Gradeup Analysis: CAT '16

The Overview

The first slot did not have any element of nasty surprise. The pattern was the same as last year's: the total number of questions, the split in each section, everything.There was a small catch though: the questions were a little tougher than what appeared at first glance and though the logic was fairly easy to figure the calculations might have been tougher than what the case was last year. For further details, read on, Cheers!

The Sections

Section 1: Quantitative Aptitude 

There were 34 questions in this section with medium-difficult questions. However, the medium questions were all doable and hence the expected cut off might be 55-60 (net of 19 correct answers). The only catch was that the calculations were plentiful.

Section 2: Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation

There were 4 sets of 4 questions each in both the sections (32 questions in all) with both LR and DI comprising of puzzle type questions. The expected cut off maybe around 50-55 (net of 18 correct answers) in this section. 

Section 3: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Some students observed this section to be relatively easier than last year's but one thing for sure is that the section was definitely not tougher than that of last year's. There were 5 RC sets: 3 sets with 6 questions each and 2 sets with 3 questions. Rest were verbal ability and verbal reasoning questions (this section consisted of questions on Parajumbles, Paragraph Summary and there were some questions of the type 'odd one out') This section's cut off might be expected to be around 60-65. 

Overall, CAT '16 was easy on the surface but not so easy when it came to calculations. It would not be much to say that the level of the paper lay between easy and medium.