CAT Exam Pattern 2027: The Common Admission Test is the main entrance examination which acts as a gateway for top B-schools in India. Last year, approximately 2.95 lakh students registered to sit for the examination, out of which very few candidates made it to the top MBA colleges in India. To start with the CAT preparation, the very first step that candidates should take is by understanding the CAT exam pattern, such as number of questions asked in exam, time duration, sectional time limit, difficulty level, types of questions, etc.
The CAT exam is comprised of three main sections, such as Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. The maximum time provided to the candidate to complete this Computer-Based Test is 2 hours, or 120 minutes. The difficulty level of the CAT exam paper varies every year for students, so it is quite difficult to guess the predictability of this exam. To get maximum scores in the final exam, it is not important that you attempt all the questions; rather, mark those questions to which you are more confident. This is the best way to crack such a competitive examination.
This page covers the detailed information about the CAT exam pattern, section-wise breakdown, time duration, questions distribution, past-year trend analysis, etc. Read this blog for more information on the CAT 2027 exam pattern.
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CAT 2027 Exam Pattern (Overview)
The whole CAT exam paper comprised three main subjects: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. Knowing completely about the CAT exam pattern will help candidates with the structure of the Common Admission Test.
Students will get only 2 hours to attempt questions in the CAT examination and section-wise time duration limits of 40 minutes (this time is equally distributed across the sections). The CAT marking scheme is another factor to consider while talking about the CAT exam pattern. You will get +3 marks for marking the right answers and -1 in case you attempt the wrong ones. The questions are also classified in 2 ways, such as TITA (Type In The Answer) and MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions).
The table described below will give you an idea about the expected CAT 2027 exam pattern.
| CAT Exam Pattern 2027 (Tentative) | Details |
| Number of Sections | 3 |
| Name of Sections in the CAT Exam | Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Quantitative Ability |
| Total Time Duration in the CAT Exam | 2 hours or 120 minutes |
| Sectional Time Duration | VARC – 40 minutes DILR – 40 minutes QA – 40 minutes |
| Types of Questions Asked in the CAT Exam | TITA & MCQs TITA (Type In The Answer) MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) |
| Is There Any Negative Marking? | Yes -1 (if marked an incorrect answer) |
| CAT 2027 Marking Scheme (expected) | + 3 for marking answers correctly -1 for marking incorrect answers |
| CAT Exam Slot Timings | 3 Slots Morning: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM Afternoon: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM Evening: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM |
| Medium of the CAT Exam Paper | English |
What is the CAT Exam Pattern?
The CAT exam pattern gives you a clear insight into the structure of the examination. The Common Admission Test checks the aptitude skills of a candidate through Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability.
As per the past trends analysis, the total duration of the CAT exam is 2 hours, or 120 minutes, with sectional timing of 40 minutes. The Common Admission Test is a sectional-based exam, that means candidates have to complete a particular duration within a specified time limit. This signifies speed and accuracy are both quite important pointers that need to be considered while doing the CAT preparation.
The detailed distribution of the tentative CAT 2027 exam pattern is explained in the below sections with examples.
CAT 2027 Exam Pattern: Section-Wise Breakdown
CAT Exam Pattern: If we are doing the section-wise breakdown, then the CAT examination comprises three main sections, and those are Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Ability. The detailed overview and facts you will find in the table.
| CAT 2027 Exam Pattern (Tentative) | Particulars |
| VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension) | No of Questions: 24 Sectional Time Limit: 40 minutes Marks Distribution: 72 Marking Scheme: +3 for Correct Answer / -1 for the Incorrect Answer |
| DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning) | No of Questions: 22 Sectional Time Limit: 40 minutes Marks Distribution: 66 Marking Scheme: +3 for Correct Answer / -1 for the Incorrect Answer |
| QA (Quantitative Ability) | No of Questions: 22 Sectional Time Limit: 40 minutes Marks Distribution: 66 Marking Scheme: +3 for Correct Answer / -1 for the Incorrect Answer |
CAT 2027 Exam Pattern: Section-Wise Time Duration
The total time duration of the CAT exam is 2 hours, or 120 minutes, with the distribution of sectional timing being 40 minutes, which you will see in the table given below.
| Section(s) in the Common Admission Test | Sectional Time Duration |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | 40 minutes |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | 40 minutes |
| Quantitative Ability | 40 minutes |
CAT Exam Pattern 2027: Questions Distribution & Major Highlights (Expected)
In this section, we will be highlighting questions’ distribution and other parameters as per the section to determine the CAT exam pattern.
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
The Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension is an important section where the number of questions asked is 24, with a sectional duration of 40 minutes. This section comprises two major parts, such as “Verbal Ability” and “Reading Comprehension”. Among 24 questions, there are 8 questions asked in the VA part, and the remaining 16 questions are covered in the RC part. Candidates should streamline their preparation across various genres by building a daily reading habit.
Talking about the CAT marking scheme, then again, if a candidate is marking an answer correctly, then a +3 mark is assigned, whereas it is -1 in the case of an incorrectly marked answer. So, it is indispensable that candidates should choose marked answers confidently without guessing.
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
The next very important part in the CAT exam stream is the Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation section. This section comprises 22 questions with a severe distribution of questions across two parts: “Data Interpretation” and “Logical Reasoning”. This section is highly presenting the practical representation among sets where guessing is a part that will not improve candidates’ performance in the exam.
Same, the time duration is equally distributed as 40 minutes, like the other two sections are. The marking scheme will remain the same for this part too, as a +3 mark for correctly marking answers and -1 for marking incorrect answers.
Quantitative Ability
The Quantitative Ability section is a highly scoring section if you have strong basics in mathematics subjects because the exam syllabus is majorly revolving around sections such as number system, modern maths, geometry, arithmetic and algebra. The major weightage has been covered by the arithmetic and algebra. So, if candidates mark all the answers correctly across these parts, then the overall marks distribution in the Quantitative Aptitude will go positive.
As per the past trends analysis, the QA section covers 22 questions that students have to complete within a specified timeframe of 40 minutes. This is a sectional-based exam, so candidates will not stretch the specified time limit to complete the section. Talking about the CAT marking scheme, then again, if a candidate is marking an answer correctly, then a +3 mark is assigned, whereas it is -1 in the case of an incorrectly marked answer. So, it is indispensable that candidates should choose marked answers confidently without guessing.
The marks distribution which we have mentioned above, the same candidates can expect in the CAT 2027 exam pattern.
CAT Exam Pattern: Past-Year Trend Analysis
There are several changes we have seen while looking at the CAT exam pattern in terms of time duration and number of questions asked per section. Given below are the pointers which will help you with the detailed trend analysis.
- In the CAT 2019 examination, there were a total of 100 questions asked, and the time duration was 180 minutes (3 hours). A section-wise breakdown depicts 34 questions in the Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, 32 questions in Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and 34 questions in the Quantitative Ability.
- The major change was depicted in the CAT 2020 exam pattern, where the number of questions was reduced from 100 to 76. The time duration of the Common Admission Test was also reduced from 180 minutes to 120 minutes.
- Then again in CAT 2021, the number of questions was reduced from 76 to 66 questions, whereas the time duration remains the same, i.e, 120 minutes.
- Post CAT 2021, we have straight seen the major change in CAT 2024, where the number of questions asked was 68 with a time duration of 120 minutes.
| CAT Exam Year | Number of questions | Time duration | Sections |
| 2026 (Expected) | 68 | 120 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2025 | 68 | 120 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2024 | 68 | 120 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2023 | 66 | 120 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2022 | 66 | 120 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2021 | 66 | 120 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2020 | 76 | 120 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2019 | 100 | 180 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2018 | 100 | 180 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2017 | 100 | 180 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2016 | 100 | 180 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
| 2015 | 100 | 180 minutes | QA, DILR, VARC |
CAT Exam Pattern 2027: Difficulty-Level of Sections
The Common Admission Test is unpredictable, which means we never guess the difficulty level of the upcoming examination. But the best we can do is properly analyse the section-wise difficulty level of past-year papers.
| CAT Paper Section-wise Difficulty Level 2021 to 2025 | |||||
| Section | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
| VARC | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate | Moderate-Difficult |
| DILR | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate | Difficult | Difficult | Moderate-Difficult |
| QA | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate | Difficult | Moderate | Moderate |
| Overall | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate | Difficult | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate-Difficult |
CAT 2027 Preparation Strategy Based On Exam Pattern
Specifying the overall preparation strategy based on the CAT exam pattern will give a clear edge or direction to students. Meeting the percentile across the section is important to leading admission to top B-schools.
- VARC: This section comprises 24 questions as per the trend analysis. Marking the maximum number of questions correct will overall help you with increasing your percentile. Candidates have to build a consistent reading habit for streamlined preparation.
- DILR: This stands for the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section, where candidates have to maintain the habit of consistently solving sets, caselets, etc.
- QA: The full form of QA is Quantitative Ability, and candidates have to build strong basics in mathematics to tackle this section. Major questions are asked across arithmetic, algebra, number system, geometry, and modern maths. Candidates have to solve 10-12 questions daily initially to properly maintain the stream.
CAT 2027 Exam Pattern vs Other MBA Entrance Exams
| Key Difference | CAT 2027 | XAT | SNAP | NMAT |
| Total Questions | 68 | 95 | 60 | 108 |
| Duration | 120 minutes | 180 minutes | 60 minutes | 120 minutes |
| Sectional Time Limit | Yes 40 min/section | No | No | Yes |
| Unique Feature | DILR + TITA questions | Decision Making + GK | Very high speed | Adaptive test + no negative marking |
CAT Exam Pattern 2027 Final Words
Getting a basic understanding about the structure in the form of the CAT exam pattern helps candidates in starting CAT exam preparation. Candidates have to focus across all three sections equally to get the maximum overall percentile.
