CAT 2023 Exam Analysis by T.I.M.E. (Out) - Check Detailed Section-Wise Analysis Here

CAT 2023 Exam Analysis by T.I.M.E: All three slots of CAT 2023 have been conducted successfully on November 26, 2023. The third slot was the toughest of all. The exam pattern was exactly the same as that of 2022 and the total number of questions was 66 divided into three usual sections: Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension. Find a detailed slot-wise CAT 2023 exam analysis by T.I.M.E below including details such as the exam pattern, level of difficulty, sectional weightage of topics, and more.

Also, candidates can find the CAT 2023 question paper, answer key and the CAT 2023 slot-wise analysis below:

CAT Question Paper 2023	CAT Answer Key 2023 Unofficial
CAT Slot 1 Answer Key 2023	CAT 2023 Slot 1 Question Paper Analysis
CAT 2023 Slot 2 Question Paper Analysis	CAT 2023 Slot 3 Question Paper Analysis

CAT 2023 Exam Pattern & Marking Scheme

The CAT exam pattern will be the same for all three slots of the exam. Check out the exam pattern and marking scheme that will be followed for the CAT exam 2023 in the table below:

Also Read : CAT 2023 Score Vs Percentile Analysis

CAT 2023 Exam Analysis by T.I.M.E.

CAT 2023 Exam Analysis by T.I.M.E. for all three slots has been made available here. Stay informed about the latest insights, section-wise difficulty level, expected cutoffs, and overall exam review. Get valuable inputs to gauge your performance and gain valuable tips to enhance your preparation. Keep an eye on this space for the most comprehensive and accurate CAT 2023 exam analysis brought to you by T.I.M.E., your trusted exam preparation partner.

CAT 2023 Morning Slot Analysis by T.I.M.E.

• Overall, the scheduled morning slot of the CAT 2023 exam proceeded without any difficulties or complications.
• No change was observed in the overall structure of the exam.
• However, the paper seemed more difficult than it did last year.
• In the VARC section, a good number of questions were based on strengthening/weakening of arguments and the type “which of the following are true EXCEPT”.
• The RC passages were based on Postcolonial and “Indian Ocean” Novels, Return of wolves, Geographical vs Cultural Influences on Human History, and The book “Affluent Society”.
• Questions in the LRDI section were based on Blocks/Houses for sale (Quant Based Reasoning), Professors voting for Dean (Distribution), Restaurants and Gigs (Tables), and Consulates – Visa slots. This section was considered to be very difficult.
• Regarding the exam pattern, there were no noticeable surprises in this slot and the pattern remained the same as observed in the last couple of years.
• In contrast to the other two slots, candidates in the morning slot have encountered an unexpectedly high difficulty level, according to the student feedback that has been received so far.
• No change was observed in the evaluation scheme: 3 marks to be awarded for a correct answer and 1 mark to be deducted for a wrongly marked MCQ; no negative marking for Non-MCQs.

The CAT exam pattern 2023 in the first slot have been provided in the table below:

Section	Number of Questions	MCQs	Non MCQs	Difficulty Level	Sectional time limit
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension	24	20	4	Moderate to Difficult	40 Minutes
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning	20	14	6	Difficult to Very Difficult	40 Minutes
Quantitative Ability	22	14	8	Difficult	40 Minutes
Total	66	48	18	Difficult	120 Minutes

CAT 2023 Afternoon Slot Analysis by T.I.M.E.

Overall, the afternoon slot was easier than the morning slot, but the difference in difficulty was not significant. Regarding difficulty, almost every section was close to the morning slot. For those who took the afternoon slot, there was a small surprise in the VARC section.

• A question on Odd Man Out was highlighted as mandatory in the VARC section. There was a * symbol beside the question number in the Question palette.
• There were 4 RC passages with 4 questions per passage.
• Questions on hypothesis and application questions with additional layers of reasoning dominated the question paper.
• Candidates also noticed a good number of questions on “which of the following are true EXCEPT” and questions with double negatives of the nature “all of the following weaken … EXCEPT.”
• Compared to the morning slot paper, the afternoon slot's DILR section was a little bit easier. The question pattern was identical to that of the morning slot paper.
• In the QA section, there were two doable sets, and the students could not process a lot of information in these sets. Because of this, students who selected these sets based on a large amount of information were able to achieve high scores.
• Between the morning and afternoon slots, there was essentially no difference in the distribution of questions in the QA section across topics or in terms of their level of difficulty.
• There were 3 from Numbers and 2 from Quadratic Equations in the afternoon slot.
• This paper contained no questions from Modern Maths. Like the morning slot, the majority of the questions asked the student to do more than just substitute values in formulas.

The CAT exam pattern 2023 in the second slot have been provided in the table below:

Name of the Section	Type of Question	Number of Questions	Difficulty Level
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension	Fast Fashion	4	Moderate
	History – Interpretation of Facts	4	Difficult
	Netflix and European Culture	4	Moderate
	Liberalism	4	Difficult
	Para Formation Questions (PFQs)	2	Moderate-Difficult
	Sentence Placement	2	Moderate
	Para Summary	2	Moderate
	Para Odd Man Out	2	Moderate
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning	3 People drawing numbers	5	Moderate
	5 Firms raising money – founded and closed in different years	5	Moderate-Difficult
	9 Boxes in 3 x 3 tray	5	Difficult
	Theme Park – 3 friends – 4 rides	5	Difficult
Quantitative Ability	ERPV	2	Difficult
	Percentages, Profit & Loss	2	Difficult
	SI-CI	1	Difficult
	Time & Distance	1	Difficult
	Numbers	3	Difficult
	Geometry	2	Difficult
	Progressions/Series	2	Difficult
	Quadratic Equations	2	Difficult
	Averages Mixtures & Alligations	2	Difficult
	Coordinate Geometry	1	Difficult
	Special Equations	1	Difficult
	Logarithms	1	Difficult
	Inequalities	2	Difficult
	Time and Work	1	Difficult

CAT 2023 Evening Slot Analysis by T.I.M.E.

• The Quant section was more difficult than the first two slots. There were no simple questions in this section, and over half of the questions fit into the category of difficult questions.
• The majority of the questions revolved around algebra and arithmetic, which was also the case in the previous slots.
• This paper contained no questions on Modern Maths questions.
• The overall diffiiculty of the VARC section was moderate to difficult.
• Unlike the afternoon slot, there were no mandatory questions in this slot.
• There were also a lot of "all...if true/weaken...EXCEPT" questions in this slot.
• Inference-based questions comprised the majority of the questions.
• There were two questions on sentence placement, para summary, odd man out, and para formation in the verbal ability section.
• The overall difficulty level of the DILR section was high to extremely high. Compared to last year's DILR section, this was more difficult.
• Quant Based Reasoning sets comprised three of the four sets. There were no sets entirely based on LR.
• There were two sets that could be answered, and even these two required a significant amount of effort and time. There were two sets in this slot that required students to know specific statistical terms beforehand, just like one of the sets in the morning slot.

The CAT exam pattern 2023 in the first slot have been provided in the table below:

Section	Number of Questions	Type of Questions	Difficulty Level	Good Score
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension	24	Para Formation Questions (PFQs) Sentence Placement Para Summary Para Odd Man Out	Moderate to Difficult	18-20
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning	20	AC – Split/Window Offline and Online Test Takers Patrolling Routes Scores and Weightages	Moderate to Difficult	12–14
Quantitative Ability	22	Percentages, Profit & Loss Functions Time & Distance Averages Mixtures & Alligations Permutations & Combinations Logarithms Time and Work	Difficult	7-9
Total	66	48	Difficult	37-43

CAT 2022 Exam Analysis by T.I.M.E.

CAT 2022 Slot 1 Paper Analysis by T.I.M.E.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Here's the distribution of the questions in the Reading Comprehension part:

Check the distribution of questions in the Verbal Ability part in the table below:

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Here's the distribution of the questions in the Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation part:

Quantitative Ability

Check the distribution of questions in the Quantitative Ability part in the table below:

Also Read : CAT Analysis by Hitbullseye

CAT 2022 Slot 2 Paper Analysis by T.I.M.E.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Here's the distribution of the questions in the Reading Comprehension part:

Check the distribution of questions in the Verbal Ability part in the table below:

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Here's the distribution of the questions in the Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation part:

Quantitative Ability

Check the distribution of questions in the Quantitative Ability part in the table below:

Also Read : CAT 2022 Exam Analysis by IMS

CAT 2022 Slot 3 Paper Analysis by T.I.M.E.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Here's the distribution of the questions in the Reading Comprehension part:

Check the distribution of questions in the Verbal Ability part in the table below:

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Here's the distribution of the questions in the Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation part:

Quantitative Ability

Check the distribution of questions in the Quantitative Ability part in the table below:

Also Read : CAT 2022 Analysis by Career Launcher

CAT 2022 Cutoff Analysis by T.I.M.E.

The cut-offs across all slots of CAT 2022 are expected to be as below.

VARC Percentile

Percentile	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
85	23	21	25
95	32	29	34
99	43	38	45

DILR Percentile

Percentile	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
85	12	15	15
95	18	22	23
99	25	29	30

QA Percentile

Percentile	Slot 1	Slot 2	Slot 3
85	14	13	13
95	22	21	21
99	32	31	31

CAT 2021 Exam Analysis by T.I.M.E.

The CAT exam 2022 will follow similar trends as the CAT 2021 exam. Here is the sectional exam analysis of the CAT 2021 exam by T.I.M.E. institute:

CAT 2020 Exam Analysis by T.I.M.E.

Check out the slot-wise paper analysis of CAT 2020 released by T.I.M.E. below.

CAT 2020 Slot 1 Paper Analysis by T.I.M.E.

Given below is the overall analysis of CAT 2020 as provided by T.I.M.E. institute.

Section	No. of Questions	No. of Questions	No. of TITA	Section-Wise Pattern
VARC	26	18 (RC)	0	2 passages with 5 questions each 2 passages with 4 questions each
		8 (VA)	5	Para Formations - 3 Odd One Out - 2 Para Summary - 3
DI&LR	24	24	6	2 Sets having 6 questions each 3 Sets having 4 questions each
QA	26	26	8	26 Questions
Total	76	76	19	-

CAT 2020 Slot 2 Paper Analysis by T.I.M.E.

Following is an analysis of Slot 2 of T.I.M.E.

Section	Total No. of Questions	No. of Questions	No. of Non-MCQs	Section-Wise Pattern
VARC	26	18 (RC)	0	2 passages - 5 questions each 2 passages - 4 questions each
		8 (VA)	5	Para Formations - 3 Odd One Out - 2 Para Summary - 3
DILR	24	24	6	2 Sets with 6 questions each 3 Sets with 4 questions each
QA	26	26	8	26 Questions
Total	76	76	19	-

CAT 2020 Slot 3 Paper Analysis by T.I.M.E

Given below is an analysis of Slot 3 of CAT 2020.

Section	Total No. of Questions	No. of Questions	No. of Non-MCQs	Section-Wise Pattern
VARC	26	18 (RC)	0	2 passages of 5 questions each 2 passages of 4 questions each
		8 (VA)	5	3 Para Formations 2 Odd One Out 3 Para Summary
DILR	24	24	6	2 sets with 6 questions each 3 sets with 4 questions each
QA	26	26	8	26 Individual Questions
Total	76	76	19	-

Source : T.I.M.E.

List of Colleges Accepting CAT 2023 Scores

Candidates applying for MBA admissions through CAT 2023 can check out the list of colleges that accept CAT scores and their required cutoffs for the same:

You can use our CAT Percentile Predictor 2023 to check your estimated percentile in the exam. If you want to know your chances of getting calls from IIMs and other top B-schools in India, then use our CAT College Predictor 2023 .

If you have any questions about the CAT 2023 analysis, you can post them on the CollegeDekho QnA Zone . For help regarding MBA admission 2024 , fill out the Common Application Form (CAF) or contact our counsellors on our student helpline number 18005729877.

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