CAT 2011 Analysis

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 2011 started from 22nd October 2011 to 18th November 2011. CAT 2011 witnessed 2 sections instead of 3 sections as in the earlier versions of CAT with designated time limits that are 70 minutes for 30 questions in each section. Within the allotted time candidates can review the section but as they move on to the next section then they can't go back to the previous section.

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.

Evaluation: The level of the questions was moderate. Verbal Ability covered entirely every topic of English usage. Good knowledge of grammar and vocabulary would have helped students to achieve good score in this section. Reading comprehension passages were manageable if a student has done lot of reading. Generally passages were based on science, politics, philosophy and cultural topics. Logical reasoning witnessed sets that were easily manageable as they were more or less logic based only.

Evaluation: The questions on quantitative ability were based on various topics and involved simple calculations. It generally tested ones logic and did not demand a direct application of formula. Speed, clarity of the fundamentals of DI and immaculate time-management were the key to success in this area. DI sets was easier than the previous year. Overall difficulty level of this section was moderate.