CAT Exam Pattern 2025

What is the CAT Exam Pattern 2025?

CAT exam pattern is nothing but the CAT exam paper pattern for the 2025 intake. There is no fixed CAT paper pattern authorized by any supreme authority. However, based on past trends and patterns, we can conclude that there are three exam sections, including DILR, VARC, and QA, to evaluate a candidate’s aptitude for resolving mathematical and reasoning problems.

CAT 2025 Exam Sections	No of questions	CAT 2025 Sectional Weightage
VARC	24	72 Marks
DILR	20	60 Marks
QA	22	66 Marks
Total	66	198

This may vary depending on which body is creating the paper for CAT 2025; however, the CAT 2025 exam pattern will more or less follow the same frequency.

If you are a CAT 2025 aspirant, then it's time for you to buckle up with your CAT preparation. You can boost your preparation with our CAT previous year papers and free CAT mocks.

Expected CAT 2025 Exam Pattern - Key Highlights

The CAT 2025 exam pattern is expected to be similar to CAT 2024. Thus,it is the perfect tile for all the CAT 2025 aspirants to kickstart their CAT 2025 preparation if they want to land into their dream B-schools.

Some of the major points to keep in mind with regard to the CAT 2025 paper pattern are:

Key Components	Details
No. of Questions	66
Number of Sections	3
Sections	VARC, DILR and QA
CAT 2025 Exam Duration	2 hours
CAT 2025 Sectional Time Limit	40 minutes
CAT Exam Slots 2025	Morning: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM Afternoon: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM Evening: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
Mode of Exam	Computer-based Exam
Medium of Instruction	English
Types of Questions	MCQ and TITA
CAT Marking Scheme	+3 for every right answer -1 for every wrong answer TITA has no negative marking

Know About The CAT Test Pattern 2025

Before jumping into the CAT 2025 Paper Pattern, we must know about what will be covered under the CAT syllabus 2025 to have a better idea of the areas from which the questions can be asked. CAT 2025 will consist of three sections, namely:

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
Quantitative Ability (QA)

CAT 2025 Exam Marks Distribution

The CAT Exam is held as a Computer Based Test (CBT) with a duration of 2 hours. Each section has an individual time limit of 40 minutes each. The CAT 2025 Exam Pattern is given below:

CAT 2025 Exam Sections	No of questions	MCQs	Non - MCQs	Important Topics
VARC	24	20	4	Reading Comprehension 16 Questions: 4 passages of 4 questions Verbal Ability 8 Questions: para jumbles, para completions, para summary and odd sentence out
DILR	20	14	6	Data Interpretation - 2 sets Logical Reasoning - 2 sets Total 4 sets of 5 questions each with areas questioned on Bar Graph, Arrangements, Missing Data and Puzzles (Games)
QA	22	15	7	There are 5 major areas including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, numbers, and modern maths which is further dominated by the majority of questions from arithmetic and algebra.
Total	66	49	17

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CAT Exam Pattern 2025 - Overall and Sectional Time Limit

It is very crucial that you have a basic understanding of the CAT paper pattern and syllabus before you approach the exam. This approach will boost your confidence for the actual exam and provide you with effective strategies, as well as smart tips and tricks to ace your CAT 2025.

Detailed Section-Wise Analysis of CAT 2025 Exam Pattern

Here is the breakdown of the CAT exam pattern 2025 for all the sections separately to give candidates a better idea of what is expected to be asked from them.

1. CAT Exam Pattern for VARC

The VARC section in CAT comprises 24 questions in total. In the verbal section, the CAT exam pattern of the past years indicates that the section consists of two primary components, i.e. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension.

Reading Comprehension:

This section accounts for over 67% of the questions (16 questions out of 24)
Question Format: MCQs with a few TITA (Type in the Answer) questions
There will be 4 passages comprising 4 questions each

Verbal Ability:

Relatively small subsection of VARC with only 8 questions
The expected division of the questions, as per CAT 2023, is 2 para jumbles, 2 para completions, 2 para summaries, and 2 odd sentences out

2. CAT Exam Pattern for DILR

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning is the second section of the CAT Exam. Candidates will be able to attempt it only after they submit the VARC section in the CAT Exam. It is the most dynamic section in CAT, and new types of questions are introduced almost every year. It is advisable to be very careful when selecting the questions, as your choice can make or break your overall percentile.

Based on the CAT test pattern for DILR, here are the changes as per CAT 2023:

This section consists of 2 sets of data interpretation and 2 sets of logical reasoning, or it can even be a combination of both.
The section will have 4 sets comprising 5 questions each, with each set lending a maximum of 15 marks.
The most common areas questioned include bar graphs, arrangements, missing data, and puzzles (games).

3. CAT Exam Pattern for Quant

This is the section that most candidates prepare extensively. This is because the CAT exam pattern and syllabus for this section are the most fleshed out among all the other sections. It is the section that can make or break the exam for most candidates.

The quant section has a total of 22 questions.
As the CAT quant exam pattern has no sub-sections, all the questions are focused on the mathematical skills of the candidates.
It is comprised of major five areas, including arithmetic, algebra, modern maths, geometry and number systems.
Based on past trends, the questions are dominated by arithmetic and algebra, including geometry from which 3-4 questions can be seen every year.

CAT Exam Pattern 2025: Important Points to Remember

Candidates cannot choose the order of the sections or move back and forth between sections. The fixed order of the exam is- VARC, followed by DILR and then Quant.
CAT has two types of questions- MCQ-based and TITA (type in the answer). The MCQ type has a negative marking of 1 for every wrong answer. The TITA questions have no negative marking.
In the MCQs, candidates will be given 4 options and in the Non-MCQs, the answer must be typed.
An on-screen calculator will be provided to the candidates during the exam.
Candidates can check the time with the help of the on-screen clock provided.
A sheet will be provided to the candidates for rough work. Candidates must submit the sheet upon the completion of the exam.

CAT 2025 Exam Pattern: CAT Exam Time Duration

CAT 2025 will be divided across three slots throughout the day. Candidates will have the slot they must appear for, which is mentioned on their admit cards. Here is the slot-based division of the paper:

CAT Exam Sections	CAT Sectional Time Limit	Time Limit For PwD Students
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)	40 minutes	53 minutes and 20 seconds
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	40 minutes	53 minutes and 20 seconds
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)	40 minutes	53 minutes and 20 seconds
Total	120 minutes	160 minutes

CAT Paper Pattern 2025: What is the CAT Marking Scheme 2025?

Similar to the previous year's exam pattern, the marking scheme for the MCQ and TITA questions is different. Here is an overview of the marking scheme for CAT 2025:

There will be a total of 66 questions, with a total of 198 marks.
Each correct answer will fetch you +3 marks.
For every incorrect answer, there will be a negative marking of 1.
There is no restriction on the number of attempts.
There will be no deduction of marks for skipping questions.
The questions will be either multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and type-in-the-answer (TITA) type questions.

CAT 2025 Exam Sections	Number of Questions	CAT 2025 Making Scheme	CAT 2025 Negative Marking
VARC	24	3	-1
DILR	20	3	-1
Quantitative Aptitude	22	3	-1

CAT Test Pattern 2025: How to Mark Answers In CAT 2025?

As mentioned before, the CAT 2025 exam will be computer-based. Therefore candidates will be required to input their responses into the computer. Candidates will have to select one of the given options when putting in the answers:

Save and Next: Candidates will select the answer, save it and then move to the next question.
Clear Response: Candidates can delete the response to the question they answered.
Mark for Review and Next: For answers that candidates are unsure about, they can mark it for review, answer it and then go to the next question.

Changes Over the Years In CAT Exam Pattern 2025

Owing to the pandemic the CAT 2025 exam pattern saw some major changes. The number of questions and time allotted have both been reduced since the arrival of covid-19.

The exam pattern for CAT 2021 comprised 66 questions to be completed in 2 hours. However, before this, the exam pattern remained the same for five consecutive years till 2019. Here is a view of the exam pattern across the past few years.

Year	Duration	No. of Questions
2021- 2023	2 hours	66
2020	2 hours	76
2019	3 hours	100
2018	3 hours	100
2017	3 hours	100
2016	3 hours	100
2015	3 hours	100
2014	2 hours 50 minutes	100
2013	2 hours 20 minutes	60

Preparation Tips For Beginners Based on CAT 2025 Paper Pattern

The CAT exam pattern 2025 gives the candidate a brief idea of how to prepare for the exam:

Each section has roughly equal weightage which indicates that while studying the basics, each section has to be given equal importance.
Following this, mocks play an important role in determining the route that the CAT preparation will take. It will enable the candidate to analyze their performance and identify their weaknesses & strengths.
The section in which the aspirant is scoring the most marks is the clearest for him in terms of concepts. Thus, the amount of time spent on that section can be reduced while the section where the aspirant is scoring the lowest has to be focused upon.
After a while, the performance in the mocks has to be taken stock of again. The aspirant needs to ensure that the section where he/she was strongest is not slipping and that there is some improvement in the section where he/she is focusing.

Along with following these preparation tips, every serious CAT taker must refer to some of the best books for CAT preparation, which include a variety of questions with 3-4 different ways of solving the same by the experts that can aid during your preparation.

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Enhance your understanding of the CAT 2025 exam pattern using our free resources, such as CAT mock tests, sectional tests, and topic tests, to provide you with the gist of how the actual exam is going to be conducted.

Conclusion

CAT 2025 is a computer-based test (CBT) that consists of three sections with a total of 66 questions: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). Each section allows 40 minutes for completion. The exam will include multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and type-in-the-answer (TITA) questions, with most questions being MCQs. Familiarizing oneself with the CAT paper pattern should be the first step toward preparing for CAT 2025, following the CAT 2025 syllabus and preparing accordingly to ensure effective preparation.

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