CAT 2023 Question Paper PDF (Slot 1, 2 and 3): Download Official IIM CAT Papers
Common Admission Test 2024 ( CAT )
IIM Lucknow set a moderate to high difficulty level CAT 2023 question paper. Check here detailed explanation CAT 2023 question papers of all three slots. Download CAT 2023 question paper PDFs for knowing the sectional weightage and difficulty level.
CAT 2023 Question Paper (Slot 1, 2 and 3)
CAT 2023 question paper was of moderate to high difficulty level. The pattern of last year's CAT paper was same as previous years with a few changes in topic-wise weightage. The difficulty level was slightly higher than previous years. The CAT 2023 had three sections – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). Total number of questions were 66.
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There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.Q: What is the structure of CAT question paper?
Q: Which CAT slot has the toughest question paper?
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The sectional breakup of CAT question paper 2023 was no different from previous years. While VARC had only MCQ, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude section had a few non-MCQs. Here we have shared the composition of CAT question paper slot 1, slot 2 and 3. Candidates preparing for CAT 2024 must go through last year CAT paper and solve it so to know and understand the question types and difficulty levels. CAT exam 2024 is scheduled to be held on November 24, 2024, so this is the right time to start practicing CAT previous year papers.
Officially, the question papers and CAT answer keys are released 4-5 days after the exam. Download CAT 2023 question paper PDFs below:
| CAT_2023_Question_Paper_-_Slot_1 | CAT_2023 Question_Paper_Slot_3 |
You can get memory based answer keys slot wise by clicking on the following links:
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CAT 2023 Question Paper: Sectional Composition
The CAT question paper 2023 of every slot is same in terms of structure, sectional breakup and weightage. However, the difficulty level will vary. Given below is the section wise break-up of CAT question paper 2023 Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3:
| CAT 2023 Sections |
Number of Questions |
Allotted Time-Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) |
24 |
40 minutes |
| Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation (LRDI) |
20 |
40 minutes |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) |
22 |
40 minutes |
| Total |
66 |
120 minutes |
Also Read:
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CAT 2023 Question Paper: Marking Scheme
Every question carries 3 marks for correct entry and minus 1 mark for incorrect entry. There is no negative marking for unanswered questions and incorrect attempts in non-MCQ.
| CAT 2023 Sections |
Number of Questions |
Total Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Aptitude (QA) |
24 |
72 |
| Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation (LRDI) |
20 |
60 |
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) |
22 |
66 |
| Total |
76 |
198 |
Download CAT previous year question paper PDFs
Q: From where can I download CAT question papers?
Q: How many RC questions does CAT have?
The CAT VARC section is dominated by RC questions. Out of 24 questions about 14-16 are based on Reading Comprehension passages and the rest of them are based on parajumbles, para completion, etc.
CAT has about 12-16 RC question. In CAT 2022, there were four RC passages each having four questions. The ideal attempt was estimated at 13. Since, it is not mandatory to solve all the questions, candidates can maximize their scores by leaving out the questions related to the passage they find the toughest. There is negative marking in CAT so candidates must ensure that they mark only the correct options or do not mark any option at all.
Q: What was the key change in CAT question paper 2024?
The key change in CAT question paper 2024 was increase in number of questions in DLIR section. Till 2023, the DILR section used to have 20 questions. In 2024, it had 22 questions. The time limit for it was the same and no other section had less questions. Which means, in CAT 2024, candidates had to attempt 68 questions instead of 66 to solve in the same time (120 minutes). DILR sectional time limit was 40 minutes as in previous years. There was no other change in CAT 2024, the difficulty level was same as previous years.
Q: Is it mandatory to attempt all the questions in CAT?
No, it is not mandatory to attempt all the questions in CAT. Candidates can choose to attempt questions as per their preparation. It is not possible also to attempt all the questions due to time limitation and difficulty level. Reading dense RC passages often take up a lot of time. In DILR and QA too, some questions are time taking and calculation intensive due to which not much time is left in hand to attempt all questions. The aim of every test taker should be to attempt about 2/3rd of the total questions in all the sections of CAT.
CAT 2023 Question Paper: VARC
The VARC section of CAT question paper 2023 as usual had more Reading Comprehension questions than Verbal Ability, which made it a tough section to crack. Given below is the break-up of VARC section of CAT question paper 2023:
| Module |
Total Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension |
16 Questions | 4 RC Passages |
Moderate to Tough |
| Odd One Out |
2 Questions |
Easy to Moderate |
| Parasummary |
2 Questions |
Easy to Moderate |
| Parajumbles |
2 Questions |
Moderate to Tough |
| Paracompletion |
2 Questions |
Easy |
| Total |
24 Questions |
Good Attempts 15+ |
RC Passages of CAT Question Paper 2023
Check the table below for topics of the Reading Comprehension passages of CAT question paper 2023, slo1, 2 and 3. All the passages are inference based.
| CAT 2023 Slot 1 |
CAT 2023 Slot 2 |
CAT 2023 Slot 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
RC 1 Topic: Garments/ fashion Industry & Pollution- Easy to moderate RC 2 Topic: Netflix Dubbing of titles for Europe→ Good or Bad for Europe? RC 3 Topic: Liberalism is Dying- Moderate to Difficult RC 4 Topic: Facts & Interpretation in History |
RC 1 Topic: Colonialism and Pollution RC 2 Topic: Rationalization RC 3 Topic: Romanticism RC 4 Topic: History |
Also Read:
CAT 2023 Question Paper: DILR
Like previous years, the DILR section of CAT question paper 2023 had set of 4 and set of 5 questions. Check below the break-up of DILR section of CAT question paper 2023:
| CAT DILR Topics |
Number of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Data Interpretation Set 1 |
5 |
Moderate-Difficult |
| Logical Reasoning Set 1 |
5 |
Moderate |
| Data Interpretation Set 2 |
5 |
Moderate-Difficult |
| Logical Reasoning Set 2 |
5 |
Moderate |
DILR topics of CAT 2023 Question Paper
Check the below table for areas and topics of DILR sets of CAT question paper 2023:
| CAT 2023 Paper Slot 1 |
CAT 2023 Paper Slot 2 |
CAT 2023 Paper Slot 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
CAT 2023 Question Paper slot 1: Quantitative Aptitude
Just like last year, the Quantitative Ability section of CAT 2023 was dominated by Arithmetic in all three slots. Given below is the Quantitative Ability sectional break up in CAT question paper 2023:
| CAT Quantitative Aptitude Topics |
Number of Questions |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic |
7 |
| Algebra |
7 |
| Geometry & Mensuration |
3 |
| Number System |
4 |
| Modern Math |
1 |
CAT 2023 Question Paper slot 2: Quantitative Aptitude
The CAT 2023 question paper of slot 2 was similar to slot 1. I this slot, however, Algebra had more questions than Arithmetic.
| CAT Quantitative Aptitude Topics |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic |
7 |
| Algebra |
8 |
| Modern Math |
2 |
| Geometry |
3 |
CAT 2023 Question Paper slot 3: Quantitative Aptitude
The quantitative aptitude section CAT 2023 question paper slot 3 was tougher than slot 1 and 2. Check the break up below:
| CAT Quantitative Aptitude Topics |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic |
8 |
| Algebra |
4 |
| Modern Math |
4 |
| Geometry |
3 |
| Numbers |
3 |
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