CAT: CAT Question Paper: Slot 1 and 2: DILR Section and QA Section
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CAT Question Paper was of moderate difficulty level and had no surprise elements. The first slot question paper was, however, a bit more difficult than the question paper of second slot. CAT question paper with solutions is provided in this article below for candidates to practice and analyses their hold over various CAT topics.
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | |
| No. of Questions | 34 |
| No. of MCQ questions | 24 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions | 7 |
| Difficulty Level | Easy-Moderate |
| Good Attempts | 26 - 27 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | |
| No. of Questions | 32 |
| No. of MCQ questions | 24 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions | 8 |
| Difficulty Level | Difficult |
| Good Attempts | 12 - 14 |
| Quantitative Ability | |
| No. of Questions | 34 |
| No. of MCQ questions | 22 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions | 12 |
| Difficulty Level | Easy-Moderate |
| Good Attempts | 25 - 26 |
The structure of CAT question paper is same as that of previous years, i.e.. there are three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) , Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA) . Given below is the overall structure of CAT question paper.
| Section | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level | Good Attempts |
| VARC | 34 | Easy-moderate | 26 - 27 |
| DILR | 32 | Difficult | 12 - 14 |
| QA | 34 | Easy-Moderate | 25 - 26 |
| Total | 100 | Moderate | 63 - 67 |
CAT Question Paper: Slot 1
The first slot of CAT question paper is of a higher difficulty level. Among the three sections, DILR section was the toughest and most time consuming. Discussed below are all three sections of CAT question paper slot 1.
Section Wise Break up of CAT Question Paper, Slot 1 VARC Section
The VARC section of CAT question paper, slot 1 has five RC passages; three passages of 539 - 600 words and two passages of 299 and 363 words each. Out of five RC passages have six questions and two passages have three questions, each. Three questions are information based and three other are inferential in nature. Overall, six RC questions are easy; and six questions are difficult as there are close choices for answer. The remaining 18 questions are easy to moderate.
| Sections | Topic | No. of Questions |
| Reading Comprehension (24 Questions) | Reading Comprehension | 24 |
| Verbal Ability (10 Questions) | Para-jumble | 4 |
| Summary (MCQ Based) | 3 | |
| Para-jumble (Odd sentence out) | 3 |
DILR Section
The questions of DILR section of CAT question paper, slot 1 range from sets on Survey of students, burgers & fries, routes between two cities, flight operations and square matrix of pillar heights. DI questions do not require much calculation; however, one question is difficult to crack. Logical Reasoning questions are of easy to moderate level.
| Section | Topic | No. of Questions |
| Data Interpretation | Happiness index- difficult | 4 |
| Matrix- moderate | 4 | |
| Routes - moderate | 4 | |
| Flight operation - Moderate | 4 | |
| Logical Reasoning | Projects - Difficult | 4 |
| Burgers/Fries - Easy | 4 | |
| Children survey - Easy | 4 | |
| PCM – difficult | 4 |
QA Section
In the third and final section of CAT question paper, slot 1, there are 34 questions. The questions of this section are easier than the ones of 2016 and 2015 papers. Most of the questions test the fundamentals of math՚s. Algebra questions were on Inequalities and Quadratic equations and Arithmetic questions on Profit Loss and TSD.
| Section | Topic | No. of Questions |
| Quantitative Ability | Number System | 4 |
| Algebra | 10 - 11 | |
| Arithmetic | 11 | |
| Modern Math | 2 | |
| Geometry and Mensuration | 6 - 7 |
CAT Question Paper, Slot 2
The difficulty level of CAT Question Paper, Slot 2 is a bit more difficult than the slot 1 question paper. Overall, the question paper can be considered moderate in terms of difficulty level with VARC on the easier side but with close options, DILR tricky and QA easy. Take a look at the overall break-up of the question paper.
| Section | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level | Good Attempts |
| Verbal Ability and Reading comprehension | 34 | Easy-moderate | 25 - 27 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | 32 | Difficult | 12 - 14 |
| Quantitative Ability | 34 | Easy-Moderate | 25 - 26 |
| Total | 100 | Moderate | 64 - 68 |
CAT Question Paper, Slot 2: Section-Wise Break-Up
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | |
| No. of Questions | 34 |
| No. of MCQ questions | 24 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions | 7 |
| Difficulty Level | Easy-Moderate |
| Good Attempts | 25 - 27 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | |
| No. of Questions | 32 |
| No. of MCQ questions | 24 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions | 8 |
| Difficulty Level | Difficult |
| Good Attempts | 12 - 14 |
| Quantitative Ability | |
| No. of Questions | 34 |
| No. of MCQ questions | 26 |
| No. of non-MCQ questions | 8 |
| Difficulty Level | Easy-Moderate |
| Good Attempts | 25 - 26 |
VARC Section
The VARC section of CAT question paper, slot 2 is on the easier side. The Reading Comprehension (RC) passages are easy to read but the questions carry close options that may deceive candidates. There are five passages and 24 questions. Three passages are of 500 - 550 words and two are of 25 - 350 words. Out of 24 questions, around 16 are inference based and the rest are fact based. Check the table below for more details.
| Section | Topic | No. of Questions |
| Reading Comprehension | Reading Comprehension | 24 |
| Verbal Ability | Para-jumble | 4 |
| Summary | 3 | |
| Para-jumble (Odd sentence out) | 3 |
DILR Section
The DILR section of CAT question paper, slot 2, has questions in the form of sets. Two sets are easy, and one is lengthy. Rest of the sets are solvable but requires concentration. Check the table below for topic wise weightage of questions.
| Section | Topic | No. of Questions |
| Data Interpretation And Logical Reasoning | Chess | 4 |
| Pizza | 4 | |
| Dorms | 4 | |
| Asset Management | 4 | |
| Airplane | 4 | |
| Biometric | 4 | |
| Tea | 4 | |
| Elective | 4 |
QA Section
The QA section of CAT question paper, slot 2 comprises questions, which test the candidate՚s grasp of fundamentals of Mathematics. Arithmetic and Algebra dominate this section with 22 questions. Geometry and Mensuration together have 4 - 5 questions.
| Section | Topic | No. of Questions |
| Quantitative Ability | Number System | 4 |
| Algebra | 12 | |
| Arithmetic | 12 | |
| Modern Math | 2 | |
| Geometry and Mensuration | 4 |