CAT 2016 Analysis - First Slot, First Impression: QA Difficult, DILR Easy
CAT 2016 Analysis is out! The DILR section was easier than CAT 2015, but the QA section was difficult. Cut-off for top B schools to remain the same, unless number of test takers go up.
Structure of CAT 2016 First Slot is similar to CAT 15. However, number of non-MCQ questions is less than that of the last year. The Verbal Section of CAT 2016 had 34 questions comprising of 24 RC and 10 VA. The DI-LR had 32 questions distributed equally amongst them. The third & final section - the Quantitative Ability had 34 questions in total. 60 minutes was the time set for each of the 3 sections.
While QA section is slightly more difficult than last year DILR is slightly easy. In QA an attempt upto 25 with an accuracy level of 80% or more is a good attempt. In DILR students could attempt 4 sets with ease. An attempt of around 16 MCQ is a good. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension is of moderate to high level of difficulty.
- VA-RC Section: In terms of the question type,CAT 2016 pattern of VA-RC section was a xerox copy of CAT 2015 section. Grammar and vocabulary-based questions again were conspicuous by their absence.
- RC Section: The Reading Comprehension had 3 passages with 6 questions & 2 passages with 3 questions. The non-MCQ Questions, just like CAT 2015, comprised of: Out of Context and Para Summary questions & Jumbled paragraphs. Length of passages was average-between 400-500 words. An attempt of 20 MCQ and 10 non-MCQ would be a good attempt.
A total of 55 MCQ and 20 plus non-MCQ would be a good attempt in CAT 2016. Just like CAT 2015, in CAT 2016 too, +3 was awarded for every correct answer & -1 deducted for every incorrect answer. There was no negative marking for Non-MCQ questions.
Here is the break–up of questions section-wise:
| Section Name | Total Number of Questions | Number of Multiple Choice Questions | Number of Non-MCQ Questions |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | 34 | 24 | 10 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | 32 | 24 | 8 |
| Quantitative Ability | 34 | 24 | 7 |
| Total | 100 | 75 | 25 |
Marking Scheme for CAT 2016:
The instructions page indicated 3 marks for every correct answer. However, the corresponding values displayed alongside individual questions was 1 & (-0.33) respectively. We do not see this as a major cause of concern, since the ratio remains the same.
Cut-off for top 20 B-schools may remain the same. It may go up slightly if the number of test takers goes up.
Written by:
Falguni Goswami
Head of Test-Prep Division, CollegeDekho.com