probable scores to reduce the result anxiety.
CAT Score Calculation Process using Question Paper, Answer Key, Response Sheet
Candidates must follow the steps mentioned below to calculate their CAT 2024 raw score using the question paper, answer key and response sheet:
- Calculate the total number of correct responses recorded in the CAT 2024 exam.
- Calculate the number of incorrect MCQ responses recorded in the CAT exam.
- Add 3 marks for each correct response.
- Deduct 1 mark for each incorrect MCQ response recorded.
- No marks will be deducted for unattempted responses or incorrect TITA responses.
- The outcome of the above calculations will provide the raw score in the CAT exam.
Also Check: CAT Score vs Percentile
NOTE: IIM Calcutta will use the CAT normalisation process to equalise the performance of all test takers across three slots. Admissions based on CAT will be done as per the normalised score mentioned in the CAT scorecard.
CAT 2024 Question Paper Pattern
CAT 2024 exam pattern was kept similar to the past exam sessions. The table below mentions the CAT question paper pattern in brief:
| CAT Test Pattern Elements |
CAT Exam Pattern |
|---|---|
| CAT exam mode |
Computer Based Test |
| CAT exam duration |
120 minutes (divided equally across sections) |
| CAT exam slots |
3 exam slots as mentioned below
|
| Total questions in CAT exam |
68 |
| CAT sectional composition |
3 sections with the following composition:
|
| CAT total marks |
204 |
| CAT marking scheme |
|
| Question paper medium |
English |
| Type of questions |
MCQs and TITA (Type in The Answer) questions |
CAT question paper pattern saw a change in 2024 with increase in the number of questions to 24.
CAT Answer Key 2024
Candidates will find the CAT 2024 answer key, response sheet and question papers inside the login dashboard. Answer key for CAT 2024 slot 1, 2 and 3 will be released for candidates who took the exam in that particular slot. Candidates will have to access the CAT login dashboard to access the answer keys. Candidates will be allowed to raise objections against the CAT answer key. IIM Calcutta will draft the CAT final answer key after reviewing challenges against the preliminary answer key.
CAT 2024 answer key for slot 1, 2 and 3 also helps candidates prepare for CAT 2025 exam.
Also Check: CAT 2024 Exam Analysis
Previous Year’s CAT Question Papers
Besides helping the CAT 2024 test takers, candidates can use the CAT 2024 question paper PDF to prepare for the subsequent exam session. Previous year’s CAT question papers help prepare for the exam with a holistic approach as it provides deep understanding of the pattern, syllabus, etc. Candidates can access the CAT previous year’s question paper from the table below:
| CAT Exam Session |
Question Paper PDF Download |
|---|---|
| CAT 2023 Question Paper |
|
| CAT 2022 Question Paper |
|
| CAT 2021 Question Paper |
|
| CAT 2020 Question Paper |
|
| CAT 2019 Question Paper |
|
| CAT 2018 Question Paper |
|
| CAT 2017 Question Paper |
Also Check: Last 5 Year CAT Question Paper PDF Free Download
CAT 2024 Analysis by Experts
| CAT Experts |
CAT 2024 Analysis Page Links |
|---|---|
| CAT 2024 analysis by CATKing |
|
| CAT 2024 analysis by Career Launcher and T.I.M.E |
|
| CAT 2024 analysis by IMS |
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About the Author
Abhishek Dhawan
Assistant Manager – Editorial Content
With a creative soul, Abhishek is inclined towards anything in the creative space be it drawing, painting, craft, or writing. He has been working in the ed-tech industry since he started his career. Besides creative Read Full Bio
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