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CAT Exam Pattern 2025: Check Marking Scheme & Weightage Distribution Structure

Author : Lalita Vishwakarma

November 29, 2024

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Overview: The CAT exam 2025, scheduled for November 24, will be conducted in an online mode. The CAT exam pattern 2025 is expected to remain the same as last year, benefiting aspirants already preparing. Read on to know the exam structure.

  • The CAT 2025 exam pattern will consist of both MCQ-type questions and non-MCQ-type questions in all three sections: QA, DILR, and VARC.
  • Each section of the CAT 2025 exam pattern has allotted a sectional timing of 40 minutes.
  • The total number of questions for the 2025 CAT exam will be 66.

Let's proceed further in this blog to gain a detailed understanding of the CAT exam pattern 2025 by learning the total number of questions in each section and the time duration and marking scheme.

CAT Exam Pattern 2025? Overview

The CAT exam paper pattern is meticulously designed to evaluate candidates comprehensively, assessing their aptitude from all angles.

The format of the CAT paper pattern is a two-hour session that includes a mix of multiple-choice and non-multiple-choice questions, totaling 66 questions, mirroring the structure from the CAT entrance exam 2025.

This year's CAT is expected to maintain the same format despite historical changes. The CAT paper pattern is divided into three main sections:

  • Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
  • Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
  • Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

Download QA Sample Questions for CAT Exam

CAT Exam Sections Number of Questions Weightage (Marks)
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) 24 72
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) 20 60
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) 22 66

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Overview of Expected CAT Exam Pattern 2025

The highlights of the CAT paper pattern are as follows:

CAT Paper Pattern 2025
Mode of CAT exam  Computer Based Test
Duration of exam 120 minutes (40 minutes per section)
Number of questions 66 
Total marks 198
Medium of question paper English
Number of Sections  3
Number of answer choices 4
Marking Scheme + 3 for every correct answer
-1 for every wrong answer
0 for unattempted question
Sections
  • VARC
  • DILR
  • QA
Question Type MCQ and non-MCQ
Boost Your Preparation for CAT and OMETs

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Previous Year’s Question for CAT 

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Full Preparation Pack for CAT & OMETs 2025 

Download CAT QA Section Daily Study Plan

Note* The CAT exam pattern pdf is not available officially; you can analyze the CAT entrance exam pattern and syllabus from the CAT previous year's papers.

Check Here: Direct Link to Download CAT 2025 Admit Card

CAT Exam Pattern 2025: Section-Wise Marks Distribution

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a competitive exam conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for admission into their MBA programs. Expected Section-wise CAT paper pattern 2025 details are tabulated below:

CAT Exam Sections Total No. of Questions MCQs Marks Duration
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) 24 21 72 40 min
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR) 20 14 60 40 min
Quantitative Ability (QA) 22 14 66 40 min
Total 66 49 198 120 (2 hours)

Last year, in 2023, the CAT Exam slot timing was divided into three slots of two hours each.

  • Morning (8:30 – 10:30 am)
  • Afternoon (12:30 – 2:30 pm)
  • Evening (4:30 – 6:30 pm). 

The exam is highly difficult and requires a good knowledge of the CAT exam syllabus and the ability to solve complex problems.

Checkout | How Many Times CAT Exam is Conducted in a Year

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CAT Exam Pattern 2025 - Marking Scheme

Before taking the test, it's critical to understand the CAT marking scheme to decide which questions to answer and which to skip. In the CAT paper pattern details, the marking scheme incorporates negative marking specifically for the multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and not for TITA questions.

Below are the essential details about the CAT 2025 exam pattern and marks:

  • Total Marks for CAT 2025: 198 marks 
  • Marks for Correct Answer: + 3 marks.
  • Negative Marking in CAT Exam: -1 mark will be deducted for every wrong MCQ answer.
  • Unanswered Questions: No marks will be deducted for skipped questions.

Note* Non-MCQ questions will not be subject to negative marking.

CAT Exam Pattern PDF 2025

You must know that none of the IIMs or any recognized body releases the official CAT 2025 exam pattern PDF on their websites.

Below is the detailed CAT 2025 exam pattern PDF explained to you with the CAT exam syllabus:

CAT Exam Pattern 2025 - Quantitative Aptitude 

The CAT Quantitative Aptitude exam includes only numerical-based questions from various Mathematical concepts. This year, it is expected that there will be a total of 26 questions in this section divided in the following format:

Section Total No. of Questions MCQs Marks Duration
Quantitative Ability (QA) 22 14 66 40 min

The quantitative aptitude section's detailed pattern is provided below: The five primary topics that make up the entire quantitative aptitude section CAT 2025 exam pattern:

  • Basic Arithmetic
  • Algebra
  • Number System
  • Geometry & Mensuration
  • Modern Maths

The table below gives the number of Quantitative Ability questions asked per slot based on the four broadly classified areas of QA: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Modern Math, and Number Theory. 

CAT Exam Paper Pattern 2025 - Slot/Topic  Arithmetic  Algebra  Geometry  Modern Math and Number Theory 
Slot 1 
Slot 2 
Slot 3  11 

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Check: CAT Exam Preparation Books 2025

CAT Exam Pattern 2025 - Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

The CAT VARC section tests your English language skills and ability to interpret paragraphs and understand the core ideas. This tells us that you must focus on improving VARC section because of the standard questions it consists of.

This year's CAT exam will include 26 questions from the VA-RC section divided into the following format:

Sections Total No. of Questions MCQs Marks Duration
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) 24 21 72 40 min

The following are the major topics from which Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension questions are asked:

  • Para Jumbles
  • Sentence Correction and Completion
  • Summary Based

Download CAT Exam VARC Section Daily Study Plan

The reading comprehension passages and the verbal ability section each have their own questions. In CAT exam 2025, there will be around four passages in the reading comprehension segment, with four questions each to answer, for a total of 16 questions.

There will be around 8 verbal ability questions from para jumbles, paragraph completions, summaries, and odd sentences. The first and fourth topics were Type in the Answer or TITA, and the second and third were MCQs.

Learn More | How to improve reading comprehension for CAT Exam 2025?

Download Free VARC Sample Questions for CAT Exam

CAT Exam Pattern 2025 Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation (LRDI)

The logical reasoning and data interpretation component gauges how well you analyze data and comprehend logical premises. There will be 22–24 questions in this section altogether asked in this section divided in the following format:

Sections Total No. of Questions MCQs Marks Duration
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR) 20 14 60 40 min

CAT paper Pattern 2025 for Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation Pattern will include questions based on the following major topics: 

  • 4- 5 sets of questions, each with 5 questions.
  • 7-8 TITA-type questions from median values.
  • 15- 17 LR-based questions on inequalities, direction sense, symbol operations, etc. 

**Note: The detailed CAT Exam Pattern PDF has been uploaded to this blog. You can download and save it easily.

Slots/Sets  Set 1  Set 2  Set 3  Set 4 
Slot 1  Routes & Networks  Venn Diagram  Mathematical Reasoning  Games & Tournaments 
Slot 2  Routes & Networks  Venn Diagram  Tables & Graphs  Selection & Distribution 
Slot 3  Tables & Graphs  Arrangements  Tables & Graphs  Rank & Ordering 

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Learn More | What are the Benefits of CAT Exam for MBA

CAT Exam Pattern and Details: Changes Over the Years

There have been a lot of changes in the CAT exam paper pattern process in the past years.

From 2014 to 2019, the total number of CAT questions was 100, and the total marks for the CAT 2025 exam pattern were 300.

Later, it changed to 76 questions in 2020 and 66 from 2021 till now. Here is the CAT exam paper pattern and details over the years:

**Note: The detailed CAT 2025 Exam Pattern PDF has been uploaded to this blog. You can download and save it easily.

Download DILR Sample Questions for CAT Exam

CAT Exam Year Number of Questions in CAT Exam over the Years CAT Exam Time Duration Over the Years CAT Sections Over the Years
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

Conclusion

The CAT exam pattern 2025 is a comprehensive test that requires considerable preparation and practice. To score well, you must understand the exam format and the nature of the questions. 

Familiarize yourself with the CAT 2025 expected paper pattern and syllabus to maximize your chances of scoring high. 

With the right preparation and practice, you can ace the CAT exam and achieve your desired score. Again, the PDF of the CAT exam paper pattern has not been released from any official source.

Explore More | About CAT Exam Courses

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