CAT 2020 Analysis by TIME : Know Overall Difficulty Level and Number of Good Attempts

CAT 2020 was conducted today in three slots. The CAT question paper was more difficult than last year, VARC and DILR sections were difficult and QA was easy. Read CAT 2020 analysis by Mr Ramnath Kanakadandi.

CAT 2020 Analysis by T.I.M.E - The CAT exam was conducted today in three slots. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, special safety arrangements were made at every CAT exam centre. As per reports, the candidates faced no difficulty at the centres and the exam went smoothly. The analysis of CAT 2020 question papers of all three slots suggest that the exam was moderately difficult. According to CAT 2020 analysis by TIME, the overall difficulty level was moderate. VARC and DILR were tough, while QA was easy. Check detailed CAT 2020 paper analysis by T.I.M.E. expert.

CAT 2020 Analysis: Highlights

• CAT 2020 exam was conducted in three slots - morning, afternoon and evening
• The duration of exam was 120 minutes and the sectional time limit was 40 minutes
• The exam was conducted as per COVID-19 protocols and guidelines
• The total number of questions was same as previous years, i.e. 76
• VARC section had 26questions and maximum questions were from RC 
• DILR section had 24 questions from tables and charts
• QA section had 26 questions. This section was dominated by Number System, Algebra, Arithmatic, Modern Math and Geometry

CAT 2020 Exam Pattern

CAT 2020 Sections	Questions	Allotted Time
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)	26	40 minutes
Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation (LRDI)	24	40 minutes
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)	26	40 minutes
Total	76	120 minutes

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CAT 2020 Analysis by T.I.M.E

With the change in the number of slots and the reduction in the duration of the exam in CAT 2020, most of you would have expected a change in the pattern of the exam. It should come as no surprise that the number of questions in the exam were reduced, although not exactly in proportion to the reduced duration of the exam. The number of questions in the exam reduced from 100 in the previous years’ papers to 76.

The split of questions across the three sections are:

Section	Total No. of Questions	Area	No. of Questions	No. of Non-MCQs	Pattern
VARC	26	RC	18	0	2 passage of 5 questions each 2 passage of 4 questions each
		VA	8	5	3 Para Formations 2 Odd One Out 3 Para Summary
DILR	24	DILR	24	6	2 Sets of 6 questions each 4 Sets of 3 questions each
QA	26	QA	26	8	26 Individual Questions
Total	76	--	--	19	--

CAT 2020 Analysis: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

The VARC section in this year’s morning slot was slightly more difficult than that of last year. This is because of two factors:

• Higher level of difficulty of the questions
• Reduced time for answering questions

The passages in the RC section dealt with the topics of Anarchism, Northern Seals, Currency of Tang Dynasty, and Grammar/Vocabulary.

Passage	Number of Questions	Readability	Overall Difficulty Level
Anarchism	5	Difficult	Very Difficult
Migration of Northern Seals	5	Difficult	Difficult
Currency of Tang Dynasty	4	Difficult	Moderate-Difficult
Grammar/Vocabulary	4	Difficult	Moderate

Of these four passages, the passage on Anarchism was the toughest, both in terms of reading and understanding the passage as well as in terms of answering the questions.

The passage on Migration of Northern Seals was difficult to read but, not as difficult as the passage on Anarchism.

The passage on the Currency of the Tang Dynasty was not tough to read but the questions were of further application type thus tough to answer.

The most doable passage in the paper was the passage on Grammar/Vocabulary. The passage was readable and the questions were not too tricky, making this passage a must-attempt.

Across all the passages, the options were on the lengthier side, which makes answering a large number of questions in the given time challenging.

In the Verbal Ability, the Para Formation questions were, as expected, on the challenging side, with very few connectors and hints to find the correct order of the sentences. The Odd One Out questions were a little more doable than the Para Formation questions. Two of the three Para Summary questions were doable with the other one being on the tougher side.

Verbal Ability
Question Type	Number of Questions	Difficulty Level
Para Formation Questions	3	Very Difficult
Odd One Out	2	Difficult
Para Summary	3	Moderate-Difficult

Those of you who have attempted a decent number of AIMCATs would have found the difficulty of the questions in this section familiar. The different patterns that you were exposed to would also have helped in planning your time.

A net score of 23-25 would be a decent score to get 85 percentile in this section.

CAT 2020 Analysis: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

The DILR section was of a higher difficulty level compared to that of CAT 2019. While there were at least two easy to moderate sets last year, this year there was only one such set. All the other sets were challenging and there were no low hanging fruits among these sets.

The variation in the number of questions across sets also posed a challenge to the students. With two sets having six questions each and two sets having four questions each, the distribution of time across sets becomes all the more important.

The set on ‘Musicians’ was an LR set on Distributions, and was relatively the easiest of the sets in this section.

The set on ‘Medicines’ (four questions) was doable, despite the fact that it was a four set-Venn diagram question. However, the lack of options, as all the four questions were non-MCQs, pushed the difficulty level of this set upwards, to ‘moderate’.

The set on ‘Cabs and Drivers’ involves concepts of Maxima/Minima and was a little challenging to understand all the conditions involved. Each question in this set has to be solved independently. This makes the set a little lengthy and more on the moderate side than on the difficult side.

Both the six question sets, on ‘Companies & Contracts’ and on ‘Average Marks’ were the toughest sets in the section as both of them can be considered difficult. Given the high return on time Invested for these sets, any student who is able to crack these sets completely would have a significant advantage. For the set on ‘Average Marks’, the options were confusing, adding to the difficulty level of the set.

The details of the sets in the DILR section are given below:

Set	Area	Topic	No. of Questions	No. of Non-MCQs	Difficulty Level
Cabs & Drivers	DI	Maxima-Minima	4	0	Moderate-Difficult
Musicians	LR	Distribution	4	0	Moderate
Medicines	DI	Venn Diagrams	4	4	Moderate-Difficult
Companies & Contracts	LRDI	Reasoning based DI	6	0	Difficult
Average Marks	LRDI	Reasoning based DI	6	2	Difficult

A net score of 20-22 would be a decent score for a test-taker to be able to get 85 percentile (sectional cut-off).

CAT 2020 Analysis: Quantitative Ability

The QA section was, as has been over the past few years, a relief after the two heavy sections. The section was over-all, a shade lower on difficulty level compared to last year.

The topic-wise distribution in this section was as mentioned below:

Topic	No. of Questions	No. of Non-MCQs	Difficulty Level
ERPV	1	1	Moderate
Percentages, Profit & Loss	2	1	Easy
SI-CI	2	1	Easy
Time & Distance	4	0	Easy-Moderate
Averages-Mixtures-Alligations	1	1	Easy-Moderate
Numbers	3	1	Moderate-Difficult
Mensuration	3	0	Moderate-Difficult
Logarithms	3	1	Easy-Moderate
Functions & Graphs	2	1	Moderate
Indices & Surds	1	0	Difficult
Quadratic Equations	2	0	Difficult
Special Equations	1	0	Moderate
Statistics	1	0	Moderate

While the Arithmetic based questions were doable, the Algebra based questions made students work harder to solve.

Overall, this section was a shade less difficult than what it was last year with some sitters helping the students’ cause.

A net score of 19-21 would be a decent score for a test-taker to be able to get 85 percentile (sectional cut-off).

About the Expert:

Mr Ramnath Kanakadandi is National CAT course director, T.I.M.E.

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