CAT 2021: Number of questions to go down, check expected pattern, student reaction
Prof. MP Ram Mohan has confirmed that IIM Ahmedabad will reduce the number of questions in CAT 2021 across all sections. The decision has been taken to reduce the stress of students who aren't able to complete the syllabus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Check details here.
Students are already aware that last year's changes introduced to the CAT exam pattern will be continued this year. This was confirmed by the CAT 2021 notification released by IIM Ahmedabad on July 31. However, in a TOI report, Prof. MP Ram Mohan has stated that the number of questions in the CAT exam 2021 will be decreased this year.
It is confirmed that IIM Ahmedabad will reduce the number of questions in the CAT 2021 exam across all sections. The exact number of questions in the new exam pattern of CAT 2021 is not yet available. However, the information has been confirmed by the CAT Convenor Prof. Ram Mohan. Apart from this, no other changes are to be introduced to the CAT exam pattern. The CAT 2021 exam will be conducted on November 28 in three sessions. The exam duration will be 2 hours for each session.
The CAT exam pattern witnessed a major change last year in which the number of questions and the exam duration were reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be the second consequent year that the CAT exam pattern has been tweaked owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prof. MP Ram Mohan said that no complaints were received from any student about the last year's exam pattern. Still, the decision is being taken to reduce the stress on students and allow them sufficient time to solve the CAT exam paper.
CAT 2021 Current Exam Pattern
Following is the latest available exam pattern of CAT.
| Mode | Computer-based Test |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| No. of questions | 76 (to decrease) |
| Section-wise duration | 40 minutes per section |
| Sessions | 3,
|
| Total marks | 228 (to decrease according to the no. of questions) |
CAT 2021 Expected Section-wise Exam Pattern
The exact number of questions in CAT 2021 is still unclear this year and students are kept guessing. However, the following are two patterns that can be expected.
| Section | Option 1 | Option 2 | Duration |
| VARC | 22 questions | 20 questions | 40 minutes |
| DILR | 20 questions | 20 questions | 40 minutes |
| QA | 22 questions | 20 questions | 40 minutes |
| TOTAL | 64 questions | 60 questions | 120 minutes |
Option 1 is a speculative exam pattern that students might see this year, while Option 2 is the CAT exam pattern last seen in 2013, which IIMA may go back to this year. However, there is nothing certain so far and students may also see a 24-22-24 pattern in CAT 2021.
CAT 2021 reduced number of questions - What students say
While some students are supporting IIMA's decision to decrease the number of questions in CAT 2021, others are against it. Citing that this decision will decrease the number of choices available to the students and the difficulty level is likely to increase, many students are not happy with the decision. Since you are not expected to attempt 100% of the questions in a competitive exam such as CAT, it is unclear whether reducing the number of questions will provide any real benefit to the students.
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