CMAT 2016 analysis: Quant difficult, reasoning easy

CMAT 2016 Analysis 

CMAT 2016 entrance test was held today in various cities across the country. True to it's self, CMAT exam was once again a test of accuracy, followed by speed.

According to experts and students, the exam was of moderate difficulty level. Quantitative section had some tough questions. Reasoning section was easy. Verbal ability and General Knowledge was also moderate.

Conducted by All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), CMAT scores are used for admission to various MBA colleges. 

CMAT 2016 student reaction: Exam marred with glitches

There’s negative marking of one (1) mark for each wrong answer. 

Earlier, Shiksha had predicted that candidates should expect higher level of difficulty in the exam. 

Overall the examination ranged from moderate to difficult level.  

CMAT 2016 analysis of Quant section 

Let’s take a look at the Quant Section first. It was dominated by basic arithmetic questions such as those pertaining to percentage, ratio, number system, time & distance, time & work and linear equations. There were about three to four questions on data interpretation which werelengthy. There were some questions from modern mathematics (probability, permutation & combination, progressions, trigonometry), geometry and mensuration. Overall, the section was quite difficult.

According to Shah, "Maths (QA) section was difficult. The difficulty level for this section has definitely gone up as compared to last year. However, the number of Data Interpretation questions (3-4) were higher than last year and these questions were quite easy. Overall, about 15 questions were easy or moderately difficult. Having appeared for CAT 2015 and CMAT 2016; I can definitely say that QA section for both these exams was of an identical difficulty level!"

CMAT 2016 analysis of Reasoning section 

This section was a straightforward questions on linear and circular arrangements, directions, relationships, codes and syllogisms. The section was quite easy but there was no element of surprise. According to experts, candidates will easily be able to score well in this section.

"The Reasoning section was the saving grace for students. It was quite easy and predictable. Many of the questions could be answered just by checking the alternatives rather than requiring a full solution. Arrangements (linear, circular and complex) dominated the section while other standard topics such as relationships, ranks, syllogisms and calendars were fairly represented. The big surprise was that topics such as codes / analogies / series / sequence were completely left out," said Shah.

CMAT 2016 analysis of Language section 

The language comprehension section had some surprises. Unlike previous years, this section was dominated by vocab questions, such as sentence corrections, fill in the blanks, vocabulary, jumbled sentences and basic grammar.  It had four to five Reading Comprehension passages with 15 medium level questions.

"The Verbal section had more emphasis on vocabulary than the previous exams. 15 questions were reading based (spread over 3 or 4 passages), 8 questions were vocabulary based (synonyms, blanks, match-the-following etc) and 2 questions were based on grammatical construction. It should be noted that many of the RC questions had very close answer alternatives and hence were tricky," said Shah.

CMAT 2016 analysis of GK section 

GK section consisted of a variety of questions on current affairs. Candidates also had two pictographic questions on guess the personality.

According to Shah, "The GK section was random as usual and many students found it difficult. There were questions from mythology, computers, business, history and science. In all of the previous exams, there would always be 4-5 GK questions which would be very easy. However, this time around there were no such sitters. Hence the number of GK attempts would be lesser."

CMAT 2016 results will be declared on January 21, 2016. 

AICTE releases a national merit ranking of all the test takers, which is based on the total marks scored by the candidates. It also contains the percentile of the candidates. Candidates can download their CMAT results score cards for a period of one month. 

MBA Career Compass & Salary tool

Now that all the big MBA exams are over, candidates will need to focus on college selection. Salary and job function are important parameters while choosing an MBA college. To help students know how well college alumni are doing post their MBA, and packages they are earning, Shiksha has developed Career Compass in collaboration with Naukri.com. Click on the image below to find out more.