The Common Admission Test (CAT) is conducted by IIMs every year for short listing candidates for post graduate programs. The CAT score is used by many other institutes as well. CAT is a computer based online test. CAT 2010 witnessed 3 sections similarly as previous year. It was more of an aptitude test unlike previous year. There was fair balance between all the 3 sections with more or less similar toughness levels.
Before start of every test a 15 minute exam tutorial is provided that give instructions to the students to how to solve the test and how to mark the answers.
Overview of the CAT Paper
| Time allotted |
150 Minutes (including 15 minutes tutorial) |
| Total no. of questions |
60 |
| Marking Scheme |
Correct Answer: +3 |
| Sections |
3 |
| Number of choices |
4 |
| Negative Marking |
Wrong Answer: -1 |
| Expected cut-offs* |
Cut off is different for different colleges. Cut off percentile for IIMs was 99+. |
Overview of Different Sections
| Sr. No. |
Sections |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
| 1 |
Verbal Ability |
20 |
Easy-Moderate |
| 2 |
Quantitative Ability |
20 |
Moderate |
| 3 |
Data Interpretation/Logical Reasoning |
20 |
Moderate-Difficult |
SECTIONAL ANALYSIS
SECTION I: Verbal Ability
Evaluation: The level of the questions was moderate. Verbal Ability covered entirely every topic of English usage such as Para completion, Para jumble, Fill in the blanks, Correct usage of words, etc. Good knowledge of grammar and vocabulary would have helped students to achieve good score in this section. Also there were 3 Reading comprehension passages with 3 questions each that were manageable if a student has done lot of reading.
SECTION II: Quantitative Ability
Evaluation: The questions on quantitative ability were based on various topics and involved simple calculations. The difficulty level of this section was moderate. There were 3-4 questions on geometry, 7-8 on arithmetic and number theory and few on algebra. Also there were a mix of higher math and modern math even a small application of logarithms. Questions also tested fundamental understanding like ratios and percentages, volumes of solids, permutation & combination, etc.
SECTION III: Data Interpretation/Logical Reasoning
Evaluation: This section was a bit lengthy as it involved tedious calculations. DI section mainly involved sets on Pie charts, Bar graphs, Tables, Line graphs, 3D charts, Maxima & minima, etc. Logical reasoning questions were more or less logical based and require less or no calculations. LR questions were based on set of conditions, Logical arguments, puzzles and Venn diagrams.
