CAT 2021 Previous Year Question Paper PDF with Solutions and Answer Key PDF

CAT Question Paper 2021

The difficulty level for CAT Question Paper 2021 ranged from moderate to high. The CAT 2021 exam pattern remained consistent with previous years with only a few changes in topic-wise weightage. The CAT 2021 question paper consisted of three sections: The VARC section has 24 questions on Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, the DILR section has 20 questions and the QA section has 22 questions. VARC consisted of only 140 MCQs and DILR and QA sections had more non-MCQ questions than 140. Therefore, students aspiring to take the CAT 2024 should attempt to solve as many question papers from previous years to understand the current trend, the kind of questions asked, and the difficulty level. Solving CAT previous year question papers in the last month of preparation is critical. The downloads of CAT papers 2021 are available for slot 1, slot 2, and slot 3, along with answers provided in the following sections.

CAT Question Paper 2021 Slot 1 PDF Download

CAT 2021 Slot 1 Section-wise PDF with Solutions

Find the slot 1 CAT 2021 question paper, answer key, and solution PDFs for each section below.

CAT 2021 Slot 1 Question Paper Analysis

The analysis for the CAT 2021 Question Paper for Slot 1 was indicative of a difficult to moderate range across the sections. The Quantitative Aptitude section with  22 questions was observed to be moderate. The Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation section also was well within the moderate difficulty level with 20 questions. The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section was deemed to be the toughest. This section featured 24 questions with challenging reading passages and verbal questions. Overall, the CAT 2021 exam had 66 questions and was rated as moderate to difficult. This comprehensive analysis of CAT's previous years question paper helps future candidates provide insights as well as anticipate the level of difficulty and prepare strategically.

CAT 2021 Slot 1 Section-wise Paper Analysis

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
There were 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions in the VARC section. No direct Grammar or Vocabulary questions were noticed. The overall difficulty level ranged from medium to difficult and an attempt of 15 to 17 questions with high accuracy (85-90%) was considered good.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

There were a total of 4 sets, out of which two sets had 6 questions while the remaining two had 4 questions each. No Venn-diagram based sets were given. There were two DI sets and two LR sets and an overall attempt of 10 to 12 questions with high accuracy (85-90%) was considered good.

Quantitative Ability

The level of difficulty was medium and maximum questions were from Arithmetic, followed by Algebra, Modern Maths, and Geometry. In Arithmetic, the questions questions were asked from Time-Speed-Distance, Time and Work, Averages, and Mixtures & Alligations. An overall attempt about 14 questions in the given time with 85-90% accuracy was considered good.

CAT Question Paper 2021 Slot 2 PDF Download

CAT 2021 Slot 2 Section-wise PDF with Solutions

Find the slot 2 CAT 2021 question paper, answer key, and solution PDFs for each section below.

CAT 2021 Slot 2 Question Paper Analysis

The CAT 2021 question paper for Slot 2 maintained a consistent structure across its three sections: QA, LRDI, and VARC are the three major sections of aptitude and ability tests commonly used in the selection process. As for the content, the moderate level of difficulty was attributed to each of the section. The following table outlines the amount and the difficulty level of questions in each of the sections; providing an average of moderate difficulty of the paper as a whole.

CAT 2021 Slot 2 Section-wise Paper Analysis

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

RC was more difficult than VA questions. RC Passages were 500 to 600 words each and 11 or 12 questions could be attempted from RC with high accuracy. VA questions were asked from paragraph jumbles, Odd sentence questions, and summary questions. The difficulty level of the VA section was moderate. Summary questions were also of moderate difficulty level.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

There were a total of 4 sets, out of which two sets had 6 questions while the remaining two had 4 questions each. There were 3 MCQs and 1 TITA in the two sets with 4 questions. Out of the two sets with 6 questions, there were 4 MCQ questions and 2 TITA questions.

Quantitative Ability

QA was moderate in terms of difficulty level and questions were asked from Arithmetic, followed by Algebra, Modern Maths, Geometry, and Numbers. In Arithmetic, maximum questions were asked from Percentages, Partnership, Time-Speed-Distance, Time and Work, Averages and Mixtures & Alligations.

CAT Question Paper 2021 Slot 3 PDF Download

CAT 2021 Slot 3 Section-wise PDF with Solutions

Find the slot 3 CAT 2021 question paper, answer key, and solution PDFs for each section below.

CAT 2021 Slot 3 Question Paper Analysis

The CAT 2021 question paper for Slot 3 featured a consistent format with three sections: Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation (LRDI), and Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC). Each section was rated as having a moderate difficulty level. The table below outlines the number of questions in each section along with their respective difficulty levels, indicating that the overall paper was moderately challenging.

CAT 2021 Slot 3 Section-wise Paper Analysis

Check the section-wise analysis for CAT 2021 slot 3 below. An overall attempt of 15 or 16 questions with high accuracy (85-90%) was considered in VARC, for DILR it was 8 to 10 questions with high accuracy (85-90%), and for QA it was about 10-11 questions with 85-90% accuracy.

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Quantitative Ability

Candidates preparing for CAT 2024 must also check out the CAT question paper 2023 and CAT question paper 2022 to boost their preparation.

CAT 2021 Question Paper Exam Pattern & Marking Scheme

Each question in the CAT 2021 question paper carried three marks for a correct answer and one mark was deducted for an incorrect answer. Questions that remained unanswered and incorrect attempts in non-MCQ sections received zero marks.

CAT Question Paper 2021 Overall Analysis

The CAT 2021 exam was conducted in three slots, each maintaining a consistent structure with three sections: There are three types of sections which include Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude. The following table provides an average of these difficulties within these slots. Specifically, the students in the study treated the VARC and DILR sections as moderate across all slots; however, the QA section difficulty level differed and was rated difficult in Slot I and moderate in Slots II and III. The above led to the classification of the overall difficulty level of the tests about the Slots as moderate to difficult for Slot I and moderate for Slots II and III.

The CAT 2021 question paper featured difficulty levels ranging from moderate to difficult across its three slots. This data provides valuable insights into the upcoming CAT 2024 exam pattern and level of difficulty. Aspirants preparing for CAT 2024 can greatly benefit from analyzing and practicing CAT 2021 question papers to enhance their readiness for the exam.