CAT 2019 Slot 1 Detailed Exam Analysis And Live Webinar By Career Launcher

No. of Questions

No. of non-MCQ questions

Difficulty Level

Attempts for 95%ile

Attempts for 99%ile

VARC

34

7

Moderate - Difficult

23 - 25

26 - 28

DILR

32

8

Easy - Moderate

14 - 16

18 - 20

QA

34

11

Easy - Moderate

18 - 20

24 - 26

Total

100

26

~ 60

~ 65

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CAT 2019 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Analysis

The VARC section was of moderate difficulty level. However, the pattern was the same as that of the previous year. There were 34 questions, with 10 Non-MCQ questions.

There were 5 passages. One had 4 questions (the passage on Emperor Penguins) while the rest had 5 questions each. The topics of the remaining RC passages were from varied areas. While some were easy to read, there were few that were tedious and had confusing answer options. There were quite a few inference-based questions; and most of these had tricky answer options. However, a student should have followed the POE (process of elimination) to be able to achieve a decent accuracy rate, as the options were not straightforward. The 10 TITA questions were also of slightly higher difficulty level than last year. The para jumble questions were of moderate difficulty level, with some challenges regarding the sequencing of the opening lines. The summary questions were relatively easier; and focused on academics and marketing/advertising.

However, the options were not really difficult, and one could eliminate 1-2 options easily. The questions on odd-one-out were relatively easy.

VARC was undoubtedly trickier than that of last year’s CAT paper due to:

• Trickier question types: One would encounter questions like “Which of the following if TRUE, will strengthen the argument of the author the least” and “Which of the following will not cause the inversion referred to in the ‘flipping the script’”. The students would have spent quite some time trying to understand what they are required to think about.
• Close options: RC passages, like the one on the origins of the Aladdin story and on ‘folk culture’ had options which were extremely close to each other. This would have definitely reduced the speed of the student.

Expect the cutoff of VARC to drop by about 8-10 marks, which is about 2-3 questions lesser than last year.
Surprises: Contrary to popular speculation, the paper structure was a replica of the last year’s paper.
An attempt of 23 - 25 would be considered good in this section for a 95%ile. Accuracy level will be an issue.

Here is the break-up of what the RCs were like:

The VA questions were of the following types:

CAT 2019 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Analysis

DILR was easier, as compared to last year. About 3 sets, more specifically the ones about different types of gifts in 100 boxes, the 12 different junctions, and summation of two 6-digit numbers, were easy; and should have surely been attempted.

Another set, which was a horizontal bar chart on the different types of crimes in different states, was also easy; and would not have taken more than 5-10 minutes to solve.

It was good to see a new chart type, i.e. the radar graph, making its way to the CAT 2019 slot 1 paper (the image here shows what a radar chart looks like).

In this set, different Vendors were ranked on features like Customer Service, Cost, Reliability, etc. This straightforward set required you to solve questions as simple as finding the best vendor on the basis of the average of scores on each of the features.

Section	Topic	No. of Questions	Doable
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning	Crime Rate across States	4	4
	Rating of Vendors (Radar Graph)	4	4
	Tournament – Shooting Bullseye	4	3
	Dancers and Choreographers	4	3
	Summation of Two 6-Digit Numbers	4	3
	100 Boxes of Gifts	4	4
	12 Junctions	4	2
	Arrangement of Books on Shelves	4	3

The cut-off for DILR is expected to increase by about 7-9 marks from last year, which is about 2-3 questions extra from CAT 2018.

CAT 2019 Quantitative Ability Analysis

QA was also slightly easier than last year. You could have found more sitters this time round than in CAT 2018. The paper had a good number of questions on Arithmetic from topics like Percentages, TSD, Time and Work, etc. Among Algebra, Geometry, and Numbers, the paper had more questions on Algebra and Geometry than on Numbers.

The cutoff for QA is expected to increase by about 5-7 marks from last year, which is about 1-2 questions extra from CAT 2018.

Expected Scores for 99%ile

Please Note: All information on analysis and scores are based on the accuracy of attempts provided by you as well as independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher Academic Team. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.

CL extends its best wishes to all CAT aspirants

All the very best!!

Last Updated at 6:11 PM, 24th November 2019

The long wait for the CAT for the First Slot students at least is over. (Detailed analysis of CAT 2019 will be live at 4 PM)

Check your expected percentile here.

CAT 2019 – Slot 1 Pattern

The paper was very much similar the last two years papers with a minor difference. 

VARC : The VARC section was a tad difficult, as reported by the students, with RC having more Inference questions coming in as compared to the Fact-Based questions that were the norm last couple of years. The VA was very similar to the last three years papers. 

The cutoff for the VARC will go down and the 99 percentile may be closer to 60 to 62 marks 

Check NOW: CAT 2019 Exam Live Updates, Slot-Wise Analysis, And Expected Cut-Offs

LRDI : The LRDI section was on the easier side as compared to the last two years. The sets appeared easy for quite a few students who wrote in the first slot with a couple of DI sets and a couple of sets of LR doable. 

The cutoff for the LRDI section may go up by a few marks, and the 99 percentile could be closer to 48 or 50. 

QA : It is always a pleasant surprise if the QA section is easier than expected. The paper, as reported by students, was doable and was possibly easier than that of CAT 2018 paper and tougher than that of the CAT 2017 paper. 

The cutoff for QA section hence may go up by a few marks and the 99 percentile could be closer to 57 to 60. 

The overall 99 percentile for slot 1 (without scaling) could be around 155 to 158 marks. Check your expected percentile here.