CAT 2018 Question Paper Analysis & Tips for CAT 2021- Check Difficulty Level, Section-Wise Weightage

Updated On: November 15, 2021 08:33 AM

CAT 2018 was conducted on November 25, 2018. The paper analysis of CAT 2018 slot 1, as well as slot 2, are provided here.

CAT 2018 Exam Analysis and Expert Opinions

CAT 2018 was conducted on November 25, 2018. The test was conducted at 370 exam centres in 147 cities across India. Around 2,09,405 candidates appeared for the exam. IIM Calcutta was the conducting body of CAT 2018. The exam pattern of CAT 2018 was similar to that of CAT 2017. The exam was divided into three sections namely Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude and Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. +3 marks were awarded for each correct answer while there was a negative marking of one mark in CAT 2018. The paper analysis of CAT 2018 is provided here. Candidates who have appeared for the examination can check the CAT 2018 paper analysis provided here to know the type of questions that were asked in the examination as well as the exam difficulty.

Major Highlights of CAT 2018 Question Paper Analysis: Slot 1

Slot 1 of CAT 2018 was a mixed bag. There were quite a few doable questions across sections.
The Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section was difficult than the rest of the sections.
A good number of attempts for CAT 2018 slot 1 was 65+.
There were a total of 27 Non MCQ questions in slot 1 CAT 2018. The difficulty level of the Non MCQ questions was moderate.

CAT 2018 Question Paper Analysis Highlights: Slot 1

Provided below are the major highlights of the CAT 2018 Question Paper Analysis.

Overall difficulty level of the question paper	Moderate- Difficult
Total number of questions in CAT 2018	100
Total number of questions in Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension	34
Total number of questions in Quantitative Ability	34
Total number of questions in Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning	32
Overall difficulty level of the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section	Moderate
Overall difficulty level of the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section	Difficult
Overall difficulty level of the Quantitative Ability section	Moderate
High weightage topics in the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section	Summary, Para-Formation
High weightage topics in the Quantitative Ability section	Ratio, Equations, Profit and Loss
High weightage topics in the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section	Pie-Chart, N*N Matrix
Good Attempts	65+

CAT Exam Pattern	CAT Syllabus

Section Wise Analysis of CAT 2018: Slot 1

Section	Analysis by CollegeDekho Experts	Expert Remarks to Score Good Marks
VARC	The RCs were lengthy and time-consuming. RCs were asked from general topics such as Biology, Environment, History, and Sociology. VA questions were of easy to moderate difficulty.	A good practice of the different types of RCs was needed to crack this section.
DILR	The difficulty level of the DILR section in CAT 2018 was low compared to CAT 2017 and CAT 2016. Some of the questions in DI sets were not difficult in terms of interpretation.	Candidates who have solved mock test papers of CAT were familiar with the type of DI questions.
QA	More than 50% of the questions in this section were from Arithmetic, Geometry & Mensuration. There were 3-4 questions on ratios which were very calculative.	Speed and formulas were the key factors to score a good percentile in this section.

Major Highlights of CAT 2018 Question Paper Analysis: Slot 2

The second slot of the CAT 2018 was difficult than the slot of CAT 2018.
The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section was of the same difficulty as that of slot 1 but the quant questions were tough in comparison to slot 1.
There was a marginal increase in the level of difficulty of the RC section in slot 2.
A good number of attempts to get a 90+ percentile in CAT 2018 slot 2 was 60+.

CAT Previous Year Question Paper	Best Books for CAT

CAT 2018 Question Paper Analysis Highlights: Slot 2

Provided below are the major highlights of the CAT 2018 Question Paper Analysis.

Overall difficulty level of the question paper	Moderate- Difficult
Total number of questions in CAT 2018	100
Total number of questions in Quantitative Ability	34
Total number of questions in Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension	34
Total number of questions in Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning	32
Overall difficulty level of the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section	Moderate
Overall difficulty level of the Quantitative Ability section	Moderate- Difficult
Overall difficulty level of the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section	Moderate- Difficult
High weightage topics in the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section	Venn Diagrams, DI Sets
High weightage topics in the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section	Odd one out, Para-jumble
High weightage topics in the Quantitative Ability section	Equations, Inequalities,Functions
Good Attempts	60+

Section Wise Analysis of CAT 2018: Slot 2

Section	Analysis by CollegeDekho Experts	Expert Remarks to Score Good Marks
VARC	The VARC section was of moderate difficulty. There were 4 RC passages with 5 questions each & 1 passage with 4 questions. There were 4 sentences in jumbled paragraph questions instead of 5. TITA questions were from sentence completion.	Candidates needed to answer all the Non MCQ questions since there was no negative marking for these types of questions.
DILR	There were 4 sets from Data Interpretation and 4 sets from Logical Reasoning. There was no set based on TITA questions completely. TITA questions were distributed between different sets.	Selection of the right sets to answer was the key to score a good percentile in this section.
QA	There were 12 TITA questions in slot 2. Most of the questions were from Mixtures & Alligations, Logarithms, Modern Maths and Geometry.	Speed and time management were the key to crack the QA section of CAT 2018 slot 2.

CAT Preparation Strategy	Best Books for CAT

CAT 2018 Section Wise Distribution of Questions

Around 34 questions were asked in QA and VARC each while 32 questions were asked in DILR. The table provided below contains the section-wise distribution of questions in CAT 2018.

Section	Number of Questions	Marks Per Question
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning	32	+3
Quantitative Ability	34
Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension	34
Total	100

CAT 2018 Question Paper - Download PDF

The PDF of the CAT 2018 question paper for both slot 1 and slot 2 are provided here. Candidates can click on the question paper of respective slots to download the PDF.

CAT 2018 Slot 1 Question Paper PDF	CAT 2018 Slot 2 Question Paper PDF

CAT Question Paper Analysis of Other Years

Candidates can find the links to the year-wise paper analysis of the CAT exam in the following table.

Year	Analysis Link
CAT 2019	CAT 2019 Question Paper Analysis & Tips for CAT 2021: Check Section-Wise Weightage, Difficulty Level
CAT 2017	CAT 2017 Question Paper Analysis & Tips for CAT 2021- Check Difficulty Level, Section-Wise Weightage
CAT 2016	CAT 2016 Question Paper Analysis & Tips for CAT 2021- Check Difficulty Level, Section-Wise Weightage
CAT 2015	CAT 2015 Question Paper Analysis & Tips for CAT 2021: Check Section-Wise Weightage, Difficulty Level
CAT 2014	CAT 2014 Question Paper Analysis & Tips for CAT 2021: Check Section-Wise Weightage, Difficulty Level
CAT 2013	CAT 2013 Question Paper Analysis & Tips for CAT 2021: Check Section-Wise Weightage, Difficulty Level
CAT 2012	CAT 2012 Question Paper Analysis - Check Difficulty Level, Section-Wise Weightage
CAT 2011	CAT 2011 Question Paper Analysis - Check Difficulty Level, Section-Wise Weightage