CAT 2020 Analysis

CAT 2020 Analysis and Expected Cutoff

CAT 2020 has been conducted smoothly on 29th November and the pattern for CAT 2020 is revealed here. CAT 2020 Slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3 detailed Analysis and Expected cutoff.

(Note:- All these are approximate percentiles and not released by IIM. Actual percentile could vary.)

CAT 2020 Detailed Analysis:-

CAT 2020 First review:-

CAT 2020 Pattern in Slot 1

Key Points of CAT 2020 :-

1. Total Questions:- 76
2. Total marks:- 228
3. Marks for correct answer:- 3 marks
4. Negative marking:- -1 for MCQ’s and 0 for Non MCQ’s.

Big change in CAT 2020 exam:-

Well, this answers all the questions. Number of Questions have been decreased in each section. Verbal part, similar to last year was quite difficult with more weightage given to RC section with 18 questions of RC in total. 8 were Verbal Ability questions .

CAT 2020 Slot 1 Analysis:-

18 were RC Questions.

DI 1 set, Quant based 1 set, Venn Diagrams 1 set, 4d 1 set. Total of 6 sets were there with total questions as 24. 6 were Non MCQ Questions.

Quant was quite easier. Arithmetic Questions were easy. 8 Questions for algebra. 8 were Non MCQ Questions.

Mostly if we talk about overall CAT 2020, so it was much of a medium difficult exam. VARC was quite on a difficult side, LRDI was moderate. 2 sets were quite easy and others were moderately difficult. In Quant part, Arithmetic Questions are comparitively easier and major change which is seen in CAT 2020 exam in slot 1 was that Algebra had a good number of questions(8 to be precise) and geometry questions were not there.

Average attempts in CAT 2020:-

Good attempts : VARC – 18-20 , DILR – 14-18 ,Quant – 17-21

CAT 2020 Sectionwise Analysis

CAT 2020 VARC Analysis:-

VARC was tricky. RC’s were long but quite solvable. There were a total of 26 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.

6 questions were Non-MCQs (all in Verbal). The RC passages were around 550-600 words each. They were lengthy and consumed time of the students.

Verbal Ability was quite easier, as usual. Para Summary had short answers; and the options were tricky. Summary questions had very close options. Para Jumbles were of a higher level of difficulty.

CAT 2020 Quant Analysis:–

As expected, the QA section of CAT 2020 was similar to that of CAT 2019, in terms of LOD. It had 26 short questions to be attempted in 40 minutes. The section had 6 non-MCQs. More focus was on Arithmetic and Algebra. Logarithms questions were also there. Number system and modern maths had a very minimal role to play.

CAT 2020 LRDI Analysis:-

The DILR section had 24 questions distributed across 5 sets (6+6+4+4+4). Again, the number of non-MCQs was 6. 3 Sets were manageable. Venn diagram and the set on cab driver was easy. Table set was somewhat difficult. There were 2 sets with 6 questions, and 3 sets with 4 questions each.

CAT 2020 Slot 2 Analysis:-

Slot 2 was moslty same as slot 1. VARC was quite on the trickier side. LRDI was moderately difficult. Quant was on the easier side. Geometry Questions were quite difficult but otherwise it was overall easy.

Percentile and cutoff is going to be quite increased this year.

CAT 2020 Pattern in Slot 1

Section	No. of Questions	Time Limit	Difficulty level	MCQ’s and Non MCQ’s
VARC	26( 18 RC, 5 Parajumbles, 3 para summary)	40	Medium- Difficult	5 TITA Questions of VA
LRDI	24	40	Medium-Difficult	6 TITA Questions
Quant	26(8 Algebra, Arithmetic and Geometry, Logarithms, Time and work)	40	Easy-Medium	8 TITA Questions

Key Points in CAT 2020 Slot 2:-

1. VARC was tough. Verbal Ability Questions were easier. RC’s were lengthy.
2. DILR was a little tough than slot 1
3. Quant was on the easier side. More weightage on Arithmetic and Algebra this year.
4. TITA Questions were staggered in Quant section.

CAT 2020 Slot 2 pattern

Section	No. of Questions	Time Limit	Difficulty level	MCQ’s and Non MCQ’s
VARC	26( 18 RC, 5 Parajumbles, 3 para summary)	40	Medium- Difficult	5 TITA Questions of VA
LRDI	24	40	Medium-Difficult	6 TITA Questions
Quant	26(8 Algebra, Arithmetic and Geometry, Logarithms, Time and work)	40	Easy-Medium	8 TITA Questions

CAT 2020 Slot 3 Analysis:-

Slot 3 was also similar to previous ones. The difficulty level was moderate. VARC was on similar to slot 1. Quant was also similar. The pattern remained the same in all the sections.

CAT 2020 Analysis:-

There are many changes in CAT 2020 as compared to last year.

Key changes in CAT 2020:–

1. CAT 2020 Exam duration is changed to 2 hours from earlier 3 hours
2. CAT exam 2020 will be conducted in three separate sessions on same day instead of two sessions
3. Exam is Divided into three sections: VARC; DILR; Quant
4. 40 Minutes will be allotted to attempt each section instead of earlier 60 minutes
5. You cannot move to other section till the time limit for the present section you are attempting is over.  
6. CAT 2020 Exam will have reduced number of Questions divided into MCQs and Non-MCQ type questions
7. MCQs have negative marking for wrong answer and Non-MCQs do not carry penalty of negative marking
8. Questions with negative marking (MCQs) are 70 to 75%
9. 4 answer options for MCQ type questions, click on correct answer option
10. Questions without negative marking (Non-MCQs) are 25 to 30%
11. Answer must be typed in the given space on computer screen for Non-MCQ.
12. Score awarded for each correct answer: 3 marks
13. Negative marking (Applicable for  wrong answers in MCQs): -1 mark
14. Fixed order of sections to move beginning with VARC

Timings for CAT 2020:-

CAT 2020 is divided in 3 slots and the duration is 2 hours for one slot.

1. Slot 1:- 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
2. Slot 2:- 12:30 PM- 2:30 PM
3. Slot 3:- 4:30 PM- 6:30PM

Let’s understand what CAT 2019 was like and how it was different from 2020:-

CAT 2019 Analysis

CAT 2019 happened in 2 slots(Morning and evening slot). The overall exam difficulty level has remained easy as compared to last two years of CAT exam.

Key points were:-

1. Total Questions: 100 (Divided into MCQs and Non MCQs)
2. Total Sections: 3 (VARC, DILR, QA)
3. Time to attempt CAT 2019 exam: 3 Hours
4. Sectional Time Limit: 1 Hour for each section
5. Maximum Score: 300 Marks
6. Marks for Each Correct Answer: +3
7. Negative Marks: -1 for each wrong answer (Only for MCQs)
8. No Negative Marking for wrong answers for Non-MCQs
9. Overall CAT Difficulty Level: Moderate to Difficult
10. DILR found a bit tricky

SECTIONS	Total Questions	Difficulty level	Cutoff marks for 99 percentile
VARC	34	Moderate-Difficult	67-68
LRDI	32	Moderate-Difficult	47-48
Quant	34	Easy-Moderate	54-56
Total cutoff			160

Number of MCQ’s and Non MCQ’s

Section	MCQ’s	Non MCQ’s
VARC	27	7
LRDI	24	8
Quant	23	11