The CAT 2023 exam was conducted by IIM Lucknow across various exam centres. The CAT 2023 exam observed the toughest QA section in the past 5 years. Candidates on this page can check an in-depth CAT exam analysis for the 2023 CAT exam for all three slots for DILR, VARC, and QA. Students can also check the number of good attempts, topics asked in the exam, and the overall difficulty level of the exam.
CAT 2023 Question Paper PDFs available for download here
CAT 2023 Exam Analysis - Key Overview
Candidates can check an overview of the CAT exam analysis in the table below. The table presents the number of questions, and the time limit given for each section.
Section Name | Duration | MCQs | TITA | Total |
VARC | 40 mins | 20 | 4 | 24 |
DILR | 40 mins | 14 | 6 | 20 |
Quantitative Aptitude | 40 mins | 14 | 8 | 22 |
Total | 120 mins | 48 | 18 | 66 |
CAT 2023 Analysis, Slot 1: VARC
The VARC section ofCAT examwas as usual the toughest of the three. There were four Reading Comprehension passages with four questions each. The VA questions were based on parajumbles and odd sentence. Verbal Ability questions were easier than Reading Comprehension questions, as always. Check below, topic-wise distribution of questions in VARC section.
Reading Comprehension | 16 | Overall: Difficult |
Passage 1: Return of wolves’ predation in a French region | 4 | Easy |
Passage 2: Current economies of North and South Korea | 4 | Easy |
Passage 3: Indian Ocean Literature | 4 | Moderate |
Passage 4:Modern materialism versus ancient societies | t4 | Difficult |
Verbal Ability | 08 | Overall: Difficulty |
Para jumble | 2 | Easy to moderate |
Para completion | 2 | Easy |
Para summary | 2 | Easy to moderate |
Odd sentence out | 2 | Easy to moderate |
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CAT 2023 Analysis Slot 1: DILR
The DILR section of CAT 2023 will have a total of 20 questions. There were four sets, out of which two sets of LR with six questions each and the other two sets of DI with four questions each.
DILR Area | Set Description | No. of Questions | Question Type | Difficulty Level |
Data Interpretation | (Reasoning based DI) | 5 | 5 (1 MCQ, 4 TITA) | Moderate to Difficult |
Logical Reasoning | (Arrangements) | 5 | 5 MCQ | Easy to Moderate |
Data Interpretation | Visa Office | 5 | 5 (3 MCQ, 2 TITA) | Moderate to Difficult |
Logical Reasoning | Houses on sale | 5 | 5 (3 MCQ, 2 TITA) | Moderate to Difficult |
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CAT 2023 Analysis Slot 1: Quantitative Aptitude
This section of CAT 2023 can be of moderate difficulty level and be dominated by Arithmetic. Check topic wise break up of CAT Quantitative Aptitude section below:
QA Topics | No. of Questions |
Arithmetic | 7 |
Algebra | 8 |
Geometry | 4 |
Modern Maths | 2 |
Numbers | 1 |
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CAT 2023 Analysis Slot 2 VARC
The CAT VARC section consisted of 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions. About 12 RC questions were doable. One question in the Verbal Ability section was Mandatory. Overall the section was easy and an attempt of 17 to 19 questions with 70% accuracy will be considered good attempt.
Reading Comprehension | 16 | MCQ | Overall: Easy to Moderate |
RC-1: Second-hand Shopping and Fast Fashion | 4 | MCQ | Easy |
RC-2: Translated Streaming on Netflix in Europe | 4 | MCQ | Easy |
RC-3: Why Liberalism Failed (Book Review) | 4 | MCQ | Moderate |
RC-4: What is Historical Fact | 4 | MCQ | Difficult |
Verbal Ability | 08 | MCQ & TITA | Overall: Easy |
Para jumbles (4 sentences) | 2 | TITA | 1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
Para-completion | 2 | MCQ | 2 Easy |
Summary | 2 | MCQ | 1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
Odd Sentence Questions | 2 | TITA | 1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
CAT 2023 Analysis Slot 2 DILR
The structure of DILR section of CAT 2023 slot 2 was same as slot 1 and the questions were moderate in terms of difficulty level. An attempt of 10 to 12 questions with 75-80 % accuracy will be considered good performance.
Area | Set Description | No. of Questions | Question Type | Difficulty Level |
DI | 5 firms – Funds raised in consecutive years | 5 | 4 MCQ, 1 TITA | Easy to Medium |
DI | Draw competition | 5 | 3 MCQ, 2 TITA | Medium to Difficult |
LR | 3 friends visited a park. | 5 | 3 MCQ, 2 TITA | Medium to Difficult |
DI | Nine Boxes – sudoku type puzzle | 5 | 2 MCQ, 3 TITA | Medium to Difficult |
CAT 2023 Slot 2 Analysis, Quantitative Ability
CAT 2023 slot 2 Quantitative Aptitude questions were slightly tougher in terms of level of difficulty compared to CAT 2023 Slot 1. There were 8 questions in TITA format in this section. Overall, an attempt of 9 to 11 questions with accuracy of approximately 75-80% will be a good performance.
Area/Q Type | No. of Questions |
Arithmetic | 7 |
Algebra | 8 |
Modern Math | 2 |
Geometry | 3 |
CAT 2023 Slot 3 Analysis, VARC
In the CAT 2023 slot 3, VARC section consisted of 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions. Overall, the section was Medium. An attempt of 16 to 18 questions with70 % accuracy will be considered a good performance in VARC section of CAT 2023 slot 3.
Reading Comprehension | 16 | MCQ | Overall: Moderate |
RC-1: Colonialism and Global Warming (The Nutmeg’s Curse) | 4 | MCQ | Easy |
RC-2: Understanding Romantic Aesthetics | 4 | MCQ | Easy |
RC-3: Cultural Patrimony Laws | 4 | MCQ | Easy-Moderate |
RC-4: Rationality by Steven Pinker | 4 | MCQ | Difficult |
Verbal Ability | 08 | MCQ & TITA | Overall: Easy |
Para jumbles (4 sentences) | 2 | TITA | 1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
Para-completion | 2 | MCQ | 1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
Summary | 2 | MCQ | 1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
Odd Sentence Questions | 2 | TITA | 1 Easy, 1 Moderate |
CAT 2023 Slot 3 Analysis, DILR
This section of CAT 2023 slot 3 had moderate to high difficulty level questions. Like slot 1 and slot 2, slot 3 also had four DILR sets having five questions each. An attempt of 9 to 11 questions with 75-80% accuracy will be considered a good performance.
Area | Set Description | No. of Questions | Question Type | Difficulty Level |
DI | Number of enrollments in offline and online courses | 5 | 3 MCQ, 2 TITA | Easy to Medium |
LR | Six police stations with maps (route based set) | 5 | 3 MCQ, | Medium |
DI | Project and test scores of 3 boys and 3 girls | 5 | 3 MCQ, 2 TITA | Medium to Difficult |
DI | AC company – 4 dealers | 5 | 3 MCQ, 2 TITA | Medium to Difficult |
CAT 2023 Slot 3 Analysis, Quantitative Ability
The Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT 2023 slot 3 was slightly tougher in terms of level of difficulty compared to slot 1 and slot 2 and was dominated by Arithmetic. There were 8 TITA questions in this section. Overall, an attempt of 9 to 11 questions with 75-80% accuracy of can be considered a good performance.
Area/Q Type | No. of Questions |
Arithmetic | 8 |
Algebra | 4 |
Modern Math | 4 |
Geometry | 3 |
Numbers | 3 |
CAT 2023 Score vs Percentile Slot 1
Check below, CAT 2023 scores and percentiles as estimated by CollegeSearch experts.
CAT Percentile | VARC Score | DILR Score | QA Score | Overall Score |
99.5 %ile | 45 | 33 | 48 | 104 |
99 %ile | 41 | 29 | 42 | 97 |
98 %ile | 37 | 26 | 37 | 86 |
95%ile | 32 | 21 | 28 | 72 |
90%ile | 27 | 17 | 23 | 59 |
85%ile | 23 | 15 | 19 | 52 |
80%ile | 21 | 13 | 16 | 44 |
CAT 2023 Score vs Percentile Slot 2
Percentile | Score VARC Score | Score DILR Score | QA Score | Overall Score |
99.9 %ile | 50 | 38 | 46 | 108 |
99.5 %ile | 46 | 34 | 30 | 91 |
99 %ile | 42 | 30 | 26 | 81 |
98 %ile | 38 | 26 | 23 | 73 |
95%ile | 32 | 20 | 18 | 59 |
90%ile | 26 | 17 | 14 | 50 |
85%ile | 22 | 13 | 12 | 41 |
80%ile | 20 | 11 | 10 | 36 |
75%ile | 18 | 10 | 9 | 32 |
70%ile | 16 | 9 | 8 | 30 |
CAT 2023 Score vs Percentile Slot 3
Percentile | Score VARC Score | Score DILR Score | QA Score | Overall Score |
99.9 %ile | 46 | 36 | 46 | 104 |
99.5 %ile | 42 | 32 | 30 | 87 |
99 %ile | 38 | 28 | 26 | 77 |
98 %ile | 34 | 25 | 23 | 70 |
95%ile | 28 | 19 | 18 | 56 |
90%ile | 23 | 16 | 14 | 48 |
85%ile | 20 | 13 | 12 | 39 |
80%ile | 18 | 11 | 10 | 35 |
75%ile | 16 | 10 | 9 | 30 |
70%ile | 14 | 9 | 8 | 28 |
