2IIM CAT Exam Syllabus 2023
2IIM CAT Exam Syllabus 2023
CAT is a computer-based objective exam that has 3 sections – Verbal Ability, Data
Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. The sections have nearly equal
weightage. For a long time, from 2010-2019 roughly it was a 3-hour exam. The pandemic has
seen it transform into a 2-hour exam. Around 75% of the questions are MCQs (Multiple-
Choice Questions) while the rest are TITA (Type in the Answer). The MCQs carry negative
marks for incorrect answers, while TITA ones do not.
Broadly, the CAT syllabus covered comprises of math learnt in classes VI to X of schooling.
Although the framework has been broadly constant throughout the past 15 years, there are
some specific patterns that emerge if we scroll through the data. The video below gives a
wonderful overview of what we can take away from the past few years’ papers.
VARC 40 minutes 21 3 24
DILR 40 minutes 14 6 20
QA 40 minutes 14 8 22
Total 120 minutes 49 17 66
As we dive deeper into the sections and take them up one by one, we will take
you through the CAT Syllabus followed by our analysis of the CAT previous
year papers to give you a glimpse of what you can expect in the upcoming
CAT exam.
Before we look into the CAT syllabus, here is a quick recap of key facts about the exam:
• CAT Exam was a 3-hour (180 min), computer-based exam until 2019. It is not held in
offline mode.One of many things that swayed away from normal in the last 3 years was
the CAT exam duration. CAT 2020, CAT 2021, and CAT 2022 was conducted in three
slots of 2 hours each.
• The exam is held in three slots—morning, afternoon and evening—on the same day. The papers
are different in these sessions, but the scores are normalized to account for the
differences.
• The exam comprises of 3 sections— Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
(VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI/LR) and Quantitative Ability
(QA).
• In the last few CATs, the order of the sections has been VARC first, followed by DILR,
followed by QA. Switching between sections is not possible. There are no breaks
between sections.
• There were 66 questions in all. Most questions are Multiple Choice Questions
(MCQs),with 4 answer choices, one of which is right. About one-third of the paper,
however, consists of objective but non-MCQ questions. These are of the Type-In-
The-Answer (TITA) kind.
• MCQs carry 3 marks for a right answer and -1 mark for a wrong answer, but there is
no negative marking for TITA questions.
• A simple, on-screen calculator is provided for the QA and DI/LR sections.
• Any Bachelor’s degree holder (with 50% at least marks) and any candidate in the final
year of their graduation can write CAT.
• The official website for CAT: CAT Website
• CAT 2019 had the following pattern: (3hr format)
VARC: 34, DILR: 32, Quant: 34 (60 minute per section), and the entire exam was
conducted in 2 slots.
Data Bar graph, line graphs, pie charts, tables, Venn diagrams, word problems, combination
Interpretation of graphs
Logical Puzzles based on visualization, math puzzles, games and tournaments, calendar,
Reasoning sequencing, grid puzzles, seating arrangement, direction- based puzzles
Approx. No. of
QA Topic Key Concepts Questions
Arithmetic Percentages 11 - 12
Time Speed Distance
Pipe Cisterns, Work Time
Profit and Loss
Mixtures
Averages
Ratios and Proportion
Simple Interest Compound Interest
CAT Syllabus