Author: shastraedu

What is CAT?

First thing is to learn what CAT exam is all about? What does CAT test? Which colleges admit based on CAT exam score? What exams to take up other than CAT? What is the Syllabus for CAT exam? What are the different sections to worry about for CAT exam?

It is very important to know what CAT is all about.  CAT (Common Admission Test) 2021 is an aptitude screening exam for MBA admission across 150+ B-schools in the country. It is a 3-hour paper and contains 3 sections which is held every year in online Computer based mode. The paper is organized Jointly by one of the major IIMs (Indian Institute of Management) and TCS (Tata Consultancy Services).

The  CAT Paper comprises of 100 questions in MCQ and non-MCQ format from Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension(VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning(DILR) and Quantitative Aptitude. The CAT exam was traditionally conducted for 180 minutes but the duration was reduced to 120 minutes for CAT 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic. The examination authority is expected to go back to 180 minute-duration for CAT 2021.

What is even more important than this is to know about the overall analysis of previous CAT papers. What is observed from the previous trends is that CAT is becoming an IQ based test rather than just be a conceptual based test. In other words we can say that CAT is moving towards GMAT.

Full CAT 2020 Analysis

How to Prepare for CAT 2021?

For CAT preparation, it is important that you plan your preparation in stages. Like in Edushastra, we divide your CAT preparation in 4 phases i.e. Mapping Phase, Foundation Phase, Testing Phase and Control Phase. Every phase has its own importance like Mapping phase gives you a clear picture of where you stand, Foundation phase helps in building the concepts, Testing phase helps in analyzing your weaker portions and Control phase makes you exam ready.

You can refer to CAT 2021 Strategies by CAT 2020 toppers like how they studies for CAT exam, how they handled the stress, tips and tricks for the exam.

Listen to the strategies adopted by Mr. Vishesh Garg, 99.99 Percentile scorer in CAT 2020.

Overall Strategy for CAT 2021

Points to mainly focus while preparing for CAT are:-

1. Focus on Basics First:- It is the most important point which many students ignore. Conceptual clarity is the most important thing which should be given utmost importance. It basically helps you to solve the most difficult questions also which will give you an edge over the others. Basics needs to be cleared for every topic first.
2. Speed and accuracy:- Time management is the most important thing which should be followed by every student. For candidates appearing in CAT for the first time, time management will provide them with the following benefits at the time of CAT preparation-

1. Enhance your efficiency
2. Increase your productivity
3. Lower stress level

3. Practice is the key–  For every section, practice is the key. Practice will make you familiar with all the challenges which you are going to face in the exam and that will in turn increase your score. Give a mock every week and in the last month, try to give as many mocks as you can.

4. Analyzing your performance:- Analyzing your performance is as important as practicing. It gives you a clear idea on where you stand and which sections need more focus. Analyzing how much time you spent on solving questions is also an important thing. Making error logs of mocks, analyzing the weaker sections will help you to improve the particular topics.

5. Stay Motivated:- Well this is the most difficult thing for anyone who is preparing for CAT exam or generally for any student. To stay motivated, it is very important to keep in mind why you are doing CAT in the first place. This will really help you to overcome the challenges which you will be facing during the preparation.

Sectionwise Plan to prepare for CAT 2021

Quant

 For preparation in Quant, you can follow these steps:-

• Be clear on the concepts:- Having conceptual clarity in Quant is very very important. If you are not covered on the basics, then you will not be able to solve CAT level questions.

• Practice daily:– Make a daily routine of practicing daily. In quant, the only thing that is going to increase your score is practice.

• Time management:– It is really important in quant. At first, just focus on the conceptual clarity while solving the questions, but later on make a habit of keeping a track of time in which you are able to solve the questions. It will help you to manage your time according to the exam.

• Strategies:- Attempt different strategies in the mock exams in order to arrive at the final strategy that you wish to use in the final exam. Also, segregate the questions into easy, moderate and difficult.

• Accuracy:- Choose easy questions and avoid “trick questions” which take too long to solve. CAT is all about accuracy, not adaption.

           Guides for Quant Preparation:-

1. How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma, Publisher- Tata Mcgraw Hill.
2. NCERT Mathematics books for class 8th, 9th and 10^th

VARC

VARC is the most unpredicted section now a days. From last 2 years, it is the kingmaker section. It is becoming a lot difficult from what it used to be in the last couple of years. Main focus is on RC’s being lengthy and difficult to understand which has basically been the reason of students scoring 99 and above 99.

To understand how Rohan pratap singh (CAT 2017 99.58 Percentile) tackled the stress of VARC, Refer to this.

Things to follow when preparing for VARC:-

• Speed Reading – Develop an incessant habit of speed reading. Start with reading newspapers, editorials, fiction and nonfiction novels and simple passages. The more you read, the faster you read.
• Elimination:- Eliminating the unclose answers is really important in VARC. This will basically help in reducing your time to solve and increase your accuracy also.
• Grammar:- Learn the basic grammar concepts like parts of speech, articles, verbs, adjectives, tenses, auxiliary verbs, modifiers, modals etc.
• Avoid re-reading:- Avoid re-reading the passages as it will waste your time and will confuse you also. Try to read and understand at the same time.
• Time Management :- Train yourself to read quickly by setting time spans. This will help you in reading faster and also will keep a track of time to solve a particular question. If you think any question is taking more than 2 minutes, move to the next one.

Guides to prepare for VARC:-

• Refer to 8-10th Std. NCERT books.
• Refer to Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis.
• Refer to High School Grammar by Wren and Martin

DILR

Solving the right sets in the correct way is important to ace this section.

To see how Parmesh Gupta 99.92 Percentile scorer in CAT 2018 tackled the LRDI section, Refer to this,

Things that will help you in scoring well in LRDI section are:–

1. Practice:- Practice is the main key that will help you in acing this section. Practice as many sets as you can. It will help you to discover new methods to solve the sets and also similar sets if seen in the exam, will increase your accuracy also.
2. Accuracy:– In DILR, it is important to be accurate and fast. It is not about solving all the sets, its about solving the ones which you feel will consume less time and will be more accurate.
3. Time:– Do not solve the sets in the exam which you feel will consume more time. Start with the ones which you think can be solved easily then move to the difficult ones.
4. Mocks:– Take as many mocks as you can for DILR. Practice daily around 5-6 sets. This will help you keep a track on the concepts and mostly it will help you in developing a logical mindset.
5. Calculation:– Practice brain calculations. Learn the percentage equivalent of fraction. This will save a lot of time. Quick calculations are the only way to save time in LRDI section.

 Guides to prepare for DILR:-

• Refer to Pearson Guide to Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Nishit Sinha, Publisher- Pearson.
• Refer to How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for the CAT by Arun Sharma, Publisher- Tata Mcgraw Hill.

Mocks:-

Mocks is the most important part of any preparation. While preparing for CAT, the one thing that will give you a clear picture of where you stand, is the mocks. So it is really important to take a mock every week and before 1 month of the exam, everyday. Mocks will help in making you sit comfortably for the total duration and also will help in keeping you aware about your weaker portions.

Edushastra provides unlimited Full length and sectional mocks to our students

Why mocks are important:-

• CAT mocks help you understand the practical usage of all the concepts you have studied so far along with building your stamina to win-over a 3-hour fatiguing examination.
• It helps you analyze your weaker sections so that you can correct your mistakes in them.
• Making error logs is really important. It helps you keep a track of time also. Solving the questions in a particular time is what is going to help you in the main exam.
• It also increases your accuracy.

To know more about the CAT deadlines and all, Refer to CAT 2021 Introduction.

CAT result 2020 was announced on January 2. The candidates can download their CAT scorecard using their login ID and username from iimcat.ac.in. 

Nine candidates scored an overall 100 percentile in the CAT 2020 examination. 19 candidates have scored an overall 99.99 percentile in CAT 2020.

Highlights of CAT 2020 Results

• Nine candidates scored an overall 100 percentile in the CAT 2020 examination. All nine 100 percentilers are male candidates.
• Seven out of nine 100 percentilers are from Engineering background, one is from Mathematics background and one is from Management background.
• Three 100 percentilers are from Rajasthan and the remaining six are from Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh respectively.
• 19 candidates have scored an overall 99.99 percentile in CAT 2020, of which 18 are male and one is female.
• Out of 99.99 percentile scores 16 are from the Engineering/Technology, two are from Economics and one is from Management backgroun

How to download CAT Results 2020:-

• Visit the official website of IIMCAT
• Click on ‘CAT login’
• Enter CAT 2020 ID and password
• Click on scorecard tab
• Download the CAT scorecard

CAT 2020 Results of Edushastra

If we talk about Edushastra’s success in CAT 2020, so more than 85% of our students were able to score more than 90 Percentile. 12 of them got more than 99.5 Percentile and we got 3 students in above 99.97% club.

Let’s see how the results differ in Edushastra and the other institutes.

Facets	Edushastra	Others
Success rate in CAT 2020	More than 85% students got more than 90 Percentile, 12 got above 99.5 Percentile	Less than 15% of students score more than 90 Percentile
Basic Model	Ability Based model. Objective is to find a student’s optimal performance Level	Time-Bound Model. Course moves and ends based upon Class Hours & Days
Course Validity	One Fees means Life-time Validity .Full-Course Cycles are repeated till students’ optimal level.	One Full-Course Cycle. Second Cycle means paying full fees once more.
Batch Size	Small Batches, Main focus is on Personalized Learning	Big Batches of 40-70 students. Based on Herd Teaching
Tests	New Formal Computer Based Tests, Unlimited Tests are provided	Limited number of tests provided
GD/PI Preparation	Free. Included in Course Fees	Extra Charges
XAT, SNAP, NMAT & IIFT Prep	Free. Included in Course Fees	Extra Charges

To see the overall CAT and GMCAT results, kindly refer to this.

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

CAT 2020 Official Mock Analysis

One thing that all the CAT aspirants were waiting for was CAT official mock 2020 which was to be released on 16^th October but after that, the assumptions were it will be released in October but that also turned out to be vague. Now, finally on 5^th November it has been released.

Well, it proved to be a relief also but mostly, it created a lot of confusion and terror in the aspirants minds. Well, let’s clear all the confusion which is going on.

Why CAT official mock 2020 is important?

Basically, CAT official mock works as a tutorial for the students which familiarizes them with the platform on which CAT will be held.

How to access CAT 2020 official mock:-

Open IIM Cat official website.

Under the Quick Tour section on the bottom of the website, you will find a link stating CAT 2020 mock test link.

A pdf will open. It will contain the link of the official mock 2020.

A window will open with a standard template and with demo credentials filled.

You can continue with demo credentials or can enter your own credentials too.

Click sign in and you will be redirected to the testing window.

CAT 2020 Official mock Pattern:-

Now, in CAT 2020 official mock:-

1. There are 3 sections – Quant, LRDI and VARC.
2. The total time allotted is 120 minutes and each section has a time limit of 40 minutes.
3. Negative marking for MCQ’s and no negative marking for TITA questions or skipped questions.
4. Every correct answer awards you 3 marks.
5. Total number of questions in CAT official mock are 100. Sectional division is – 34 in VARC, 32 in DILR and 34 in Quant.

What does CAT 2020 official mock entails?

1. Basically, CAT 2020 official mock is just to familiarize the students with the testing environment. The PDF clearly states that “The objective of this Mock Test is not to disclose the exam pattern for CAT 2020 and the actual exam may or may not contain similar type or number of questions”. It clearly means that it is not meant to disclose the pattern.
2. It contains questions from last year CAT papers. It will be good for the students to try out these as it will help them to review their preparation
3. The structure is most likely to be different from what the official mock displays.

Discrepancy between Instructions and Interface?

Timer:- In Instructions, it is clearly mentioned that the sectional time limit is 40 minutes and a candidate could navigate from one section to other only after the completion of time.

But in mock, a section could be submitted without the time restriction. As you can see, we were able to submit VARC section in less than 1 minute

Marking scheme:– In instructions, it is mentioned that for every correct answer, 3 marks will be awarded and negative marking will be there for wrong attempted questions excluding TITA i.e. -1. But in mock, no negative marking was there. On top of every question, it was showing that +3 for correct and 0 for wrong. This surely confuses a lot of candidates but in actual CAT, negative marking is going to be there.

Surprise elements:-

Well, there are going to be a few surprises for students till 29^th November like the actual pattern will not come to light till 29^th November 2020. So students have to deal with the anxiety but still, you can practice mocks till then which are based on new format to make yourself familiar with the time limit.

Conclusion:-

Well, we could take out the conclusion that CAT official mock does not disclose the pattern at all. It Is highly unlikely that CAT will present students with 100 questions to be completed in 120 minutes as for that, they have to reduce the difficulty level to a good extent and that is not possible. So it would contain less number of questions with the same marking scheme as of last year i.e. 3 marks for the correct answer, -1 for the wrong(excluding TITA), and 0 for skipped ones. Well, it does not change anything. Focus on mocks as you were doing earlier. With less days remaining, this is surely going to be a tough fight but in the end, that is what matters