CAT Syllabus 2023: Latest CAT Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility Criteria || Download PDF

By Anjali Chowdhury|Updated : January 26th, 2022

CAT 2023 Syllabus provides an insight into the various sections and questions that would be asked in CAT. The CAT exam pattern has been altered over the years; like in CAT 2019, there were a total of 100 questions to be solved in 3 hours. Whereas in CAT 2020, there were a total of 76 questions to be solved in 2 hours and in CAT 2021 & CAT 2022 there were a total of 66 questions to be solved in 2 hours. CAT 2023 Exam Pattern is expected to be similar to what we have seen in CAT 2022. The Syllabus of CAT comprises of three main sections:

  1. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
  2. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
  3. Quantitative Ability (QA)
Table of Content

CAT 2023 Syllabus provides an insight into the various sections and questions that would be asked in CAT. The CAT exam pattern has been altered over the years; like in CAT 2019, there were a total of 100 questions to be solved in 3 hours. Whereas in CAT 2020, there were a total of 76 questions to be solved in 2 hours and in CAT 2021 & CAT 2022 there were a total of 66 questions to be solved in 2 hours. CAT 2023 Exam Pattern is expected to be similar to what we have seen in CAT 2022. The Syllabus of CAT comprises of three main sections:

  1. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
  2. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
  3. Quantitative Ability (QA)

The CAT exam pattern 2023 will furnish the marking scheme as well as the subject matter/topics from which questions would be asked along with the exam mode and test duration. CAT 2023 is expected to be held on the last Sunday of November 2023. However, the current pattern comprises of 66 MCQ and Non-MCQ questions.

CAT exam or the Common Admission Test is a computer-based entrance test for admissions into the IIMs and several other prestigious B-Schools in the Country. CAT exam is conducted every year by the IIMs on a rotational basis. It is yet to be disclosed that which IIM will be conducting the CAT 2023 exam. Below is the detailed overview and the section-wise syllabus and exam pattern. At the end of this post, you can also download the CAT Syllabus 2023 PDF

CAT Syllabus Overview

Total Questions in CAT Exam

66

Total Marks

198

Total Sections

3

Total Exam Duration

2 Hours

(40 Minutes for each section)

Mode of Paper

Online Only

Marking Scheme

 

MCQs

Non-MCQs

Correct

+3

+3

Incorrect

-1

0

Un-attempted

0

0

Sections

1. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

2. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

3. Quantitative Ability (QA)

Some important points to remember-

  • You are not allowed to shuffle across sections.
  • The calculator will be provided to the candidates on the screen itself.
  • Every section will have Non-MCQ type questions that have to be typed in directly on the screen.
  • CAT does not have descriptive type of questions.

CAT Eligibility 2023

CAT 2023 notification is yet to be released however, the candidates can go through CAT 2022 Eligibility Criteria given below:

  • As per the CAT 2022 exam eligibility criteria, candidates must hold a Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized University.
  • Degree awarded to candidates by institutes must be recognised by an act of Parliament or under section 3 of UGC Act, 1965 or possess an equivalent qualification recognised by the MHRD.
  • In order to be eligible for the CAT Exam, the candidate should be promoted. Students in their final year of graduation are also eligible.
  • If the University awards grades or CGPA instead of percentage, then CGPA will be converted to percentages and grades will be converted by the respective processes approved by the individual institute or university. The conversion factor given by the University has to be used. If there is no conversion factor specified by the University, the CGPA has to be converted into percentage by direct conversion i.e. divide the CGPA received by the highest CGPA possible and multiply the result by 100.

Note: In CAT 2021 the CAT Officials through a press release had announced an update regarding the eligibility criteria CAT application requires candidates to meet eligibility criteria of at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in the case of candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Persons with Disability (PWD) categories]. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the CAT Committee removed the minimum percentage of marks (45% and 50% [or equivalent CGPA] respectively) for appearing for the CAT 2021 exam.

CAT Exam Syllabus and Pattern 2023

CAT Quantitative Ability Exam Pattern*

Total Questions in Quantitative Ability Section

22 questions*

Total Marks in Quantitative Ability

66 marks*

Type of Questions in Quantitative Section

MCQs and TITA (non-MCQ)

Total MCQs

14 questions*

Total Non-MCQs

8 questions*

Difficulty level

Moderate-Difficult*

*This is just based on the past years’ trend. The actual difficulty level may vary.

CAT Quantitative Ability Syllabus

1. Number System

1. LCM and HCF

2. Divisibility Rules

3. Base Change

4. Finding Units place and tens place of a number

5. Cyclicity

6. Remainders

7. Prime Factorisation

8. Factorials

9. Indices and Surds

2. Arithmetic

1. Time, Distance and Speed

2. Time and Work, Pipes and Cisterns

3. Simple Interest and Compound Interest

4. Ratios, Proportions and Variations

5. Percentages and Averages

6. Profit and Loss, Discount

7. Mixtures and Alligations

3. Geometry and Mensuration

1. Circles

2. Triangles

3. Polygons

4. Coordinate geometry

5. Lines and Angles

6. Trigonometry

7. Cone

8. Cylinder

9. Sphere

10. Cube/Cuboid

11. Prism Pyramid

4. Algebra

1. Inequalities and Modulus

2. Functions and Groups

3. Linear and Quadratic Equations

4. Polynomials

5. Logarithms

6. Algebraic Identities

7. Maxima and Minima

5. Modern Mathematics

1. Permutations and Combinations

2. Probability

3. Set Theory & Venn Diagram

4. Binomial Theorem

5. Arithmetic progression, Geometric progression, Harmonic progression

Quantitative Ability Exam Pattern Analysis

This section tests students’ aptitude in various areas of Mathematics. The topics are not divided explicitly in terms of the weightage they carry; hence candidates must be thorough with all the topics given in the CAT quant syllabus. In CAT 2022, most of the questions in the QA Section were asked from Algebra and Arithmetic. Arithmetic and Algebra usually dominate this section.

As per experts, this section provides ample opportunities to score if the candidates are able to segregate the questions well on the basis of their difficulty level before attempting them.

CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Exam Pattern 2023

Total number of questions

20 questions*

Total Marks 

60 marks*

Type of Questions 

MCQs and TITA (non-MCQ)

Total MCQs

15 questions*

Total Non-MCQs (TITA)

5 questions*

Difficulty

Moderate-Difficult*

*This is just a prediction based on the past years’ trend. The actual difficulty level may vary

CAT DATA Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Syllabus 2023

Data Interpretation

1. Tables

2. Data Caselets - Reasoning Based DI

3. Column Graphs

4. Bar Graphs

5. Venn Diagrams

6. Line Charts

7. Pie Charts

8. Scatter Plot

9. Radar Chart

10. Routes and Network

11. Bubble Chart

Logical Reasoning

1. Binary Logic

2. Games and Tournaments

3. Arrangements

4. Team Formations

5. Order and Ranking

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Exam Paper Analysis

Clear conceptual knowledge will help you ace this section. It is also essential for candidates to select the right questions, given the difficulty level of the sets and the time involved to organize data. Getting entangled in the wrong questions could result in wastage of time and reduction in scores.

CAT Verbal Ability Exam Pattern 2023

Total Number of Questions

24

Total Marks

72

Types of Question

MCQs and Non MCQs

Total MCQs

19 questions

Total Non-MCQs (TITA)

5 questions

Difficulty level

Moderately-Easy

CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Syllabus 2021

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

1. Para Jumbles (with and without options)

2. Para Summary

3. Odd One Out

4. Para Summary

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Paper Analysis

This section is usually relentless and really challenging. Passages are unpredictable, non-obvious, options are real close and lengthy. The error rate is quite higher in this section. This section is undoubted to be taken seriously when it comes to preparation. 

CAT Previous Years Exam Analysis

Before this format, the CAT exam has gone through several different CAT exam patterns and syllabus over the years.

  • For CAT 2005 to 2008, there were three sections in the form of VARC, DILR and QA with no sectional time limit.
  • From CAT 2009 to CAT 2013, there were only 60 questions with 150 minutes, again with no sectional time limit.
  • For CAT 2011, 2012 and 2013, the number of questions was kept constant however the sections were modified to be converted into two sections: VARC-LR and QA-DI. The number of questions in each section was limited to 30 each.
  • In CAT 2014, there were only two sections: VARC-LR and QA-DI. Both sections consisted of 50 questions each and the total time is 150 minutes, with no sectional time limit.

Conclusion

  • The CAT Exam Pattern has been more or less similar over the years (since 2015) Syllabus also has not been changed. Also, not many new types of questions have been noticed.
  • Though CAT is very unpredictable & full of surprise in terms of difficulty level at the end of the day that is surprising is for every aspirant, therefore, candidates are required to prepare for any such bouncer that comes their way.

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