CAT 2026 Slot 1 Analysis: Section-Wise Difficulty Level, Good Attempts and Question Paper Analysis

CAT 2026 Slot 1 Analysis: CAT 2026 Slot 1 takes place on Sunday, 29 November 2026, from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, and IIM Indore conducts the exam. The paper follows the CAT pattern of 68 questions across VARC, DILR and QA, with 40 minutes for each section. In recent CAT papers, the overall difficulty sits between moderate and moderately difficult, DILR is usually the toughest section, and overall good attempts fall in the range of 35 to 42 questions.

Key Takeaways

• Overall difficulty: Moderate to moderately difficult in recent CAT papers
• Total questions: 68 (VARC: 24, DILR: 22, QA: 22); TITA questions: roughly 21 to 23 per slot
• Toughest section: DILR in most recent papers  |  Most scoring area: Arithmetic in QA
• Overall good attempts: 35 to 42  |  Raw score for 99 percentile: roughly 80 to 100 in recent years
• Exam pattern: Three sections, 40 minutes each, in the same structure as CAT 2025

The morning session of CAT 2026 runs from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, and this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis breaks down what the paper asks of you: the difficulty level of each section, the number of good attempts, the topic-wise distribution of questions in VARC, DILR and QA, and what a given raw score is likely to mean in percentile terms.

Our CAT faculty attempt the Slot 1 paper section by section under timed conditions and cross-check their ratings against responses from students who write the slot. Where students and faculty disagree on difficulty, we say so. The section-wise figures, memory-based questions and student reactions on this page update as soon as Slot 1 ends.

Why does Slot 1 get read more closely than the other two? Because it's the first data point of the day. Slot 2 and Slot 3 candidates read it between sessions, percentile estimates start from it, and the "is it tougher than last year?" debate begins here. So we keep this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis specific. Every rating below comes with the reason behind it.

CAT 2026 Slot 1 Analysis: Exam Overview

Here's the Slot 1 paper in one table, based on the CAT pattern and difficulty trends from recent papers. The section-wise breakdown that follows explains each number.

Section	Total Questions	Time	Difficulty Level (Recent Trend)	Good Attempts
VARC	24	40 minutes	Moderate to moderately difficult	14–17
DILR	22	40 minutes	Moderately difficult to difficult	9–12
QA	22	40 minutes	Moderate to moderately difficult	11–14
Overall	68	120 minutes	Moderate to moderately difficult	35–42

CAT 2026 Slot 1 Exam Details

Exam date	29 November 2026 (Sunday)
Slot 1 timing	8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Conducting institute	IIM Indore
Mode	Computer-based test
Section order	VARC, then DILR, then QA
Sectional time limit	40 minutes per section
Marking scheme	+3 for a correct answer; −1 for a wrong MCQ; no negative marking for TITA questions
Total marks	204

For reference, CAT 2025 also had 68 questions (24 in VARC, 22 in DILR, 22 in QA) with a 40-minute sectional time limit, so aspirants walk into Slot 1 with a well-known structure. The surprises, when they come, are in question types and difficulty, not in the format.

CAT 2026 Slot 1 Difficulty Level: How Tough Is the Paper?

If CAT 2026 Slot 1 follows recent papers, the overall difficulty sits between moderate and moderately difficult. VARC is usually moderate, with readable but dense passages. DILR is the most demanding section in most recent years, and QA ranges from moderate to moderately difficult depending on how much Algebra and Geometry the paper carries. Because CAT normalises scores across slots, a tougher slot does not by itself put its candidates at a percentile disadvantage.

Section	Recent CAT Trend	CAT 2025 Slot 1
VARC	Moderate	Moderate to moderately difficult
DILR	Moderately difficult to difficult	Moderately difficult to difficult (toughest section)
QA	Moderate to moderately difficult	Moderate to moderately difficult
Overall	Moderate to moderately difficult	Moderate to moderately difficult

How We Rate Difficulty (And Why Ratings Differ Across Websites)

On exam day you see the same slot called "moderate" on one site and "moderate to difficult" on another. Both can be honest. The gap comes from what each analyst is measuring.

We separate two things that exam-day chatter tends to mix up. Conceptual difficulty is whether a well-prepared student knows how to approach the question. Time intensity is how long the question takes even after you know the approach. A mixtures problem can be conceptually easy and still cost four minutes of calculation. A geometry question that hinges on one construction is quick if you see it and nearly impossible if you don't.

The difficulty ratings in this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis follow this scale:

Rating	What it means in a 40-minute section
Easy	Most questions have a clear entry point; a well-prepared student can attempt a large share of the section without guesswork.
Moderate	A clear set of doable questions exists, but finding them takes deliberate selection.
Moderate to Difficult	Doable questions are fewer and hidden among lengthy or trap-heavy ones; selection decides the score.
Difficult	Even strong students leave most of the section; a handful of correct answers separates percentiles.

One more thing. A student's own sense of difficulty is shaped by how the section went for them. Someone who picks the wrong DILR set first calls the section "very tough" even if two other sets are straightforward. That's why we weigh faculty attempts and student responses together rather than going by first reactions alone.

Download CAT 2026 Question Paper & Sample Papers by SuperGrads

CAT 2026 Slot 1 VARC Analysis

The VARC section has 24 questions. In recent CAT papers, 16 of them come from Reading Comprehension across four passages and 8 from Verbal Ability. The section is usually moderate in difficulty. RC passages draw from philosophy, economics, science, history and culture, and the VA portion includes para jumbles, para summaries, odd-sentence-out and para completion questions. Good attempts in VARC are around 14 to 17 at 80 to 85 percent accuracy.

VARC Difficulty Level

Overall VARC difficulty: Moderate to moderately difficult (recent CAT trend)

VARC difficulty in CAT rarely comes from vocabulary. It comes from argument-driven passages where the author's position shifts mid-way, and from answer options that paraphrase the text almost equally well. A student who reads for the author's stance rather than for facts usually finds the section more manageable than the first reading suggests.

In VARC, the passage topic is a weak predictor of difficulty. A passage on philosophy of science can be manageable if the author's argument is linear, while a passage on a familiar topic can be brutal if two options paraphrase the text almost equally well. So in this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis, we rate each passage twice: once for how hard the text is to read, and once for how hard the options are to separate.

VARC Question Distribution

Question Type	Number of Questions (Recent Trend)	MCQ / TITA	Difficulty Level
Reading Comprehension (4 passages)	16	MCQ	Moderate to moderately difficult
Para Jumbles	2–3	TITA	Moderate
Para Summary	2	MCQ	Moderate
Odd Sentence Out	1–2	TITA	Moderate to moderately difficult
Para Completion / Sentence Placement	1–2	MCQ	Moderately difficult
Total	24	Mostly MCQ	Moderate

RC Themes That Appear in CAT

Theme	What Makes It Tricky
Philosophy and ethics	Abstract arguments and authors who critique a view before presenting their own
Economics and policy	Cause-and-effect chains where one wrong link changes the inference
Science and technology	Unfamiliar terms that look harder than the actual argument
History, culture and art	Long narrative stretches with the main point buried in one or two lines
Psychology and sociology	Options that sound reasonable in general but aren't supported by the passage

The best starting passage is rarely the first one on screen. Scan the opening lines of all four, start with the passage whose argument you can follow in one read, and keep the densest one for last.

Verbal Ability Analysis

Para jumbles in CAT are usually built around one mandatory pair, a pronoun or a linking idea that ties two sentences together. Find that pair first, and the sequence often falls into place. Para summary questions reward the option that captures the whole paragraph, not just its most striking line. Odd-sentence-out questions test whether you can spot the sentence that shares the topic but breaks the argument.

A practical note on TITA verbal questions: in the CAT pattern, TITA questions carry no negative marking. Leaving a para jumble blank is a straight loss of an opportunity. If you have even a partial sequence (say you're sure of one mandatory pair), entering your best answer costs nothing.

VARC Questions to Prioritise

• RC questions that ask about the author's main argument or tone, which usually resolve in one careful read
• Para jumbles, because TITA questions carry no penalty for a wrong answer
• Para summaries with a clear central idea, which take less time than most RC inference questions

Good Attempts in VARC: CAT 2026 Slot 1

Attempts	Accuracy	Approximate Net Score
18	85%	43
16	85%	38
14	80%	31
12	80%	26

Net scores assume every attempt is an MCQ with +3 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one; wrong TITA answers cost nothing, so actual scores can be slightly higher.

Accuracy changes VARC scores more than most students expect. Take an illustrative case of 16 attempts. At 80 percent accuracy you have roughly 13 correct and 3 wrong, for about 36 marks. At 90 percent, it's roughly 14 or 15 correct and 1 or 2 wrong, for about 41 to 43 marks. Same attempts, close to a 6-mark gap, which in VARC can be a few percentile points. That's why we'd rather see you attempt fewer questions you've actually read closely than guess on the last passage.

Expert Verdict on VARC

Start with the passage you can follow, attempt every para jumble, and stop guessing on RC once you're down to two close options with no textual support for either. In recent CATs, students who protect accuracy in VARC tend to score better than those who chase all 24 questions.

Download FREE Study Material for CAT + OMETs by SuperGrads

CAT 2026 Slot 1 DILR Analysis

The DILR section has 22 questions, usually spread across four to five sets of four to six questions each. In recent CAT papers, it is the toughest section, rated moderately difficult to difficult. Sets typically cover arrangements, scheduling, games and tournaments, and data tables with missing values. Good attempts in DILR are around 9 to 12 questions, which roughly means solving two to three sets completely with high accuracy.

DILR Difficulty Level

Overall DILR difficulty: Moderately difficult to difficult (recent CAT trend)

DILR sets in CAT are hard for two reasons. Constraints are long and often hide one critical condition in the last line, and many sets need case-building with several branches before anything resolves. The sets that turn out easiest are usually the ones where one or two fixed clues lock the rest of the grid quickly.

Common DILR Set Types in CAT

Set Type	What Makes It Hard	Selection Tip
Linear and circular arrangements	Multiple valid cases until late in the set	Attempt if there are two or more fixed positions
Scheduling and allocation	Overlapping conditions across days, slots or people	Good pick when the grid size is small
Games and tournaments	Hidden assumptions about points and match outcomes	Attempt if the scoring rule is simple
Data tables with missing values	Calculation load and back-solving	Often the most reliable set for quant-strong students
Venn and set-based puzzles	Overlaps that are easy to double count	Attempt if three or fewer categories are involved
Routes, networks and quant-based puzzles	Many possible paths or number combinations	Usually best left for the end

How to Pick DILR Sets in Slot 1

If there's one DILR lesson in this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis, it's this: the number that decides your score isn't how many questions you touch. It's how many sets you close.

A student who fully solves two sets with no errors usually sits ahead of one who starts five sets and abandons each halfway. Partial work on a set still costs the reading and table-building time, but returns only a fraction of the marks. That's the single most common DILR mistake we see in post-exam score discussions.

Spend the first five to six minutes reading the opening lines and constraints of every set. Mark the sets with fixed anchors, small grids or direct data, and start there. If a set hasn't resolved after eight to ten minutes, move on and come back only if time allows.

If you spend too long on a set that turns out to be a trap, don't over-read it as a disaster. In a section like DILR, the percentile curve is usually forgiving at the middle and harsh only at the very top.

Good Attempts in DILR: CAT 2026 Slot 1

Attempts	Sets Solved (approx.)	Accuracy	Approximate Net Score
12	3	90%	31
10	2–2.5	90%	26
8	2	90%	21

Expert Verdict on DILR

DILR decides more CAT percentiles than any other section, and set selection decides DILR. Two clean sets are a strong result in most recent papers. A third set is what separates the 99 percentile from the 95 percentile.

CAT 2026 Slot 1 QA Analysis

The Quantitative Ability section has 22 questions and, in recent CAT papers, ranges from moderate to moderately difficult. Arithmetic carries the largest share of questions, followed by Algebra, with Geometry, Number System and Modern Math making up the rest. The section includes a mix of MCQs and TITA questions. Good attempts in QA are around 11 to 14, with Arithmetic being the most scoring area.

QA Difficulty Level

Overall QA difficulty: Moderate to moderately difficult (recent CAT trend)

QA difficulty in CAT depends heavily on the Algebra and Geometry questions. Arithmetic questions are usually approachable for both engineers and non-engineers, so a student who clears most of the Arithmetic block builds a solid base score even when the rest of the section is tough.

QA Topic-Wise Question Distribution

Topic	Number of Questions (Recent Trend)	Difficulty Level	Time-Intensive?
Arithmetic (percentages, profit and loss, ratio and mixtures, time-speed-distance, time and work, SI/CI, averages)	8–10	Easy to moderate	Sometimes (TSD, mixtures)
Algebra (equations, inequalities, functions, logarithms, progressions)	5–7	Moderate to difficult	Varies by question
Geometry and Mensuration	3–4	Moderate to difficult	Yes, without the key construction
Number System	2–3	Moderate	Low to moderate
Modern Math (P&C, probability, set theory, sequences)	1–2	Moderate	Low
Total	22	Moderate to moderately difficult	–

We've added a "Time-Intensive?" column to this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis because QA difficulty and QA length are different problems. An algebra question on a function's range can be conceptually tough but finish in 90 seconds once you see the trick. A time-speed-distance question with three moving bodies can be well within syllabus and still eat four minutes. When you review your QA paper, sort your skipped questions into these two buckets. The first bucket tells you about concept gaps; the second tells you about selection.

High-Frequency QA Sub-Topics

Sub-Topic	Why It Matters
Percentages, profit and loss	Appear in almost every slot and are usually quick to solve
Ratio, mixtures and averages	Frequent and scoring, though some take longer to calculate
Time-speed-distance and time and work	Common in recent papers; often framed as word problems
Equations, inequalities and functions	The core of the Algebra block and often TITA
Logarithms and progressions	Short questions that reward formula fluency
Triangles and circles	The most common Geometry areas in CAT

QA Questions to Target First

• Single-concept Arithmetic questions on percentages, ratios and averages
• TITA questions you can solve fully, since a wrong TITA answer carries no penalty
• Short Algebra questions on logarithms or progressions that need one formula

Good Attempts in QA: CAT 2026 Slot 1

Attempts	Accuracy	Approximate Net Score
14	85%	34
12	85%	29
10	85%	24
8	85%	19

Expert Verdict on QA

Clear the Arithmetic block first, then pick the Algebra questions with a clear entry point. Leave long Geometry questions for the last few minutes. In recent CATs, non-engineers who secure the Arithmetic questions with high accuracy hold their own against engineers who attempt more but make more mistakes.

Check CAT 2026 Answer Key & Response Sheet by SuperGrads

CAT 2026 Slot 1 Question Paper Analysis: MCQ vs TITA Split

In any CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis, the MCQ-to-TITA ratio deserves attention for two reasons: it affects how much negative marking you're exposed to, and it changes how far a raw-score estimate can be trusted, since TITA answers are harder to recall exactly after the exam.

Recent CAT slots carry roughly 21 to 23 TITA questions out of 68. In VARC, the TITA questions are usually the para jumbles and odd-sentence-out questions, three to four in all. DILR and QA carry the rest, and in both sections TITA questions tend to be the ones that need a full calculation rather than option elimination.

CAT 2026 Slot 1 Good Attempts: Section-Wise and Overall

Good attempts in CAT 2026 Slot 1, based on recent CAT papers, are around 14 to 17 in VARC, 9 to 12 in DILR and 11 to 14 in QA, for an overall range of 35 to 42. Good attempts refer to the number of questions a well-prepared student can attempt within the 40-minute sectional limit at about 80 to 90 percent accuracy. They are a benchmark for judging your performance, not an attempt target.

Section	Good Attempts	Approximate Net Score at That Level
VARC	14–17	31–40
DILR	9–12	23–31
QA	11–14	26–34
Overall	35–42	80–105

Read "Good Attempts" Figures Carefully

After CAT 2025, different websites published good-attempt figures for the same slot that looked wildly apart. Part of the reason was simple: some reported total attempts, while others reported net correct answers. Those are not the same number. Fourteen attempts at 85 percent accuracy is about 12 correct answers.

The figures in this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis are attempts, at the accuracy level stated in each section's table. Before you compare yourself with any analysis, including this one, check which of the two the publisher means.

CAT 2026 Slot 1 Expected Score vs Percentile

In recent CAT years, a raw score of roughly 80 to 100 corresponds to the 99th percentile, about 55 to 70 to the 95th percentile and about 42 to 55 to the 90th percentile. The estimates in our CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis are built from these past score trends and the expected difficulty of the paper. Final percentiles are computed after normalisation across all three slots, so treat this table as a range, not a guarantee.

Overall Percentile	Approximate Overall Raw Score (Recent Trend)
99.5+	95–110
99	80–100
98	70–85
95	55–70
90	42–55
85	35–45
80	30–38

For a personalised estimate based on your own section-wise scores, use our CAT percentile predictor. Once the response sheet is out, you can replace your memory-based score with the exact one.

Use the FREE CAT Percentile Predictor by SuperGrads

CAT 2026 Slot 1 Analysis vs CAT 2025 Slot 1: What Changes?

Parameter	CAT 2026 Slot 1 (Pattern and Trend)	CAT 2025 Slot 1
Overall difficulty	Moderate to moderately difficult	Moderate to moderately difficult
Total questions	68	68
Questions per section (VARC / DILR / QA)	24 / 22 / 22	24 / 22 / 22
TITA questions	Around 21–23	21–23 across slots
Number of RC passages	4	4
Largest QA area	Arithmetic	Arithmetic
Toughest section	DILR	DILR

The CAT structure barely moves from one year to the next. What changes is the mix inside each section: the number of VA questions of each type, the size of DILR sets, and how much of QA comes from Algebra versus Arithmetic. Those shifts matter more for strategy than the headline difficulty rating.

Want the full picture of last year's paper? Read our CAT 2025 question paper and slot-wise analysis.

Student Reactions to CAT 2026 Slot 1

Alongside faculty ratings, student feedback is the second input to this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis. Reactions start coming in within minutes of the slot ending, and we add paraphrased student feedback here as it arrives.

When you read reactions, look for specific details rather than emotion. "The second DILR set looked easy but had a hidden constraint in the last line" tells you far more than "DILR was tough." Specific feedback from several students is a better guide to the paper than a single loud opinion.

Does the Slot 1 Difficulty Level Affect Your Percentile?

No, not directly. CAT is held in three slots with different question papers, and raw scores from each slot go through a normalisation process before percentiles are calculated. If Slot 1 is tougher than the other slots, the same raw score is generally worth more after normalisation. What decides your percentile is how you perform relative to others who face comparable difficulty.

If there's one point from this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis we wish more students understood on exam day, it's this. Comparing your raw score with a friend from Slot 3 tells you very little. A 70 in a hard slot and a 70 in an easier slot are not the same performance, and the normalisation exists precisely to correct for that.

What you can control is how accurately you estimate your own raw score. Which brings us to the next step.

How to Calculate Your CAT 2026 Slot 1 Score

To calculate your CAT 2026 Slot 1 score, wait for the official response sheet and provisional answer key on the CAT website, then count correct and incorrect answers section-wise. Apply the marking scheme to MCQs and TITA questions separately, add the three sectional net scores, and compare the totals with the score vs percentile table in this CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis. Memory-based estimates made on exam day are usually off by several marks.

1. Write down what you remember on exam day. Note which RC passages, DILR sets and QA topics you attempt, and which answers you're sure about. This helps you cross-check the response sheet later.
2. Wait for the response sheet. It usually comes out in the first week of December. Our CAT 2026 answer key and response sheet page carries the link as soon as it's live.
3. Score MCQs and TITA separately. The two follow different negative-marking rules, so mixing them inflates or deflates your estimate.
4. Calculate section-wise, not just overall. IIMs apply sectional cut-offs. An overall 99 percentile with one weak section can still miss shortlists.
5. Use the score vs percentile table as a range. Map your total to the estimates above, then adjust once normalised scores are out with the result.

Expected CAT 2026 Cut-Offs Based on Slot 1 Analysis

Expected CAT 2026 cut-offs become clearer after all three slots, but the CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis gives an early indication. In recent admission cycles, the older IIMs send most interview calls to General category candidates at the 98 to 99+ percentile, with strong sectional scores. Newer IIMs and top non-IIM B-schools typically call candidates in the 90 to 98 percentile range. Actual shortlists also weigh academics, work experience and diversity factors.

Institute	Typical Overall Percentile for a Call (General, Recent Trend)
IIM Ahmedabad	99+
IIM Bangalore	99+
IIM Calcutta	99+
IIM Lucknow	98.5–99+
IIM Kozhikode	97–99
IIM Indore	97–99
FMS Delhi	98+
MDI Gurgaon	95–97
Newer IIMs	90–96

These are indicative ranges, not official figures. The IIMs publish their own shortlisting criteria, and a percentile above a "cut-off" doesn't guarantee a call. Our detailed CAT cut-off for IIMs page covers category-wise and institute-wise figures.

Check CAT 2026 Cut-Offs for IIMs & Top B-Schools by SuperGrads

What Slot 2 and Slot 3 Candidates Should Take From This

If you're writing CAT 2026 Slot 2 or Slot 3, don't change your strategy based on the CAT 2026 Slot 1 analysis. Each slot has a different question paper, and the difficulty can swing in either direction. Stick to the sectional plan you practised in mocks, spend the first minutes of each section scanning for doable questions, and judge difficulty inside the exam, not from what you read between slots.

The temptation is real. You read that Slot 1 DILR is brutal, and you walk in planning to attempt fewer sets. Then your DILR turns out to be friendly, and you've already talked yourself into a conservative target. We see this happen every year.

Use the Slot 1 analysis for one narrow purpose: knowing which question types are in play. If a new VA type shows up in Slot 1, it may well appear later in the day too, and it helps to know how to approach it. Beyond that, close the tab and rest.

Our CAT 2026 Slot 2 and Slot 3 analyses go live after each session ends.

Common Mistakes Students Make After Reading a CAT Slot Analysis

• Treating good attempts as a pass mark. If you attempt fewer than the good-attempts figure but with near-perfect accuracy, your score can still be competitive. Accuracy and attempts work together.
• Trusting your memory of answers. Students tend to remember the questions they felt confident about and forget the ones they guessed. Exam-day score estimates are usually optimistic. Wait for the response sheet.
• Judging the slot by social media in the first hour. The loudest reactions come from students who had a bad section. They aren't a representative sample.
• Ignoring sectional performance. A strong overall score with a weak section can block shortlists. Look at the sectional tables above, not just the overall one.
• Stopping preparation entirely. If other MBA entrance exams or interview rounds are still ahead of you, the week after CAT is when momentum is easiest to lose.

What to Do After CAT 2026 Slot 1

Once the exam is behind you, what happens next is a fairly predictable sequence:

Event	Expected Timeline
Response sheet and provisional answer key	First week of December 2026 (tentative)
Objection window	2–3 days after the provisional key
Final answer key	Before the result
CAT 2026 result	First week of January 2027 (tentative)
IIM shortlists	From January 2027 onwards

Between the exam and the result, two things are worth your time. First, if you're writing other MBA entrance exams, switch to their pattern. Second, start building your WAT-PI preparation early: reading for current affairs, revisiting your academic subjects, and drafting honest answers to "Why MBA?" Students who start interview prep only after shortlists arrive usually feel rushed.

When results are announced, the scorecard is available on the official CAT website, and our result coverage explains the steps to download it.