In the last week of CAT 2024, spend time practicing CAT previous year paper PDFs. Solving previous years CAT papers will help you in assessing the difficulty level and question type expected in the CAT exam 2024. So, get here previous year CAT question paper PDFs with solutions for free download.
Last 5-Year CAT Question Papers with Solutions Free Download
Previous year CAT question paper PDFs are the best source of preparation in the last few days before the exam. As the CAT 2024 exam approaches, solve question papers for CAT exam. Shiksha is providing here last 5 years’ CAT papers with solutions for free download.
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CAT exam 2024 will be held on November 24. The CAT 2024 question paper is expected to be of moderate to high difficulty level like previous years. IIM Calcutta will be setting the CAT question paper but not much change is expected in terms of weightage in the CAT exam pattern 2024. So, by refering to older CAT question papers, you will know which topics are likely to dominate CAT 2024. Solve CAT previous year papers optimize your preparation and performance in the exam.
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.
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CAT Question Paper Pattern and Marking Scheme 2024
As per the last year CAT paperr, the CAT 2024 question paper will have 66 questions. Every question will carry 3 marks. The format of questions will MCQ. A few non-MCQs are expected in Quantitative Aptitude section. There will be negative marking of -1 for wrong attempts. Every section will have sectional time limit of 40 minutes.
| CAT question paper (sections) |
Number of questions |
Marks allotted |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| VARC |
24 |
72 |
Moderate to High |
| DILR |
20 |
60 |
Moderate to High |
| QA |
22 |
66 |
Moderate |
| Total |
100 |
198 |
Moderate to High |
CAT Previous Year Paper PDFs Free Download
Find below last 5 years’ CAT question papers with solutions for free download. Use these previous year CAT question papers with solutions pdf to practice different types of questions that are asked in the exam.
| CAT_2023_Question_Paper_Slot_3 | |
| CAT_2022_question_paper_slot_1 | |
By practicing these CAT previous year paper PDFs, you can measure the success of your CAT 2024 preparation. You can also figure out the exam strategy based on the topic wise weightage in CAT exam previous year question papers. So, download the CAT exam previous year paper PDFs uploaded above and improve your preparation.
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.
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.
There are no straight forward vocabulary questions in CAT. Out of the total of 24 questions in VARC section, 12-14 questions are Reading Comprehension based and rest of them comprise parajumbles, para completion and odd sentence. CAT is the only MBA entrance exam, which does not have direct vocabulary and grammar questions. However, one needs to have strong vocabulary and grammar to be able to solve RC, parajumble, para completion and odd sentence questions.
Read More:
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- Practice Free CAT Mock Tests by Shiksha
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 Yesterday
Yes, JAGSoM accepts CAT scores as part of its multi-stage admission process. Candidates are shortlisted for selection rounds based on their entrance exam scores.
B
Contributor-Level 6
Answered Yesterday
Candidates seeking admission to GIBS Bangalore's PGDM and MBA programs can use the results of a variety of national and international management entrance tests including CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT. All applicants will be reviewed based on their academic record, performance in group discussi
M
Contributor-Level 8
Answered 3 days ago
No, CAT scores are not important for admission to the MBA course at the School of Business, Sushant University. As per the info. taken from the website of the university, it conducts its own entrance exam for enrollment into the MBA course.
C
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
RGIPT allows admission without CAT/XAT/GMAT/CMAT/MAT/CUET-PG score under two circumstances. First, you should be a company-sponsored candidate. Second, if you belong to part time registration category. You will still have to fulfil the remaining eligibility criteria.
J
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days 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 10
Answered 4 days 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 5 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 6 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 6 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 6 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
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.