The CAT exam pattern at a glance
The Common Admission Test is a computer-based exam conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management, usually across 3 slots on a single day in late November. CAT 2026 is expected around 29 November 2026, though that date stays tentative until the official notification appears on iimcat.ac.in.
- 68
- Questions
- 120
- Minutes total
- +3 / -1
- Marking
- 204
- Maximum marks
66–68 in recent years
40 per section, enforced
No penalty on TITA questions
Percentile decides your calls
Three details in that table do more to shape a sensible study plan than the syllabus does: the sections are attempted in a fixed order, their time limits cannot be traded, and wrong multiple-choice answers subtract marks.
Section-wise pattern: questions, time, and order
Sections appear in the same order for everyone, and each one closes when its timer ends. The question counts below reflect the most recent pattern; they have moved by a question or two between years.
| Order | Section | Questions | Minutes | Max marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 | 40 | 72 |
| 2 | Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 22 | 40 | 66 |
| 3 | Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 | 40 | 66 |
| Total | 68 | 120 | 204 |
Because DILR sits in the middle, a bad first section tends to bleed into it. Practising the three sections back to back in the real order, rather than only in isolation, is the cheapest way to find out whether that happens to you.
The marking scheme, and the arithmetic of guessing
Each correct answer is worth 3 marks. Each incorrect MCQ costs 1 mark. Unattempted questions score zero. TITA questions, where you type the answer rather than pick an option, carry no penalty at all.
- Correct MCQ: +3
- Incorrect MCQ: -1
- Incorrect TITA: 0 — no penalty
- Unattempted: 0
The gap between a right and a wrong MCQ is therefore 4 marks, not 3. That changes what a “good attempt count” looks like. Suppose you attempt 20 MCQs at 60% accuracy: 12 correct gives +36, 8 wrong gives −8, netting 28. Attempt 14 of the same questions but pick the ones you understand and reach 80% accuracy: 11 correct gives +33, 3 wrong gives −3, netting 30. Fewer attempts, higher score.
This is the single most common leak in mock performance, and it does not look like a knowledge problem in your notes—it looks like a slightly disappointing score. It only becomes visible when you record attempts and correct answers separately for each section, which is exactly what structured mock analysis is for.
Scaled scores and percentiles
CAT runs in multiple slots, and no two slots are identical in difficulty. IIM therefore equates raw scores across slots to produce a scaled score, then converts that into a percentile describing where you stand relative to everyone who sat the exam.
Two consequences are worth internalising early. First, your percentile depends on the cohort, so the raw score behind a 99 percentile moves every year and no fixed score target is reliable. Second, marks gained in a section where most candidates struggle move your percentile further than the same marks in a section where everyone scores well. Sectional percentiles matter independently too, because most IIMs apply minimum sectional cutoffs alongside the overall figure.
Practically, this is an argument against ignoring your weakest section. A very low sectional percentile can block a call that your overall percentile would otherwise have earned.
What the pattern implies for how you prepare
- Give all three sections a fixed weekly place. Sectional timing means one strong section cannot compensate for a weak one during the exam.
- Track accuracy, not just attempts. With +3/−1, the number of questions you skipped well is as informative as the number you solved.
- Practise question selection deliberately. Spend the first minutes of a set deciding what to leave. This is a trainable skill and it shows up directly in your score.
- Rehearse the real order and timing. Full mocks in the VARC → DILR → QA sequence reveal stamina and spillover problems that sectional practice hides.
- Never leave a TITA question blank. There is no penalty, so an educated attempt is free.
You can turn each of these into something you actually observe rather than intend. Log sessions by section, record mock attempts and correct answers separately, and review the pattern weekly — that is the loop a study tracker exists to support.
Where to confirm the official pattern
Question counts, sectional composition, and the exam date are all confirmed only in the official CAT notification, normally published around July or August, and in the mock test IIM releases on the exam website before the test. Treat this page as a planning summary of recent patterns, and confirm specifics at iimcat.ac.in before making any decision that depends on exact numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CAT exam pattern?
CAT is a computer-based test with three sections taken in a fixed order: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, then Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, then Quantitative Aptitude. Each section has its own 40-minute limit, giving a total duration of 120 minutes. Recent papers have carried 66 to 68 questions in total.
How many questions are in the CAT exam?
Recent CAT papers have had 66 to 68 questions. The most recent pattern used 24 questions in VARC, 22 in DILR, and 22 in QA, for 68 questions worth 204 marks. IIM does not guarantee these counts in advance, so treat them as the expected shape rather than a fixed rule.
What is the marking scheme for CAT?
Every correct answer earns +3 marks. Every incorrect multiple-choice answer loses 1 mark. Type-in-the-answer (TITA) questions have no negative marking, and unattempted questions score zero. This means a wrong MCQ costs you 4 marks relative to a correct one.
Is there negative marking in CAT for TITA questions?
No. Type-in-the-answer questions, where you type a response instead of choosing an option, carry no penalty for a wrong answer. Because a wrong TITA answer costs nothing beyond the time spent, there is no reason to leave one blank if you have a considered answer.
Can I move between sections during the CAT exam?
No. Sectional timing is enforced. Once a section's 40 minutes end, it closes permanently and the next section opens. You cannot return to a previous section or carry unused time forward, which is why a weak section cannot be rescued with time saved elsewhere.
How is the CAT percentile calculated?
Your raw score is first equated across the exam slots to account for differences in difficulty, producing a scaled score. Percentile is then your standing relative to every other candidate, so it depends on how the whole cohort performed, not on a fixed score cutoff. This is why the raw score matching a 99 percentile changes from year to year.
How long is the CAT exam?
The exam lasts 120 minutes, split into three 40-minute sections. Candidates with a qualifying disability are given additional time, which has typically been 53 minutes and 20 seconds per section.