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NIFT 2018 Question Paper (GAT & CAT): Section-Wise Breakdown, Answers & Free PDF
September 7, 2026
The NIFT 2018 question paper for B.Des had two parts. The GAT (General Ability Test) carried 100 objective questions across five sections - Analytical Ability (15), Communication Ability (25), Quantitative Ability (20), English Comprehension (25) and GK & Current Affairs (15).
The CAT (Creative Ability Test) was a paper-based drawing test with three questions worth 100 marks: a step-by-step process illustration, a themed bag design, and an abstract 'personality through a geometric shape' task. Verbal ability (Communication + Comprehension) made up about half of the GAT - the single most important thing this paper reveals.
NIFT 2018 Question Paper PDF Download (GAT + CAT with Answer Key)
Download the full NIFT 2018 question paper with solutions PDF - (CAT + GAT), from the direct links below.
| NIFT 2018 Question Paper PDF (B.Des) | Download Link |
|---|---|
| NIFT 2018 question paper with answers pdf - GAT | |
|
NIFT 2018 question paper pdf (SOLVED) free download - CAT |
Note: These are authentic practice papers. For the official booklets and any released keys, always cross-check the NIFT / NTA websites.
Looking for other past papers? Browse every year on our NIFT previous year question papers hub. Also check Get NIFT CAT Papers with Solutions for sample drawing questions for practice.
Key Highlights- NIFT 2018 Question Paper
- Two papers, 200 marks total: GAT (100 objective marks) and CAT (100 drawing/subjective marks) for B.Des.
- Verbal Ability majority section: Communication Ability + English Comprehension together were 50 of 100 GAT questions in 2018.
- CAT was predictable: a process/sequential sketch, a product-design sketch, and a concept sketch - a pattern that repeats in later years.
- GK answers are dated: the 2018 GK section had 2017 current affairs. Use it to learn the question style
- The exam is now NTA-conducted. The 2018 paper is still excellent practice, but confirm the latest NIFT exam pattern before your attempt.
If you are preparing for NIFT 2027 or 2028, the NIFT 2018 question paper is one of the most useful study material to have. Not because you will see the same questions again, but because a real past paper shows you exactly how NIFT thinks- which skills it gives most weightage to, how the drawing or design questions are framed, and where students quietly lose marks.
Below you'll find the full NIFT question paper 2018 - analyzed section by section for both GAT and CAT, an answer key for the objective GAT paper. Also find a realistic comparison with NIFT 2019 question paper and the latest completed NIFT 2026 question paper on various parameters. Plus, get a practical plan on how to turn this paper into a score for future attempts.
What Is in the NIFT 2018 Question Paper? (GAT + CAT at a Glance)
NIFT exam is designed in a way that it tests two different things through the exam’s two sections in all design aspirants:
- Sharp reasoning under time pressure
- Original ideas and visual thinking skills
Here is what the structure of the NIFT 2018 question paper for B.Des looked like:
|
Paper |
What it tested |
Mode |
Questions |
Marks |
Duration |
|
GAT (General Ability Test) |
Reasoning, English, maths, general awareness |
Objective (MCQ) |
100 |
100 |
2 hours |
|
CAT (Creative Ability Test) |
Drawing, imagination, design thinking |
Paper-based sketching |
3 |
100 |
3 hours |
Duration and marking are indicative of the 2018 B.Des paper. Always verify the official pattern for your cycle/year on the NIFT exam pattern page.
While GAT requires focus on speed and accuracy, CAT rewards ideas and clean execution.
Most students over-prepare one section and under prepare the other, and it costs them in overall marking.
If you are still unsure how the two differ, and how to balance your prep between them- read our short guide on the difference between CAT and GAT for NIFT before you create a study plan.
NIFT 2018 GAT Question Paper: Section-Wise Breakdown and Weightage
This is real breakdown that will actually help you make the best use of the 2018 NIFT paper. The 100 questions in GAT was split across five section, check the table below to understand each section’s weightage - it tells you where to spend your study hours.
Section weightage as it appeared in the NIFT 2018 GAT B.Des paper:
|
Section |
Questions |
Share of GAT |
What it covered in 2018 |
|
Analytical Ability |
15 |
15% |
Number series, odd-one-out, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogisms |
|
Communication Ability |
25 |
25% |
Synonyms, antonyms, sentence completion, spellings, error-spotting, para-jumbles, cloze passages |
|
Quantitative Ability |
20 |
20% |
Simple & compound interest, ratio, profit & loss, mensuration, time & work, ages, trains, mixtures |
|
English Comprehension |
25 |
25% |
Five reading passages (literary + analytical prose) with inference and vocabulary questions |
|
GK & Current Affairs |
15 |
15% |
Static GK plus 2017-era current affairs (sports, awards, polity, science) |
|
Total |
100 |
100% |
— |
What to Takeaway from this?
NIFT Communication Ability (25) and English Comprehension (25) together are half the GAT. If your English is strong and fast, you have already banked 50 marks before touching a single Maths question. This teaches you how to play on your strengths.
This is why strong readers often outperform those who bank on maths in NIFT. Build a daily reading habit - it is the highest-return preparation you can do.
What Kind of Questions Actually Appeared in GAT?
Following are a few sample questions asked in the NIFT question paper 2018 from each GAT section:
Analytical and Logical Reasoning
Q.1. If in a code language “SUDHA” is written as “UWFJC” then how “RAM” will be written in the same code language?
- AMR b) TCO c) SCN d) TCN
Ans: D
Q.2. Read the following information and answers the questions given below.
- P, Q, R, S, T and U are six members in a family in which there are two married couple.
- T, a teacher is married to the doctor who is mother of R and U.
- Q the lawyer is married to P.
- P has one son and one grandson.
- Of the two married ladies one is a housewife.
- There is also one student and one male engineer in the family.
How R is related to U?
a) Brother b) Sister c) Brother or Sister d) Data inadequate
Ans: C
How is P related to U?
Grandfather b) Mother c) Grandmother d) Data inadequate
Ans: C
Who is doctor?
a) P b) S c) R d) Data inadequate
Ans: B
Who among the following is the housewife?
a) Q b) P c) T d) Data inadequate
Ans: B
Communication Ability:
Q.1. In each of the following questions, out of the given alternatives, choose the one which best express the meaning of the given word - ZEAL
a) Slow b) Sober c) Enthusiasm d) Simplicity
Ans: C
Q.2. In the following questions the first and the last sentence of passage are 1 and 6. The rest of the passage is split into four parts and are named P, Q, R, and S. These four parts are not given in their proper order. Read the passage and find out which of the four combinations is correct. Then find the correct answer.
- 1: There is fashion now-a-days
- P: as an evil
- Q : who is born with a silver spoon
- R : to bewail poverty
- S : and to pity the young man
- 6: in his mouth
a) PSQR b) RSQP c) RPSQ d) SQPR
Ans: B
Quantitative Aptitude:
Q.1. If a sum of money doubles itself in 8 yr at simple interest, then the rate of interest per annum is
a) 11.5 b) 12.0 c) 12.5 d) 13.0
Ans: C
Q.2. If the diameter of a cylinder is 20 cm and its height is 20 cm, then the surface area (in cm2 ) is
a) 1256 b) 1884 c) 1570 d) 1804
Ans: B
Q.3. A contractor agreeing to finish a work in 150 days employed 75 men, each working for 8 h daily. After 90 days only of the work was completed. How many more men would be put on now, each working 10 h daily so as to finish the work in the stipulated time?
a) 225 b) 75 c) 150 d) 300
Ans: A
Reading Comprehension:
Passage: The Indian middle class consist of so many strata that it defies categorization under a single term class, which would imply a considerable degree of homogeneity. Yet two paradoxical features characterize its conduct fairly uniformly; extensive practice and intensive abhorrence of corruption. In the several recent surveys of popular perceptions of corruptions, politicians of course invariably and understandably top the list, closely followed by bureaucrats, policemen, lawyers, businessmen and others like the quintessential middle class. If teachers do not figure high on this priority list, it is not for lack of trying, but for lack of opportunities. Over the years, the sense of shock over acts of corruption in the middle class has witnessed a steady decline, as its ambitions for a better material life have soared but the resources for meeting such ambitions have not kept pace. What is fascinating, however, is the intense yearning of this class for a clean corruptionless politics and society, a yearning that has again and again surfaced with any figure public or obscure, focus on his mission of eradicating corruption. Even the repeated failure of this promise on virtually every man's part has not subjected it to the law of diminishing returns.
The Middle Class intensely yearns for
a) better material resources b) extensive practice of corruption c) clean, honest society d) law of increasing returns
Ans: C
This yearning, over the years, has
a) Persisted b) soared c) declined d) disappeared
Ans: B
GK:
Q.1. Ms. Medha Patkar is associated with the
a) Tehri project b) Enron project c) Sardar Sarovar project d) Dabhol project
Ans: C
Q.2. The only Indian to win the Nobel prize in physics is
a) Dr. J.C. Bose b) Dr. C. V. Raman c) Dr. Vickram Sarabhai d) Dr. H. J. Bhabha
Ans: B
Q.3. Raja Ravi Verma, was famous in which of the fields?
a) Painting b) Politics c) Dance d) Music
Ans: A
Q.4. Hundred year war was fought between?
a) France and England b) Greek and Persian forces c) Civil war in England d) None of the above
Ans: A
Want targeted subject-wise questions? Practice from our focused sets- NIFT Maths questions for quantitative aptitude practice and GK questions for the NIFT exam for NIFT type general awareness practice and the full GAT preparation for NIFT guide for complete aptitude strategy.
NIFT 2018 CAT Question Paper: What Was Asked in All 3 Questions
Students who don’t make use of NIFT previous year question papers or have never seen how the questions are phrased, usually struggle in CAT paper.
The 2018 CAT had exactly three questions, and each one tested a different creative muscle.
|
Q |
Task (2018) |
Marks |
Skill being tested |
|
1 |
Show a procedure in four steps - e.g. placing a bulb on a holder, or folding paper into a boat |
30 |
Sequential thinking & clear visual storytelling |
|
2 |
Design and illustrate in colour a bag for a theme - Wedding, Picnic or Shopping |
30 |
Product design, rendering & theme interpretation |
|
3 |
Depict your personality through a geometric shape; give it a one-word title |
40 |
Abstract concept, self-expression & colour reasoning |
For full drawn solutions, click the button below:
Several students found Question 3 the hardest because there is no ‘right’ answer - you have to think of an idea about yourself and represent it in shapes and color and back it with a short rationale.
Faculty tip: In NIFT CAT, examiners look for ideas and clarity far more than hyper-realistic drawings.
A simple and confidently-drawn concept with a valuable and explainable thought behind it will always fetch more marks than a beautifully drawn sketch with no story. If you have ever thought "I can't draw well enough for NIFT" - this is how you start.
Learn to think on paper first, fine tuning how to draw and represent it best comes next.
For focused CAT practice, work through our NIFT drawing questions.
NIFT 2018 vs 2019 Question Paper: What Changed and What Stayed the Same
Comparing papers side by side can reveal patterns you can take advantage of while curating a solid NIFT 2027 preparation strategy. Here is how 2018 compares with 2019 and the latest completed cycle (2026).
|
Element |
NIFT 2018 |
NIFT 2019 |
Latest completed cycle |
|
GAT structure |
5 sections, 100 Qs (verbal-heavy) |
Same 5 skill areas; higher number of comprehension passages |
Same 5 skill areas; more leaned towards vocabulary & grammar |
|
Verbal share (Comm. + Comp.) |
~50% |
~50% - still the largest block |
40 questions out of 100 |
|
CAT - number of questions |
3 (30 / 30 / 40) |
3 (30 / 30 / 40) |
3 (30 / 30 / 40) |
|
CAT - recurring task types |
4-step sequential drawing |
Futuristic product ("in 2050") |
Product for different users using given shapes |
|
theme-based product |
shape-based design |
Theme-based scene creation |
|
|
abstract concept |
4-stage sequence |
Object transformation & use |
|
|
GK & Current Affairs |
2017-era events |
2017-18 era events (FIFA U-17, GST rollout, Nobel) |
Fashion, art & culture heavy; most of the static GK was directly/indirectly related to fashion/architecture/materials |
The takeaway is reassuring-
The shape of the exam has been stable. A process/sequence sketch, a product-design sketch and a conceptual sketch reappear year after year, in the different forms as new prompts (a bag in one year, a "2050 lunch box" in the next).
The NIFT GAT section keeps rewarding readers. What actually change each year is the current-affairs content and it’s weightage in total GK. That’s why you should never memorize GK section from old papers. Rather use PYQs to understand the types of questions + level of difficulty & to identify commonly occurring themes.
Compare more recent years on the NIFT 2024 question paper and across the full previous year papers collection.
Which Topics Repeat Every Year in the NIFT Question Paper?
Based on the 2018 and 2019 papers, these are the concepts that show up again and again - the ones worth mastering first:
GAT - Quant: percentages, ratio & proportion, profit & loss, simple & compound interest, time & work, averages. Highly repeatable and formula-driven.
GAT - Analytical: number series, coding-decoding, odd-one-out, analogies, direction sense, and at least one syllogism.
GAT - Verbal: spellings, synonyms/antonyms, error-spotting and long inference-based reading passages.
CAT - recurring formats: "show this in 4 steps/stages", "design this object", and "express an idea/personality visually".
If you have limited time to prepare, consider the above list as your syllabus. Go deeper with our breakdown of the most important topics for NIFT.
How to Use the NIFT 2018 Question Paper in Your 2027 Preparation
It’s easy to download a past year paper, but using it well is what separates the ones who crack the exam from the rest. Here is a simple, proven way to best put the NIFT 2018 sample question and answers to use:
1. First attempt - full timed mock
Sit to solve NIFT 2018 paper of GAT in one 2-hour block, no phone, no breaks. This tells you your real starting score and, more importantly, your speed.
2. Analyze, don't just check
For every wrong answer, ask yourself ‘why’- silly error, concept gap, or ran out of time. Your mistake patterns will guide your study plan.
3. Rebuild weak sections
Weak at interest problems? Practice that one topic for a week, then re-attempt only those questions to check for improved speed + accuracy.
4. Treat CAT like a brief
Give yourself the exact time limit like a real exam, pick one question, and sketch. Then ask a mentor for feedback - on the idea, not just the neatness.
5. Re-attempt the same paper after four weeks
If your score jumps, your method is working; if not, your analysis step is too shallow.
Starting your preparation? Our how to prepare for the NIFT entrance exam guide lays out a full timeline.
Not sure how to fix your weak sections? Sit in on a free live demo class with a NIFT mentor and get a personalized study plan. WhatsApp us @8889633222
Common Mistakes Students Make with NIFT Previous Year Papers
1. Memorizing the GK section
The 2018 answers are 2017-era. Learning them cold wastes time and teaches nothing about the current exam.
2. Solving untimed
A paper solved without a clock hides your biggest problem in NIFT - speed. Always time it.
3. Skipping CAT "because it can't be practiced"
It absolutely can. Practicing prompts builds idea-speed, which is the real bottleneck on exam day.
4. Ignoring negative marking behavior
The current GAT penalizes wrong answers, so practice disciplined guessing, not blind attempts.
5. Never reviewing
Doing 10 papers with no analysis is worse than doing 3 papers properly.
See where you actually stand. Attempt a full-length NIFT GAT mock built on the latest pattern and get a section-wise score in minutes- Take a Free NIFT Mock Test
Is the NIFT 2018 Paper Still Relevant for the 2027 Exam?
Yes, the NIFT question paper 2018 remains a good resource for practice because the types of questions and skills the exam tests have stayed largely consistent - reasoning, verbal ability, core maths and creative sketching are still the four major sections, and it’s expected to remain the same in 2027/28 as well.
What has changed-
The NIFT entrance exam is now conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on behalf of NIFT. The exam pattern details such as number of questions, weightage distribution across all stages of selection (GAT, CAT, Situation Test), and marking scheme may or may not be revised in any cycle.
So, you should use the 2018 paper for the purpose of building required skills and familiarity with the exam, but always confirm the latest exam structure via official notification or NIFT exam pattern and NIFT syllabus.
NIFT Last 10 Years Question Papers with Solution PDF Download Free (Year-Wise Papers & Their Deep Analysis)
| NIFT 2023 Question Paper | |||
| NIFT 2022 Question Paper | NIFT 2019 Question Paper |
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Vineeta Agrawal
Communications Executive
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