The Changing CAT Pattern | 11

CHAPTER 2
The Changing CAT Pattern

CHANGES IN CAT PATTERN

There have been numerous changes in CAT over the last 15 years or so, notably in the combination of sections,
the number of questions and the time allotted for them. But the most significant change was in 2009 when
CAT shifted from a paper-and-pencil to a computer-based test (CBT), which was conducted on multiple days
and multiple slots from 2009 to 2014. Things eventually settled down, and have been stable for the last 3
years, with CAT 2015 to CAT 2017 conducted in two slots on the same day.

The four test areas, however, have remained the same: Quantitative Ability (QA), Data Interpretation (DI),
Logical Reasoning (LR), and Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC). The overall weightage given to
the VARC Section has consistently remained at one-third (33%). It is the weightages of subsections within a
section and question-types that have changed frequently.

The VARC Section in CAT has four subsections: Reading Comprehension (RC), Verbal Reasoning (VR), Verbal
Ability (VA), and Grammar (GR) which neatly align themselves with the 4-F Framework discussed in the
previous chapter. These can be further regrouped in two main components: Questions which take a lot of time
to read—the 'RC (RC  VR)'component, and those which do not take much time to read and are therefore less
time-consuming—the 'Non-RC (VA  GR)' component. The detailed breakup of questions in the CAT VARC
section over the years has been provided in the following table:
12 | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT

Sl Year Total Total VARC RC VR VA GR Non- Remarks

Time Ques. Ques. RC
(min)
1 2003 120 150 50 25 12 13 -- 13
2 2004 120 135 45 21 10 08 06 14 Paper-and-Pencil Test

3 2005 120 90 30 12 07 07 04 11
3 Sections:
4 2006 120 75 25 15 10 -- -- --
5 2007 120 75 25 12 07 03 03 06
QA, DI/LR & VARC
6 2008 120 120 40 20 04 12 04 16

1 2009 150 60 20 9 07 02 02 04 Computer-based Test

over multiple
2 2010 150 60 20 9 07 02 02 04
days/slots.
3 2011 140 60 20 9 07 02 02 04
4 2012 140 60 20 9 07 02 02 04 2 Sections:
5 2013 140 60 20 9 07 02 02 04 QA/DI & VARC/LR
6 2014 170 100 34 16 15 -- 03 03
Computer-based Test
in two slots on one day.
1 2015 180 100 34 24 10 -- -- --
2 2016 180 100 34 24 10 -- -- --
3 Sections: QA, DI/LR &
3 2017 180 100 34 24 10 -- -- -- VARC
4 2018 The same pattern is being repeated in CAT 2018 as clear from the
CAT 2018 Notification issued on 29 July 2018. Sectional Time Limit.

The period of 15 years can be broken up into three broad timeframes based on the changes in total time
allotted:
1. CAT 2003 to 2008: 2-hour paper-and-pencil test with varying number of questions. Less time per
question, hence speed important. No sectional limit means flexibility in allotment of time across the
three sections: QA, DI/LR & VARC.
2. CAT 2009 to 2014: More than 2-hour computer-based test conducted on multiple days with multiple
sets of questions. More time per question, hence importance of speed less than earlier. Again, no
sectional limit, but sections reduced to two: QA/DI & VARC/LR.
3. CAT 2015 to 2017: 3-hour computer-based paper conducted in two slots on one day. More time per
question, speed less important, and back to three sections: QA, DI/LR & VARC, with 60 minutes’ time
limit per section.
A quick glance at the table above shows that the overall total time of the CAT exam has increased from 2 hours
(120 minutes) to 3 hours (180 minutes). The total number of questions, however, has been coming down and
then going up and has now stabilised at 100 questions (in 180 minutes) in the last 3 years: CAT 2015 to CAT
2017. This means 1.8 minutes (1 minute and 48 seconds) per question—no anxiety, no rush. As a result,
number of attempts has increased and so has accuracy, leading to higher overall scores and cut-offs. Further,
sectional time limits have taken away the flexibility in distribution of time across sections. The VARC Section
has now finally got its proportionate time and due importance. In the past, the tendency was to leave the last
25 minutes or so for the VARC Section at the end in a 2 hour (120 minutes) exam.
 The Changing CAT Pattern | 13

CHANGES IN THE CAT VARC SECTION: NO DIRECT VOCABULARY OR

GRAMMAR-BASED QUESTIONS
The most noticeable change in the CAT VARC section (from the preceding table) is the proportionate reduction
in the "Non-RC" component (direct Vocabulary and Grammar-based questions) over the three broad
timeframes outlined in the table. In the last 3 years, CAT 2015 to CAT 2017, there have been no direct
Vocabulary or Grammar-based questions. Does that mean that the CAT Examiner is remiss in leaving these
important areas out?

As we saw earlier in the 4-F Framework, reading comprehension skills are at the centre in which the other
three sub-skills converge: vocabulary, grammar and verbal reasoning. So the RC component (RC VR) is a
direct test of your proficiency in reading comprehension and an indirect test of the other sub-skills. The CAT
Examiner understands this, hence the change to the latest pattern.
Another noticeable trend has been reduction in the ratio between the length of the RC passages and the
number of RC questions per passage—about 100 words of reading per RC question in the latest pattern
(CAT 2015 to CAT 2017). This offers a higher payoff for RC. In the past, the tendency was to leave RC for the
end and then skim and scan the passages to answer the few direct RC questions. Now there is no escaping
RC, because the whole VARC section is RC (RC  VR):
1. RC Passages (Long): 3 passages  6 questions each  18 questions (MCQs)
2. RC Passages (Short): 2 passages  3 questions each  06 questions (MCQs)
3. Paragraph Summary:  03 questions (TITA or MCQs)
4. Jumbled Paragraphs:  04 questions (TITA)
5. Out-of-Context Sentences:  03 questions (TITA)
Total  34 questions

The introduction of TITA (Type-in-the-answer) questions for the first time in CAT 2015 is another change which
threw everyone off guard—without the direction or misdirection that options provide, you find yourself groping
in the dark. This is particularly problematic in the case of Jumbled Paragraph questions (sl. 4 and 5 above). The
redeeming feature is that there is no negative marking for TITA questions. The CAT Examiner probably wanted
to discourage the over-reliance on the "elimination method" in answering MCQs. The other way the CAT
Examiner counters the "elimination method" is by providing close options to make elimination difficult. The
CAT-and-mouse game goes on. And the winner is the test-taker who relies on his understanding rather than on
'elimination of options'. (In this book, we have sought to strengthen your understanding by providing detailed
explanatory answers, which focus more on the essence of the paragraph or passage.)
Curiously though, in Paragraph Summary TITA questions in CAT 2015 and CAT 2016, four alternative
summaries were actually provided at four options numbered 1 to 4. You were not required to type in a
summary composed by you. All you had to do was type/key in the option number at the specific place provided
on the screen. So these were in effect the usual MCQs (Multiple-Choice Questions), but with the added benefit
of no negative marking. This flaw has been corrected in CAT 2017 and Paragraph Summary questions in CAT
2017 were of the usual MCQ-type as the others, with negative marking.

The solved CAT 2017 VARC Sections for both slots are provided in SECTION 6 to get a feel of the ‘real’ CAT.

DIAGNOSTIC TESTS—A FORETASTE OF CAT VARC SECTION

Before we start discussing concepts in the "Concept Review" section, you should get a foretaste of the
question-types in the CAT VARC section and understand what they test you for—in other words, an insight into
the CAT Examiner's mind. You can also see first-hand how you perform and what difficulties you face—a
diagnosis of your strong and weak areas.
14 | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT

For this purpose, we have two separate diagnostic tests for you to take at SECTION 2 before you take up the
review of concepts in SECTION 3:
1. CAT VARC Diagnostic Test 1: based on the latest pattern (CAT 2015 to CAT 2017) covering only the RC
(RC  VR) component as per breakdown given on the previous page comprising both MCQ and TITA
questions; and
2. CAT VARC Diagnostic Test 2: based on the old pattern (CAT 2003 to CAT 2014) covering both RC and
Non-RC components (direct vocabulary and grammar-based questions)