CAT 2023 Analysis by Career Launcher: Difficulty Level, Cut off; Check Detailed Analysis with Predictions, Previous Year CAT Analysis

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
November 26, 2023
Career Launcher, with 250+ test-prep centers spread across 115+ cities in India releases CAT 2023 analysis for Slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3 separately. Career Launcher compares exam difficulty level with last year, expected cut off predictions with good attempts for different percentile range, key changes in the exam. MBAUniverse.com publishes CL CAT 2023 detailed Analysis covering all the key aspects of the exam, expected cut offs for 99 percentile and more
CAT 2023 Analysis by Career Launcher

Career Launcher, with a legacy of 25+ years, is the fastest expanding CAT coaching institute with 250+ test-prep centers spread across 115+ cities in India. It has expanded its wings globally and has centers in Dubai and Oman. More than 51000 students are enrolled at Career Launcher for different courses.  

CAT 2023 Exam was held on November 26, 2023 in three slots – Morning, Afternoon and Evening. Like every year, CL has released its in-depth CAT 2023 Analysis Slot wise immediately after the CAT exam. MBAUniverse.com has published Career Launcher CAT 2023 Analysis slot wise below:

Check Latest Updates: 10 IIMs CAP 2024 Process | 3 IIMs SAP 2024

Career Launcher CAT 2023 Analysis USPs
Check what all you can expect in this analysis. What’s more, MBAUniverse.com has also published indepth CAT analysis by IMS, TIME, Author Arun Sharma and all top experts.

Career Launcher CAT Analysis is known for:

  • Promptly Released Analysis after each CAT exam slot
  • Nearly Accurate Sectional & Overall CAT Cut Off Percentile  Predictions 
  • Indepth Analysis with comparison from last year’s difficulty level

Career Launcher CAT 2023 Exam Analysis: Key Highlights
MBAUniverse.com CAT 2023 Analysis by Career Launcher Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3 covers following key areas:

Exam Pattern including Number of Questions by each Section

  1. Type of Questions for each section
  2. Changes in questions split (MCQs and Non-MCQs) and Type of Questions
  3. Any Surprise elements in CAT 2022 Exam paper
  4. Exam Difficulty Level: Overall & Section wise CAT Analysis by Career Launcher
  5. Required Good Attempts: Overall and Section wise
  6. Overall and Section wise CAT 2022 Cut off Predictions for 99 Percentile in Slot-1

CAT 2023 Exam: Slot 1 Analysis

As per the expectations, the CAT 2023 exam pattern was the same as the previous years. The paper comprised 66 questions which were to be attempted in 120 minutes. The sections, the order of which was predetermined, were to be attempted in 40 minutes each and candidates could not submit the section before time. The division of the questions also remained the same.

CAT 2023 slot 1 was moderate to difficult. The section-wise level of difficulty was as follows:

  • VARC was easier than last year
  • DILR maintained the difficulty was the same as last year
  • QA was difficult as compared to last year (Especially the algebra questions)

CAT 2023 Paper Pattern & Section-wise expected score for 99%ile+

Section
No. of questions
Non-MCQ Questions
Difficulty Level
VARC
24
4
Moderate
DILR
20
6
Moderate- Difficult
QA 
22
6
Difficult
Total
66
16
 Moderate - Difficult

The marking scheme of CAT 2023 was as follows:

  • +3 marks for every right answer
  • -1 mark for every wrong answer in MCQs
  • TITA had no negative marking

CAT 2023 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Analysis

The VARC section was easier as compared to last year and had a moderate level of difficulty. There were a total of 24 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.

  • 4 questions were Non-MCQs or TITA questions
  • The RC passages were around 400-450 words each.
  • Odd-sentence-out questions and para completion were both included in the section this year.

CAT 2023 Slot 1 Analysis: Reading Comprehension

Passage Number
Passage Topic/ Area
No. of Questions
Difficulty Level
Description/ Doable
1
Wolf → Environmentalists vs Farmer
4
Easy read
400 words
2- Fact based- Doable
2- Inference based
2
Philosophy → Change in Work Culture
4
Difficult read, 
Easy to solve
400 words 
4 Doable
3
Indian Ocean-based Geographical Literature
4
Difficult read
400 words 
3 Doable
4
Human Behavior
4
Easy read
450 words
2 - Doable
Total
 
16
 
 

CAT 2023 Slot 1 Analysis: Verbal Ability

Question Type
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Total
Para Summary
0
2
0
2
Odd Sentence
0
0
2
2
Para Jumbles
2
0
0
2
 
1
1
0
2
Total
3
 8

CAT 2023 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Analysis

CAT 2023 DILR was the same as the CAT 2022 DILR section in terms of difficulty.

  • The DILR section had 20 questions distributed across 4 sets with 5 questions each.
  • The number of non-MCQs or TITA questions was 6.

CAT 2023 Slot 1 DILR Question-wise Breakup:

Set Number
Topic
No of Questions
Difficulty Level
Description/ Doable
1
College Elections (LR)
5
Moderate - Difficult
2- Doable, 3- Tough
2
Visa Applications (LR)
(Time & Sequence set)
5
Moderate
3- Doable, 2- Tough
3
12 Houses (LR-DI)
Rectangular diagram (3*2)
5
Moderate - Difficult
2- Doable, 3- Tough
4
Restaurant→ Rating 
(Mean, Median, Mode)
5
Moderate
3- Doable, 2-Tough
Total
 
20
Moderate - Difficult
Similar to CAT 2022 

CAT 2023 Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Analysis

As expected, the QA section of CAT 2023 was difficult in terms of the level of difficulty.

  • It had 22 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.
  • The section had 6 non-MCQs or TITA questions.
  • As expected, arithmetic dominated the section followed by algebra.

CAT 2023 Slot 1 QA Questions-wise Breakup:

Topic
Description/ Doable
Total Questions
Difficulty Level
Number System
Surds-1, 
1
Easy
Algebra
Log-1
Equations-3
Surds-1
Sequence & Series-2
8
Moderate- Difficult
Arithmetic
TSD-2
T&W-1
Ratio-1
SI CI-1
PLD-1
Mixture-1
Clock-1
9
Easy- Moderate
Modern Math
P&C-1
1
Easy
Geometry & Mensuration
Triangle-1
Quadrilateral- 1
Coordinate Geo Circle - 1
3
Moderate
Total
 
22
 

CAT 2023: Expected Percentile

Based on the overall and section-wise scores, level of difficulty and good attempts, given below are the score required for various percentiles:

Percentile
VARC
DILR
QA
Overall
99
40
25-27
25-28
80
95
28-30
18-20
20-22
55
90
22-24
15-17
15-17
45-48
85
20-22
13-14
12-14
39-41
80
18-20
11-12
10-12
35-37

The overall raw score for a 99 percentile is expected to range around 80!

CAT 2023 Exam: Slot 2 Analysis

CAT 2023 Slot 2 followed the pattern of CAT 2023 slot 1. However, this slot had one mandatory Verbal Ability question in the VARC section. The VARC section comprised 24 questions, DILR had 20 questions and QA had 22 questions with 40 minutes allotted to attempt each section.

 

CAT 2023 slot 2 was difficult in comparison to CAT 2022 and CAT 2023 slot 1. The QA section also increased in the level of difficulty as compared to slot 1. The section-wise level of difficulty was as follows:

  • VARC: Moderate; It was easier than last year and the same as CAT 2023 slot 1
  • DILR: Moderate - Difficult; Difficulty was same as last year and CAT 2023 slot 1
  • QA: Difficult; It was difficult compared to CAT 2022 and CAT 2023 slot 1

CAT 2023 Paper Pattern & Section-wise expected score for 99%ile+

Section
Total questions
Non MCQ Questions
Difficulty Level
No. of Doable Questions
VARC
24
4
Moderate
14-15
DILR
20
6
Moderate - Difficult
8-9
QA
22
7
Difficult
9-10
Total
66
17
Moderate - Difficult
30

CAT 2023 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Analysis

IN CAT 2023 Slot 2, there was a mandatory VA question that had to be attempted by the aspirants. Overall, the level of difficulty of CAT 2023 slot 2 was similar to sot 1.

  • There were a total of 24 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.
  • 4 questions were non-MCQs or TITA questions.
  • The RC passages were around ~400-450 words each.

CAT 2023 Slot 2 Analysis: Reading Comprehension

Passage Number
Passage – Topic/ Area
No. of Questions
Difficulty Level
Description/ Doable
1
Garments/ fashion Industry & Pollution
4
Easy to Moderate
400-450 words
4- Doable
2
Netflix Dubbing of titles for europe→ Good or Bad for Europe?
4
Easy to Moderate
400-450 words 
3 Doable
3
Liberalism is Dying
4
Moderate to Difficult
400-450 words
2- Doable, 2- Difficult
4
Facts & Interpretation in History
4
Easy
400-450 words
2 - Doable, 2- Difficult
Total
 
16
Moderate
Easier than CAT 2022

CAT 2023 Slot 2 Analysis: Verbal Ability

Question Type
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Total
Para Summary
1
1
0
2
Odd Sentence
0
1
1
2
Para Completion
0
2
0
2
Para Jumbles
1
1
0
2
Total
2
5
1
8

CAT 2023 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Analysis

Section of CAT 2023 Slot 2 was similar to Slot 1 and CAT 2022.

  • The DILR section had 4 sets with 5 questions each, much like slot 1.
  • Again, the number of non-MCQs or TITA questions was 6.
  • 2 sets were doable and aspirants could aim to attempt 8-9 questions.

CAT 2023 Slot 2 DILR Question-wise Breakup:

Set Number
Topic
No of Questions
Difficulty Level
Description/ Doable
1
Arrangement → Scores → two days average
5
Moderate - Difficult
2- Doable, 3- Tough
2
Missing Values Based Table→ Company Starting/ Closing Years
5
Easy - Moderate
4- Doable, 1- Tough
3
Rides & Timings
5
Moderate - Difficult
3- Doable, 2- Tough
4
Grid Based→two 3*3 tables (Mean, Median, Mode)
5
Difficult
0- Doable, 5-Tough
Total
 
20
Moderate - Difficult
8-9 Questions Doable

CAT 2023 Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Analysis

The QA section of CAT 2023 Slot 2 was difficult compared to CAT 2022 while there was only a slight increase in difficulty compared to CAT 2023 slot 1.

  • Of the 22 questions, 9-10 questions were doable for the section.
  • The section had 7 non-MCQs or TITA questions.
  • Muck like in Slot 1, the Slot 2 QA section was dominated by Arithmetic followed by Algebra.

CAT 2023 Slot 2 QA Questions-wise Breakup:

Topic
Description/ Doable
Total Questions
Difficulty Level
Number System
Factors-1, Divisibility-1,
3
Easy
Algebra
Log-1, Equations- 1,
Sequence & Series-2, Maxima & Minima - 2 , Inequalities-1
7
Moderate- Difficult
Arithmetic
TSD-1, T&W-1, Ratio-2, SI CI-1,
PLD-2, Mixture-1, Averages - 1
9
Easy- Moderate
Modern Math
-
0
-
Geometry & Mensuration
Rectangle-1, Circle- 1,
Coordinate Geo - 1
3
Moderate
Total
 
22
Difficult

CAT 2023: Expected Percentile

Based on the overall and section-wise scores, level of difficulty and good attempts, given below are the score required for various percentiles:

Percentile
VARC
DILR
QA
Overall
99
40-42
25-26
28-30
82-83
95
30-33
18-20
20-22
57-58
90
24-26
14-15
15-17
46-48
85
20-22
12-13
12-14
40-43
80
18-20
10-11
10-12
36-39

The overall cutoff for a 99+ percentile is expected to range around 82-83.

Previous Year CAT Exam Analysis by CL

Below are shared CL CAT 2022 and earlier CAT exams Analysis:

Career Launcher CAT 2022 Exam Analysis: Key Highlights
MBAUniverse.com will publish CAT 2022 Analysis by Career Launcher Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3.

Career Launcher CAT 2022 Slot 1 Analysis
This analysis will cover following key points:

  1. Exam Pattern including Number of Questions by each Section
  2. Type of Questions for each section
  3. Changes in questions split (MCQs and Non-MCQs) and Type of Questions
  4. Any Surprise elements in CAT 2022 Exam paper
  5. Exam Difficulty Level: Overall & Section wise CAT Analysis by Career Launcher
  6. Required Good Attempts: Overall and Section wise
  7. Overall and Section wise CAT 2022 Cut off Predictions for 99 Percentile in Slot-1

Career Launcher CAT 2022 Slot 2 Analysis
This analysis will cover following key points:

  1. Exam Pattern including Number of Questions by each Section
  2. Type of Questions for each section
  3. Changes in questions split (MCQs and Non-MCQs) and Type of Questions
  4. Any Surprise elements in CAT 2022 Exam paper
  5. Exam Difficulty Level: Overall & Section wise CAT Analysis by Career Launcher
  6. Required Good Attempts: Overall and Section wise
  7. Overall and Section wise CAT 2022 Cut off Predictions for 99 Percentile in Slot-2

Career Launcher CAT 2022 Slot 3 Analysis: 9.30 PM on Nov 27
This analysis will cover following key points:

  1. Exam Pattern including Number of Questions by each Section
  2. Type of Questions for each section
  3. Changes in questions split (MCQs and Non-MCQs) and Type of Questions
  4. Any Surprise elements in CAT 2022 Exam paper
  5. Exam Difficulty Level: Overall & Section wise CAT Analysis by Career Launcher
  6. Required Good Attempts: Overall and Section wise
  7. Overall and Section wise CAT 2022 Cut off Predictions for 99 Percentile in Slot-3

Comprehensive Overall Career Launcher CAT 2022 Analysis: 10.30 PM on Nov 27
This overall CAT 2027 analysis by Career Launcher will cover following key points

  1. Exam Pattern including Number of Questions by each Section
  2. Type of Questions for each section
  3. Changes in questions split (MCQs and Non-MCQs) and Type of Questions
  4. Any Surprise elements in CAT 2022 Exam paper
  5. Exam Difficulty Level: Overall & Section wise
  6. Required Good Attempts: Overall and Section wise
  7. Overall and Section wise CAT 2022 Cut off Predictions for 99 Percentile

Career Launcher CAT 2021 Analysis USPs

Career Launcher CAT Analysis is known for:

  • Promptly Released Analysis after each CAT exam slot
  • Nearly Accurate Sectional & Overall CAT Cut Off Percentile  Predictions 
  • Indepth Analysis with comparison from last year’s difficulty level

Career Launcher CAT 2021 Exam Analysis: Key Highlights
MBAUniverse.com has published CAT 2021 Analysis by Career Launcher Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3.

Career Launcher CAT 2021 Slot 1 Analysis
Was CAT 2021 another CDC? That’s what most students said when they came out!  As predicted, CAT 2021 followed the CAT 2020 exam pattern of reduced time (2 hours) with 40 minutes allotted to each section. However, what remained under speculation was the number of questions in each of the sections. As it turned out, the number of questions in CAT 2021 reduced to 66 questions from 76 questions last year (CAT2020).

Section-wise distribution of questions was as expected, That is:

  • CAT 2021 VARC: 24 questions
  • CAT 2021 DILR: 20 questions
  • CAT 2021 QA: 22 questions

The marking scheme remained the same: +3/-1 for MCQs, and +3/0 for non-MCQs. The overall level of difficulty for CAT 2021 slot 1 was slightly higher than that of CAT 2020. In terms of the section-wise level of difficulty, VARC was moderate and was similar to last year’s VARC section. DILR went back to CAT 2020 level and was moderate to difficult in terms of level of difficulty due to lesser choices in sets. QA was easy and along the same lines as last year in terms of LOD.

An overall raw score of around 99 should fetch a 99%ile in CAT 2021.

CAT 2021 Paper Pattern & Section-wise expected score for 99%ile+

Section Name      
Total Questions
Time Limit
Marking Scheme
Score for 99%ile
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
24
40 Minutes
+3/-1 (for MCQs)
+3/0 (for non-MCQs)
37-39
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
20
40 Minutes
+3/-1 (for MCQs)
+3/0 (for non-MCQs)
27-30
Quantitative Ability (QA)
22
40 Minutes
+3/-1 (for MCQs)
+3/0 (for non-MCQs)
40-42
Total
66
120 Minutes
+3/-1 (for MCQs)
+3/0 (for non-MCQs)
97 - 99

CAT 2021 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Analysis
The VARC section was moderate in level of difficulty, making it similar to CAT 2020. This was a slightly lengthy section, which was contrary to expectations. There were a total of 24 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.

  • 5 questions were Non-MCQs (all in Verbal). The RC passages were around 470-500 words each. 2 were easy to read while 2 passages were difficult to read with 2 questions doable in each. RC Passages were remarkably close to what you must have seen in Career launcher’s All India Mock.
  • Since there were 4 passages, 2 would have been an ideal attempt. 4 would have been a risk.
  • VA was fine, as usual. Para Summary had short answers; and the options were tricky. Summary questions had very close options. 2 Para Jumbles were easy.
  • Overall, a score of 24-25 can be considered enough for a 85%ile. All the TITA (Non MCQ questions) should have been attempted, as usual. 35-38 marks can be considered ideal for a 99%ile.

CAT 2021 VARC Question-wise Breakup:

Topic
No. of Questions (MCQ/non-MCQ)
Ideal Attempt
Reading Comprehension
16 (4+4+4+4)
12
Verbal Ability - Parajumbles
3
2
Verbal Ability - Summary
3
2
Verbal Ability - Parajumbles (Odd-sentence out)
2
1

CAT 2021 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Analysis
The DILR section had 20 questions distributed across 4 sets (4+4+6+6). DILR went back to CAT 2020 level of difficulty and was moderate to difficult. Again, the number of non-MCQs was 5. In the given time duration only 2 Sets were manageable. Bar Chart was purely DI based and was easy. Other three were time consuming. 1 set was a mixed bag of DI and LR and was doable. A score of 27-30 marks can be considered ideal for a 99+ percentile in DILR.

CAT 2021 DILR Question - wise Breakup:

Subject
Topic
No of Questions
Ideal Attempt
Data Interpretation + Logical Reasoning
Smoothies- DI
4
1-2
Bar Graph
4
3-4
Arrangement - Researchers, Publishing
6
2-3
Arrangement - Friends, Strangers, Acquaintances
6
2-3

CAT 2021 Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Analysis
As expected, the QA section of CAT 2021 was similar to that of CAT 2018 and CAT 2020, in terms of LOD. It had 22 short and sweet questions to be attempted in 40 minutes. The section had 8 non-MCQs.

As expected, Arithmetic dominated this section. A score of 40-42 would be ideal for a 99+ percentile in the QA section of CAT 2021.

CAT 2021 QA Questions- wise Breakup:

Topic
No of Questions (MCQ/non-MCQ)
Ideal Attempt
Number System
2
1-2
Algebra
5
2 -3
Arithmetic
11
7-9
Modern Math
1
 0-1
Geometry & Mensuration
3
2

Candidates would have done well to maintain their calm and follow the guidelines shared by Career Launcher, in all its sessions. The overall cutoff for a 99 percentile is expected to range around 97-98, as predicted by us before the exam itself !

Career Launcher CAT 2021 Slot 2 Analysis: 5 PM on Nov 28
This analysis will cover following key points:

  1. Exam Pattern including Number of Questions by each Section
  2. Type of Questions for each section
  3. Changes in questions split (MCQs and Non-MCQs) and Type of Questions
  4. Any Surprise elements in CAT 2021 Exam paper
  5. Exam Difficulty Level: Overall & Section wise CAT Analysis by Career Launcher
  6. Required Good Attempts: Overall and Section wise
  7. Overall and Section wise CAT 2021 Cut off Predictions for 99 Percentile in Slot-2

Career Launcher CAT 2021 Slot 3 Analysis: 9.30 PM on Nov 28
This analysis will cover following key points:

  1. Exam Pattern including Number of Questions by each Section
  2. Type of Questions for each section
  3. Changes in questions split (MCQs and Non-MCQs) and Type of Questions
  4. Any Surprise elements in CAT 2021 Exam paper
  5. Exam Difficulty Level: Overall & Section wise CAT Analysis by Career Launcher
  6. Required Good Attempts: Overall and Section wise
  7. Overall and Section wise CAT 2021 Cut off Predictions for 99 Percentile in Slot-3

Comprehensive Overall Career Launcher CAT 2021 Analysis: 10.30 PM on Nov 28
This overall CAT 2021 analysis by Career Launcher will cover following key points

  1. Exam Pattern including Number of Questions by each Section
  2. Type of Questions for each section
  3. Changes in questions split (MCQs and Non-MCQs) and Type of Questions
  4. Any Surprise elements in CAT 2021 Exam paper
  5. Exam Difficulty Level: Overall & Section wise
  6. Required Good Attempts: Overall and Section wise
  7. Overall and Section wise CAT 2021 Cut off Predictions for 99 Percentile

Previous Year CAT exam Analysis by CL

CAT Analysis 2020 by Career Launcher (CL) will be released separately for slot-1, slot-2 and slot-3 exam after the CAT 2020 exam gets over on November 29, 2020. This year CAT exam is conducted in three slots as against two slots last year..

First Analysis by Career Launcher for MBAUniverse.com

Arks Srinivas, President and CEO (MBA Group) at Career Launcher shared this first analysis at a Live Sessions on MBAUniverse.com at 11.15 AM today.

Overall, CAT 2020 was a more difficult paper than CAT 2019.

Verbal & RC

  • Total 26 Questions, lengthy paper with 4 RC Passages
  • Not straight forward questions, Inference based questions

DILR Verbal & RC

  • Total 24 Questions
  • 5 Sets of questions makes it difficult
  • 1 set on Set Theory was difficult
  • 1 Set was easy
  • 12-14 Qs is a good attempt
  • Tougher than CAT 2019 Paper

Quant

  • Arithmetic, Algebra & Log Question made this section easier
  • A lot of easy questions like CAT 2019
Career Launched CAT 2020 Cut off Predictions based on Slot 1 Exam
Arks share following predictions for getting 99%.
Section
CAT 2020 99%
Verbal & RC
40-42 Marks
DILR Verbal & RC
30-32 Marks
Quant
47-50 Marks
Overall
105-110 Marks

Career Launcher (CL) will share the CAT 2020 paper difficulty level, key changes in question paper, good attempts and likely cut off score for different percentile range in the changed test pattern.

  • CAT 2020 Morning Slot: 8.30 AM to 10.30 AM
  • CAT 2020 Afternoon Slot: 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM
  • CAT 2020 Evening Slot: 4.30PM to 6.30 PM

CAT 2020 Analysis by CL: Key Takeaway

  • CAT exam 2020 analysis will cover following key points:
  • Important changes in CAT exam pattern
  • Surprise elements in CAT 2020
  • Overall and sectional Changes in Difficulty level over last year
  • Sectional composition of questions in CAT 2020 question paper
  • Overall and Section-wise good attempts
  • CAT score required leading to high percentile cut offs for IIMs & Other top B-schools 

Major Changes introduced in CAT 2020 Exam 
CAT 2020 Centre has introduced following key changes in CAT 2020 exam pattern

  • CAT 2020 Exam duration is changed to 2 hours from earlier 3 hours
  • CAT exam 2020 will be conducted in three separate sessions on same day instead of two sessions
  • Exam is Divided into three sections: VARC; DILR; Quant
  • 40 Minutes will be allotted to attempt each section instead of earlier 60 minutes
  • You cannot move to other section till the time limit for the present section you are attempting is over.  
  • CAT 2020 Exam will have reduced number of Questions divided into MCQs and Non-MCQ type questions
  • MCQs have negative marking for wrong answer and Non-MCQs do not carry penalty of negative marking
  • Questions with negative marking (MCQs) are 70 to 75%
  • 4 answer options for MCQ type questions, click on correct answer option
  • Questions without negative marking (Non-MCQs) are 25 to 30%
  • Answer must be typed in the given space on computer screen for Non-MCQ.
  • Score awarded for each correct answer: 3 marks
  • Negative marking (Applicable for  wrong answers in MCQs): -1 mark
  • Fixed order of sections to move beginning with VARC

CAT 2019 Slot 1 exam analysis by Career Launcher

CAT 2019 Exam Pattern
CAT 2019 did not throw any surprises in paper format. In terms of level of difficulty, VARC was slightly trickier this year, with 2 passages on the difficult side. Expect the cutoff in VARC to decrease by about 6 - 8 marks. Both DILR and Quant were slightly easier than last year. Overall, the paper was slightly less difficult, as compared to CAT 2018. An overall raw score of around 157-160 should fetch a 99%ile in CAT 2019.

The overall structure of the CAT paper was as follows:

Section
No. of Questions
No. of Non-MCQ Questions
Difficulty Level
Attempts for 95%ile
Attempts for 99%ile
VARC
34
7
Moderate - Difficult
23 - 25
26 – 28
DILR
32
8
Easy - Moderate
14 – 16
18 – 20
QA
34
11
Easy - Moderate
18 – 20
24 – 26
Total
100
26 
 
 60
 65

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension: Analysis
The VARC section was of moderate difficulty level. However, the pattern was the same as that of the previous year. There were 34 questions, with 10 Non-MCQ questions.

There were 5 passages. One had 4 questions (the passage on Emperor Penguins) while the rest had 5 questions each. The topics of the remaining RC passages were from varied areas. While some were easy to read, there were few that were tedious and had confusing answer options. There were quite a few inference-based questions; and most of these had tricky answer options. However, a student should have followed the POE (process of elimination) to be able to achieve a decent accuracy rate, as the options were not straightforward. The 10 TITA questions were also of slightly higher difficulty level than last year. The para jumble questions were of moderate difficulty level, with some challenges regarding the sequencing of the opening lines. The summary questions were relatively easier; and focused on academics and marketing/advertising. However, the options were not really difficult, and one could eliminate 1-2 options easily. The questions on odd-one-out were relatively easy.

The RC passages were undoubtedly trickier than that of last year’s CAT paper due to:

  1. Trickier question types: One would encounter questions like “Which of the following if TRUE, will strengthen the argument of the author the least” and “Which of the following will not cause the inversion referred to in the ‘flipping the script’”. The students would have spent quite some time trying to understand what they are required to think about.
  2. Close options: RC passages, like the one on the origins of the Aladdin story and on ‘folk culture’ had options which were extremely close to each other. This would have definitely reduced the speed of the student.

Expect the cutoff of VARC to drop by about 8-10 marks, which is about 2-3 questions lesser than last year.

Surprises: Contrary to popular speculation, the paper structure was a replica of that of last year. An attempt of 23 - 25 would be considered good in this section for a 95%ile. However, accuracy level will be an issue.

Area
Topic
No. of Questions
Description
Reading Comprehension
(24 Questions)
Reading Comprehension
24
There were 5 passages – All of them had similar word limit (around 550-600 words each). The passage on Emperor Penguins had four questions; and was slightly easy to read, with simple questions.
The passage on British Folk music was tedious to read; and the options were confusing, as well.
The passage on Aladdin, though easy to read, had a lot of inference-based questions, with some close options.
Of the remaining two passages, the one on Topophilia was of slightly higher difficulty level, with questions that had close options.
The one on Online Shopping was easy to read and solve.
Overall, the paper was moderate- difficult. One could attempt 15-16 questions with 85% accuracy.

Here is the break-up of what the RCs were like:

Passages Understanding Attempts
Emperor Penguins Easy Easy
Aladdin Easy Difficult
Topophilia Moderate – Difficult Moderate – Difficult
Online Marketing Easy Easy
British Folk Moderate – Difficult Moderate

The VA questions were of the following types:

  Passages Easy Moderate Difficult Total
Verbal Ability Para Summary 2 1 3
(10 Questions) Odd Sentence 2 1 3
  Para Jumbles 1 1 2 4

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: Analysis
DILR was easier, as compared to last year. About 3 sets, more specifically the ones about different types of gifts in 100 boxes, the 12 different junctions, and summation of two 6-digit numbers, were easy; and should have surely been attempted.

Another set, which was a horizontal bar chart on the different types of crimes in different states, was also easy; and would not have taken more than 5-10 minutes to solve.

It was good to see a new chart type, i.e. the radar graph, making its way to the CAT 2019 slot 1 paper (the image here shows what a radar chart looks like).

In this set, different Vendors were ranked on features like Customer Service, Cost, Reliability, etc. This straightforward set required you to solve questions as simple as finding the best vendor on the basis of the average of scores on each of the features.

Section Topic No. of Questions Doable
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Crime Rate across States 4
Rating of Vendors (Radar Graph) 4 4
Tournament – Shooting Bullseye 4 3
Dancers and Choreographers 4 3
Summation of Two 6-Digit Numbers 4 3
100 Boxes of Gifts 4 4
12 Junctions 4 2
Arrangement of Books on Shelves 4 3

The cut-off for DILR is expected to increase by about 7-9 marks from last year, which is about 2-3 questions extra from CAT 2018.

Quantitative Ability: Analysis
QA was also slightly easier than last year. You could have found more sitters this time round than in CAT 2018. The paper had a good number of questions on Arithmetic from topics like Percentages, TSD, Time and Work, etc. Among Algebra, Geometry, and Numbers, the paper had more questions on Algebra and Geometry than on Numbers.

Section
Topic
No. of Questions
Doable
Quantitative Ability
Number System
2
1
Algebra
13
7 – 8
Arithmetic
14
6 – 7
Modern Math
1
1
Geometry and Mensuration
4
1 – 2

The cutoff for QA is expected to increase by about 5-7 marks from last year, which is about 1-2 questions extra from CAT 2018.

Expected Scores for 99%ile

Percentile VARC DILR QA
99 65-67 48-50 55-58

CAT 2019 Slot 2 exam analysis by Career Launcher
According to Career Launcher, CAT 2019 Slot 2 was similar to Slot 1 in terms of the level of difficulty. VARC was definitely tougher than CAT 2018 with a 99%ile at around 60-62 marks. DILR was 1-2 questions easier than last year with a 99%ile at 46-49 marks. The level of difficulty of QA was between that of CAT 2017 and CAT 2018. 99%ile in QA would be anywhere between 57 and 60 marks.
Overall, the paper was similar of 1-2 questions easier than last year. A 99%ile will be at around 158-160.

The overall structure of the CAT paper was as follows:

Section
No. of Questions
No. of Non-MCQ Questions
Difficulty Level
Attempts for 95%ile
Attempts for 99%ile
VARC
34
7
Moderate - Difficult
23 - 25
26 - 28
DILR
32
8
Easy - Moderate
14 - 16
21 - 24
QA
34
11
Easy - Moderate
18 - 20
24 - 26
Total
100
26 
 
 60
70

CAT 2019 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension: Analysis by CL

VARC Analysis by Career Launcher (CL) is given below:
24 questions from RCs were broken up into 4 RCs of 5 questions each, and 1 RC of 4 questions. Akin to Slot 1, CAT 2019 Slot 2 was trickier than that of last year’s CAT paper. To be specific, there were 2 RCs that were tough to comprehend and, therefore, tough to answer. This was one on British Colonialism and the one on Languages in Egypt.

A net correct of 24 - 26 questions should lead to a 99%ile in this section. Expect the cutoff of VARC to drop by about 8-10 marks, which is about 3-4 questions lesser than last year. And therefore, a 99%ile will be at 60 - 62 marks.

Area
Topic
No. of Questions
Description
Reading Comprehension
(24 Questions)
Reading Comprehension
24
There were 5 passages - All of them had similar word limit (around 550-600 words each).
The passage on British Colonialism was tough to read as well as tough to answer. Many chose to not attempt the RC altogether.
On the contrary, the RC on Shifting of Capitals was a breezy read and was easy to solve as well.
Other RCs on Ecology, Languages in Egypt and on History, Art & Museums were of Easy to Moderate level of difficulty.

CL Analysis shares below the break-up of what the RCs were like:

Passages
Understanding
Attempt
British Colonialism
Difficult
Difficult
Ecology
Easy - Moderate
Moderate
Languages in Egypt
Moderate
Easy - Moderate
History, Art & Museums
Easy - Moderate
Moderate
Shifting of Capitals
Easy
Easy - Moderate

The VA questions as per the Career Launcher CAT analysis for slot 2 were of the following types:

 
Passages
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Total
Verbal Ability
(10 Questions)
Para Summary
2
1
 
3
Odd Sentence
2
1
 
3
Para Jumbles
1
2
1
4

CL Analysis for CAT 2019 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning – Slot 2

DILR was easier, as compared to last year. To be specific, DILR was 1-2 questions easier than last year with a 99%ile at 46-49 marks. 3 DI sets were easy and should have definitely been attempted. Apart from that, another 2 sets could have been attempted which makes it a total of 5 doable sets.

Post 5 - 6 sets, it would have been a challenge to attempt more sets unless DILR is your favourite section.

Section
Topic
No. of Questions
Doable
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
6 Languages, 5 people
4
4
3 Doctors (Arrangements)
4
3
Venn Diagram on Voting on 2 Proposals
4
2 - 3
Profit Loss Statement (Spider Graph)
4
4
Rainfall Average (Scattered Diagrams)
4
4
3x3 Matrix - Pouches & Coins
4
2 - 3
6 Profs, 6 sections, Mid-term & End-terms
4
1 - 2
Tournaments- 6 Rounds
4
2 -3

According to CL Analysis for CAT 2019 slot 2, the cut-off for DILR is expected to increase by about 7-9 marks from last year, which is about 2-3 questions extra from CAT 2018.

Career Launcher CAT 2019 Quantitative Ability Slot 2 Analysis
According to Career Launcher CAT 2019 exam analysis slot 2, the level of difficulty of QA was between that of CAT 2017 and CAT 2018. There were a high number of questions from Arithmetic and Algebra. It is evident from both the slots that there were extremely few questions from Numbers.

A 99%ile in QA would be anywhere between 57 and 60 marks.

Section
Topic
No. of Questions
Doable
Quantitative Ability
Number System
3
1
Algebra
11
5 - 6
Arithmetic
14
9 - 10
Modern Math
0
0
Geometry and Mensuration
6
3 - 4

CL predicts the cutoff for QA is expected to increase by about 5-7 marks from last year, which is about 1-2 questions extra from CAT 2018.

CL CAT 2019 Slot 2 Overall Analysis: Expected Scores for 99%ile

Percentiles
VARC
DILR
QA
99
60 - 62
46 - 49
57 - 60 

According to Career Launcher the overall 99%ile is expected at 158-160 CAT score

CAT Exam Analysis 2018 by CL & Cut offs

MBAUniverse.com has summarised the CAT analysis and predictions by Career Launcher Slot wise and brings it to you with the key observation points by experts.

This CAT Analysis by CL consists of 3 major components:

  1. CAT exam Pattern and difficulty level
  2. CAT sectional percentile predictions by CL
  3. Overall CAT 99 percentile predictions by CL

Check Here Your accurate CAT Percentile Predictor

CAT Analysis by Career Launcher 2018
We share below the comprehensive CAT analysis by CL in detail. The CAT exam Analysis by CL is presented separately for Slot 1 and Slot 2 and overall for 2018

CAT exam: Sectional Composition
Both the slots in CAT 2018 had similar number of questions divided into MCQs with 1/3 negative marking and Non-MCQs without Negative marking:

Section
No.  Questions
No. of non-MCQ questions
Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension
34
7
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
32
8
Quantitative Ability
34
12
Total
100
 27

CAT Slot 1 Analysis by Career Launcher (CL)
IIM-C kept its reputation intact, with its emphasis on the QA section. So, the break-up of the paper was as follows:

Section
No. of Questions
No. of non-MCQ questions
Difficulty Level
Good Attempts
Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension
34
7
Easy
28+
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
32
8
Moderate
16+
Quantitative Ability
34
12
Difficult
15+
Total
100
 27
 
60+

Let’s take a look at the three sections individually.

VERBAL ABILITY AND READING COMPREHENSION
VA&RC greeted students with an easier than expected paper. However, the pattern of the paper didn’t strictly match that of the sample paper provided by the CAT team. There were 34 questions with 7 Non-MCQ questions. There were no instructions provided for the number of questions in each passage. However there remained 5 passages. One passage had 4 questions (the passage on Genetics) while the rest had 5 questions each. The topics of the remaining RC passages were also from familiar areas. They were easy to read. There were quite a few inference-based questions, but these were easy to attempt. The options were not really very close. Only 4-5 questions from RC were tricky. However, a student should have followed the POE (process of elimination) to be able to achieve a decent accuracy rate as the options were not straight forward. The VA section had one major change. There were 4 Subjective Para Jumble questions, and all of these had 4 sentences each. There were 3 Odd sentence para-jumble questions. These questions were easier than expected. A student could have easily managed to get 4 questions correct out of the 7 PJs. These were TITA questions. The three summary questions were difficult. The paragraphs focused entirely on research methodology and academic concepts. So, they were difficult to read and comprehend. However, the options were not really difficult. So, any voracious reader would have been able to attempt these easily.  So, for many CAT aspirants this year (especially those who relied heavily on QA), VA may just turn out to be the saviour.

Major surprise: The para jumble questions were easy, and the sentences were really short.

Area
Topic
No. of Questions
Description
Reading Comprehension
(24 Questions)
Reading Comprehension
24
There were 5 passages – All of them had similar word limit (around 500-550 words each). The passage on Genetics had four questions and it was slightly tedious to read. The other four passages came from familiar areas like India’s view on its legacy of Second World War, Plastic Pollution, Elephant society, and Consumer behaviour studies. Each of these had five questions. On an average, every passage had 1-2 inference based questions. The passage on 2nd World War would have been the easiest to attempt closely followed by the passage on plastic pollution. Options were not very tricky. A student could have attempted 20-21 questions easily with more than 85% accuracy.
Verbal Ability
(10 Questions)
Para-jumble
4
All had four sentences each and the sentences were pretty easy and concise. As these had no negative marking, one should have attempted all without wasting a lot of time. However, two of these would be tricky to answer without options. The trick was to identify the opening sentence and go ahead with the mandatory pair. There were quite a few clue words. Prior practice and awareness of deductive paragraphs were the key.
Summary
3
The paragraphs were short (within 80 words each). However, these were really difficult to read, and the options became confusing because of the genres of the paragraphs. So, only one of these should have been attempted. These questions carried negative marks. 
Para-jumble (Odd sentence out)
3
The question (the one on bumblebee) had an incomplete sentence. This coupled with the PJ on erosion would have been difficult. The other question was a sitter.

DATA INTERPRETATION AND LOGICAL REASONING
The next section was DILR. After three consecutive tragedies, DILR-2018 must have been a pleasant surprise. There were 32 questions in total with 8 Non-MCQ questions. Unlike last year’s paper, the theme of the sets was more conventional. With smart selection, around 4 sets in the section could have been attempted very easily with good accuracy. A couple of sets had 1 ‘difficult to crack’ question each. And a student should have been wise enough to leave these aside. Calculation wasn’t required at all in the DI sets. On the other hand, the LR sets were easy-moderate in terms of level of difficulty.

Section
Topic
No. of Questions
Doable
Data Interpretation
Pie Chart-Annual/half yearly/Quarter Sales-Moderate
4
4
ATM -Denominations of 100,200 and 500-Moderate
4
1-2
Set Theory-1600 rockets were launched-Moderate
4
1-2
Logical Reasoning
Matrix-Adjacent cells-Easy
4
2-3
10 friends -scores in DI/WE/GK- Difficult
4
1-2
4 Females ,4 Males-Minor and major-Easy
4
4
3 Committees-research/teaching/economist – moderate
4
2-3
 
1-20 petrol pumps-Moderate
4
2-3

Overall,15-17 attempts, with accuracy of 90% would be considered good.

QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE:
At the end, came the real star of the show, the ‘infamous IIM-C QA’. For students who were already scared of this section, it could have felt like a nuclear disaster. However, for the ‘engineering-dominated’ group, this was not impossible to attempt. The questions were calculation and logic intensive, not theory intensive. There were 34 questions of QA with 12 Non-MCQ questions. It was arguably the toughest QA section in the last four years. The questions were designed to test the grasp of basic fundamentals of the concepts. Arithmetic and Geometry questions dominated the section. In some of MCQs, options were very confusing to get the answer. Number System and Logarithm each had at least 2 questions.

Section
Topic
No. of Questions
Doable
Quantitative Ability
Number System
2
2
Algebra
8
4-5
Arithmetic
14
6-7
Modern Math
3
2
Geometry and Mensuration
7
3-4

An overall attempt of 18-20 with 85% accuracy would be very good.

Overall Percentile in Slot-1

  • Overall, a 99 percentile score could reduce by about 15-18 marks as compared to last year.
  • Thus, a score of 150-155 should fetch a 99 percentile.

Please Note: All information on analysis and scores are based on the accuracy of attempts provided by you as well as independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher Academic Team. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.

This CAT 2018 Slot 1 Analysis is written by Mr Gautam Bawa (Group Product Head, Career Launcher). He holds a Master’s Degree from IIM Calcutta with CAT percentile of 99.97 in 2011.

CAT Slot 2 Analysis by Career Launcher (CL)
Students who went into the second slot expecting a similar paper as that of the first slot (or for that matter the CAT 2017 paper) were on the right track. It too started with an ‘easy’ VARC section. The passages were on similar lines as those of the first slot. The DILR section continued to give a sigh of relief to the students. However, some are of the opinion that it was slightly tougher than the first slot’s DILR section. Overall, it was of a moderate level of difficulty. And the reign of QA continued. It remained the toughest section in the second slot too.

The break-up of the paper was as follows:

Section

No. of Questions

No. of non-MCQ questions

Difficulty Level

Good Attempts

Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension

34

7

Easy

28+

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

32

8

Moderate

16+

Quantitative Ability

34

12

Difficult

15+

Total

100

 27

 

60+

Let’s take a look at the three sections individually.

VERBAL ABILITY AND READING COMPREHENSION
VARC continued to be ‘the feel good’ section. The pattern remained the same as that of the first slot. There were 34 questions with 7 Non-MCQ questions. There were no instructions provided for the number of questions in each passage. However there remained 5 passages. One passage had 4 questions (the passage on ‘Grover snails’) while the rest had 5 questions each. The topics of the remaining RC passages were also from familiar areas. They were easy to read. There were quite a few inference-based questions, but these were easy to attempt, thanks to the option choices. The options were not really very close. Only 4-5 questions from RC were tricky. However, a student should have followed the POE (process of elimination) to be able to achieve a decent accuracy rate as the options were not straight forward. The VA section had one major change. There were 4 Subjective Para Jumble questions, and all of these had 4 sentences each. There were 3 Odd sentence para-jumble questions. These questions were easier than expected. A student could have easily managed to get 4 questions correct out of the 7 PJs (PJ and OSPJ) These were TITA questions. The three para-summary questions were of moderate level of difficulty. The paragraphs continued to be short in the range pf 450 to 500 words each. However, as compared to the first slot, the summary questions were slightly easier. Only one summary question appeared to be tough. So, VARC continued to be the ‘easiest’ of the lot.

Area

Topic

No. of Questions

Description

Reading Comprehension
(24 Questions)

Reading Comprehension

24

There were 5 passages – All of them had similar word limit (around 450-500 words each). The passage on Grover Snails had four questions. The other four passages came from familiar areas like Meritocracy and diversified teams, use of technology in essential services, rings of Saturn and their age, and a passage on human resource and learning. Each of these had five questions. On an average, every passage had 1-2 inference-based questions. The passage on white-lipped shelled snails would have been the easiest to attempt closely followed by the passage on essential services and technology. From the remaining passages, one was slightly tough to read. Options were not very tricky. A student could have attempted 20-21 questions easily with more than 85% accuracy.

Verbal Ability
(10 Questions)

Para-jumble

4

All had four sentences each and the sentences were pretty easy and concise. As these had no negative marking, one should have attempted all without wasting a lot of time. However, two of these would be tricky to answer without options. The trick was to identify the opening sentence and go ahead with the mandatory pair. There were quite a few clue words. Prior practice and awareness of deductive paragraphs were the key.

Summary

3

The summary paragraphs were easier as compared to those of the first slot. The paragraphs were short and slightly difficult to read. However, only one summary question can be called difficult.  

Para-jumble (Odd sentence out)

3

The questions were tricky, especially the one with the bird songs. This coupled with the PJ on business elites would have been difficult. The other question was a sitter.

DATA INTERPRETATION AND LOGICAL REASONING
The second section of the paper DILR continued to be a pleasant surprise. There were 32 questions in total with 8 Non-MCQ questions. Unlike last year’s paper, the theme of the sets was more conventional. There was one very direct DI set with basic calculations. The focus and strategy should have been the quality of the selected sets rather the quantity of the numbers of questions attempted. A couple of sets did have a question each which should have been ‘left alone’. Two sets included calculation but none was on the tougher side. On the other hand, the LR sets were easy-moderate in terms of level of difficulty.

Section

Topic

No. of Questions

Doable

Data Interpretation

Currency Exchange and rate changes

4

2-3

Smartphones and market share

4

4

Box Diagram of 3 companies/products

4

1-2

Logical Reasoning

Interview Arrivals (Arrangement)

4

3-4

Coding (Alphabet/digits)

4

2-3

Set theory (3 games, Ludo, Kho-kho, Gilli Danda)

4

2

Institute Accreditation

4

2-3

 

Tickets to a show, old, young and middle aged people

4

2-3

Overall,15-17 attempts, with accuracy of 90% would be considered good.

QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE:
Once the QA section is over, students would have come out with much less satisfaction as they would have had they come out at the end of DILR! If you expected a happy ending in QA, you were definitely not paying attention to all the discussions following the first slot. IIM-C and its love for a tough QA section continued in the second slot too. The questions were calculation and logic intensive, not theory intensive. There were 34 questions of QA with 12 Non-MCQ questions. It was arguably the toughest QA section in the last four years. The focus of the aptitude questions continued to be on testing the fundamental knowledge of the students and their clarity of concepts. Arithmetic and Geometry questions dominated the section. In some of MCQs, options were very confusing to get the answer. Number System and Logarithm each had at least 2 questions.

Section
Topic
No. of Questions
Doable
Quantitative Ability
Number System
2
1
Algebra
8-9
4-5
Arithmetic
13-14
8-9
Modern Math
3
1-2
Geometry and Mensuration
7
3-4

An overall attempt of 18-20 with 85% accuracy would be very good.

Overall Percentile

  • Overall, a 99 percentile score could reduce by about 15-18 marks as compared to last year.
  • Thus, a score of 150-155 should fetch a 99 percentile.

Please Note: All information on analysis and scores are based on the accuracy of attempts provided by you as well as independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher Academic Team. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.

The 2018 CAT Percentile Cut offs by Career Launcher (CL)

Overall Score in Slot 1
Slot 1: Expected Percentile
Overall Score in Slot 2
Slot 2: Expected Percentile
150-155
99
150-155
99

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2020