CAT 2020 Slot 1 Exam Analysis: Difficulty level was moderate to tough

CAT 2020, a national level MBA entrance exam, was conducted by IIM Indore on Sunday, November 29, 2020. This year, CAT is being conducted in three slots having a duration of 120 minutes. The timing of the morning shifts was 8.30am to 10.30 am while the timing of the other two shifts are 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm and 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm.

There were three sections— Verbal & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Aptitude. The overall difficulty level of the exam was moderate to tough, similar to last year. Out of the three sections, VARC was the toughest while Quantitative Aptitude and DILR were Moderate.

The exam had two types of questions: a) MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) b. Non-MCQs. Negative marking was assigned only to the MCQs. The marking scheme is as follows: three marks for every correct answer and negative marking of 1 mark for every incorrect answer.

Highlights of the exam:

1. The total marks of CAT 2020 is 228 (76*3).

2. The level of Reading Comprehension was high. Level of Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning was moderate to difficult.

3. Quantitative section was moderate.

4. Total MCQ Questions were 57 and Non MCQ (TITA) were 19.

5. There was a deviation in the pattern of the paper, compared to the last few years. The deviation was that the DILR section had 2 sets of 6 questions each. It has happened for the first time in the last 6 years.

Section Wise Analysis:

1. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

The level of DILR was moderate. There were a total of 5 sets of questions. 2 sets of 6 questions each and 3 sets of 4 questions each. There were 6 TITA (Type in The Answer) questions out of the 24 questions asked in this section. An important attribute of this section was this time there were 2 sets of 6 questions each which has never happened in the last 5 years.

2. Quantitative aptitude

Around 17-18 questions were asked from Arithmetic and Algebra. The overall level of this section was moderate. There were 8 TITA (Type in The Answer) questions out of the 26 questions asked in this section. No questions were asked from Permutation & Combination.

3. Verbal and Reading Comprehension

There were a total of 4 sets of reading comprehension questions. Two sets of RC were of 4 questions each and the other two sets of RC had 5 questions each. The overall level of this section was difficult.

According to the official CAT 2020 notification, the result of this exam is expected to be declared in the second week of January 2021 while the official answer sheet and the question paper is expected to be released in the first week of December.

Students who are planning to appear for the exam next year should focus on achieving a raw score of 125-130 for 99.5 percentile. One must aim to attempt 50-52 questions with more than 90% accuracy to crack the exam.

(Author Mr. Vijay Jha is a President, Academics, Gradeup. Views expressed here are personal.)